Ste turned to face him. "Haynes, Keen has been kidnapped. I''m in no mood to argue with you. You know we haven''t reached the point where sacrificing Joshua is our only option."


    Haynes cut straight to the point, his eyes locked on hers. "Fine. We''re not there *now*. But what if we get there? If you have to choose between Keen and Joshua, if one of them *has* to be sacrificed, who will you choose?"


    Ste frowned. "Haynes, Joshua is an adult with a mind of his own, not a tool I can just use. He has the right to make his own choices, and I have no right to order him to sacrifice himself for Keen. He''s allowed to refuse."


    A cruel smile touched Haynes''s lips. "But from the looks of it, if you gave the order, he''d walk into his own grave without a second thought, let alone sacrifice himself for Keen."


    Ste was growing tired of Haynes''s attitude. "You''ve never been this irrational, Haynes. Is it because it''s Joshua that you''re so fixated on this? What if it were Abby? Or Marvin Connolly? Or Neville? Would you still expect me to ask them to die for my son?"


    "But Joshua is the reason Keen was kidnapped in the first ce!" Haynes''s voice was dangerously low. "He should be the one to take responsibility!"<fna9b3> Checktest chapters at find?novel</fna9b3>


    Ste''s expression was just as cold. "Joshua bears some responsibility, yes. But none of this would have happened if Stuart hadn''t tried to assault me. I was the catalyst for all of this, so why don''t you me me for what happened to Keen?"


    "So you''re saying you refuse to sacrifice Joshua for Keen," Haynes stated coldly.


    Ste looked at him as if he were a petnt child, her eyes filled with a profound sense of disappointment "I thought... even if we don''t have feelings for each other anymore, after all these years, you at least knew me."


    She paused, then shook her head wearily. "Never mind. Your prejudice has blinded you. What''s the point of this conversation?"


    Without another word, Ste turned and walked out.


    After taking a moment topose herself, she went downstairs and found Joshua sitting on a couch in the main hall. He stood up as she approached.


    Just as he was about to speak, three more people descended the stairs: Israel, Aurora, and Queenie.


    Spotting Ste, Israel began his taunts. "Well, well, look at her. Her son''s been kidnapped, and she''s as calm as can be. Tsk, tsk. Anyone else would be a wreck. Ste, are you even worried about Keen? That Gibson fellow offered a trade, didn''t he? Joshua for your son. Don''t tell


    me you refused Or maybe you''re. secretly hoping Gibson gets rid of him for you? One less burden to get in the way of your new love life? If you ask me, you knew you had enemies, and you took him out on purpose, hoping someone else


    would do your dirty work."


    Before he could finish, Ste grabbed a ss of water from a nearby table and


    hurled its contents into his face.


    "Enemies?" she said, her voice


    freezing him in ce. "My biggest enemy is my own brother! Mr. Israel. If Lean''t even leave the house with Solmaris, on Williams


    my son


    family territory, then maybe the great Williams family isn''t as


    powerful as everyone says. Maybe


    you''re all just an empty shell."