The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 2143

"I'm sorry," she said.

Joshua's expression remained neutral, but his eyes were noticeably colder than usual.

"Since you've made yourself so clear, Ms. Cameron, I won't pester you anymore or cause you any trouble," he replied evenly.

Stella stood there for a moment. Seeing his lack of reaction, a sliver of doubt crept back into her mind.

He caught her staring and looked up.

"Looking at me like that might give me the wrong idea, Ms. Cameron. Are you sure you want to keep staring?"

She immediately lowered her gaze.

Half an hour later, the nurses arrived.

With them taking over, Stella finally left the hospital.

...

"So, you're just dropping the whole thing with Aurora?"

Sitting across from her in a cozy cafe, Leonard Lerman posed the question.

"If he can sense something is off even after being hypnotized into amnesia, then Aurora's little charade is definitely not fooling him," Stella explained.

"He didn't believe my lies because I was so convincing; he probably already had his own suspicions.

The only reason he hasn't exposed her yet is probably because he enjoys messing with her.

My worrying was completely unnecessary."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Leonard asked.

Stella gently stroked the cat resting in her lap. "Before, it was just guesswork and paranoia... but that movie was too big of a coincidence.

I'm convinced he's either recovered some memories or is highly suspicious.

If the hypnosis is already wearing off... it's going to be near impossible to put him under a second time.

I don't want to push him past the point of no return."

"Harland is the rightful heir. He's always had a decent backing within the company," Leonard explained calmly. "I crushed them with brute force earlier, so they just went into hiding."

Ever since Leonard had transferred thirty percent of his shares to Stella, the resentment toward him within the Lerman family and the corporate board had skyrocketed.

If that massive slice of the pie had gone to someone within the family, it would have been fine—keeping the wealth in-house.

But instead, it had landed in Stella's lap, a woman with zero ties to the Lermans or their corporation.

Over the past few years, the voices of opposition against Leonard had only grown louder and more vicious.

He looked across the table at her. "Ruling through brute force is never a long-term solution. Three years was the absolute limit.

Harland should be fully prepared by now. This is the perfect time to strike."

By backing Stella as the largest shareholder of The Lerman Group, Leonard had made his own position incredibly precarious.

He had already alienated people with his ruthless, whatever-it-takes approach to seizing control of the family.

His methods were brutal, but his undeniable competence brought in massive profits, which had earned him the backing of quite a few shareholders.