Iâm Steveâs guardian, Mr. Martin. You have no right to decide on my behalf!â I stood protectively before Steven and looked at the bodyguards warlly.
âWho the hell do you think you are? Are you even worthy of speaking to Mr. Martin? Heâs the one calling. the shots now!â Someone stepped forward to speak up on Martinâs behalf.
It was within my expectations. Steven had cut off their benefits, which had pissed everyone Steven looked sharply at the person whoâd spoken. It was as if he were looking at a corpse.
off.
âIf you want blood to be shed, you can go ahead and try me.â I remained before Steven. I wasnât going anywhere.
Martin didnât care about my survival, of course. He was only here to aggravate Steven and see whether Steven was really insane. They were both trying to get a feeling of each otherâs bottom lines, and I was a hurdle in Martinâs way.
Martin mustâve already looked into Stephanyâs background, though. I was the daughter of the Larson family, and Iâd just severed ties with Charles. Charles mustâve already proven his loyalty to Martin, so Martin was sure I wasnât capable of anything.
And in truth, I wasnât. Not now, anyway. I could only bet on Ewan and hope heâd be able to fight back. This time, however, he merely stood to one side, looking calm. He didnât show any sign of wanting to interfere.
Didnât the Lincoln family have their own bodyguards? I couldnât allow anyone to take Steven away.
âMr. Martin, the people from the asylum are here,â one of Martinâs bodyguards said.
Ewan gave Steven a meaningful look, but the latter remained silent and unmoving.
âI wonât let you take him away, Mr. Martin.â I clenched my fists. I didnât know how I could help Steven.
âDonât be scared. Iâll go with them,â Steven said in a small voice behind me..
I was taken aback. Then, I turned to look at him. âNo way!â
I didnât want him to return to the asylum anymore.
âIâll be fine.â He knew Martin was just testing him.
âYou canât go thereâ¦â I said shakily. I didnât know why I was so afraid of him being taken to the asylum. Was I traumatized by Michael forcing me to watch videos of Steven when Iâd been in the asylum?
âDonât be scared, Stephie.â Steven shook his head at me.
I grabbed his wrist and tugged it. He said softly, âDonât be scared. Iâll be right back.â
He didnât wait for the people to catch him. He headed out himself. I refused to let him go; I didnât want him to go to the asylum.
These people had to be on Martinâs side. They wouldnât let Steven have an easy time in there.
Youâre pregnant, Mrs. Lincoln. You have to stay calm. Ewan stopped me and shook his head at me.
I didnât know whether they had some sort of plan. Then, I heard Steven say to Ewan before getting into the car, âSpeed things up and destroy the Lincoln Group.â
I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. Had I heard him say he wanted to destroy the Lincoln Group? Was he going to destroy it if he couldnât have it? Was that his plan?
âYou must be tired, Mrs. Lincoln. Iâll take you home,â Ewan said.
I could only stand by and watched as Steven was taken away in the car from the asylum. A wave of helplessness washed over me. I asked Ewan softly, âIs Steve really a psycho?â
âWhen someone wants you to be insane and you have no power to fight against them, you donât have a choice.â Ewan stared at the car as it left. âBut all butterflies will eventually break out of their cocoon. Donât you agree?â
I took a deep breath and clenched my fists.
âThe shares are still in Mr. Lincolnâs hands. Once he dies, theyâll go to Steven. Now that Stevenâs in the asylum, youâll stand a chance, Mr. Martinâ¦â
âYeah, exactly. Now that youâre the one calling the shots, you have to help us, Mr. Martin.â
The people in the house were still excitedly discussing the Lincoln family fortune and Ignatiusâ
inheritance. But theyâd forgotten one thingâIgnatius was only paralyzed, not dead.
My guess was that Martinâs next move would be to get rid of him and me, now that Steven was out of the picture.
âIs Mr. Lincoln Senior safe here?â I asked Ewan.
After a pause, he said, âNot everyone is as kind as Mr. Lincoln is.â