The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1117

Joshua said, “Star is Keen’s mother, but she’s not your wife anymore. Sure, you’re Keen’s father, but you and Star—whatever was between you ended a long time ago. So really, there’s nothing here to argue about.”

Stella fell silent.

Joshua’s tongue was as sharp as ever, she thought.

After Joshua disappeared overnight, neither Stella nor Haynes thought much of it. They just assumed he’d stayed to look after Keen.

Haynes was never one for pointless arguments, especially not childish bickering like this. He couldn’t be bothered to respond to Joshua, so he turned to Stella instead.

“Star, you don’t need to stress about the money. I’ll help you figure it out,” Haynes said gently. “Right now, the O’Brien Group can free up about five hundred million dollars in liquid assets. I’ll find a way to cover the rest. Don’t worry—I promise, within three days, I’ll get you everything you need.”

Joshua glanced at Stella in surprise. “Why do you suddenly need so much cash?”

Stella gave him a brief rundown of her plan to acquire the Pearce Group’s shares.

“Shawn is missing,” she explained. “It’s not likely we’ll find him and hold him accountable right now, so I might as well use this as an opportunity to get something out of it. Shawn’s father is about to run in the upcoming election—this is the perfect time to negotiate with the Pearce family. Once the election is over, he won’t be so easy to deal with anymore. Besides, even if we do find Shawn, apart from forcing an apology, there’s not much else we could do. Shawn didn’t actually succeed, and the Pearce and Williams families have been close for generations. Ruining him—or worse—is out of the question; the Pearces would never allow it.

So rather than letting the Williams family use me as a bargaining chip to squeeze benefits from the Pearces and then walk away with the spoils, I’d rather act first and claim what I deserve. At least then, all this suffering won’t be for nothing.”

Joshua raised his eyebrows at her words. “The evidence tying Leonard to Shawn—it’s fake, isn’t it?”

Stella froze, looking over at him. “How did you know?”

Joshua replied, “Leonard isn’t the type to leave obvious dirt anyone can dig up. The only explanation is that the evidence itself is fabricated. Just because Leonard and Shawn were seen at the same club doesn’t mean they were plotting together. But Shawn admitted he tried to target you, so the Pearce family already feels guilty. Plus, the Pearces probably suspect Shawn and Leonard colluded, so they think you might actually have the proof.”

Here, Joshua turned his gaze to Haynes. “Really, you’re bluffing the Pearces. After all, even they don’t know exactly how Leonard and Shawn worked together. Now that Shawn’s missing and can’t testify, your evidence—whether real or fake—is impossible for them to verify.”

A shadow flickered in Haynes’s eyes. Joshua’s guess was spot on.