The shareholders stared, speechless.


    Israel couldn''t take it anymore. He pointed a trembling finger at Joshua and roared, "To hell with your brotherly love! Joshua, I swear I''m going to kill you, you shameless bastard!"


    Losing all reason, Israel lunged toward Joshua. Jonathan grabbed him, holding him back. "Israel, calm down!"


    Israel thrashed, his body shaking with uncontroble fury. "Calm down?! How can you ask me to calm down? Those two despicable schemers just cheated me out of my shares without spending a dime!"


    As if to twist the knife, Joshua added with a faint smile, "Thank you for thepliment, Mr. Williams. I''ve done my share of shameless things, but this is a first even for me. Still, with an excellent teacher like you, it''s hard not to learn. After all, kidnapping someone and forcing your own sister to give up her shares isn''t exactly a noble act, is it?"


    Israel jabbed his finger at him, practically jumping with rage. "He admitted it! He admitted it!"


    Joshua raised an eyebrow, his tone designed to infuriate. "Yes, I admit it. But what exactly am I admitting to?"


    Before Israel could say more, Skyler cut him off coldly. "That''s enough, Israel. Haven''t you embarrassed yourself enough?"


    With eyes zing red, Israel stared at Skyler. "Dad, I have nothing left! What do I have to lose by being embarrassed?!"


    Skyler let out a soft sigh and turned to Ste. "Star, if you don''t want to transfer your original shares, no one will force you. But themon stock... can you see your way to returning it to Israel?"


    Steughed coldly to herself. When Israel had taken her original shares, no one had asked him to return them to her.


    She smiled sweetly. "Father, if share transfers can be treated like child''s y, revoked and returned at will, couldn''t we ask all thepany Shareholders to return their shares to us? The Williams Group isn''t short on cash now. Buying back the remaining shares shouldn''t be too difficult, right?"


    At these words, not only Nora''s supporters but even Skyler''s own allies shot him


    strange looks. Skyler''s face stiffened, realizing his mistake.


    Israel spoke with


    venom. "Ste, I''m


    telling you, it won''t be that easy for


    you to keep my shares! take you to court, both your orginal shares and mymon stock will be frozen immediately! What I can''t have, you won''t get to enjoy either..."


    But before he could finish, three voices interrupted in unison. "No!"


    Israel froze, staring in disbelief at Jonathan, Coleman, and Aurora, who had all shouted out. He clearly hadn''t grasped the severity of the situation.


    Aurora''s gaze swept over to Joshua, who was watching the scene unfold with a smile.


    If this went to court, Ste''s shares would indeed be frozen. That meant they couldn''t be touched or sold. But what if she never intended to sell them the first ce? Wouldn''t a freeze then be a form of protection for her shares? Even they were temporarily frozen, the fact that she was the shareholder wouldn''t change. A financialwsuit of this magnitude would take at least two years to resolve. In two years, with Joshua''s help, Ste would have more than enough time to solidify her position.


    A chill ran down Aurora''s spine.


    So, did Joshua burn Israel''s agreement to destroy the evidence, or was it a deliberate move to stir up a conflict and protect Ste''s shares? Or... was it both?


    If Joshua had nned all of this from the start, the man was terrifying. He had even factored human nature into his calctions.