"You could use the power at my disposal to take over as the head of the Williams family."


    The Lerman family had been in Solmaris for years, possessing resources and influence far beyond what most people could imagine.


    While The Burton Group dominated the medical sector, the Lerman family, with its control over the underworld, was not to be underestimated.


    The Lermans were involved in numerous gray-market businesses, such as arms dealing and casinos-highly profitable enterprises. Although these industries were legal in Solmaris, many of them operated on the fringes of thew.


    Consequently, an entrepreneur like Skyler Williams, who kept his businesspletely transparent and avoided such ventures, looked down on the Lerman family. However, the Lermans'' intelligencework was undeniably effective, so Skyler had to turn a blind eye to Aurora Williams''s contact with Leonard Lerman.


    If Ste Cameron were to gain control of the Lerman family, there would be so much more she could aplish. With their power, she could use a few strategic moves to force even the shareholders who supported Skyler to switch sides. After all, everyone had seen what Leonard was capable of.


    Combined with the cards she already held, she could even sideline Skylerpletely.


    Ste looked at Leonard. "What exactly do you want me to do?"


    Leonard replied, "Just treat me the way you treat Joshua Gardner."


    Treat him the way she treated Joshua? Didn''t that mean... being a couple with him?


    The thought of being intimate with Leonard made Ste''s stomach turn with revulsion. No amount of money could make her endure that.


    "Sorry, I can''t do that."


    Leonard seemed to know there were some things Ste wouldn''t do. "If you don''t want any physical intimacy, I won''t force you. I will fully respect your wishes."


    Ste knew that, for now, her only option was to cate Leonard. She didn''t even know where she was; confronting him head-on would be pointless and painful.


    Ste asked, "Abby Murphy and Wilbur..."


    "They were hit with tranquilizer darts," Leonard said. "They''re fine."


    Ste nced at him. In the past, they would have been hit with real bullets, not tranquilizers.


    Ste''s nerves eased slightly. She looked at the familiar furnishings in the room and asked, "What''s all this?"


    "You decorated this room yourself," Leonard said. "I thought you''d like it."


    Ste pressed her lips together without a word. The feeling was incredibly strange. The decor from her and Joshua''s room was now here.


    Thinking of Joshua, Ste felt a knot tighten in her chest. He must be so worried, knowing she was missing.


    ***


    After an anxious wait, Joshua finally returned. The flight from Aetheria to Solmaris was a long one.


    Although Harold and Jake had been investigating Ste''s whereabouts the entire time, they had found nothing. This was Leonard''s territory, and he had orchestrated the kidnapping meticulously.


    Unless Joshua had been right by Ste''s side, no one could have stopped it.


    Harold and Jake waited at the airport, their expressions grim. Abby sat in their car, her face etched with panic and unease.


    Ten minutester, a tall, familiar


    figure appeared in their line of sight.


    Harold and Jake''s spirits lifted, and


    they quickly got out of the car to


    greet him, with Abby following close behind.


    Joshua''s cold eyes were as hard as ice. "What happened?"


    Harold and Jake looked at Abby. She


    swallowed nervously and recounted the entire se


    the entire sequence of events in


    detail, holding nothing back. She also told him about the few times Leonard had secretly met with


    Ste.  s?novels