Joshua said, “Star is Keen''s mother, but she''s not your wife anymore. Sure, you''re Keen''s father, but you and Star-whatever was between you ended a long time ago. So really, there''s nothing here to argue about."


    Ste fell silent.


    Joshua''s tongue was as sharp as ever, she thought.


    After Joshua disappeared overnight, neither Ste nor Haynes thought much of it. They just assumed he''d stayed to look after Keen.


    Haynes was never one for pointless arguments, especially not childish bickering like this. He couldn''t be bothered to respond to Joshua, so he turned to Ste instead.


    "Star, you don''t need to stress about the money. I''ll help you figure it out," Haynes said gently. "Right now, the O''Brien Group can free up about five hundred million dors in liquid assets. I''ll find a way to cover the rest. Don''t worry-I promise, within three days, I''ll get you everything you need."


    Joshua nced at Ste in surprise. "Why do you suddenly need so much cash?"


    Ste gave him a brief rundown of her n to acquire the Pearce Group''s shares.


    "Shawn is missing," she exined. "It''s not likely we''ll find him and hold him ountable right now, so I might as well use this as an opportunity to get something out of it. Shawn''s father is about to run in the uing election-this is the perfect time to negotiate with the Pearce family. Once the election is over, he won''t be so easy to deal with anymore. Besides, even if we do find Shawn, apart from forcing an apology, there''s not much else we could do. Shawn didn''t actually seed, and the Pearce and Williams families have been close for generations. Ruining him—or worse is out of the question; the Pearces would never allow it.


    So rather than letting the Williams family use me as a bargaining chip to squeeze benefits from the Pearces and then walk away with the spoils, I''d rather act first and im what I deserve. At least then, all this suffering won''t be for nothing."


    The n was entirely Ste''s own idea.


    That was exactly why Haynes realized just how much she''d changed.


    In the adult world, right and wrong don''t matter as much as gain and loss. If Ste insisted on pursuing the issue, all she''d get in the end was a hollow apology nothing real value. In her position, she couldn''t afford to act on impulse anymore.  s


    nothing ef


    The Williams family, on the other hand, would absolutely seize this opportunity to force the Pearces to cough up some concessions. Then, once things settled, they''d let Shawn apologize and call it even.<fnf396> Th?s chapter is updated by Find★Novel</fnf396>


    Ste''s decision was the mark of someone who''d finally grown up.


    But for some reason, Haynes felt a tightness in his chest. How much had Ste been through to be so calm and clear-eyed about weighing the pros and cons?


    Joshua raised his eyebrows at her words. "The evidence tying Leonard to Shawn —it''s fake, isn''t it?"


    Ste froze, looking over at him. "How did you know?"


    Joshua replied, "Leonard isn''t the type to leave obvious dirt anyone can dig up. The only exnation is that the evidence itself is fabricated. Just because Leonard and Shawn were seen at the same club doesn''t mean they were plotting together. But Shawn admitted he tried to target you, so the Pearce family already feels guilty. Plus th Pearces probably suspect Shawn and Leonard colluded, so they think you might actually have the proof."  s


    Here, Joshua turned his gaze to Haynes. "Really, you''re bluffing the Pearces. After all, even they don''t


    know exactly how board and et


    Shawnworked together. Now that Shawn''s missing and can''t testify, your evidence-whether real or fake—is impossible for them to verify."  s


    A shadow flickered in Haynes''s eyes. Joshua''s guess was spot on.