Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 32: Stella Sterling Returns to Kenton!

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Stella Sterling Returns to Kenton!

Looking at Stella’s embarrassed appearance as if she wished to curl up into a ball, a faint smile flickered across Shane Donovan’s eyes, and then vanished into the depths of his gaze.

He understood the importance of knowing when to stop; pressing too hard would only scare this little girl away.

"Alright, I won’t tease you anymore." His voice returned to its usual calm and steady tone as he straightened up, casually increasing the distance between them, which had become too ambiguous.

An invisible pressure dissipated, and Stella secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Yet, her heart inside her chest still beat uncontrollably, as if trying to break free.

At this moment, Shane leaned over and took a slightly heavy kraft paper file bag from his briefcase beside him, silently placing it in front of her.

"Take a look at this." His voice lowered, "I think you might be interested."

Stella was startled for a moment, taking the file bag with a puzzled expression.

It felt substantial in her hand, as if it contained a lot of things.

She looked up at Shane with confusion, and he simply gestured with his eyes for her to open it.

Full of questions, Stella untied the cord of the file bag and pulled out a pile of documents and some photos from inside.

On top were several enlarged color photographs.

When she saw the people in the photos clearly, Stella’s pupils shrank suddenly, and her breath halted for a moment!

The woman in the photo was wearing an expensive custom suit, carrying a limited edition handbag, stepping out of a luxury car with the backdrop of an exclusive private members-only health resort entrance.

Even though she was wearing large sunglasses that covered most of her face, Stella recognized her at a glance—

It was Audrey Quinn!

The Auntie Quinn who became a vegetative state while saving Jasper Hawthorne and lay in the ICU for five whole years!

Wasn’t she supposed to be at a rehabilitation center in Kenton?

How could she appear at such a high-end club?

And with that complexion in the photo, did she look like someone who has been in a coma for five years?!

Stella’s fingers trembled slightly with shock as she quickly started flipping through them.

There were several more photos from different angles and taken at different times...

Some showed Audrey Quinn having a spa treatment, dining at a high-end restaurant, and even playing mahjong with women who seemed like wealthy wives...

The timestamps on the photos were clearly marked—they were taken just a month ago!

Jasper Hawthorne invested a huge amount annually in medical expenses, and because of this sense of gratitude and responsibility, he tolerated Grace Quinn in many ways...

If Audrey Quinn had woken up long ago, or maybe she hadn’t been in a coma for so long at all...

Stella felt a chill rush from her feet to the top of her head, as if her blood were ready to freeze.

Such a huge influx of information hit her brain like a tsunami, making her dizzy for a moment.

She suddenly lifted her head and looked at Shane Donovan, "Are these photos real? How... how do you have these?"

Shane met her incredulous gaze, his expression calm but his eyes fathomless: "The photos are real, the source is reliable. As for everything else, you need to verify it yourself."

Stella’s expression darkened—if all this was fake...

What do these past five years mean?

Being a fool kept in the dark, manipulated by lies?

And Grace Quinn...

What role did she play in this?

She took a deep breath, her eyes flashing coldly—looks like she needed to settle this score!

...

Hours later, the plane landed steadily on the runway at Kenton International Airport.

After parting ways with Shane Donovan’s group, Stella took a taxi alone, heading straight to the hotel she had booked in advance.

"Hello, Miss Sterling, your room is ready. Here’s your key card, the room is on the 28th floor. Enjoy your stay." The receptionist handed over the key card with a sweet professional smile.

"Thank you." Stella had just received the key card when she turned around and unexpectedly collided with a pair of deep eyes that resembled the night.

"President Donovan?" She was stunned for a moment, taken aback, "What are you doing here..."

At that moment, Elias Peyton naturally stepped forward and took another key card from the receptionist.

Stella glimpsed the "Presidential Suite" marked on the card surface, blinking in bewilderment—was the world really that coincidental? They had actually chosen the same hotel?

"Counselor Peyton booked in advance." Shane’s expression remained unchanged, his tone calm, without any trace of deliberation, "Didn’t expect it to be such a coincidence."

"..."

This coincidence seemed overly deliberate.

Stella was filled with doubts, but it was difficult to ask more.

"Let’s go up together," Shane suggested.

Stella nodded reluctantly, dragging her suitcase and following him, maintaining just the right distance.

And as they walked side by side towards the elevator.

A middle-aged man happened to walk in through the hotel door, and he saw Stella waiting for the elevator.

"Miss..."

But before he could call out, the elevator doors opened with a ’ding’, and Stella, Shane, and the others entered the elevator.

"Isn’t that Counselor Sterling? How come..."

As he was lost in thought, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, and he instinctively glanced at the caller ID—Jude Kensington.

"Hello, Attorney Kensington..."

After a brief chat, just as Jude Kensington was about to hang up, the man suddenly remembered something, "By the way, Attorney Kensington, I think I just saw Counselor Sterling..."

"Who did you say? Stella?" Jude’s voice rose to an octave, "Where did you see her?"

"Blue Ocean Five-Star Hotel..."

"Kenton?"

"Yes!"

Jude was so surprised he couldn’t close his mouth—what was going on?

Stella returned to Kenton?

"Really? You can’t be lying!" Jude was still somewhat skeptical.

"Absolutely true! Would I lie to you?"

Jude on the other end of the phone was extremely excited—he knew Stella would find a way to make herself feel better!

"Fantastic! Fantastic! Old Rhodes, thanks so much for this! I’ll definitely treat you to dinner someday!"

He had to quickly inform Old Hawthorne of this good news!

The man opened his mouth to add that Stella seemed to have checked into the hotel with a man, but Jude had already hung up eagerly, leaving only a busy signal.

Meanwhile, Jude hung up the phone and immediately called Jasper Hawthorne.

"Old Hawthorne, I’ve got good news! Really big news!"

Jasper raised his eyebrows, his voice calm and without fluctuation, "What’s the matter?"

"Stella is back in Kenton!"

"What?"

"Hahaha, I told you! There’s no way Stella could really bear to leave you! Look, she’s come back on her own."

"She’s obviously reconsidered, I’m telling you—tomorrow, she’ll definitely come to the law firm! You absolutely have to have a good talk with her, this time make sure she’s truly convinced..."