Chapter 300 In the Photo, Xavier is Holding Someone Else
Grace had no clue what Sterling was up to, but she was definitely heading over now.
She'd shot a bunch of texts to Xavier, but he was ghosting her. Probably swamped with something, and she didn't wanna bug him, so she kept the whole mess to herself.
Grace thought about hitting up Victor, but then she remembered the last time he tangled with Sterling and almost lost a hand. After thinking about it, she decided not to call Victor.
Sterling had a rep, and everyone had heard the stories. Grace knew he wasn't the type to go on a killing spree just 'cause he was loaded.
She had no idea what Angela did to piss off Sterling, but it was clear he had it out for her.
Grace drove to the address Sterling sent.
It was a swanky, high-end bar, packed with folks living it up after work.
Grace walked in and asked for the private room. Sterling must've given them a heads-up, 'cause the bartender led her straight there. "Ms. Lewis, right this way."
The private room was tucked away, totally cut off from the outside noise.
The waiter knocked first, got the okay, and then opened the door. "Mr. Wallace, your guest is here."
Sterling waved him off, and the waiter split.
Grace walked in and saw Angela.
Angela was being held by two goons. When she saw Grace, she freaked. "Grace, why'd you come here?!"
Grace ignored Sterling and rushed to Angela. "You okay, Angela?"
Angela shook her head. "He hasn't done anything to me."
"Ms. Lewis, your friendship is truly touching." Sterling clapped, his face full of smugness.
"Mr. Wallace, I don't know what my friend did to tick you off, but can you cut her some slack?" Grace locked eyes with Sterling, knowing he was bad news.
"It's not about offense. Why don't you let your friend spill the beans?" Sterling swirled his wine, the light making his face look even sharper.
"It was you guys who started it." Angela shot back, looking defiant.
Someone had invited her for a drink, and being polite, Angela went along. But then two creeps started harassing her. Angela wasn't the type to let that slide.
At first, she just told them off, but they kept pushing. So, Angela smashed a bottle over one of their heads.
Then the thugs dragged her here. This guy seemed to be their boss.
Angela had no clue how he knew Grace. She didn't want Grace involved, so when he told her to call Grace, Angela refused and stayed quiet.
But this guy was a total jerk and called Grace anyway.
"Grace, you should leave. This is a law-abiding place; they won't do anything to me." Angela didn't want Grace caught up in this and wanted her to bail.
She didn't think these guys would actually kill her.
Grace figured those two thugs were sent to mess with Angela on purpose. This was Sterling's way of forcing Grace to show up.
Grace thought, 'Didn't he pull this same crap on Victor last time?'
Grace smirked. "Is this your only move, Mr. Wallace? Let my friend go, and we can talk."
Sterling, all calm and collected, said, "Ms. Lewis, your loyalty is impressive. But my guy did get hurt by your friend. How do you wanna settle this?"
"We'll cover the medical bills and apologize," Grace shot back, not letting Sterling set the terms.
Sterling chuckled, "Do you think I need medical bills covered? And apologies? They don't mean a thing."
Grace asked, "So what do you want, Mr. Wallace?"
"It's simple. Our rules say payback is tenfold. Your friend takes one stab, and we're square. Given my bond with you, I'll let you do it, so you can go easy. If my guy does it, who knows what'll happen."
Sterling said it like it was no big deal, like stabbing someone was just another Tuesday.
Grace knew Sterling didn't drag her here just to stab Angela. He had another angle.
"Mr. Wallace, cut the crap. What do you really want?" Grace wasn't in the mood for games.
Sterling said, "Ms. Lewis, straight to the point. I can let your friend go, but I have conditions."
Grace said, "Spit it out, Mr. Wallace."
Sterling said, "You're tight with Xavier, right? He recently snagged a project from me. If you quietly hand over the core details, I'll forget this ever happened. Deal?"
Grace sneered, "I thought you had some integrity, Mr. Wallace. Isn't business supposed to be fair? What you're doing is shady as hell."
Sterling sneered back, "Integrity? Do you think Xavier's a saint? How much of his stuff is clean?"
"At least he's got more honor than you!" Grace had faith in Xavier. He wouldn't stoop to these levels.
Sterling's smile froze. "So what? Can honor feed you? Can it keep you alive?"
Sterling grew up in a world of darkness, schemes, and plots. A simple character wouldn't last in the Wallace family.
Xavier wasn't a saint either. To get where he was, how many schemes had he pulled? How could he be with someone as naive as Grace?
Grace furrowed her brows. 'Why's his tone suddenly changed?'
Sterling asked, "Xavier went back to Oakworth, right? Do you know why?"
Grace pressed her lips tight. She had no clue why Xavier went back.
Then Sterling said, "I have a photo here you might wanna see."
He picked up his phone and showed her a photo.
The photo was taken from behind, and Grace instantly recognized Xavier. But in the photo, Xavier was holding another woman, Stephanie.
Sterling said, "This was just taken. Bet he didn't tell you, huh? He went back to Oakworth for Stephanie. They're the perfect couple. Don't get too attached. You and Xavier? Never gonna happen."
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