Back then, she always felt that she and Don Joyce were the perfect team. She dedicated herself to acting, bringing every character to life, while he constantly found her good scripts and popular variety shows. Then, he would comprehensively evaluate every project he handled, making rational decisions based on her specific situation. He would also select male stars with potential or breakout popularity to be her partners, ensuring she could advance on the path to success again and again.
Once, she had believed Don Joyce was a welcome blessing in her life, a man she could rely on for the rest of her days. Now, just seeing him sent a cold chill down her spine, making her want to flee.
Yes, she was terrified just thinking about it now. This man, who had slept with her and even gotten her pregnant, had coldly instructed his men, "Send her on her way..."
Moreover, after her car burst into flames, he had watched coldly for what felt like an eternity, leaving only when he was certain she was dead. How could she have been so damn blind as to fall for such a horrifying man?
And another thing—how on earth had her father, dead for so many years, offended him? Why was this man so determined to cruelly destroy her entire family?
"Stella..."
Don Joyce saw her. He took off his sunglasses and mask, revealing a bright smile as he walked over.
The man before her looked so sincere, so sunny. You couldn't tell at all that he was actually a shameless villain with a dark and twisted mind.
Stella Lockwood instinctively took two steps back, her face etched with vigilance. She had once liked him so very much, simply because he resembled her older brother—Finn Lynch.
Her father was Zeno Lockwood. He had been married once before, to a woman named Sandra Vaughn, who gave birth to a daughter named Stella Lockwood—her. Unfortunately, the marriage only lasted a little over two years. When they divorced, Stella had just turned one.
Later, her father never remarried, but he did adopt three children.
One was a boy named Flynn Lynch, seven years older than Stella. He had been a peculiar stray. When Stella was five, she got separated from her father at the park and tumbled down a high flight of stairs. This filthy boy caught her, but broke a bone in the process and fainted from the pain.
That was the first time Stella Lockwood realized that, aside from her father, there was another boy in this world willing to throw caution to the wind for her. With no one else around, Stella stayed by this beggar boy's side, screaming for help, finally attracting a kind person who took them to the hospital.
Their entire bond began at that moment.
To show his gratitude, her father adopted this severely withdrawn and unsmiling boy, taught him to read and write, and made him the eldest brother of the family.
Of the two girls, one was named Skylar Lockwood. She was the orphan of one of her father's classmates and became the second-oldest sister in the family.
The other was Serena Lockwood, who had been the granddaughter of their neighbor, Miss Zimmer. Miss Zimmer's son was sentenced to life in prison and her daughter-in-law ran away, leaving Miss Zimmer unable to care for the child. Her father helped look after the girl, and when Miss Zimmer later passed away, Serena came to live with them, becoming her third-oldest sister.
Therefore, even though Stella Lockwood grew up in a single-parent household, she was cherished and doted on by her older brother and sisters as she grew up. Back then, she was an absolutely, incredibly happy child, with a smile more radiant than sunshine.
Ten years ago, in a sudden accident, her father and brother died a tragic death. She witnessed their deaths with her own eyes. The two men who had loved her most dearly vanished completely from her world.
Because of this, she developed depression. From then on, she could never laugh freely again, and a perpetual sorrow lingered in her eyes.