"I said I must have misheard. Is there anything else?" Leonard replied.


    Aurora was at a loss for words.


    In that moment, she felt as if she had never truly known him.


    Aurora had the call on speakerphone, and Leonard''s words echoed clearly for everyone to hear.


    It wasn''t just Aurora; the members of the Burton and Williams families all felt a surreal sense of absurdity, as if they had called the wrong person.


    For a moment, everyone was stunned into silence.


    Even the usually boisterous Israel was speechless.


    Sellers was the first to react, snatching the phone from Aurora''s hand.


    "Misheard? You misheard something this important?


    Leonard, are you messing with us?


    Or do you think we''re that easy to fool?"


    "Then you should ask Sherman," Leonard said impatiently. "When he called me, he whined and rambled on with a bunch of nonsense about Israel and how Aurora couldn''t take the fall... making it sound like he wanted me to have someone beat him up."


    All eyes turned to Sherman.


    Sherman felt incredibly wronged. "Uncle, I didn''t! The person I told him to attack was Ste, not Israel!


    I know Israel is Aurora''s brother!"


    "Then why were you bringing up Israel for no reason?" Leonard retorted coldly.


    Sherman felt he was being framed. "I was just saying that Israel saw Ste looking triumphant at thepany. I never asked you to attack Israel..."


    Leonard''s voice grew even more impatient. "I was busy at the time. I probably didn''t hear clearly... Is there anything else?"


    It wasn''t just Aurora who found Leonard strange; even Sellers thought his behavior was utterly bizarre.


    Sellers demanded, "Let''s say you misheard about Israel. What about Sherman?" "I don''t know," Leonard replied.


    Sellersughed in fury. "Leonard, are you trying to use us to eliminate your rivals? Are you trying to make the Burton and Williams families turn on each other?"


    "You''re boring, and you''re annoying," Leonard stated.


    "You wille to the hospital right now and exin this, or else—" Sellers''s voice was icy.


    Leonard cut him off. "Can''t. I''m not in Solmaris right now."


    Sellers paused, asking instinctively, "You''re not in Solmaris? Then where are you?"


    "Aetheria," Leonard said.


    Sellers was even more confused. "What are you doing in Aetheria?"


    The Gardner family controlled eighty percent of Aetheria''s entire


    No


    partnerships with them and rarely


    set foot in the country.


    Especially not now, given their feud with Joshua.


    Leonard offered only two words.


    "On vacation."


    Sellers wanted to ask more, but Leonard had already hung up.


    In the hospital room, the members of the Burton and Williams families exchanged bewildered nces.


    Sherman hesitated. "Could Leonard really be having a breakdown?


    is he acting so strange all of


    sudden? el?


    Israel, however, didn''t care about any of that. He pointed a finger at Sherman and started yelling.


    "You deliberately gave Leonard the wrong impression to have me beaten up, didn''t you?!


    I told you Sherman was no good!


    Even if he''s not Ste''s mole, he did this on purpose because he doesn''t want to see me happy!"


    Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Israel''s eyes widened.


    He pointed at Aurora. "Leonard said Aurora couldn''t take the fall. What did he mean by that?


    You were alt unhappy about giving


    me those shares, so you had


    Leonard


    et revenge on me


    your anger, didn''t you?


    That''s it, isn''t it, Aurora?!"


    vent


    Aurora stared at Israel, shocked. "Brother, why would you say that?"


    Israel sneered. "Am I the one saying it? Leonard said it!