He turned to Aurora. "We can''t let Joshua continue to help her."


    Aurora was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Father and Jonathan already tried to get Ste to deal with Joshua, but she refused. She was willing to burn her bridges with us to protect him, even saying they''d have to go through her dead body to get to him."


    The original shares Ste held meant the Williams family couldn''t afford aplete falling out, especially with their family ties. While Ste had no real power base in Solmaris, she could still cause them a world of trouble if she wanted to, and people like Antoney and Haynes would definitely back her up.


    Israel, listening to their discussion,tched onto the main point. "If Joshua is so determined to y stepdad, then he has to go. He''ll be endless troubleter. He''s at his weakest right now. Why not strike while the iron is hot? Kick him while he''s down!"


    Coleman shot him a look. "Joshua is the head of the Gardner family, and Ste is protecting him. Do you think killing him is that simple? Even if he dies, it cannot be traced back to us. Don''t forget, we''d have to deal with not just Ste, but retaliation from the entire Gardner family."


    "So we can''t do this, and we can''t do that!" Israel said, exasperated. "Are we supposed to just wait for him to recover and help Ste seize power?"


    Coleman turned to Aurora. "Do you have any ideas?"


    Aurora thought for a moment. "Israel is right, Joshua can''t die by our hands. However, he cost Leonard an arm. Knowing Leonard, he won''t let that go. He wouldn''t be afraid of Joshua, even if he is the head of the Gardner family."


    Coleman''s eyes lit up, a slow smile spreading across his face. "That''s right. Leonard''s been recovering for a while now. He should be just about ready."


    ...


    Keen woke up three dayster.


    He was dazed and unresponsive, clearly still in shock from the


    terrifying ordeal. It was the first time he had ever been so close to death. Being strapped to a bomb and nearly burned alive was far more than any five-year-old could be expected to handle. The trauma had taken a deep toll on his mind.


    Under Ste and Haynes''s gentle care, he gradually began to recover. However, he had inhaled a great deal of thick smoke, damaging his throat and leaving him unable to speak.


    Dr. Burton examined him and reassured Ste. "Keen is still young, and his body is still developing. It will take some time for him to clear all the harmful substances he inhaled. But he should be back to normal.in two weeks at most. You don the theed to worry."


    Though he couldn''t talk, Keen remembered what had happened. He gestured with


    his hands, indicating he wanted to see Mr. Joshua.


    Ste took him to the ICU and let him look through the window. The sight of Joshua lying motionless on the bed, hooked up to a web of tubes and machines, brought tears streaming down Keen''s face He knew that without Mr. Joshua, he would have died there.


    After a week of Dr. Burton''s expert care, Joshua''s condition finally stabilized enough for him to be moved to a regr ward. But he remained in aa.


    One day, Ste received an unexpected phone call.