NovelEnglish
Chapter 1649
Arthur grew fond of Stella because she had a knack for tending to people's emotions from a young age. His
affection for her had nothing to do with her being his family. That was why he did not care if she was Albert's
daughter or not. However, Arthur respected Keegan's decision to tell him about Stella's parentage.
Stella's eyes welled up with emotion. She remained quiet, her gaze fixed downward for an extended period. Keegan
had never shared any of this with her. She could not believe he had silently paved the way for her while she was
worried about facing Arthur.
After a while, Arthur looked up to the night sky above. He spoke in a low voice, "Everything will turn out fine."
Marshall leaned against the wall as he eavesdropped on their conversation. Upon hearing Arthur's words, he, too,
glanced at the sky. It was enveloped in darkness, and no stars were visible.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtMarshall and Stella woke up early the following day to prepare for departure. There was not much to pack, as both
had traveled light. Among the items they packed were local specialties Arthur had thoughtfully prepared for them.
These included walnuts, dried persimmons, pears, homemade beef jerky, sun-dried wild mushrooms, and several
dozen pounds of farm-fresh eggs. He even tied up two piglets for them to take home.
As Stella gazed at the mountain of gifts from Arthur, she felt a mixture of gratitude and helplessness. It was clear
they could not take the piglets with them. Stella chose a few items from the pile, as leaving everything behind
would be a disservice to Arthur's heartfelt gesture.
Stella did not speak much on the way back. Marshall offered her his coat, "Take a nap. I'll wake you when we
arrive."
Stella declined, stating, "I'm not tired."
"That's impossible. You stayed up late last night and woke up early this morning. There's still much to do when we
get back. You should rest," Marshall suggested in a hushed tone.
Stella fell silent. She did not stay up late; she barely slept at all. She saw Keegan's face every time she closed her
eyes. Even if she managed to drift off, she would wake up several times throughout the night. Their rooms were
close enough that Marshall must have heard her moving about.
Stella took the coat and thanked him. She wrapped it around herself but could not fall asleep. She glanced at
Marshall and posed a question, "Mr. Moore, how did you manage to find us that night?"
Marshall explained, "When your location disappeared, I suspected someone might have found your phone. The
police were at a loss for leads, so I reached out to Landon's ex-wife. I showed her the last location you were at and
asked if there were any places around there that Landon was familiar with. It was then that she recalled that place.
"She mentioned that Landon often went fishing in the vicinity. She knew about an abandoned factory building where
they had sought shelter from the rain before. So, I asked her to lead the way. I also contacted the police just to be
cautious."
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Marshall paused and continued, "I'm sorry. If I had taken more time to carefully weigh my options back then before
taking on the case, perhaps things wouldn't have ended up this way."
Stella lowered her gaze and spoke softly, "Mr. Moore, before you arrived that night, I already knew the perpetrator
had mistaken Keegan for you. If I had remembered your phone number, I would have called you in exchange for
Keegan's life."
Stella was not saying this solely to discourage Marshall. She had genuinely considered it at the time. In that
situation, Keegan's life held more value to her than anyone else's. As a result, she could not bring herself to accept
Marshall's apology.
Marshall was taken aback for a moment. He sighed and said, "Perhaps that would have been for the best. At least I
could have earned a place in your heart rather than just being Mr. Moore to you."
Stella remained silent and did not speak again.
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