Vengeance With My White Knight by Maya Kensington

Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Sebastian raised an eyebrow, studying Stephanie's reaction closely.

+13 But before he could say anything, Stephanie suddenly threw her arms around his neck, crying uncontrollably, as if she had been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Her sudden outburst shattered the anger in Sebastian's eyes.

His hands, which had been frozen mid-motion, slowly slid around her waist as she sobbed in his arms.

Stephanie clung to him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Mom... is she okay?" Sebastian's voice softened as he held her close. "She thought you'd forgotten her." In truth, her whole family had believed that once she returned to the Hart family, she would forget everything about Fiorenza.

Stephanie held onto him even tighter, her sobs growing more desperate.

They had so much to say to each other. The words crushing out in a jumbled mess, and they could have talked for hours.

Stephanie choked on her words, explaining why she had left Fiorenza three years ago, her voice trembling with emotion.

In the three years she'd spent in Long Harbor, she hadn't cried-not even when the Hart family mistreated her.

But when it cto everything that had happened in Fiorenza, the tears flowed uncontrollably. The Giovanni family had always been her rock, her foundation.

And Sebastian had been her anchor...

Back then, she lost them all in one night. It felt like a nightmare she couldn't bring herself to relive over the past three years.

As people had said, she left when the Giovanni family was at its worst.

If she could've, she would've stayed by Sebastian's side.

At that time, however, Valentina Casalini had been in love with Sebastian.

When Sebastian's father passed away, everything in their family fell apart. Valentina, along with her brother Richard, had kidnapped Sebastian and Stephanie's mother.

They held her hostage, forcing Stephanie to leave the Giovanni family.

They threatened to kill her mother if Stephanie didn't comply. In that desperate moment, Stephanie had no choice but to agree.

Her only condition was that she would leave the Giovanni family and cut all ties with Sebastian.

Three years ago, the Casalini family had been at the peak of their power in Fiorenza.

With her father's sudden death, Sebastian's foundation had been shaken, and he was powerless against the Casalini family at that time.

1/3 09:25 Mon, 3 Mar Chapter 27 W Sebastian and Richard had always been at odds, but Valentina's affection for Sebastian had kept Richard from interfering with the Giovanni family's operations.

Stephanie didn't want to put him in more danger.

She believed that by leaving, she could give the Giovanni family a moment of peace, so she was willing to sacrifice herself for that brief respite.

As Sebastian listened, his expression grew colder and colder. "They threatened you, and you just caved?" Stephanie bit her lip, her voice trembling. "I had no choice. They threatened to kill Mom." Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "And you really cut ties with us?" Stephanie's words tumbled out quickly. "I didn't mean to!" As she spoke, a wave of pain swept over her.

For the past few years, even looking up news about Sebastian online had been a cautious act for her.

The first year after she left the Giovanni family, Valentina had continued to threaten her.

That was the main reason she returned to the Hart family and even got engaged to Chris.

Though, from the public's perspective, Sebastian had risen fast, gaining control of Fiorenza's entire underground business over the last three years, she was still scared-still terrified the Casalini family could pose a threat to him.

Seeing that she had laid everything bare and Sebastian was still being harsh, Stephanie felt even more aggrieved.

She looked at him, her eyes red and filled with tears.

"What about Valentina?" Stephanie asked, her voice shaking.

She hated that woman so much. She wished she could just erase her from existence.

Sebastian's response was cold. "She's crippled. In prison." Stephanie didn't seem surprised by this answer. "In prison? You put her in prison?"

Sebastian shot her a frosty look. His gaze was familiar but ngwedged with unmistakable anger.

Stephanie tugged at his shirt, silently m looking up at him with @pitiful e expression.

Sebastian, visibly irritated, snapped, "Stop acting like a helpless kitten When someone bullies you, don't pity yourself! Remember what I taught you all those years?" This time, Stephanie didn't back down. She met his gaze directly. “You taughteverything, except how to be heartless." If she had been heartless, maybe she wouldn't have gotten hurt by anyone-just like the people in the Hart family couldn't hurt her because she didn't care.

But the Giovanni family wasn't the same. She couldn't just shut her heart off from them.

Her mother loved her so deeply, and ever since she was little, she knew she had been taken in by Sebastian.

Her mother had always treated her like her own, raising her like a princess with such tenderness.

2/3 Mon, 3 Mar Chapter 27 Sebastian snorted coldly.

Unable to keep her impatience in check any longer, Stephanie asked again, “How is Mom, really?" Finally, Sebastian cracked. "She's doing fine. Every day, she goes to church to pray for you. And every tthe bea comes, she worries whether you might freeze to death out there," Stephanie let out a small laugh at her mother's worry Freeze to death in the snow? So, in her mother's eyes, she was still that fragile.

But it was true-her mother had always treated her like a delicate flower Hearing that her mother had been praying for her for three years made Stephanie feel deeply moved.

She looked at Sebastian with wide eyes and asked, "Seriously? She's worried I'll freeze to death? Sebastian flicked her on the head.

Stephanie winced and quickly covered her head, not daring to make a sound, Sebastian's tone softened a little as he said seriously, “What happened three years ago really worried her. But what about you? How cI haven't seen anyone from the Hart family? And Chris Hart?" mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1