The three Williams men—Skyler and his two sons—exchanged nces. None of them looked surprised.


    Ste had disappeared shortly before Aurora did, so it was highly probable that Joshua was behind it.


    But suspicion was one thing; proof was another.


    It was just like how Joshua suspected Aurora was involved in Ste''s disappearance


    but could do nothing without evidence.


    Jonathan asked, "Aurora, can you tell us what happened after you were kidnapped?"


    Aurora, who usually hid behind a mask of poise and grace, now had a deep, venomous resentment in her eyes.


    "Joshua kept trying to force me to tell him where Ste was. When I said I didn''t know, he tortured me. He had people chain my hands and feet and brought in a group of doctors—I don''t know from where—who subjected me to electric shocks every day. Several times, I passed out from the shocks, only to be woken up with cold water and shocked again!"


    As she spoke, Aurora trembled, her eyes filled with an uncontroble hatred.


    When she was in the Delta, although she had been vited, she hadn''t endured much physical torment. Even when she''d nearly been fed to a tiger, it had been her own choice.


    But this was different.


    No one had ever subjected her to such humiliation.


    Jonathan was livid. "Joshua has gone too far! Not only did he kidnap Aurora, but he also tortured her! Father, even if he''s the head of the Gardner family, we have to teach him a lesson! Otherwise, will the Williams family be a pushover that anyone can kidnap and manipte? Now I have reason to believe Joshua was also behind Aurora''s kidnapping and transport to the Delta."


    Joshua was Ste''s most powerful ally-not just her strategist, but someone with a background and resourcesparable to the Williams family.


    Even if he couldn''t take on the Williams family directly for now, Jonathan had discovered that Joshua was in the process of relocating his businesses.


    Once the Gardner family sessfully established a foothold in Solmaris, he would undoubtedly find a way to disrupt the city''s current power structure.


    Moreover, Beckett Torres, whom they had met before, clearly knew Joshua. If what Beckett said was true-that Joshua couldmand the authority of the Torres family head it meant they once had a very close rtionship. Beckett was also on good terms with Laurel Quinn of the Quinn family.


    With the help of those two major families, a mind like Joshua''s could likely gain a firm footing in Solmaris in a very short time.


    Joshua was a true gambler, always one to make high-risk, high-reward ys. Jonathan guessed that the timeframe Joshua had set for himself was no more than tree


    years. -


    If Joshua seeded, the Williams family''s empire would be usurped.


    He absolutely could not let that happen.


    Therefore, Joshua had to be eliminated first.


    Before Skyler could respond,


    Coleman, who was standing to the side, suddenly asked Aurora, "Aurora, you say Joshua kidnapped and tortured you. Do you have any proof? If you do, my brother and I will immediately have Ste bring him here."


    Aurora instinctively replied, "I have marks on my wrists and ankles."


    She rolled up her sleeve to show the marks on her wrist, intending to prove she had been shackled with iron chains.


    However, when she saw her smooth skin,pletely free of any marks or scars, her expression froze.


    Seeing this, Coleman said, "Aurora, when you came back, we had a doctor examine you. There were no injuries on your body."


    After the "electroshock therapy," Aurora had been dazed and disoriented. Even after the "treatment" stopped, she had been in a poor state.


    She had no idea her injuries had been treated.