Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 75: Or... Should We Both Try?

The rain in Riveria drizzled on and on for a whole day and night.

When Stella Sterling returned to the law firm, the cuffs of her sleeves were still damp with moisture.

She had just taken off her coat when Finn Lockwood came rushing over with a manila envelope in his hand.

"Boss! Something’s wrong!"

Stella frowned, taking the envelope.

It was very thin, with only one piece of paper inside.

—It was a court summons.

Plaintiff: Grace Quinn.

Cause: Defamation dispute.

Stella held the paper, feeling a fire erupt in her chest, her anger turning into a smile, "She’s suing me?"

Finn was so angry his face turned red, "Can you believe it? She has the nerve to sue?! We haven’t even pursued her for what she did, and now she’s accusing you of damaging her reputation!"

Stella’s lips slowly curved into a cold arc.

Well.

Just great.

She hadn’t sought her out for retribution, and here she was, delivering herself on a platter.

The waiter recanted, William Miller and Alden the Fourth pushed everything onto that woman named Mary Matthews to take the blame, and the evidence chain was broken cleanly. She was already stewing with no outlet for her anger.

Did Grace Quinn think Stella Sterling was an easy target to be manipulated at will?

"Boss, what do we do now?" Finn was worried, "This case isn’t hard to fight, but it’s disgusting! A court trial, no matter win or lose, there will be people making a big deal out of it..."

Stella chuckled lightly, but her eyes were ice cold.

Did Grace and her mother really think that relying on Philip Donovan’s connections they could control Riveria?

Did they really think that finding a scapegoat would let them sleep easy?

"Bring out all the information we’ve gathered before about Grace Quinn, Audrey Quinn, and Philip Donovan."

Her voice was calm, "Including but not limited to bank transactions, communication records, social networks... everything."

Finn was instantly invigorated, "Boss, are you going to..."

Stella picked up the light summons and leisurely tore it in half, then again into quarters.

The torn pieces fluttered down like a small snowfall.

"Isn’t she suing me?" Stella looked up, "Then I’ll let her know the consequences of stirring the fire."

Not being able to find direct evidence to nail her had been frustrating enough.

Now she herself delivered her face over.

If I don’t hit back, it’d be letting down her ’sincerity’.

Stella’s action was astonishing.

Couple that with the fact she had already been preparing the related evidence chain, by that afternoon, Finn had spread all the materials on the table, his face brimming with excitement, "Boss, I followed the clue you mentioned before and actually found something!"

Stella looked up from the case files.

"I cross-referenced Audrey Quinn’s itinerary and spending records for the past six months! I found that she appeared many times at the same hotel where Philip Donovan stayed! Although the rooms weren’t the same... you know!"

Affair.

Stella’s fingertips tapped lightly on the table.

"Anything else?"

"Yes!" Finn lowered his voice, "I entrusted a friend in the private detective circle and he took a set of rather explosive photos."

He pushed a sealed envelope toward Stella.

Stella opened it, revealing several high-resolution photos—a scene of Audrey Quinn and Philip Donovan embracing and kissing in a hotel parking garage.

The time was just half a month ago.

The photos were taken from tricky angles, but their faces were clearly recognizable.

Stella looked at the photos, showing no emotional ripple in her eyes.

She wasn’t surprised.

For Audrey Quinn to have "been in a coma" for five years without any incident, and to maintain a privileged lifestyle after waking up, someone backing her was no shock.

Just didn’t expect that person to be Shane Donovan’s uncle, Philip Donovan.

"Boss, if these photos get out, they’re done for!" Finn was eager.

Stella, however, stuffed the photos back into the envelope, shaking her head.

"Not enough."

She needed more direct, more lethal evidence.

To make sure Grace Quinn could never recover.

Only, she also knew this would be difficult.

The opponent had done a very clean job.

Stella leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes, quickly running through all the clues in her mind.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes.

"I’m going to counter-sue Grace Quinn in my own name." Stella’s lips curled slightly, "Suing her for false accusation and claim mental distress compensation of one dollar."

Finn blinked confusedly—One dollar?

"Boss... what, what does that mean?"

Stella turned back, the sunlight outlined her side profile with crisp and harsh lines.

"Just do as I said."

Finn instinctively wanted to speak, but before he could open his mouth, Stella’s phone suddenly vibrated.

Stella glanced down—Shane Donovan.

She stared at the name for a few seconds, her finger hovering over the red reject button for a moment, and finally slid it to green.

"Hello."

The other end of the call was silent for a moment, then came Shane Donovan’s low, deep voice, carrying a hint of magnetic hoarseness through the electricity, scratching across the eardrum.

"Why so fiery?"

He seemed to chuckle slightly, very soft, his breath brushing over the receiver, "Who’s gotten our Counselor Sterling upset?"

Stella didn’t want to waste words with him, much less mention Grace Quinn’s mess.

"Get to the point."

Shane didn’t beat around the bush either, his tone unhurried as ever, "Let’s have dinner tonight. There’re some details about the engagement dinner to discuss with you."

The man’s voice was low and deep, "Do you prefer Chinese or Western? Or... shall we try both?"

The words were said with no ambiguity, but his voice carried a few hints of flirtation, instantly drawing Stella’s mind to unmentionable images, blood rushing "whoosh" to her head, "I’m not free! Not going!"

Shane’s voice showed no sign of annoyance, instead deepening with amusement, "I’ll pick you up at the firm at five."

Stella was exasperated, "I said I’m not going! Don’t you understand? I..."

But before she could finish, the dial tone "buzz buzz" had already come through the receiver.

He hung up.

He actually just hung up?!

Stella stared incredulously at her phone, the screen dimmed, her chest heaving intensely.

She angrily raised the phone, wanting to throw it, but restrained herself in mid-air, only managing to slam it hard onto the table with a thudding noise.

She turned to look out the window at the continuous drizzle, her mood darker than the gloomy weather in Riveria.

Shane Donovan!

She muttered his name in her heart, feeling an inexplicable irritation between her teeth.

...

Meanwhile, in the top-floor office of Innovatech Bio.

Shane Donovan had just hung up, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing the cool screen of his phone, a faint curve still lingering on his lips.

The little fox got riled up.

He could imagine her current sulky look, probably with those pretty eyes slightly widened, cheeks flushed, like a cat that’s had its tail stepped on.

A bit cute.

He raised his hand, his thumb gently pressing his brow to suppress a subtle itch in his heart.

It was at this moment that he heard a commotion outside.

The door of his office, excellently soundproofed, still conveyed the sound of hurried footsteps.

Shane’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

In the next second, the heavy office door was pushed open forcefully from outside, without even a knock.

Several men in dark uniforms quickly walked in.

The leader presented an ID, "Mr. Shane Donovan, we’re from the Drug Administration."

The steel seal on the ID reflected cold light under the ceiling lamp.

"We received a real-name report that Innovatech Bio is suspected of falsifying data in the clinical trial of the new anti-cancer drug, Healorin."

Their eyes were sharp, tightly locking onto Shane Donovan.

"Please come with us immediately to assist in the investigation."