Israel waved a hand dismissively. "I wouldn''t call it smooth. Without all the


    groundwork Sellersid, and all the money he poured into it, this n would have never worked."


    Coleman''s expression grew serious. "That may be true, but I still feel like it''s not that simple. Israel, you need to be careful..."


    Before Coleman could finish, Israel cut him off. He looked at him defensively. "Coleman, you''re not thinking of carving up my founding shares, are you?"


    Coleman was taken aback. "Yours?"


    "Whose else would they be? Yours?" Israel retorted righteously. "From start to finish, I was the one putting in the money and the effort. I had to lead the charge in stirring up the shareholders, draw all of Ste''s fire, and even kidnap Joshua. In the end, I was the one who traded my own ten percent ofmon stock for her founding shares. You and Aurora, what did you do besides wag your tongues from the sidelines?"


    His lips curled into a cold smirk. "I had to be the bad guy, I had to pay the price, but in the end, we all split the reward? Don''t you think that''s a bit unfair?"


    While Israel could be impulsive, he wasn''t aplete idiot. He knew perfectly well that he was just a pawn for the rest of the family. He didn''t mind; they were family, after all-they would sink or swim together. But he wasn''t going to be the one to do all the dirty work while everyone else reaped the benefits. He could let past matters slide, but when it came to the founding shares, he wouldn''t back down.


    "Ste undercut mypany, and now I''ve even given mymon stock to her," Israel continued. "These founding shares are my lifeline now. Anyone who tries to touch them will have to deal with me. I know you both helped, so I''ll cut you in on more of the partnerships with those techpanies in the future. We''re all family. You wouldn''t turn on me over money, right?"


    Seeing that neither Coleman nor Aurora was responding, Israel stood up. "When Father and Jonathan find out about this, they''ll probably give me one of their hypocritical lectures. It''s so annoying fistening to them drone on. And the directors will probably give me a hard time too."


    He rubbed his brow as if annoyed, but the faint lift at the corner of his mouth gave away his hidden satisfaction.


    "Alright, if there''s nothing else, I''m heading out."


    After Israel left, Aurora and Coleman stood in silence for a long time. Then, Coleman suddenly spoke. "Aurora, do you think Ste might have given up the shares so easily precisely because she wanted this to happen? To divide us from within?"


    Aurora sank into deep thought. "It''s possible. But don''t you think that''s an awfully high price to pay?" Ste wanting money in exchange for her shares Israel''smon


    stock-was understandable. But to give them up just to sow discord among them? The cost seemed far too great.


    Coleman scoffed. "Ste''s just a neer to the business world. What does she know about these kinds of schemes? Maybe she doesn''t understand business at all and genuinely believes this will divide us, allowing her to swoop in and reap the benefits."


    "Ste might not understand, but what about Joshua?" Aurora countered. "Once something that important is given away, getting it back is next to impossible."


    "What if Joshua isn''t genuinely helping Ste?" Coleman suggested. "Doesn''t that make a little more sense?"


    Aurora''s head snapped toward him. "Joshua isn''t genuinely helping her?"