Chapter 431 - 441: Let Me Think
Chapter 431: Chapter 441: Let Me Think
Their gazes met, locking in the air between them.
Stella Sterling narrowed her eyes, taking in the other woman’s gaze.
’Is she provoking me?’
A faint smile touched her lips.
She glanced first at Selene Larkin, who stood beside River Larkin. Selene was now looking back at her.
The killing intent in Selene Larkin’s eyes had vanished. She regarded Stella Sterling with a placid expression, her demeanor unchanged.
"You still haven’t answered me. What’s your decision? Do we let this matter drop, with neither side pursuing it further, or will you continue to make an enemy of Sanctyr Base?"
The other woman spoke with such sincerity that if Stella Sterling hadn’t overheard her conversation with River Larkin, she might have actually been tempted to believe the offer to let her go was genuine.
’But I know she’s just trying to get me to lower my guard so she can find the right moment to take me out from behind.’
She gave a bored yawn and said lazily, "Only two choices again?"
Selene Larkin narrowed her eyes, studying her. She half-expected the woman to say something like "I choose option three" again, but this time, she didn’t answer directly.
Instead, Stella suddenly pointed a hand at Mr. and Mrs. Jennings. "I don’t really care either way, but if you let me go, are they going to agree to it? I’m the one who killed their brother, after all. Don’t they want revenge? This isn’t some kind of trap, is it?"
The expressions of the two people Stella Sterling had pointed to flickered with uncertainty.
Of course, they didn’t want to just let her leave. Especially Queenie Walsh—she wanted nothing more than to subject Stella Sterling to death by a thousand cuts. How could she possibly be willing to let her go so easily?
Although the woman was admittedly hard to deal with, Queenie firmly believed that this was Sanctyr Base’s territory. No matter how formidable her opponent was, she couldn’t possibly be a match for all of them here.
But if they let her go, that was another story. With skills as formidable as hers, trying to capture her again out in the open would be next to impossible.
Queenie Walsh snarled through gritted teeth, "I will kill you, you little bitch! Don’t get so arrogant!"
Tripp Jennings, standing beside her, felt the exact same way.
Selene Larkin’s expression hardened. She said coldly, "I have made my decision. I said, this matter ends here!"
Selene Larkin outranked the couple. Although Tripp Jennings was unhappy about it, he kept his mouth shut.
But Queenie Walsh, having been provoked by Stella Sterling earlier and now grieving the loss of her only brother, was already emotionally unstable.
In that moment, she shot back at Selene Larkin, "We’re the ones who brought her back, so we should be the ones to decide her fate! Selene Larkin, it was my brother who died! It’s easy for you to talk—it’s not like that little bitch killed one of your relatives!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of Selene Larkin and her subordinates turned grim.
The next moment, a sharp slap echoed across Queenie Walsh’s face. "Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me like that?"
Stella Sterling shrugged and stepped back to her original spot. ’That woman kept calling me a little bitch. I was just about to teach her a lesson myself, but it looks like someone’s already done it for me. No need to get my own hands dirty now.’
Watching them turn on each other like dogs, a flicker of amusement flashed in Stella Sterling’s eyes. She stood her ground and settled in to watch the show.
"I’ll kill you!"
Queenie Walsh couldn’t take it anymore. It was bad enough being provoked again and again by the masked woman, but now to be publicly humiliated by Selene Larkin... She couldn’t stomach the indignation.
She lunged forward to attack Selene Larkin but was forcefully held back by Tripp Jennings. "Honey, calm down!"
Queenie Walsh’s eyes were bloodshot as she started to speak, but Tripp Jennings cut her off, whispering urgently, "Have you forgotten? Selene Larkin is Boss Saint’s sworn sister! If you attack her, we’ll never be able to show our faces in this base again!"
As he spoke, he frantically signaled to Queenie Walsh with his eyes, hoping to pull her back to her senses.
He held her tightly, trying to stop her from doing something reckless.
Then he looked over at Selene Larkin. "Selene, now is not the time for infighting. As for my wife... I hope you can understand the pain she’s in after losing a family member."
Selene Larkin shot them a look and said to Tripp Jennings, "Get your wife under control. Otherwise, don’t blame me if I have to teach her another lesson."
With that, she ignored the couple and turned her gaze back to Stella Sterling.
She frowned when she saw the mocking amusement in Stella Sterling’s eyes.
’At a time like this, she’s actually enjoying the show we’re putting on.’
The realization annoyed Selene Larkin immensely.
She suppressed her frustration and said indifferently, "There. I’ve resolved the matter for you. That couple won’t have any further objections."
She paused, feeling she couldn’t let her opponent think they were backing down repeatedly out of fear. So, Selene added, "You should know, I’m not doing this because I’m actually afraid of you. I just think it would be a pity for someone with your talents to die so meaninglessly."
"I appreciate talent, and I’d hate to see yours go to waste. So I hope you’ll be smart enough to quit while you’re ahead. Make no mistake, it’s not that we’re out of ways to deal with you. This is your final chance."
Hearing this, Stella Sterling wanted to cover her mouth to hide a smile, but then she remembered the mask on her face and lowered the hand she had just raised.
Her voice was laced with amusement. "In that case, I suppose I should thank you for this opportunity."
Selene Larkin felt something was off about the other woman’s tone, but at the same time, she thought the statement was true—she *should* be thankful.
So she nodded. "That’s right. I’m prepared to let you go. You’re a talented individual, after all. In fact, if possible, we at Sanctyr Base would like to recruit you. If you’re willing, I can even recommend you to our Boss. You could rise to the top overnight. With your abilities, our Boss would certainly give you a position of great importance."
"On one hand, you can earn the trust of our Boss, become one of our people, and be one of us. Glory and riches would be right at your fingertips. On the other hand, you can continue to oppose us... in which case your only end is death."
’As she spoke, she was extending an offer of recruitment,’ Stella mused. ’But her offer is different from the one Mr. and Mrs. Jennings made before.’
’Mr. and Mrs. Jennings wanted me to submit to them, to become their underling.’
’But this Selene Larkin wants to recommend me to Miles Sanctus. If I really joined Sanctyr Base that way, my status would be completely different. Her offer is far more sincere than the one from Mr. and Mrs. Jennings.’
’Of course, that’s assuming she’s being sincere.’
’But judging by everything that’s happened so far, the chances of that are minuscule.’
"Let me think about it."
Stella Sterling lowered her head and appeared to fall into deep thought.