After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 301

Chapter 301

Stephen Hanson asked, “Why?”

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“I don’t trust anyone from the Hanson family,” Rebecca said bluntly, not singling him out. “The way you. talked

toon the phone madedoubt you could actually look after her.”

Stephen Hanson didn’t respond.

Rebecca added, “If | hand her over to you and something happens to her tonight, it'd be ontoo.”

“I get why you don’t trust Jeffrey,” Stephen Hanson said, his tone as calm as ever. “But | don’t think I've ever

done anything to make you question my character.”

Rebecca shot back, “You usedagainst Jeffrey.”

Stephen Hanson replied, “Wasn't that just a partnership?”

Rebecca retorted, “You were the one who started it.”

Stephen Hanson admitted, “Didn'tasking you to cback and save his life make up for it?”

“When Karen wakes up tomorrow, I'll tell her you cby,” Rebecca replied, holding her ground. “But there's no

way I'm letting you take her tonight.”

“If I said Karen and | were seeing each other, would that change things?” Stephen asked out of nowhere.

Rebecca blinked, thrown off by his question. ‘Is he for real right now?"

Stephen quickly put his mask back on. “Forget it. She gets anxious in the dark, so could you keep a bedside lamp

on for her?”

Rebecca agreed firmly. “Alright.”

Stephen thanked her and headed downstairs.

He didn’t leave right away. After getting into the car, he gazed out the window at the mansion-almost more like a

castle than a house-his eyes slowly growing darker.

“Drive up a bit,” he told the driver.

The driver did as he was told.

Once the car stopped, Stephen rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and let his arm hang outside. Smoke

curled around him, shrouding his face in shadow.

Stephen grabbed his phone, pulled up Karen's chat window, and shot her a text: [Did you seriously pass out, or

is this just an act?]

Karen saw the notification right away.

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Chapter 301

She hesitated, not opening the chat.

If she did, Stephen would know-he’d see the ‘typing...” indicator pop up.

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Stephen fired off another message: [You know | hate being lied to. Think carefully-when have you ever gotten

away with it?]

His text sank into silence-absolutely no reply. ‘Guess I'm being ignored again, Stephen thought with a wry smirk.

Just as Stephen was about to poke Karen with one last message-just to see if she'd bite-Gregory showed up

outside his window, flashing that perfect, all-business smile. “Mr. Stephen Hanson, Mr. Hanson wishes to see

you.”

Stephen froze, cigarette halfway to his mouth. “Jeffrey?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gregory nodded. “That's right.”

Stephen's gaze sharpened, a shadow passing through his eyes.

‘Man, Jeffrey really can’t let go of Rebecca. Even now, post-divorce, he’s still clinging to any chance to look out

for her. Stephen wasn’t sure if that made him a die-hard romantic or just a guy too weak to hold onto the woman

he loves,’ Stephen mused, a hint of scorn and pity flickering in his eyes.

“Where is he?” Stephen crushed out his cigarette.

Gregory replied, “At your house.”

Stephen shot him a sideways glance.

Gregory repeated, “Mr. Hanson is waiting for you at your house.”

“Got it,” Stephen said, a sharper edge glinting behind his glasses. As the window rolled up, the driver started the

engine and headed out.

Gregory kept his own boss, Jeffrey, posted in real tabout what was happening, while Jeffrey waited back at

Stephen's place for him to return.

Rebecca was completely out of the loop about all this.

After watching Stephen leave, Rebecca didn’t go straight to Karen's room. She was still wary, half-expecting him

to double back unexpectedly.

“Stephen's left,” Mark reported in as he cback from his stakeout. “Just before he drove off, someone

stopped by his car window for a bit, but | was too far away-couldn’t see who it was or catch what they were

saying.”

Rebecca felt a bit more at ease. “Got it.”

She stood up and headed upstairs. Just to be safe, she asked Victor to lock the front door. After making sure

everything was secure, she went up to see Karen and told her, “Crisis averted for tonight. You can finally go to

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Chapter 301

sleep without worrying.

“Rebecca...” Karen hesitated, unable to keep it a secret any longer.

Rebecca looked at her. “What's wrong?”

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Karen took a slow breath, her voice barely above a whisper. “The truth is.. Stephen's been keepingas his

mistress.”

Rebecca's expression didn’t really change. Instead, she asked, “Why do you say that?”

“He givesa monthly allowance,” Karen replied, her voice calm but a little empty. “The deal is, | have to act

like the sweet, meek and gentle type he likes, and just do whatever he says.” She didn’t spell it out, but both of

them knew exactly what was going on.

Rebecca thought for a moment, then asked, “How much does he give you?”

Karen was honest. “Thirty grand.”

Rebecca couldn't help herself. “That's it? Man, he’s stingy.”

Karen paused, not sure how to respond.

All that secret shshe'd been carrying around seemed to vanish in an instant.

“He’s not the president of the Hanson Group or anything, but he’s got shares in it, plus a couple businesses

under his belt,” Rebecca said, knowing a thing or two about his status. “Thirty grand a month? For a guy like

him, that's peanuts.”

“He sometimes givesgifts when he’s in a good mood,” Karen admitted.

Rebecca gave her a searching look, studying her carefully.

Even as Rebecca studied her, Karen found the look in her eyes oddly endearing-almost cute, in its own way.

“This isn’t about the gifts,” Rebecca said gently, realizing Karen had fallen into a mindset Stephen had subtly

pressed onto her. “With your looks and skill, you could easily be pulling in thirty grand a month just by acting.”

Karen replied quietly, “Yeah.”

The shows that ended up shelved were all big-nproductions, and sure, her parts were all side characters or

villains, but still-those were solid gigs. If the company had gotten to air them all like they planned, she’d be

stepping into the b-list scene by now.

Rebecca helped her sort things out. “So Stephen made sure every single you filmed got buried?”

Karen nodded. “Yeah.”

Rebecca mulled it over and took a wild guess. “He won't let you go out for new gigs, right? Just wants you to act

like his perfect little angel at home?”

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Chapter 301

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She looked surprised Rebecca nailed it.

“At best, he’s a scumbag-a control freak who dodges all responsibility,” Rebecca cut right to the chase, refusing

to fall for Stephen's tricks. “At worst, he’s a cheapskate running his own twisted game-selfish, manipulative, and

always has to call the shots.

Karen thought about it for a second. “As long as | don’t piss him off, he can be alright, | guess.

Rebecca's brows knitted, a complicated expression flickering across her face.

‘Is Karen really trying to defend that guy?’ Rebecca thought, a bit surprised.

“The money he’s giving you? That's not about being a mistress,” Rebecca said, breaking it down. “It’s basically

payback for screwing up your career. And when he acts nice, it's not about love-it’s just him feeling guilty for

suffocating you.”

Karen paused as she took it all in.

Rebecca added, “So don’t ever call yourself a kept woman. You're just stuck dealing with a jerk who refuses to

leave you alone.”

Rebecca couldn't tell if Stephen had ever actually spelled it out for Karen-that she was his “mistress“-or if he'd

just twisted things behind the scenes until Karen believed it herself.

But this wasn’t really about keeping someone.

This was basically him locking her down, keeping her trapped.

Karen mulled over Rebecca's words, remembering all those years she'd been too embarrassed to show her face

in public thanks to this label she'd carried around.

But... Rebecca really did seem to have a point.

“The only way something counts as ‘being kept’ is if there's serious money on the table-and if both people are

actually willing,” Rebecca pressed, wanting Karen to see it straight. “Was any of this really your choice?”

Karen shook her head.

‘If Stephen didn’t keep blackmailingwith my sister, I'd have walked away ages ago, Karen thought bitterly.

‘He’s a real demon, Karen told herself, the disgust clear in her eyes.

“If you ever need anything, just tell me,” Rebecca said firmly. She hated the way Stephen crushed people under

his thumb, and she wasn’t about to let Karen fend for herself. “I've got sinfluence these days.”

Karen looked like something finally clicked. “I get it now.”

Rebecca could tell she wasn’t just saying it to put her at ease, so she relaxed a little.

A moment went by in comfortable silence.

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Chapter 301

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After weighing things over, Rebecca finally spoke up.

“Karen?”

“Mm?” Karen answered, her voice free from the heavy mood she’d been in before.

“You...” Rebecca hesitated, then finally asked, “Do you know Max Quinn from the Quinn family in Honnala?”

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