chapter1878

Furious, Sherman exploded. "Joshua, you really know how to spin a narrative!

You're the one who kidnapped my uncle, and now you're trying to pin the blame on someone else!

"Don't think I don't see exactly what you're doing. You're framing me so the Burtons will tear each other apart, leaving you to swoop in and pick up the pieces!"

Joshua chuckled. "Sherman, from what I understand, you don't even hold any real power in this family. If I were going to frame someone, why wouldn't I target the person next in line to take over the family business? What exactly do I gain by pointing the finger at you?"

Sherman might not have possessed Sellers's cool composure, but he wasn't an idiot.

He locked eyes with Joshua and gritted out, word by word, "You're doing this to get revenge for Stella."

Joshua feigned surprise. "Revenge? What for? Did you do something to offend Star?"

At this point, Sherman was so desperate to nail Joshua to the wall that he completely lost his filter.

He pointed a trembling finger at Joshua and blurted out the dirty secret from years ago.

"He hates me because I tricked Stella into trusting me back then! I set it up so we'd be caught in the same room at her birthday party just to drag her name through the mud! That's why he kidnapped my uncle and is trying to frame me!

"His motives couldn't be more obvious!"

Kidnapping the head of the Burton family and orchestrating a petty social scandal were two entirely different leagues of crime.

If he let Joshua successfully pin the kidnapping on him, he would become the ultimate villain of the family and would likely be completely disowned!

However, the moment the words left Sherman's mouth, a dead, eerie silence fell over the courtyard.

Years ago, Stella had confided in Mr. Burton that Sherman was the one who had ruined her reputation.

But Sherman had vehemently denied it, and since she had no hard proof, the matter had eventually been swept under the rug.

Stella had moved on and had no intention of dredging it back up.

At the end of the day, Sherman was Mr. Burton's own flesh-and-blood grandson.

Family ties ran deep. Mr. Burton had already done so much for her; she couldn't fairly demand that he take her word unconditionally over his own grandson's.

But now, Sherman had just confessed to the whole thing out loud.

The air froze for a few long seconds before the sharp, echoing crack of a slap struck Sherman directly across the face.

Smack!

Mr. Burton stood there, a trembling finger pointed at Sherman, his face lined with utter disappointment.

"You worthless piece of trash! I can't

believe you would pull such a

l.ne

despicable stunt! So it really was

your fault that Stella was kicked out of her home back thenk

Though Mr. Burton was getting up there in years, he was still remarkably strong.

That single strike instantly left a raised, red welt on Sherman's cheek.

Sherman clutched his stinging face. "Fine, I admit I did that. But I had nothing to do with my uncle's disappearance.

"And it's completely obvious that Joshua is trying to frame me to get payback!"

Joshua let out a soft sigh. "Sherman, your willingness to admit to your past mistakes is certainly... commendable.

"But the idea that I would go through

the monumental hassle of

kidnapping the head of the Burton family just to frame you over some, ancient, petty drama... don't you think that's a bit of a stretch?

"If I really wanted revenge, there are a million different ways to ruin you. Why would I choose the absolute hardest, messiest route that puts a target on my own back?

"We have plenty of the Burtons right here right now. Why don't you ask them if they buy your story?"

Sherman whipped his head around to look at his relatives.

Now that Mr. Burton knew the truth about the past, he was far too disgusted to ever trust him again.

But the uncles standing nearby had always been on good terms with him. Sherman figured that since they had watched him grow up, they would surely know his character well enough to believe him.