The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1245

"That was a brilliant move, Star. How did you even find that guy?"

"He was mentioned in the files Harland sent me," Stella replied.

Antoney paused. Stella had shared the files with him, but he had no memory of this person. His memory was excellent, so for him to not recall the name meant the man must have been a mere footnote. How many times must Stella have gone over those files to find such an obscure individual and use him so perfectly?

***

**The Lerman Estate.**

The night was pitch-black, and the room was unlit. Only a sliver of moonlight filtered through the window, reflecting in the eyes of the man sitting in a wheelchair. Harland listened as his assistant delivered a report.

"I didn't expect Stella to be so resourceful," Harland said with a faint smile. "To think she found him… Leonard never would have dreamed he'd be brought down by such a minor player."

"What should we do now, sir?" the assistant asked. "Do we continue to wait?"

"Stella has proven her strength and capability," Harland replied. "To remain idle any longer would show a lack of sincerity." He smiled. "It's time to add more fuel to the fire."

Just as the assistant was about to respond, his gaze shot to the door, his eyes sharp. "Who's there?!"

A woman's voice came from the other side. "It's me, sir, Moon… I've brought you a late-night snack."

"You may go," Harland told his assistant, who nodded and left swiftly.

A vein throbbed in Harland's temple. *I have no quarrel with Stella,* he thought, bewildered. *So why on earth did she send this half-wit to my side?*

***

At an auction, Stella sat beside Neville, who had invited her. She had agreed, hoping to find a suitable gift for his grandmother. She hated being indebted to anyone, and after receiving such a precious gift from Old Mrs. Connolly, she felt compelled to give something in return, even though she planned to give the bracelet back eventually.

As she was listening to the auctioneer, her phone vibrated. It was a call from Harold.

"I need to take this outside," she murmured to Neville, who nodded in understanding.

In the hallway, she answered the call. Harold's frantic voice immediately filled her ear. "Ms. Cameron, it's terrible! Joshua's gone missing!"