The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1476

Simone faltered. "If not Stella, then... Joshua?"

"Exactly," Leonard confirmed. "His target is Joshua."

Simone frowned. "But everything that's happened recently has clearly been aimed at Stella."

Leonard said lightly, "Leaking the 'fake heiress' story at the party was a smokescreen from Sellers, but it also killed two birds with one stone."

Simone's confusion was evident. "Two birds with one stone? The plan seemed transparent and crude. Shouldn't the Camerons have been the ones humiliated?"

Leonard explained, "The Williams family choosing not to believe it was one outcome. Them choosing to believe it was another. Who could guarantee they would side with Stella?"

Simone froze for a few seconds, then it clicked. Sellers was gambling on whether the Williams family would turn on Stella for their own benefit.

If they did, the Williams and Cameron families would scramble to seize her shares, perhaps even challenge the will on public policy grounds, putting Stella in a very vulnerable position.

"But Sellers lost the bet," Simone said. "The Williams family didn't abandon Stella."

Leonard countered, "They didn't abandon her because they didn't want to look greedy and lose face publicly. What if Stella had powerful evidence? Their ugly ambition would have been exposed to the world."

Simone nodded thoughtfully. "You said the plan killed two birds with one stone. What was the other objective?"

A cold smile touched Leonard's lips. "True or not, there are always fools—or clever people—willing to believe a useful rumor."

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