Joshua walked slowly toward her and extended his hand.


    "Star, shall we head back and talk?"


    Ste stared at his outstretched palm.


    After a beat of hesitation, she reached out and let him intertwine his fingers with hers.


    Leonard''s expression turned somber.


    Mr. Burton, Old Mr. Wyatt, and Colby all exchangedplicated looks.


    Ste stood up. "I''m sorry for the disturbance, everyone. Joshua and I are going home."


    Mr. Burton simply waved them off.


    Hand in hand, Ste and Joshua walked away.


    Watching their retreating figures, a faint ripple of emotion stirred in Leonard''s dark gaze.


    Even though Joshua had done wrong and lied to her, she was still willing to grant him grace and preserve his dignity in public.


    It was a kind of devotion Leonard had never experienced, and likely never would.


    ...


    Once back at the house, Ste and Joshua faced each other in heavy silence for the first time.


    Joshua was a brilliant man; he knew without a doubt that the game was up.


    Finally, he was the one to break the quiet.


    "See that, Star? You can never trust outsiders with anything important."


    Ste stared at him. "Then why did you choose Colby Hunt?"


    Joshua didn''t try to hide anything. "I considered buying off other doctors, but they came with too many unpredictable variables.


    I''d crossed paths with Dr. Hunt before and done him a favor. He was much easier to control than the alternatives."


    "How could you be so sure Old Mr. Wyatt would rmend him?" she asked. "What if he had chosen someone else?"


    The corner of Joshua''s mouth tipped up in an enigmatic curve.


    "It''s difficult to make someone work for you loyally, but incredibly easy to scare them away from a mess like this.


    There are only a handful of specialists in the world qualified to treat my condition.


    I issued a warning to all of them in advance, and they couldn''t run fast enough.


    So, whoever you managed to find was always going to be someone I had permitted you to find."


    Ste pressed on. "If the treatments werepletely useless, why subject yourself to them?"


    "If I showed no improvement, you


    would have insisted on hypnosiset


    Joshua replied smoothly. "It was better to let you think I was getting cured."


    Ste''s heart sank.


    Colby hadn''t confessed because he was a coward; he''d caved because he still possessed a shred of conscience.


    If the doctor had been even slightly more ruthless, she would have fallen for the charade hook, line, and sinker.


    And even if she did uncover the truth, Joshua''s contingency n would have effortlessly pinned the me on Leonard.


    Joshua had easily deduced that


    Leonard Was the one who brought in


    Old Mr. Wyatt, and he likely knew


    Leonard was recovering at Mr.


    Burton''s estate.


    Until her hand was fully healed, Joshua wouldn''t openly move against Leonard.


    But framing Leonard and making her despise the man even more was a convenient side benefit.


    It was a wless n, except for one thing: human nature was an uncontroble variable.


    Predicting behavior was simple, but dictating it was entirely different.


    Colby Hunt had been the singr crack in Joshua''s perfect design.


    Ste met his gaze. "Now that I know everything, what''s your next move?" Joshua''s voice was crisp. "Star, I''m the one who should be asking you that." Joshua''s greatest strength was his unashamed honesty once cornered. He never bothered with pitiful excuses or frantic backpedaling.


    A man of his intellect knew that apologies were useless when the damage was already done.


    Ste''s voice dropped to a whisper "Joshua, you''re brilliant. You know me better than anyone you should already know my answer."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!