chapter1789

Joshua's mouth curved faintly, but his gaze stayed flat and cold. "Otherwise, why do you think he died?"

Aurora was stunned into silence, unable to say a word for a long time.

That's right. He cared, so he killed Leonard.

He wouldn't blame Stella Cameron, only the man who had taken her away.

Aurora could only shift her attack to Stella. "Have you ever considered that Star might not have been kidnapped? Maybe she and Leonard made some sort of deal, and she left with him willingly. And the terms of that deal were his thirty percent stake in the company? Otherwise, how do you explain Leonard bringing her back of his own accord?"

"I don't know what you went through during your disappearance, Ms. Williams," Joshua said, "but you seem to enjoy baseless speculation. Are you suffering from paranoia?"

Joshua's words brought back the humiliating memory of the 'electrotherapy' for Aurora.

The resentment sharpened, and her smile only grew sweeter. "Joshua, now that Stella has accepted Leonard's shares, she won't hate him anymore. She'll forgive Leonard, just like she forgave you. When you think about it, her future career is nothing compared to those shares. If she continues as a violinist, she'll always be at the mercy of investors. It's better to become an investor herself. To be honest, if Stella had any consideration for you, she would never have accepted Leonard's shares. I admit, I'm ambitious. But Stella's ambition is no less than mine. You're just a stepping stone for her climb to the top, Joshua."

At this, Aurora gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze lowered

in a soft smile. Her eyes glinted with a captivating allure.

"Still, I truly envy Star for having so many men love and protect her so wholeheartedly."

"You needn't worry about that, Ms. Williams," Joshua said. "After all, not just anyone

is qualified to use me as a stepping stone."

He looked at Aurora's seductive display with a smirk. "My morals

might not be perfect, but on net

I'm quite possessive. I have no. interest in sharing the woman love with other men, and I'm not into being tamted by some femme fatale. My woman belongs to me and me alone. Anyone who tries to take her from me is going to regret it."

Aurora's face stiffened for a moment, and a chill ran down her spine. That feeling of being completely overpowered and suppressed washed over her again.

She could no longer maintain her composure. "Do you really think Stella is so innocent?"

"I'm not in love with a saint," Joshua replied. "Why would I need her to be innocent?"

An hour later, Stella and Joshua left the Williams residence.

Back in Aurora's room, Sellers Burton asked her, "Well? How serious is Joshua's problem?"

Aurora's expression was grim. "I can't tell for sure right now, but he's definitely not as normal as he pretends to be. He went out today on purpose, anticipating that might, have noticed something deliberately giving me a chance to test him. The more he acts like this, the more it proves something is wrong."

Sellers frowned. "Did you ask Foreman Richards?"

"I did," Aurora said, "but Foreman doesn't know anything. He's spent even less time with Joshua than l have. However, he's also going to find ways to provoke Joshua. Once

he has a breakdown, Stella's whole plan wilkfall apart. Also, Stella has already signed the share transfer agreement. In about two months, she'll be able to take over a portion of the Lerman family's operations. It will be even harder for us to deal with her then."