The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1219

In the same instant, a blade flashed, its edge glinting with lethal light like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

Leonard was a skilled fighter himself. He reacted with lightning speed, grabbing Joshua's wrist just as the knife was about to plunge into his chest.

As their hands locked, Joshua's lips curled, and he whispered four words.

"Is that all you've got?"

Leonard's eyes widened as he met Joshua's mocking gaze. He realized too late that he was being toyed with.

A flash of cold steel shot past the corner of his eye. Simultaneously, something warm and wet spattered across his face, followed by an explosion of agony from his left hand.

Leonard froze for a second, then looked down. His left wrist had been severed, sliced clean through to the bone. Blood gushed from the wound, and he watched in horror as his own hand fell to the ground.

His eyes were wide with disbelief. He looked up slowly to see the man in front of him casually twirling the bloody knife. Droplets of red slid down the blade, staining the earth below.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye, too fast to comprehend. The speed, the precision—it was inhuman. To an untrained observer, it was just a quick movement. To a seasoned fighter like Leonard, it was terrifying.

"You… you…" Leonard stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Joshua looked down at him, his dark eyes like a bottomless pit, shrouded in a dangerous mist. He let out a soft, low laugh, his voice as clear and cold as ice.

…

Seeing the explosion at the Lerman estate, a slow smile spread across Foreman's lips. He didn't know the details, but whether Leonard or Joshua had suffered, it was a win for him. He would simply reap the rewards. He picked up his phone and gave the order.

"Move on Lerman Manor."

…

Harold waited anxiously outside the estate, his nerves frayed. Joshua had taken very few men with him, having sent most of them to secretly guard Stella. Thankfully, his most skilled operative, Jake, was with him. But shortly after they had entered the estate, he had lost all contact. Even their trackers had gone dark.