Return of the Crowned Heiress Chapter 344

Stephan didn’t even glance at Johanna. In an icy tone, he said, “Get out.”

Johanna bit her lip, hesitated momentarily, then obediently turned toward the door. But as she reached it, she stopped as if remembering something.

She said, her voice deliberately soft and sweet, “Oh, by the way, Stephan, a call came in two hours ago. You were sound asleep, and I didn’t want you to miss something important, so I answered it for you.”

Stephan’s hand froze mid–movement, and anger flashed in his dark eyes. Before he could lash out, his gaze landed on the caller ID–Mike.

Mike wouldn’t call unless it was about Felicia.

“Hello?” Stephan’s focus immediately shifted as he answered the phone. His first question was short and tense. “Did you find her?”

Johanna’s expression flickered, though she kept her composure.

She hadn’t seen the contact name earlier, but the voice on the other end had been a woman’s clear and distant. Stephan’s anxious tone now made it obvious that this “her” was someone who mattered to him.

No wonder he had left that day without hesitation. Clearly, it was for that woman. If Imogen hadn’t been so upset that she almost lost the baby, he wouldn’t have stayed at all.

Johanna quietly slipped out of the ward, closing the door behind her.

On the call, Mike’s voice came through, sounding as lighthearted as usual. “Felicia’s fine. She said she went on a little trip to clear her head and turned off her phone to avoid distractions So, relax, Stephan. Everything’s okay now.”

Stephan exhaled, his tense shoulders casing slightly. But his brows remained furrowed.

“She’s always busy running her clinic. Does it make sense for her to just disappear without a word?” he questioned, his tone sharp. “And even if she did, why are there no travel records? No tickets, no hotel stays–nothing.”

It was as if Felicia had vanished into thin air for seven days. Even with all the resources he had mobilized, they hadn’t found a single trace of her

“Did you meet her?” Stephan pressed. “What else did she say?”

“Nothing, really. Just what I told you,” Mike replied, half–laughing. “Stephan, I think all those assassination attempts have made you overly suspicious.”

Stephan couldn’t argue with that. After all, the number of attempts on his life over the years. was truly beyond counting-

“Got it,” he said curtly, ending the call.

Immediately, he checked his call history. Sure enough, Felicia had called him two hours ago, only for Johanna to pick up.

His expression darkened. That woman’s audacity

He dialed’Felicia’s number without hesitation. The line rang seven or eight times before it finally connected.

“Hello?” Her voice was calm, distant.

Felicia had just stepped out of the shower, her damp hair dripping water down to her

collarbone. She was drying it off with a towel when the call came through. Seeing the unsaved number, she answered cautiously and only said one word.

But that simple “hello” sounded cold, almost dismissive to Stephan. Neither spoke for a long moment, the silence stretching between them.

Eventually, Stephan broke it, sighing softly as he gave in. “Where have you been these past few days? Did something happen

Felicia hesitated.

Her recent ordeal with Maurice was indirectly linked to Stephan. It wasn’t his fault, but his association with her had painted a target on her back for someone as dangerous as Maurice.

But she wasn’t the type to hold a grudge over circumstances beyond his control, especially given how much he had helped her in the past. When she fell into the

waterfall, Stephan

shielded her with his body. When the Lawson family drugged her and tried to trap her, it was

Stephan who found her and took her away.

She owed him, whether she liked it or not.