In her past life, her familial ties with the Sterling Family had already been severed. All her affection for them had been worn away by their actions, bit by bit, until nothing was left. Now, she felt no lingering attachment to them.
In fact, during the last few years of her previous life, she hadn't seen the Sterling family at all. The apocalypse grew harder the longer it went on, and countless people fell along the way. She had no idea if the other members of the Sterling family were dead or alive.
To her current self, the Sterling Family were relatives she had only recently been reunited with. They hadn't spent much time together, and they clearly favored their adopted daughter. The emotional bond was shallow. But to the self from her past life, the Sterling family were her enemies.
There was no need to be polite with them.
The only reason Stella Sterling was still entangled with the Sterling Family was to get some money out of them.
As expected, the disconnected call immediately came through again. She let it ring a few times before answering. This time, Mrs. Sterling got straight to the point. "Fine, if you don't want to do that job, then don't. It's the family company anyway. I'll have your father find you a different position next time. You haven't been home in a while, have you? Come back today. We can all have dinner together as a family!"
"Alright, I'll come back for dinner tonight!" Stella Sterling agreed crisply. "Is there anything else? If not, I'm hanging up!"
She hung up before Mrs. Sterling could reply. Glancing at the time, she saw it was about right, so she got her things together and drove her small, beat-up truck out the door.
「The Sterling Residence」
Staring at the phone that had been hung up on her again, Mrs. Sterling was so angry she was speechless for a long moment. 'That girl is simply too much! I'm her elder, her mother, and she just hangs up on me like that! Just as I thought, not being raised by my side, her upbringing is severely lacking. She's nothing like Yara, who never causes me any worry.'
With this in mind, she turned to the person beside her and said, "Yara, your sister agreed. She'll be back for dinner later. You can say whatever you want to her then!"
Mrs. Sterling felt very gratified. 'Yara is still the sensible one,' she thought, 'telling me to call Stella back so the family can spend time together and build our relationship.'
'That girl Stella hasn't spent much time with us,' she mused, 'and I can't really manage her day-to-day. When she comes back this time, I need to have a good talk with her.'
Yara Sterling didn't hear her. Her brow was deeply furrowed. 'What's going on? From the sounds of that call, there's nothing wrong with Stella Sterling. But in the photos from yesterday, she was clearly beaten so badly. Even if she was lucky enough to survive, she should be in a hospital right now.'
'Did that bald thug lie to me?'
"Yara? Yara, what's wrong?"
Yara Sterling looked over and saw Mrs. Sterling watching her with a worried expression. She smiled, stepped forward, and took Mrs. Sterling's arm. "Mom, I was just thinking. When my sister gets back, I want to apologize to her for what happened last time. She wouldn't have left the Sterling Family if it wasn't for me!"
'Right now, everything is just speculation,' she thought. 'In any case, Stella Sterling will be here soon. I'll have to test her carefully then.'
'I just hope the person who took the phone wasn't Stella Sterling. Otherwise, I—'
As Yara Sterling dealt with Mrs. Sterling, the worry in her heart did not lessen in the slightest.
Stella Sterling arrived at the warehouse she was renting and glanced at the time.
The timing was perfect. Not long after, several trucks pulled up in front of the warehouse. The rice shop owner had personally brought the delivery.
He hopped down from the truck and walked toward Stella Sterling with a broad smile. "Miss Sterling, the goods have all been delivered! You can check the count."
"Thank you for your hard work. Besides the rice I asked you to prepare for me before, Mr. Cheney, I have another business proposal for you. I wonder if you'd be interested."