The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 2228

"You claimed you secured an alliance with a powerful heiress to clean up your mess," the older man sneered. "So where is she?

Are you trying to con us again?!"

"You've played us for fools long enough! If you don't produce a bride today, we'll rip you off that throne ourselves!"

"Call off this farce and step down. A man without a legacy has no right to lead the Gardners!"

Listening to them rant about bloodlines and heirs, one would think they had time-traveled back to the Dark Ages.

But Stella knew exactly what this was—a coordinated, vicious coup d'état.

They had zeroed in on Joshua's only vulnerability.

Watching him get cornered by his own flesh and blood, Stella's nails bit into her palms.

"Did they... always treat him like this?" she asked, her voice tight.

"No," Laurel replied grimly.

"He's the head of the family, and they're barking at him like dogs," Stella fumed.

"How much worse was it before he had power?"

Laurel remained silent.

Stella took several deep, grounding breaths before pulling out her phone.

"I'm having my team track Juniper down."

She had no right to interfere in Gardner family politics, but she could damn well find his missing bride.

Ten minutes later, Wilbur called her back.

"Stella... it looks like Ms. Croft was kidnapped."

Stella's brow furrowed. She glared at the aggressive Gardner mob. "Did his own family orchestrate it?"

"This isn't their turf. Even if they took her, they wouldn't be able to slip past our radar so easily.

Wilbur, mobilize the team and get her back right now."

Wilbur hesitated before dropping the bomb. "Stella, it wasn't the Gardners.

It... looks like Leonard Lerman's men took her."

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