"What exactly is Ste releasing?" Leonard asked.


    "It''s about Mr. Israel''s affair with a certain woman," the assistant replied.


    Leonard had a long-standing order that any trouble involving the Williams family was to be reported to him immediately. Normally, he would have stepped in to bury the story, which was how the Williams family had managed to maintain such a pristine public image.


    And to be fair, they mostly deserved it. Compared to other wealthy heirs, the three Williams brothers were considered paragons of virtue within their social circle. They had no scandalous habits, weren''t known for womanizing, and were dedicated to their careers. They even treated their family-arranged marriage prospects with respect, avoiding the usual melodramatic scandals.


    But no matter how upright they were, there was never a shortage of social climbers and ambitious women trying to get their ws into them, some of whom weren''t above using devious tactics. Jonathan and Coleman were cautious and had always managed to sidestep such schemes. Israel, however, had been careless. He had not only fallen into a trap but had also gotten the woman pregnant.


    Leonard knew all about it. The woman who had sessfully schemed against Israel was no ordinary person.


    While her family wasn''t in the same league as powerhouse dynasties like the Williamses, theymanded considerable influence in their own circles.


    She had enough connections and resources to pull it off. Afterward, when Israel refused to take responsibility, the woman, who was no pushover, prepared to expose his misdeeds to the world.


    It was Aurora who hade to him, begging for help.


    He was the one who had made the whole thing disappear.


    "Don''t suppress it," Leonard said, his voice t. "In fact, add some fuel to the fire. Expose every stupid thing Israel has ever done. The Williams family will just assume it''s all Ste''s doing anyway. It should be amusing to watch them tear each other apart."


    The assistant hesitated. "But... what about Miss Aurora?"


    In the past, Leonard would never have allowed Aurora to suffer the slightest grievance. His willingness to clean up the Williamses'' messes wasn''t out of any fondness for them, but to protect Aurora from being tainted by their scandals. "Leave it for now," Leonard said coolly. "If she needs my help, she''lle to me." The assistant understood immediately. Leonard was helping Ste to force Aurora''s hand. It made sense; Miss Williams had been giving Leonard the cold shouldertely.


    "Understood," the assistant said. "By the way, as you instructed, I''ve purchased a property directly across from the hospital. You can move in whenever you''re ready."


    Joshua was under the constant protection of Ste''s people, making it nearly impossible for Leonard to send assassins into the hospital. After he had kidnapped Ste, Ker security measures had be obsessively thorough, Every venttion duct, every possible entry point was now heavily guarded. Leonard had no way in.


    But he knew this was Joshua at his most vulnerable. If he wanted to eliminate him, now was the perfect opportunity. Although he was stift the head of the Lerman family and thepany''srgest shareholder, he had been stripped of his official duties and had nothing but time on his hands while recovering from his injuries.


    So, Leonard had decided to monitor Joshua himself. If an opportunity arose, he


    would be there to take his revenge personally.


    ***


    With Joshua hospitalized and Ste


    locked into what seemed like a losing bet, Israel was feeling smug He couldn''t remember ever feeling so clever in his twenty-plus years of life. He could ept that his older brother, Coleman, and Aurora were more capable than him.