Joshua''s expression went stone-cold. His face was frigid, his eyes radiating a terrifying chill that seemed to drop the surrounding temperature to freezing.


    "Leonard," Joshua bit out, his voice like ice. His face was an undisguised mask of murderous intent. "He dares."


    "Mr. Gardner, what do we do now?" Harold asked. They had already exhausted every external lead they could find, turning up nothing useful. They had no way of getting into the Williams family estate.


    "We''re going to the Williams family estate first," Joshua said coldly.


    ***


    Inside Jonathan Williams''s study.


    Aurora had already learned that while she was missing, Ste had seized a huge portion of her resources. Now, what she once controlled had been mostly picked clean.


    Concealing the coldness in her eyes, Aurora said to Jonathan, "Our brother was so focused on going after Ste that hepletely missed how she was taking my assets from under our noses. The resources he managed to cut off are nothingpared to what I lost. In this exchange, Ste came out way ahead."


    She looked at Jonathan. "I even suspect that the assets you intercepted were just a smokescreen Ste threw at you on purpose."


    *Bang!*


    Jonathan mmed his hand on the desk. "She dared to pull a stunt like that behind your back while you were missing!"


    "Why wouldn''t she?" Aurora retorted. "She must have known that once I returned, it would be an all-out war between us, so she had nothing to lose. Besides," she continued, looking at Jonathan, "for Ste to seize my key resources so quickly, she must have been nning this for a long time. The only reason she didn''t strike first was simple: she was waiting for us to make the first move, so we couldn''t pin anything on her. Even if we take this to the shareholders, we won''t have a leg to stand on. After all, you were the one who went after her first, brother. You can''t just attack someone and not expect them to retaliate. You were too impatient, and you walked right into Ste''s trap."


    After Aurora''s exnation, Jonathan realized he had most likely been tricked. It was almost impossible to salvage the situation now. They would have to swallow this bitter pill.


    But Jonathan wasn''t ready to give up. He asked, "You invited Leonard to the Williams estate. Was it to deliberately provoke Ste, to push her into making a mistake?"


    "Ste isn''t the same person she used to be, and neither is Leonard," Aurora sighed. "Petty tricks won''t work on them. It was just to cause a little trouble for Joshua."


    Jonathan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Aurora, is there any chance Leonard could still be useful to us?"


    Just as Aurora was about to answer, a knock came at the door. The butler reported from the doorway, "Mr. Williams, Joshua Gardner is here..."


    Before he could finish, the study door was thrown open. Joshua strode in radiating a menacing aura. His eyes glinted with a sharp, cold light as he stared directly at Aurora, his dark piercing gaze seeming to see right through her.


    "Where is Star?"


    Meeting Joshua''s gaze, Aurora''s heart clenched. A chill spread from her core to her limbs.


    She managed to maintain herposure. "Isn''t Star working at The Williams Group?"


    Joshua''s lips barely moved as he enunciated each word. "Star was kidnapped by Leonard. You didn''t know?"


    At his words,


    s, both


    Aurora and


    Jonathan froze. They genuinely had no idea. Ste didn''te home è every night, and she had moved out of the Williams estate a few days ago to live elsewhere. They werepletely unaware that she had been kidnapped.


    Jonathan said, "If Star was kidnapped by Leonard, we''ll send people to look for her..."


    However, Joshua ignored him, his oppressive gaze fixed on Aurora "You were the one who invited Leonard to stay at the Williams estate Her disappearance is definitely connected to your


    Aurora rarely took the me for others. She had invited Leonard only to ruin Ste


    and Joshua''s rtionship.