Ste couldpete for her resources, but she absolutely could not get entangled in this kind of affair.
Even Joshua couldn''t intervene. Now that they were a confirmed couple, a move from Joshua was the same as a move from Ste. He could no longer act as impulsively as he had in the past.
"How much of Aurora''s resources have you taken over?" Joshua asked.
Ste frowned. "About a quarter so far. I estimate I can take over half. If I try to take any more, it will attract Jonathan''s attention."
Joshua looked at her. "Star, have you made a decision about Coleman? With Aurora missing, now is the perfect opportunity."
Ste''s eyes flickered. She and Joshua had discussed a n to deal with Coleman before he had left, but they had never acted on it. Part of it was hesitation, but more importantly, they hadn''t found the right chance.
Joshua saw her uncertainty. "Star, you''re just worried Antoney Watson won''t agree, right? Don''t worry, he will."
She looked at him, surprised. "He respects my mother more than anyone. You think he''d be willing?"
Joshua smiled. "Why don''t you call and ask him?"
His confident attitude made it clear he was certain. Based on Ste''s understanding of Antoney, he would never agree. Unless... something had happened that she didn''t know about.
With that thought, Ste called Antoney.
He picked up almost immediately, joking, "You have a boyfriend now, and you still have time to think of me?"
Antoney was genuinely happy that Ste was able to move on. Although he had once offered to marry her, his feelings for her were more akin to those of a family member.
Ste nced at Joshua and lowered her voice. "Aurora is missing right now, and I have a n to turn Coleman to our side. I might need your cooperation."
Antoney agreed without hesitation. "Of course, no problem."
"Antoney, wait, listen to me first," Ste said quickly. "This n... it might involve using my mother... so, please hear me out before you decide. If you don''t agree, we cane up with another n."
That was the reason Ste had held off on this n: it required using her mother, Nora.
"Coleman is different from Jonathan
and Israel," Ste exined. "From
my observations, his hostility towards me stems more from jealousy. He''s jealous that I had our mother''s love and resources all to myself. I overheard Israel mention once that when they were little, someone in a teddy bear costume would bring them birthday presents every year. Later, Coleman and Israel would go looking for that teddy bear at the same time every year. This went on for about three years, and then the teddy bear just stoppeding. I suspect he''s already figured out it was our mother."
Antoney was no fool; he understood what Ste meant immediately.
"My master''s biggest regret before she died was sending you back," Antoney said. "I know what you want to do Go ahead and do it without any hesitation. This font using her it''s avenging her. She gave up her power for those three ungrateful wretches, and what did they do? They doted on that illegitimate daughter, Aurora, as if she were their real sister. They''re heartless.
"While Coleman doesn''t deserve to be our master''s son or your brother, if we can turn him and get his help your path in the Williams family will be much smoother. With Aurora gone and no one whispering his ear, it''s easy to make a move. This is indeed the perfect opportunity."