Once in the car, Stella Lockwood called the family elder, saying something had come up and she was heading back—her birthday duties were done, and she had no desire to stay and put on an act for a bunch of strangers. It was utterly pointless.
When the elder took the call, he felt a pang of regret. Though the girl had been reunited with her family, she no longer cherished them as she had in her childhood. To her, everything that had happened at the banquet was just a formality.
Although he wanted to ask her to stay for a few more days, he knew you couldn't force these things. In the end, he simply urged her to visit often and then hung up.
Meanwhile, as Stella Lockwood hung up the phone, the car was approaching the side gate of The Riverbend Villas District. A sudden thought struck her, and she immediately turned to the man beside her. "You came with Reaper Yates, didn't you? Where is he?"
