Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 170: The Sterling Group Is in Trouble!

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: The Sterling Group Is in Trouble!

Stella Sterling walked over with a water cup, "What’s going on?"

Finn pointed irritably at the young man, "Boss, look at him, he knows nothing, not even a resume, it’s obvious he’s just here to cause trouble!"

Only then did Stella look at the young man. He seemed no older than seventeen or eighteen, his frame slim yet upright. Despite the dust covering his face, his handsome features were undeniable, particularly his eyes, full of wariness and hostility, like a little beast that had been abandoned, forced to raise its spikes in self-defense.

"How old are you?"

The young man looked up at her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before reluctantly squeezing out two words from his throat: "...Eighteen."

"Are you... without a place to stay?" Stella surveyed his travel-worn appearance, probing.

The young man’s face remained tense, his jawline tightening. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded.

Finn frowned from the side, leaning close to whisper in Stella’s ear, "Boss, this is a law office, not a charity..."

Stella raised a hand to stop him from continuing. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She pondered briefly, then asked, "Can you drive? Do you have a license?"

The young man nodded again, this time a little quicker.

Stella smiled, "I just happen to need a driver, someone to help with picking up and dropping off clients occasionally. Meals and accommodation are included, and the monthly salary... will start at the market rate, five thousand a month. Is that okay?"

The young man paused for a moment, then nodded again, more vigorously this time.

"Alright, let’s settle on that then," Stella said to Finn. "Take him to handle the simple onboarding procedures, arrange a place for him to stay, and take him to buy some decent clothes."

Though Finn was utterly unwilling, since Stella had spoken, he couldn’t say anything more. He resignedly agreed, then said to the young man with irritation, "Come with me!"

As the two left, Stella shook her head in amusement. Just as she was about to turn back to her office, she heard the phone on the desk vibrating crazily.

She hurriedly picked up the phone, only to find it was her father Theodore Sterling’s secretary calling, with over a dozen missed calls.

Stella’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly swiped to answer.

"Miss Sterling, something’s wrong!" The secretary’s voice was panicked, "The Sterling Group is in trouble! The stock... it’s collapsed! And I can’t reach Director Sterling..."

Stella felt a buzzing in her ears, her blood rushing to her head before freezing abruptly.

"What did you say? Speak slowly, what’s going on?!"

"It’s the Esterlyn project we won the bid for a few days ago... it’s a scam! The overseas financier has run off with the funds! The project funding chain is completely broken, and there’s an issue with illegal guarantees... The banks are withdrawing loans, the suppliers are besieging the headquarters... The stock price... it’s already hit the limit down!"

Stella’s fingers holding the phone went ice-cold, trembling uncontrollably.

The Esterlyn project... a scam?

Run off with the funds?

How is that possible?!

Father was just... yesterday...

She suddenly remembered her father appearing high-spirited during a television interview last night...

A chill shot up from her feet, spreading through her entire body.

She quickly opened her computer, typing in The Sterling Group’s name, and financial news pushed in like snowflakes, each title more shocking than the last—

[The Sterling Group Deeply Entangled in Billion-Dollar Scam, Esterlyn Project May Become a Derelict!]

[Earth-Shattering Scandal! The Sterling Group Suspected of Financial Fraud, Overseas Financier Vanishes!]

[Banks Withdraw Loans, Suppliers Besiege, the Sterling Empire Topples Overnight?]

The pictures showed a dark crowd under The Sterling Group headquarters and flying leaflets, chaos reigning.

Stella’s heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, making it almost impossible to breathe.

She dialed her father Theodore Sterling’s number with trembling fingers.

"Beep... beep... beep..."

The long busy tone, again and again, felt like a blunt knife cutting through her chest.

No answer.

She tried again, still no answer.

A fear like never before surged in her heart.

Her father would never not answer her calls!

She suddenly turned, grabbed her car keys, and dashed outside, not even having the chance to relay anything to Finn.

The car shot out like an arrow, speeding crazily toward The Sterling Villa.

Along the way, she kept dialing her father’s number, even trying her brother Aidan Sterling’s number overseas...

No answer from any of them!

A growing sense of foreboding threatened to engulf her.

Finally, the car came to a screeching halt at The Sterling Villa gates.

She didn’t even bother to turn off the engine, pushing the car door open and rushing inside.

Inside the villa, it was just as chaotic.

The servants’ faces were filled with panic and whispers ceased the moment they saw her coming, their eyes evasive.

"Mom! Mom!" Stella called out, her voice trembling more than she realized.

Isla Sutton stumbled out from the living room, her face ashen, eyes red and swollen, clearly from crying.

She grabbed Stella’s hand, her fingers icy, the grip so tight it nearly bruised Stella’s flesh.

"Stella! Your father... I can’t reach him! The company... over there..."

Isla’s words were incoherent, her voice choked with sobs, "What do we do, Stella? How could this happen? Everything was fine yesterday..."

"Mom, don’t panic, don’t panic!"

Stella suppressed the tumultuous waves in her heart, gripping her mother’s cold hand tightly, trying to lend her some strength, "Dad may just be busy dealing with things, it’s normal if the phone can’t get through... Let’s calm down first..."

She comforted her mother verbally, but her own heart pounded like a drum.

She helped the almost-collapsing Isla Sutton sit on the sofa, taking a deep breath and speaking as steadily as she could, "Mom, sit here for a moment, I’ll call and ask about the situation."

She pulled out her phone, this time, without hesitation, she found the number pinned at the top—Shane Donovan.

In times like this, he was the only person she could think of, someone she could rely on and seek help from.

The call went out, and the "beep... beep..." sound echoed in the receiver.

Once, twice, thrice...

Stella’s heart rose with each sound.

However, just as she thought the call would be connected—

"Beep..."

The call was hung up!

Stella froze, staring incredulously at the phone screen.

The call-ending interface coldly reminded her of what had just happened.

Shane Donovan... hung up on her?

How is that possible?

He would never hang up on her, especially at a time like this!

Why?

Is he in a meeting?

Or... has he encountered some trouble?

No, that’s not right.

No matter how important the meeting, he wouldn’t directly hang up on her, at least he would send her a message...

Just as Stella’s mind was in chaos—

"Crash!"

A crisp sound of something shattering came from behind her!