Yet, after hearing all this, Ste''s expression remained unchanged.


    She said coolly, "Are you finished?"


    Foreman stared at her, stunned. "Star, don''t you believe anything I''ve said?"


    There wasn''t even a ripple of emotion in Ste''s eyes.


    "Foreman, you should go. I won''t tell Joshua about this."


    Ste gently pulled her hand free. "And since the affair between Miss Vance and Neville Connolly isn''t real, please do them both a favor and tell her to stop harassing him. You can''t force feelings."


    Foreman''s face turned white as a sheet. It was clear she didn''t believe him. He had betrayed her trust, and now she would never trust him again.


    After saying her piece, Ste left without a backward nce, not caring about Foreman''s reaction.


    As she exited the restroom area, she saw Joshua walking toward her, looking for her. His tense expression softened when he saw her.


    "What took you so long?" Joshua asked.


    "I ran into Shirley Vance," Ste said. "We chatted for a bit."


    Joshua raised an eyebrow. "What could you two possibly have to talk about?"


    "Since her story about Neville isn''t true, there''s no need for her to keep clinging to him. It''ll only end badly for everyone, which won''t reflect well on her or Mr. Vance," Ste exined.


    Joshua didn''t seem particrly surprised. Neville had told him about the situation on their first day in Aetheria.


    "Star, is there anywhere else you want to go?" Joshua asked.


    Ste shook her head. "We''ve been on vacation for almost a month. Let''s head back. We can alwayse again another time."


    With Old Mrs. Connolly''s passing, Ste''s heart felt heavy, and she was in no mood for sightseeing. The fact that Leonard was also in town only soured her mood further.


    Joshua thought for a moment about the ongoing operations against The Burton Group. "Alright," he said. "Let''s go home."


    During the month Ste and Joshua were away, The Burton Group had suffered catastrophic losses.


    Just as Sherman Burton had feared, their stock price had been in a freefall ever since the initial plunge, never once recovering. On several asions, trading had been halted after it hit the daily limit down.


    With their stock market value devastated, The Burton Group''s contracts and partners were being poached left and right. While they hadn''t lost all their business, losing a third of it in such a short time was a massive blow.


    Inside the conference room, the atmosphere was grim. All the top executives of The Burton Group were gathered.


    As a family-owned enterprise, all the shareholders and board members were Burtons.


    A senior member from a branch of


    the family frowned. "The Gardner


    family has always minded their own business. What has gotten into them? Why are they suddenly. attacking us like mad dogs? m just one month, the evaporated market value and the stolen contracts have already cost us tens of billions."  A third-generation Burton added, "We''ve lost tens of billions, but the Gardner family''s losses are just as bad, if not worse. If they were doing it for profit that would be one thing. But this is a lose fose strategy. They aren''t gaining anything, so why target us so viciously?"


    Sellers Burton''s older sister chimed


    in, "Could someone have offended


    the head of the Gardner family? That''s the only exnation for this kind of scorched-earth tactic. Only the patriarch would have the authority to burn money like this. Even for a family as wealthy as the Gardners, no one else could authorize this kind of spending."