Chapter 158 - Sixteen Generations

"What about his daughter's shares?" Taylor asked the man sitting before him. 

"Her shares are under me, but I can't sell those or transfer them to anyone else. Ethan wasn't stupid enough to just give them to me, he made sure that they were under her name and no body except for her would be able to sell those." James replied as he picked up the coffee mug from the table. 

Taylor hummed as he became lost in his own thoughts. "What about yours?" He spoke up after a while.

"Mine aren't that much. Ethan gave half of his shares to me which were around thirty percent of the total shares. The remaining of his shares and his wife's shares were transferred under Stella's name, making me her guardian. The only reason I could still control her shares is that she hasn't returned yet. Her shares alone only make up sixty percent in total." James explained it to him.

"Who said she hasn't returned?" Taylor added, taking a sip of his coffee leisurely.

"What do you mean?" James narrowed his eyes at him.

"You should have kept her under your wing, within your sight. You could have easily controlled her then. But no, you decided to put her in some foster family, whom you paid a huge amount of money. Where did that lead to? Her running away from there and you couldn't even track her now!" Taylor replied lazily.

James eyes widened in shock when Taylor's words made their way to his ears, cutting through the quiet air of his of the room. He wondered how did Taylor know all this. 

"Don't wreck your brain as for how I know all of this. What you need to think of is how to stay away from her, since she's back in Berlin. Don't try to harm her if you want to live whatever days you have left. And her shares belong to her and her alone they will." Taylor completed his words before getting up and leaving James alone in the private room with his thoughts. 

He came here to make sure that this fool didn't do anything to harm her. He was worried to hell and back when he came to know that Adam visited this company along with her.

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"Young Master is calling you Miss." An elderly woman came inside the room and informed Stella. 

"Just call me Stella, please." Stella got up from the bed, making her way towards the old lady. "You must be the caretaker of this place." She spoke up softly, coming to a stop before her.

"But…" The old lady began to reply but was interrupted by Stella.

"No buts." Stella gave her a wide smile. "May I know your name?" She asked the old lady.

"It's Judith but you can call me Judy." The old lady replied to her politely. 

"Alright, Aunt Judy. Lead the way, please." Stella added.

The old lady smiled at her and began to guide her. She was touched by her kindness. She was almost sixty years old now and had been taking care of this mansion since her late twenties. She had seen enough of the world to differentiate between good and bad people. And she was sure that this girl here walking next to her, was definitely a good one. She was genuinely very happy for her Young Master.

"He's in there." She stopped before a room and told Stella before turning around to leave.

"Thank you. Stella thanked her and entered the room.

As soon as she stepped inside, she was awestruck by the interior of the room. The room was decorated as if it belonged to a royal palace. Every wall of the room was painted maroon. Golden frames with intricate carvings, were hung over them, each frame encasing a painted portrait. Some of them were of single people, while the others were of couples or families. The room looked more like an art gallery. 

Stella walked further in the room with slow steps. Her eyes were glinting under the warm lighting of the room as she walked towards one of the paintings. 

"There you are." Adam interrupted her thoughts. He had his eyes set on her since the moment she had walked in. Her awestruck expressions were something he wouldn't want to miss at any cost. He had been staring at her for a while. He reluctantly interrupted her as she was busy admiring one of the paintings. 

"This is so beautiful, Adam." She spoke up before shifting her eyes back to the painting. 

"This room has almost sixteen generations of my family." He added. 

"That's… that's amazing." Stella spoke up, breaking her gaze away from the painting. 

"It is." Adam nodded her head as he extended his hand towards her. "Come with me. I want to show you something." 

Stella put her hand in his palm and let him guide her. After crossing a number of paintings, his steps came to a halt before one, which was the last one in the same row  Stella shifted her gaze from his face to the painting. 

She stared at the painting for a while before turning her face towards Adam, who was staring at the painting without even blinking.

Adam finally opened his mouth after a couple of minutes. "They are…." 

"Your parents." Stella finished his sentence. Based on the similarities between him the couple in the painting, even a child could tell that. 

Adam hummed in response, his lips curling up in a faint smile. Stella could see the longing on his face. He missed them, just like she did hers. She couldn't take it anymore and hugged him, resting her face on his chest with her ear pressed right over his heart. 

"I am fine, love." He spoke up as if sensing her worries. He slowly patted her back before engulfing in a hug. "Do you see that empty frame next to this painting?" He continued.

Stella shifted her eyes to the frame and nodded her head. 

"Everytime a son or a daughter is born, the parents put up a frame next to theirs for them. My parents chose this frame together when Mom was expecting me. Who knew they wouldn't make it to see it encasing my portrait." He continued, making Stella tighten her hold around him.

"Do you like the frame? If not then we can get a new one. I am thinking of getting our portrait done soon." His words struck a chord in her heart. She knew what he meant by those words. A smile bloomed over her face as she replied to him. "I love the frame."