Chapter 221

To Turn the Tables Given her clear purpose for meeting me, why couldn’t I turn the tables and gather some clues myself?

I nodded calmly. “Ms. Stella, your mind is truly impressive.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. After all, no one can break through his walls. No one at all,” she said. She looked at me with a malicious glint, suggesting that I was the “no one” she referred to After all, on his birthday night, Atlas exploded in rage. I believed Stella knew what had happened “Atlas knows what he wants. His father, Louis, built the empire” Stella’s tone was confident. I knew she had an influence on the Pierce family *So, the Pierce family has its own company?” I was intrigued. A conglomerate as large as ATL Empire couldn’t have sprung from nothing.

“Our grandfather ran the Pierce family’s company until he turned sixty Then Uncle Louis took over. Hel transformed it significantly within a few years.

She paused “Later, for some reason, Uncle handed the business to my mother and started the ATL Empire himself. Do you know why it’s called ATL Empire it’s quite a mouthful Stella looked at me, and I feigned a casual interest “Atlas, Tammy, Louis,” she said with a laugh. So, the name came from a combination of Atlas and his parents.

Stella continued, “Uncle Lours wanted his own domain, a world based on his small family. But who could’ve guessed he’d meet such an untimely end?”

I started to see Stella differently, seeing a sinister side beneath her refined exterior However, I focused on a key point–that Louis handed the company to Celine for some reason. There had to be an explanation for this “Mrs. Celine must’ve been impressive to take over the family business. Usually, such legacies go to sons,”

I remarked.

“Mom is strong–willed and doesn’t yield to men. Of course, she wasn’t satisfied with how things were with the family business. She had her own ideas!” Stella’s response lacked caution So, after Mr. Louis passed away, Mrs Celine took over ATL Empire?” I asked casually. “Didn’t she already have control of the original company?”

“Ah.. there were only two siblings in the Pierce family, so naturally she’d take over. She merged the family company with ATL Empire. Quite the force to be reckoned with!” Stella’s eyes gleamed with admiration.

I understood there must have been a calculated motive behind Celine’s forcefulness.

“What a pity that they met such a tragedy!” I sighed.

“Everyone has their fate,” Stella said calmly.

“What about your father?” I nudged her.

Stella seemed rather indifferent to her biological parents‘ deaths. She lowered her gaze and said, “It’s been too long. I was young, so it all feels a bit…distant.”

Distant! How could one’s parents feel distant?

Her actions and words made her seem somewhat unfeeling towards the deaths of her biological parents.

“So that’s why you said you’d give ATL Empire to Mr. Atlas. According to what you’ve told me, the ATL Empire originally belonged to Mr. Atlas, so returning it to him would be the right thing to do,” I pointed out.

I was sure she’d never say such a thing in front of Celine. As expected, she looked flustered.

“My mother did want to give it to Atlas, but she was cautious since it represents two generations‘

efforts. She couldn’t give it away to just anyone. That was her bottom line. If Atlas resists, someone might end up like Annalise.”

*What do you mean?”