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Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Finn Still Has a Way with Words

Lynn Winslow glanced at her phone. It was a message from Esther Abbott—the first one she’d received since they became contacts.

Curled up on the sofa, Lynn Winslow read Esther Abbott’s message and raised an eyebrow.

”I’m guessing you’ll be at The Lumina Gala.”

Lynn wasn’t surprised that she’d guessed. She tapped the screen a few times and replied, ”How did you know?”

Esther Abbott replied instantly: ”Because Mia Rhodes will be there. I figured you wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like this.”

”It’s mostly attended by people from the entertainment industry. The usual crowd of heirs and heiresses looks down on it, so the ones who go are all pretty much fringe characters. Perfect for settling a small score.”

Lynn Winslow covered her mouth and giggled for a moment before replying, ”I think so too.”

Esther Abbott replied, ”See you at the gala, then.”

Lynn Winslow swung her legs, her eyes crinkling in a smile. Her moods could change in the blink of an eye.

News that the Wyatt family’s profligate son had been beaten half to death on Jasper Jennings’s turf spread like wildfire through Quartos. Mrs. Wyatt had been at her son’s bedside in the hospital for three days, crying until her eyes were swollen, before Mr. Wyatt finally woke up.

He’d forgotten that Ian Sterling had beaten him afterward, remembering only the woman from before and her bodyguard.

Shawn Wyatt struggled to move his tightly bandaged hand. He grabbed his mother’s hand and seethed through gritted teeth, ”Mom, I’m going to make that bitch pay.”

Mrs. Wyatt wiped away her tears and looked at her husband, the Head of the Wyatt Family, Frank Wyatt, who stood silently to the side with a grim expression. ”Honey,” she choked out, ”our son was beaten like this on the Jennings family’s turf. The bar won’t give us the security footage, and we can’t find the bitch who did it. Are we supposed to just take this? Shouldn’t we demand justice from the Jennings family?”

Frank Wyatt clenched his fists. After one last look at his immobilized son, he stormed out of the hospital room in a rage and headed straight for the Jennings family estate.

As it happened, Ian Sterling was at the Jennings’ home at that very moment, hiding from his older brother, who seemed to get more long-winded with each passing year.

The spring weather was perfect. The grounds of the Jennings estate, immaculately kept by the head gardener, were beautiful. The three of them sitting in the pavilion drinking tea was a pleasant scene indeed.

”Finn, your older brother just got back. Why aren’t you home keeping him company?” Mrs. Jennings said with a warm smile, sitting across from Ian Sterling.

Ian Sterling sighed with feigned distress. ”My brother was back for half a day, and he spent the entire time scolding me. I couldn’t take it anymore. Auntie, you don’t find me a bother, do you?”

His antics made Mrs. Jennings laugh. ”Of course not! You’re my favorite.” Her tone then shifted as she looked at Jasper Jennings with disdain. ”What are you spacing out for? Pour some tea for me and Finn.”

Jasper Jennings rolled his eyes but stood up to pour their tea. ”Enjoy,” he said sarcastically.

Ian Sterling actually lifted his cup and took a sip, saying with mock seriousness, ”Thanks, Jennings. Tea poured by you just tastes better than anyone else’s.”

Jasper Jennings laughed in exasperation. To make matters worse, his own mother was stifling a giggle, as if seeing her son get roasted was the funniest thing in the world.

When the butler approached, Mrs. Jennings was gently rubbing her cheeks, which ached from laughing so hard at Ian Sterling and Jasper Jennings’s banter. The butler glanced at her first, then turned to Jasper Jennings and said respectfully, ”Sir, the Head of the Wyatt Family is here.”

Jasper Jennings’s lips curled into a smirk. He glanced at Ian Sterling, who was acting as if he hadn’t heard a thing. ”Let him wait,” he told the butler. ”Just make sure he’s well-attended to.”

But Mrs. Jennings was more than just a high-society wife. She was well aware that Mr. Wyatt from the Wyatt family had landed in the hospital after being beaten by a beautiful patron’s bodyguard at Jasper Jennings’s club for trying to force himself on her. She snorted. ”That Wyatt boy is an animal. He’s lucky they didn’t kill him. If it were up to me, I’d make sure he never left his hospital bed for the rest of his life.”

”Mom, you’re so ruthless,” Jasper Jennings said with a helpless sigh.

At this, Mrs. Jennings placed a perfectly manicured hand to her lips, her pigeon’s-egg-sized diamond ring glittering in the sunlight that streamed into the pavilion. Her eyes widened in mock surprise. ”Really? Am I?”

”Yes,” Jasper Jennings said, drawing out the word.

But Ian Sterling chimed in, smoothly placating her, ”Not at all. Auntie, you’re just genuine, like my mother.”

Ian Sterling and Jasper Jennings were close not only because they had grown up together, but also because their mothers were kindred spirits who spent all their time together gossiping and shopping.

His words made Mrs. Jennings beam. ”Finn really knows the right thing to say,” she praised, before shooting Jasper Jennings a look of growing disdain. ”Unlike Jasper, who’s had a smart mouth since he was a kid.”

”???” Jasper Jennings was utterly bewildered. ’Is Mom sure she hasn’t got us mixed up?’ he wanted to ask. ’Ian’s clearly the one with the smart mouth, not me!’

Watching his mother flash a doting smile, completely won over by Ian Sterling, Jasper Jennings seriously considered sewing Ian’s mouth shut.

After a while, Jasper Jennings stood up. ”Mom, Finn and I will go see him. You should stay here, so you don’t get even more upset.”

Mrs. Jennings had no desire to see Frank Wyatt’s face anyway, so she waved them off with graceful finality.

As the two of them left the pavilion and walked along the garden path, Jasper Jennings said, ”You should stop coming to my house so much.”

Ian Sterling lazily raised his eyes to glance at Jasper Jennings. ”Why?” he asked nonchalantly.

”Look at how you’ve got my mom wrapped around your little finger. Before long, she’ll disown me.”

Hearing this, Ian Sterling recalled something. ”There’s one thing you probably don’t know,” he said calmly.

Jasper Jennings frowned, trying to remember, but couldn’t think of anything.

”Auntie wanted to make me her godson once. If my mom hadn’t objected, she might have actually gone through with disowning you.”

Jasper Jennings reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling. He immediately hit Ian Sterling where it hurt. ”Oh yeah? Have you settled things with Lynn Winslow yet?”

The good mood Ian Sterling felt from getting a rise out of Jasper Jennings instantly evaporated. He pressed his lips together, no longer in the mood to talk to him.

Frank Wyatt had been waiting in the living room for a long time, long enough for his tea to be refilled several times, before the two finally appeared. He stood up and, however displeased he felt, forced a smile. ”Mr. Jennings, Mr. Sterling.”

Ian Sterling had no intention of playing games with him. He sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and immediately focused on his phone. Jasper Jennings, however, smiled. ”Mr. Wyatt, no need for such formalities. Please, have a seat.”

How could Frank Wyatt dare to be anything but polite? Leaving the Sterling Family aside, the Jennings family alone was far more than he could afford to offend.

”Mr. Jennings, I’m here about my worthless son. I’d like to trouble you to have your bar provide the security footage so we can find the bitch who put him in the hospital.”

Ian Sterling looked up at him. His eyes, like dark, bottomless pools, were so chilling that Frank Wyatt felt the very air around him grow cold.

Jasper Jennings pretended not to notice the change in the man beside him and kept smiling. ”Mr. Wyatt, you must know that Shawn started it. Now, if I give you the footage and you go looking to settle the score, what do you think will happen to my bar’s reputation when word gets out?”