Abby obediently took out her phone and called for an ambnce.


    Worried that Joshua might lose control again, Ste told her, "Abby, I''ll leave this to you."


    Leonard had been shot and looked badly injured. He was clearly incapacitated.


    Abby nodded slightly.


    "Okay, Star. You should go. I''ll handle things here."


    Ste took Joshua''s hand and led him out of the restaurant.


    Joshua didn''t resist, letting Ste lead him away. He was quiet and docile, apletely different person from the out-of-control, bloodthirsty man he had been moments before.


    Though he''d been shot, Leonard was still conscious.


    He stared fixedly at Ste''s back as she walked away, a faint glimmer of light in his eyes, as if yearning for something.


    However, Ste never once looked back before she walked out of the restaurant.


    Whatever hope had lingered in his gaze vanished, snuffed out by her cold indifference.


    Abby noticed Leonard''s expression.


    Was she imagining things?


    Why did Leonard look like a sad, abandoned puppy right now?


    But Leonard was no cute, harmless puppy.


    Even if he were a dog, he''d be more like a wolfhound.


    And the kind that deserved no sympathy.


    The restaurant was close to The Williams Group, so Ste had no choice but to take Joshua back to her office.


    Joshua was unusually silent the entire way.


    His expression was impassive, betraying no emotion.


    Only the hand holding hers remained tightly sped.


    Once the office door was closed, Ste let go of his hand.


    She was about to get him a ss of water when Joshua suddenly pulled her into an embrace.


    He held her so tightly she could barely breathe.


    His low, husky voice sounded in her ear.


    "Star, I''m sorry. I scared you."


    Ever since he''d learned that Leonard


    had intonally approached Ste


    and had been talking with her for so long Joshua could barely contain his urge to kill.


    But he had forced himself to hold back.


    He didn''t have to consider the consequences of killing Leonard for himself, but he


    absolutely had to consider the impact on Ste.


    Ste couldn''t be with a man known for being ruthless and cruel.


    She would be dragged down with him.


    At best, she''d be ostracized by everyone.


    At worst, she''d be hated and targeted just like him.


    They had a future to think about. He couldn''t act on impulse as he once did.


    Ste didn''t push him away. Instead, she said softly, "A man like Leonard isn''t worth the trouble.


    "The reason he''s so despised is because he kills innocent people without a second thought.


    "While Leonard is hardly innocent, it''s not worth tarnishing our own reputations over someone so vile."


    Ste paused before continuing, "The best way to get revenge on Leonard is to make him lose everything.


    "I recently uncovered one of his secret shipping routes.


    "These routes are for businesses that belong solely to him.


    "That''s why he isn''t worried, even after stepping down as head of the family."


    Leonard was ruthless, but the fact that he''d climbed from being an illegitimate son with nothing to his name to the head of the family. proved he was also incredibly smart.


    He knew better than to put all his eggs in one basket.


    He also knew that even as the head of the Lerman family, he still had to listen to the major shareholders when it came to business decisions at The Lerman Group.


    If his position became unstable, he could be removed from his post.


    Therefore, after bing the family head, he used the vast resources of The Lerman Group to develop his own private industries.