Stuart hadn''t even finished his sentence before Joshua was already standing before him.


    With a single hand, Joshua lifted him off the floor as if he weighed nothing more than a rag doll.


    Those cold, fathomless eyes stared at Stuart without a hint of emotion. Joshua''s voice was low, edged with a chill that could cut through bone.


    "And then?"


    On his way back, Joshua had run into a waiter who''d "identally" spilled wine down his shirt. But Joshua was far too sharp to fall for such a cheap trick; he''d seen right through it and hurried back.


    Now, faced with those icy, almost predatory eyes, Stuart felt his soul nearly flee his body.


    He had never encountered a gaze so cold, so terrifying. It was as if the eyes of the dead had been set in the face of the living.


    At this point, all Stuart could feel was instinctive fear—he still hadn''t grasped just how grave the situation was.


    He stammered, "Let me deal with her. If anything goes wrong afterward, I''ll take the me!"


    Joshua''s dark eyes narrowed. "You want me... to hand her over to you?"


    Stuart thought he saw hesitation. "If you still can''t get her out of your mind, we could share, if you—"


    A piercing, agonized scream tore from Stuart''s throat before he could finish.


    His cry was so bloodcurdling that even the servers waiting in the hallway heard it. Among them was Stuart''s assistant.


    Realizing he hadn''t managed to stall Joshua, the assistant rushed off to get help, but it was already toote.


    When he heard Stuart''s unmistakable scream, dread clenched his heart. He didn''t hesitate he ran to call for backup.


    The head of the Gibson family, Stuart''s father, turned pale as soon as he heard what had happened, and rushed over immediately.


    By the time he reached the door, a crowd had already gathered outside the room.


    Every face in the hallway was twisted with shock and fear; people nched, some trembling uncontrobly.


    Pushing through the crowd, Mr. Gibson nearly fainted at the sight of his son lying in a pool of blood.


    Stuart was unconscious, sprawled r. His teeth were


    on the


    l.ne


    shattered, his nose crushed, his limbs twisted at unnatural angles.as be hugged his broken body content belongs to s


    On his way over, Stuart''s assistant, as always, insisted that the woman had tried to seduce him first.


    Normally, Mr. Gibson wouldn''t have spared a thought for some woman. But then he remembered Ste was the heiress of the William''s family, which made things messier.  s<fnf9a2> Checktest chapters at Find1Novel</fnf9a2>


    He was still racking his brain for a way to handle the situation when he arrived- only to find his son barely clinging to life.


    The shock nearly took his breath away. Pointing a trembling finger at Ste, he sputtered, "You... you..."


    All his focus was on his son''s battered body; he didn''t notice the suffocating tension that filled the room.


    At the sound of his voice, Joshua finally looked up from Stuart.


    There was a bloodthirsty gleam in Joshua''s eyes. His tall frame blocked out the light behind him, casting half his face in shadow-he looked like a demon isen from hell itself.  s


    Mr. Gibson''s heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.


    But this was his son. He couldn''t let Joshua do any more harm. Voice trembling,


    he tried to soundmanding: "Let go of my son, now, or "


    Bang!


    A gunshot split the air, making everyone flinch. A crimson hole appeared in Stuart''s skull.


    Mr. Gibson froze, unable toprehend what had just happened. Joshua hadn''t


    even hesitated-he''d killed his son without a word.


    The shock was too much. The world spun, and Mr. Gibson copsed,


    unconscious, to the floor.