Paid To Care, Destined To Conquer Novel

Chapter 460 Unexpected Trouble The next day, Joey, still hungover from partying all night, was hauled before Stella. He honestly thought he was still dreaming. Stella poured herself a cup of coffee, not even bothering to look up. "Sit down," she said. Joey stared blankly at the pink, cutesy backdrop behind her. To him, Stella looked like a little devil with horns sprouting from her head as she leisurely sipped her coffee at the table. He swallowed nervously, stretched his neck to look defiant, and said, "I shall not sit!" Stella lifted her eyes with a lazy look.

The next second, Joey instinctively yanked out the chair in front of her and dropped himself into the seat with a loud thud. "I-I'm only sitting because you begged me to, alright!" he stammered, trying to sound tough. Stella's voice was calm. "Feeling calm now?" Joey froze for a second. His split lip twitched, but he pressed his mouth shut. "Don't waste your time on me. Seriously." For once, Stella was actually patient enough to let him finish talking. She jerked her chin at the food. "Eat first." Joey was completely at a loss.

He felt like he'd just punched a marshmallow wall, soft yet impossible to break through no matter how hard he tried. Breakfast was brought in. Joey, still sulking, angrily stuffed himself with three full plates of food. Stella held her coffee cup in one hand, sipping slowly, her gaze heavy and lost in thought. It made Joey's scalp tingle. "I'll transfer you the money from last night," Joey said. Halfway through his meal, he pulled out his phone. Stella smiled faintly. "You've got principles, huh? Shame though-" Joey frowned. "Shame about what?" Stella glanced at the time.

"Soren froze your cards last night." Joey was completely stunned. 'She-said-what?' Joey's mind descended into chaos. He scrambled to open his payment app, tapping frantically. 'Seriously? All of them?!' he just couldn't believe it. Every single one of his bank cards had been frozen. "H-How could this happen?" Joey stammered, feeling like his soul just left his body. He was completely drained, like he'd been hollowed out from the inside. Stella calmly picked up the remote and flipped on the TV. The TV flickered on. Suddenly, Soren's face filled the screen. "Dad?!" Joey's jaw dropped in shock.

The next second, Soren unleashed a stream of curse that welt on for a solid ten seconds, all in one take. Successfully unlocked! 1/4 Chapter 460 Unexpected Trouble Joey's face burned with embarrassment, while Stella just sipped her coffee, smiling serenely as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. There was a brief pause. Then Soren took a deep breath and put on a "loving father" expression. "My precious boy, don't bother checking. I've frozen every single card you have.

Either haul your sorry ass back to the training base, or I'll twist your head off and kick it around like a soccer ball!" Stella just smiled. The screen froze. Joey was completely stunned. His hand shook as he pointed at Stella. "You... you... you... you're despicable!" Stella just raised her cup in response. "No way! My grandma spoils me rotten! I've still got my secret stash!" Joey protested, puffing out his cheeks like a sulky kid. Joey scrunched up his face, lips jutting out, looking utterly wronged. Suddenly, Soren's frozen image on the TV sprang back to life. He just laughed.

"Right now, I bet you're thinking, 'My grandma dotes on me, I've still got my secret stash!' Well, I saw that coming, and I outplayed your grandma too! Dream on! Everything's frozen! No use trying!" Soren laughed so hard it sounded like he'd swallowed a couple of frogs. The screen froze again. Joey nearly collapsed. He turned to Stella with a blank, helpless look. "I... I..." he mumbled, at a complete loss. Stella lowered her lashes and gave a little laugh. "Yeah, you. Go on." Joey suddenly slammed his palm on the table. "There's a bank downstairs! I'll call my buddy to bring cash over.

You're coming with me!" His shout was so loud that the door creaked open a crack. Three heads poked in. Joey's blood ran cold as he turned and locked eyes with Dashiell, Halcyon and Jareth, all staring at him with stone-cold faces. The murderous intent in Dashiell, Halcyon, and Jareth's eyes was impossible to miss Joey perked up instantly, his face full of hope. "Alright," Stella said with a lazy stretch, arching an eyebrow. "Let's go." Joey stayed silent. He shot her a puzzled look. 'Is Stella really going along with this so easily? What's up with her today?' Joey wondered.

'Is this some kind of trap?' he thought, still on guard. Still suspicious, Joey followed Stella out the door, only to be completely floored when he realized they were actually inside the Shadow Alliance's Jaffina HQ. He felt like a total noob stepping into a palace; his jaw practically hit the floor at all the wild stuff he saw. But what really made Joey's eyes pop was when people started calling out to Stella. "Young Sovereign!" someone called out, all respectful.

2/4 Chapter 460 Unexpected Trouble "Good morning, Young Sovereign!" As they walked along, everyone they passed greeted Stella with serious respect. Joey went from jaw-dropped shock to just standing there, totally spaced out, like his brain had just checked out. Or maybe... it wasn't just in his head after all? Downstairs, they headed straight for the bank. Even though it had just opened, the place was already packed with people in a hurry to get their business done. Joey was in a rush, but he still grabbed a number and got in line.

He even helped an old man, feeling like he deserved a medal for good behavior. Meanwhile, Stella's gaze was icy as she scanned the entrance, the counter, and finally the old man Joey had just helped, sizing up the whole scene. "Out. Now," Stella said, her voice suddenly cutting through the noise. Stella cut in, out of nowhere. "Huh?" Joey blinked, not catching what she said, and turned to her. "I said, out. Now," Stella repeated, her tone icy. Joey was stunned. He froze mid-step. "Why? What's going on?" Joey blurted out, totally confused.

'What the hell is happening?' he thought, completely baffled. Stella didn't answer, but the very next second, there came a "bang". Suddenly, that "old man" straightened up, whipped a gun out from under his trench coat, and yelled, "Nobody move! This is a robbery!" He fired a shot into the air. Two more guys in the crowd suddenly pulled out guns, and chaos erupted in the bank. Everyone started screaming, and the place was a total madhouse. Joey's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

'Was this for real?' Joey's neck was so stiff it felt like it needed a gallon of oil to loosen up as he painfully turned to look at Stella. "Th-they... what about me?!" Joey blurted out, totally panicked. Stella replied calmly, "I told you to leave." Joey was confused. "Hands up! All of you-put 'em where I can see 'em!" the robber barked, waving his gun wildly. In the corner, the security guard was shaking like a leaf, trying to discreetly hit the alarm button. But before he could even reach it, the robber caught him.

"You little shit-" The robber swung his gun and pointed it right at the guard. The guard slumped to the ground, eyes shut tight, bracing himself for the worst. The next second, Joey yelled, acting on pure instinct, "Don't!" The robber had already pulled the trigger, but Joey's shove made the gun jerk off target, and the shot went off in the wrong direction. A loud "bang" broke the dead silence. Joey's neck creaked as he turned, stiff as a board, to see where the gun was pointing. Everyone whipped their heads around to look.

Stella stood there in her black T-shirt, her gorgeous face totally blank, without a hint of emotion. And right next to her, on the pillar, a dark bullet hole was blasted into the pillar. 211 Chapter 460 Unexpected Trouble "B-Boss, you okay?" Joey stammered, his voice trembling. Joey's voice was shaking like crazy. Stella didn't say a word, her eyes cold and dark, like deep amber glass, totally unreadable. "Fuck! You got a death wish or something?!" snarled another robber, swinging the butt of his gun down, aiming straight for Joey's head.

Joey didn't even have time to react, and his pupils shrank to slits in pure terror. But what happened next made everyone in the bank stare in disbelief. Suddenly, the emergency assembly bell rang out at the training base. Only when the city was in deep trouble would this alarm go off-time to call for backup. Moments later, a truck packed with heavily armed special ops guys tore out of the base, sirens blaring. Subscribed 1 Likes Editorial Board Editorial Board Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.