The n to intercept and steal Ste''s order was, of course, carried out in secret.


    Ste understood exactly what was happening, but outsiders remained in the dark. Israel certainly wasn''t foolish enough to let the whole world know what was going on.<fnd9dc> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on Find~Novel</fnd9dc>


    Jonathan rubbed his tired brow, sighing. "When Father and I heard that Ste''spany ran into trouble, we assumed it was herpetitors pulling strings behind the scenes."


    Sess attracts envy.


    Ste had been acquiring shares and holding onto founder''s equity-naturally, plenty of people were eager to see her stumble.


    Jonathan had always known trouble would catch up with Ste''spany sooner orter.


    So when he saw the reports in the news, he wasn''t surprised, nor did he have any intention of stepping in to help. After all, this was just another test she''d have to face.


    But what Jonathan hadn''t expected was that Israel would end up being the one going head-to-head with Ste.


    Coleman frowned. "Jon, we can''t just let Israel''spany go under like this. Isn''t there something we can do to save it, or at least..." He paused, searching for the right words. "Make Ste give back what she took."


    Jonathan shot him a sideways nce. "If you managed to get your hands on a prize that big, would you willingly give it up?"


    Sometimes Jonathan wondered if his two younger brothers could be any more na?ve.


    On the one hand, they assumed Ste had ulterior motives for returning to the Williams family. On the other, they demanded-bold as brass—that she hand over her spoils.


    Coleman persisted. "Jon, it''s obvious Israel''spany was being targeted for a while. If you look at the timing, Ste must''ve started setting this up the moment she returned to the family. Otherwise, even if Israel got caught in a trap, it shouldn''t have copsed this quickly."  s


    He paused, his eyes growing dark and thoughtful.


    "She''s new to all of this-there''s no way she could pull something like this off alone. I''m starting to suspect she has someone backing her. And the money she used? I''d bet it came from that person, too."


    Coleman''s instincts were sharp.


    Standing off to the side, Israel couldn''t hold back any longer. "You think Neville or Haynes teamed up to help Ste?"


    Coleman shook his head. "I can''t rule


    it out, but it doesn''t feel like their style. Whoever''s behind this is cunning really cunning. They yed along, acted like they were falling into our trap, let Ste send uga


    all kinds of smoke screens, and even fed us fake confidential documents. We got yed, in and simple. Neville and Haynes wouldn''t have gone that far."


    s


    Jonathan''s gaze sharpened. "Why don''t you think Ste was the mastermind herself?"


    This time, Israel cut in directly. "You really think Ste has the brains for that?"


    Jonathan ignored him, looking instead to Coleman. He''d already given up hope on Israel seeing reason.


    Coleman said, "It''s not that Ste isn''t smart enough—it''s just that she isn''t that devious. Schemes like this aren''t for everyone. Look at Leonard''s twisted tricks- the three of us wouldn''te up with half of what he''s done."


    Israel muttered, "Pointing fingers now won''t change anything. Jon, you have to talk to Father—ask him to help me. If I lose mypany, I''ll lose my voice in the Williams Group for good."


    P.n


    But Jonathan only shook his head. "Israel, this is a mess you started yourself. Not even Father can fix it for you now. There''s no glory in defeat only lessons to be learned Unless Ste suddenly loses her mind, she''s never going to give up such a huge advantage. Especially when..."  s