Leonard didn''t respond. His gloomy and entric personality wasn''t new to them, so Jonathan and the others didn''t pay it much mind.


    After some time, Leonard''s phone rang. He nced at the caller ID, suppressed his irritation, and answered.


    "What is it?"


    Simone''s panicked voice came from the other end. "Leonard, it''s terrible! The cat ran away!"


    Leonard''s expression changed instantly. "Ran away? How?"


    Simone''s voice was tinged with tears. "I must have forgotten to close the door after getting the food delivery... When I finished eating and went to look for the cat, I found the door ajar, and it was gone..."


    Before leaving, Leonard had asked Simone to look after the tabby cat. He usually called her over whenever he was out or not at home. He didn''t trust anyone else to take care of it.


    Simone knew just how much Leonard treasured that cat. It was wild and untamable with everyone but Leonard; with her, it was all ws and hisses. The cat had nearly disfigured her face once.


    She wasn''t even allowed to scold it, let alone hit it. Just for muttering a few curses at the tabby, Leonard had given her a harsh lecture. Yet, he forbade her from letting the servants care for it; she had to do it herself. Whenever Leonard was away, she waited on that cat hand and foot, like it was royalty. She had be aplete ve to it.


    Simone was starting to suspect Leonard was doing this just to torment her. She had heard the cat was a gift from Ste.


    She was ady from a prominent family, yet she was being lorded over by an animal. How could she not be angry? Leonard was cold-blooded and ruthless when dealing with his enemies, but with this cat, he was endlessly patient and doting. The contrast struck Simone as absurd.


    Simone hated that cat as much as she hated Ste. But she didn''t dare do anything to it, much less deliberately lose it. The extent of Leonard''s devotion to the cat seemed pathological to her.


    Outsiders said the Gardners had mental issues, but Simone truly believed her brother was the one with the problem.


    And now, she had carelessly lost his precious cat. Simone was terrified. She didn''t waste a second before calling Leonard. She was genuinely afraid he would skin her alive if the cat wasn''t found:


    After hearing her out, Leonard''s face was dark and grim. He turned to his assistant. "Take me back immediately."


    Seeing his strange expression and urgent departure, Jonathan couldn''t help but ask, "What''s wrong, Leonard? Is there news about Aurora?"


    "No," Leonard said in a cold, heavy voice.


    Before Jonathan could ask another question, Leonard was already gone without a backward nce. The others exchanged confused looks, wondering what had just happened.


    "Maybe he got some news about Aurora but needs to verify it, so he''s rushing back to investigate," Coleman suggested.


    As Leonard was leaving, he saw Ste and Joshua sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window. Ste saw him too but quickly looked away.


    That night, the roar of helicopters and cars filled the city. Few people in Solmaris got any sleep. Everyone knew that the head of the Lerman family seemed to be searching for something.


    Although Leonard had stepped down from The Lerman Group, he was still the head


    of the Lerman family and itsrgest shareholder, able tomand its resources.


    When the Williams father and son heard about it, they couldn''t help but sigh.


    "Say what you will, but among all of Aurora''s suitors, Leonard is the most sincere," Skyler remarked.


    "Unfortunately his methods are too ruthless, and he''s made too many


    enemies. If Aurora married him, she''d easily get caught in the crossfire."