A faint ripple of emotion passed through Ste''s heart, but it vanished as quickly as


    it came.


    She opened her mouth, as if to say something.


    In the end, it turned into a silent sigh. She took the initiative and reached for Joshua''s hand.


    "Joshua, let''s go."


    Joshua finally tore his gaze away. "Alright."


    On the ne Joshua had arranged to fly them to Solmaris, Ste was reunited with Abby Murphy.


    Abby threw her arms around Ste, her eyes filling with tears.


    "Star, are you okay?"


    Ste shook her head. "I''m fine."


    Seeing that Ste wasn''t injured, she finally let out a breath of relief.


    Abby was about to say more when she saw Joshua following behind Ste. Joshua''s long eyshes were lowered, his expression unreadable.


    Abby thought for a moment and decided to give them some time alone. After all, during the month and a half that Ste was missing, Joshua was the one who had been on the verge of copse.


    She knew Leonard had feelings for Ste and probably wouldn''t hurt her. But for Joshua, having the woman he loved kidnapped by Leonard and taken to some unknown ce was a different story.


    After searching for so long with no results, it was a question of whether he would ever find her. It was a miracle Joshua hadn''t gonepletely mad.


    The flight back to Solmaris was on a private jet arranged by Joshua.


    Throughout the journey, Joshua said very little. Other than asking at the beginning if Ste was hurt or felt unwell, he barely spoke. But he held her hand tightly the entire time, as if afraid she would disappear again.


    Though Joshua said nothing, Ste could still feel his anxiety.


    After boarding the ne, Ste learned that Leonard had taken her to a small, obscure country. It was far from Solmaris; the flight back alone would take eighteen hours.


    Only Harold and Jake hade with Joshua this time. Abby had been waiting at the airport.


    Having not seen Ste for so long, the normally boisterous Abby had an endless stream of things to say. She had initially nned to give Ste and Joshua their space, but Joshua just sat there holding Ste''s hand, saying nothing. There were no passionate kisses or tender moments like she had imagined.


    The two of them were silent, and it felt rather awkward.


    Abby got three drinks from Harold, handed one each to Ste and Joshua, and then sat down next to Ste.


    "Star, after you disappeared, we


    couldn''t find any trace of you. We were going crazy," Abby said.


    "Haynes O''Brien, Neville Co


    and Antoney Watson all came to help. Even Foreman Richards..." she nced at Joshua before


    continuing, "Even Foreman came to


    help with the search."


    There was strength in numbers, and at a time like this, all the jealous rivalries had to


    be set aside. Finding Ste was the most important thing.


    Ste asked, "How did you find me?"


    Abby exined, "Leonard wiped away all traces of the kidnapping so cleanly there were almost no leads But Joshua said that no matter how perfecta n is, there are always ws. There''s no such thing as a perfect crime in this world. When we hit a dead end, we brought in"


    Simone and Aurora. Simone is Leonard''s sister, so she might know something. And Aurora was the one who invited Leonard to stay with the Williams family, making her one of thest people to have contact with him before he disappeared. We had to question them."


    Hearing this, Ste''s gaze flickered slightly. She knew that unless he was truly desperate, Joshua wouldn''t have gone after Aurora and Simone.


    Ste was about to ask more, but Abby gestured discreetly toward Joshua.