Israel waspletely lost. He couldn''t make heads or tails of how the conversation had veered to Beckett, so he decided to keep quiet.


    Coleman, however, understood exactly what was happening.


    Joshua had anticipated that no matter who kidnapped Aurora, the me would be pinned on Ste.


    With Ste''s influence growing so rapidly, someone would inevitably try to create trouble for her to slow her down.


    This kidnapping was the perfect opportunity.


    With Joshua''s cunning and intellect, he could have easily fabricated a more


    usible, convincing excuse, but he chose not to.


    No matter how eloquent, any exnation would still be a lie. He might as well use a flimsy one to get under their skin.


    This was a setup, and everyone in the room knew it.


    Since they were trying to frame Ste, he would fight fire with fire.


    But... why Beckett?


    Could it be that he saw the new partnership between the Torres and Williams families and wanted to sow discord, disrupting their business rtionship?


    But wasn''t Beckett Ste''s partner?


    Joshua and Ste were on the same side. He wouldn''t sabotage his own ally''s partnership, would he?


    That would be like shooting himself in the foot.


    At that moment, not just Coleman, but even Jonathan was a bit confused by Joshua''s maneuvers.


    Joshua was simply too devious, utterlycking the integrity expected of a family head.


    The Williams family had suffered countless setbacks at his hands, and each time he outsmarted them in a new way.


    They had no idea what kind of scheme Joshua was cooking up this time.


    Unable to figure it out for the moment, Jonathan picked up his phone and ordered his subordinates to investigate.


    The results came back, matching what Joshua had said.


    Meanwhile, Skyler personally called Beckett.


    "Mr. Torres, I was wondering if you have a moment. We''d like to invite you to the Williams estate to discuss the kidnapping and disappearance of my younger daughter."


    Beckett was baffled. "Mr. Williams, what does your daughter''s kidnapping have to do with me? Isn''t it a bit inappropriate for me to be involved in the discussion?"


    Skyler nced at Joshua and said, "Well, Star and Joshua found out that during the time of Aurora''s disappearance, you had your men monitoring her movements. You even received information that she was taken to the Delta."


    Beckett had no intention of dealing with the Williams family, but the mere mention of Joshua''s name sent a flicker of unease through him. He Hada gut feeling that the cunning bastard had set another trap for him.


    With that thought, Beckett asked, "Is Joshua there with you now?"


    "Yes, he is," Skyler replied.


    "Alright," Beckett said. "I''ll be right over."


    An hourter, Beckett arrived at the Williams estate.


    He saw Joshua casually sipping tea and chatting with Ste.


    On the way over, Beckett had gotten the gist of the situation and realized Joshua


    had screwed him over again.


    He couldn''t believe Joshua would resort to such a low-handed tactic.


    Beckett cut straight to the point. "This has nothing to do with me. Joshua used my family head''s


    directive without my authorization.to


    investigate Aurora''s case in order to frame me."


    However, as soon as he said it, everyone looked at him strangely.


    Joshua''s excuse might have been flimsy, but Beckett''s exnation was even more illogical.


    Was a family head''s directive something that could be so easily stolen and used?


    If it were that simple, the world would be in chaos.


    Even if someone managed to decrypt the security key, surely an order issued by someone other than the family head, would be different from one issued by the head himself.


    And what''s more, all this time had passed, and Beckett hadn''t noticed a thing.


    He only found out because they told him.


    Beckett could see that the Williams family didn''t believe his exnation.


    If anyone else''s directive had been usurped, it would have been discovered almost immediately.


    But he and Joshua used to be partners; they knew each other inside and out.


    Others might not be able to pull it off, but Joshua certainly could.


    Beckett couldn''t possibly exin to everyone that he and Joshua had been partners.


    If he did, Joshua would find some convenient excuse, disappear from the picture, and leave him to face the fallout.


    The Williams family might not even bother going after Joshua, but he would be the one caught in the mess.