The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1147

“Of all the things Stella could have done, treating Simone that way was the last straw.”

One day, if he ever got the chance, he’d make her pay back a hundredfold.

Israel was only willing to cooperate with Leonard because he wanted to dig up something on Stella—enough to ruin her reputation for good.

He warned, “Leonard, don’t act rashly. No matter what, Stella is still part of the Williams family. After what you pulled last time, Dad and the Williams Group’s shareholders are already fed up with you. If you lay another finger on Stella, Aurora Williams will cut you off for good.”

Leonard was unpredictable—a loose cannon. Israel had no choice but to use Aurora as leverage. After all, what he wanted was Stella’s shares, not Stella’s life.

With a sigh, Israel couldn’t help but complain, “You know, when you kidnapped Stella before, it would’ve been enough to scare her straight. Why’d you have to ruin her hand? Now she can’t play violin anymore. She had to join the Williams Group and compete with Aurora for resources. If she’d been able to keep playing, let her play—Aurora would have gladly let her walk all over her. Are you avenging Aurora, or just making things worse for her?”

Back then, even though Stella held some original shares, no one in the Williams family saw her as a threat. She’d spent her whole life immersed in music and art, never once dipping her toes into the world of business. Aurora hadn’t been able to get into the Williams Group at first, but she’d kept up with private business courses behind the scenes. Compared to Aurora, Stella was a complete novice—nothing to be worried about.

Even when Stella officially joined the Williams Group recently, the family just thought she’d be a nuisance at worst—nothing worth losing sleep over.

That all changed when Stella acquired the Pearce family’s shares. Only then did the family finally start taking her seriously.

What neither of them expected was that the first person to help Foreman wouldn’t be Haynes at all—it was Stella.

Israel was so excited he could barely sleep. He immediately called Leonard. “Leonard, you won’t believe this—Stella, that fool, just invested a billion dollars into the Richards Group to keep things stable! I used to think she was some kind of prodigy—so sharp, so quick, after just a few months of learning the ropes. But now it’s clear she just lucked out. The Pearce Group only agreed to be acquired because of the shares she had from the start. And the money she raised? Someone else handed it to her. She’s not as clever as we thought. We really gave her too much credit.”

Leonard sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the stock market charts. He replied, “Don’t be so quick to judge. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

He’d underestimated Stella before—and paid the price. This time, he wouldn’t fall into her trap again.