Chapter 373: Chapter 372: What Happened?

Course after course arrived, the chefs bowing lightly as they presented each dish. The Sterling family dined like emperors but talked like neighbors, balancing dignified gratitude with easy banter.

For Rex, it was surreal. Not overwhelming... he wasn’t the type to gape or fawn, but surreal in the sense that he was sitting here, surrounded by one of America’s most powerful families, and they were thanking him.

If the outside world had seen this, had seen the Sterlings raise a glass to a young man they’d only just met... rumors would flood every corner of Los Angeles by morning.

But inside this room, it wasn’t about gossip, or reputation, or power plays. It was about a family grateful for the safe return of their little girl.

By the time dessert arrived... an absurd spread of mille-feuille, matcha tiramisu, and something involving liquid nitrogen and edible gold, Rex was full to the point of pain. He leaned back, clutching his stomach.

"Note to self," he thought. "Rich people don’t eat dinner. They go to war with food and see who survives."

Vivienne caught his expression, her eyes glinting. "Too much?"

"Let’s just say, if I don’t walk it off, you’ll have to roll me out of here," Rex replied.

Even Henry chuckled at that.

...

Now, bellies pleasantly warmed and glasses half-full, the atmosphere loosened. Chairs shifted, posture relaxed, and the room buzzed in that sweet spot between luxury and intimacy.

The mood had shifted into that comfortable rhythm where food gave way to words. Henry Sterling dabbed his lips with the corner of a linen napkin, movements deliberate, unhurried. He carried himself with the kind of control that made everyone else at the table instinctively slow down, like even their forks and knives didn’t dare clatter when he was about to speak.

That was when Henry Sterling’s voice cut through, low but commanding.

"Rex," he said, folding his napkin deliberately. His tone wasn’t hostile, but it carried the weight of a man used to getting straight answers. ""I never asked you directly... that night. What did you see? What did you make of it? I’ve already heard from the investigators, but I’d like to hear it from you. What exactly happened that night?"

The table stilled. Even Noah, who’d been mid-joke with a cousin, went quiet. Arabella leaned into her mother without realizing why, sensing the seriousness in her grandfather’s voice.

The table shifted almost imperceptibly. Forks paused mid-air. Even Noah, who’d been mid-joke with a cousin, went quiet. Arabella, who had been humming happily to herself while attacking a spring roll, froze, her big eyes blinking up at Rex as she leaned into her mother without realizing why, sensing the seriousness in her grandfather’s voice.

Rex set his glass down and leaned back, a small exhale slipping past his lips. In truth, he hadn’t thought much about the driver since that night. In his world before, people died on the streets every day. Accidents, shootings, disasters. You grew numb or you went insane. But here? It still mattered, still lingered, he also knew there was no ducking the question.

He thought back... the flicker of headlights, the screech of tires.

"I don’t know much," Rex admitted, his tone even. "All I remember is that I was across the street," he began, "Arabella was by the roadside. The car... it was coming too fast. Way too fast for that corner. I could tell the driver wasn’t steady... swerving a little. Drunk, maybe high. I didn’t think much at first, but then it suddenly veered."

He paused, the memory sharp enough that he could almost smell the burnt rubber again. "That was when I realized it was headed straight for her. Everything after that was instinct."

The room was quiet. Forks untouched, glasses idle.

Arabella made a small sound, a little gasp, and Vivienne instinctively reached over to touch her hand beneath the table.

Henry listened without a flicker of reaction, then tapped one finger against the polished wood. "And do you think it was predetermined?" he asked, his eyes never leaving Rex. "Or was it simply an accident?"

Rex blinked. The question carried more weight than he’d expected. He leaned back slightly, running it through his head.

Predetermined? Some kind of setup? Or just a drunk kid in the wrong place at the wrong time?

He thought back, the image of headlights cutting across the road sharp in his mind, Arabella’s figure frozen at the curb. He had moved without thinking. Instinct. Muscle memory. The driver’s glazed eyes, the erratic angle of the tires—

He exhaled, shaking his head lightly. "No. From what I saw, it wasn’t planned. The kid was just wasted and reckless. I’d call it an accident ... stupid, avoidable, but an accident."

Henry studied him for a moment longer, then gave a single, thoughtful nod.

That was when another voice entered... deeper, sharper, belonging to Victor Sterling, Henry’s brother and one of the family’s more severe presences.

His tone was sharper than usual. "You’re being generous, Rex," Leonard said, leaning forward. "The fool’s name was Tyler Walsh. Twenty-two. Son of a nobody businessman in Nevada. Charles said, tone dripping with disdain. He was high out of his mind that night. Cocaine, pills, alcohol... cocktail of disaster. The car wasn’t even his. Stolen from his father’s garage. He didn’t just ’veer off.’ He was out of control long before he hit that street. And he wasn’t just reckless, he was rotten. A waste of a life before it even began."

The disgust in Leonard’s tone was palpable.

Sylvia, the aunt with pearls, clicked her tongue in disgust, shaking her head, chimed in coldly. "His family tried to make excuses," she added, "Blamed stress, depression, anything but his choices. As if that lessened what he did."

"And don’t think his family deserves pity either. They raised him wild, spoiled him rotten, and now they’ll cry victim. Pathetic."

Eleanor, who had been silent until now, tightened her grip on Arabella’s shoulder. Her voice was calm but icy. "He could have killed her. That family should be thankful that it was just an accident, otherise...."

(End of Chapter)

Author’s Note:

Guys we are just short of 1300 subscriptions,but there are only 4 days remaining before this month end. So, if you can, please support the book as much as possible.