The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1294

Stella turned to face him. "Haynes, Keen has been kidnapped. I'm in no mood to argue with you. You know we haven't reached the point where sacrificing Joshua is our only option."

Haynes cut straight to the point, his eyes locked on hers. "Fine. We're not there *now*. But what if we get there? If you have to choose between Keen and Joshua, if one of them *has* to be sacrificed, who will you choose?"

Stella frowned. "Haynes, Joshua is an adult with a mind of his own, not a tool I can just use. He has the right to make his own choices, and I have no right to order him to sacrifice himself for Keen. He's allowed to refuse."

A cruel smile touched Haynes's lips. "But from the looks of it, if you gave the order, he'd walk into his own grave without a second thought, let alone sacrifice himself for Keen."

Stella was growing tired of Haynes's attitude. "You've never been this irrational, Haynes. Is it because it's Joshua that you're so fixated on this? What if it were Abby? Or Marvin Connolly? Or Neville? Would you still expect me to ask them to die for my son?"

"But Joshua is the reason Keen was kidnapped in the first place!" Haynes's voice was dangerously low. "He should be the one to take responsibility!"

Stella's expression was just as cold. "Joshua bears some responsibility, yes. But none of this would have happened if Stuart hadn't tried to assault me. I was the catalyst for all of this, so why don't you blame me for what happened to Keen?"

"So you're saying you refuse to sacrifice Joshua for Keen," Haynes stated coldly.

Spotting Stella, Israel began his taunts. "Well, well, look at her. Her son's been kidnapped, and she's as calm as can be. Tsk, tsk. Anyone else would be a wreck. Stella, are you even worried about Keen? That Gibson fellow offered a trade, didn't he? Joshua for your son. Don't tell me you refused. Or maybe you're secretly hoping Gibson gets rid of him for you? One less burden to get in the way of your new love life? If you ask me, you knew you had enemies, and you took him out on purpose, hoping someone else would do your dirty work."

Before he could finish, Stella grabbed a glass of water from a nearby table and hurled its contents into his face.

"Enemies?" she said, her voice freezing him in place. "My biggest enemy is my own brother! Mr. Israel. If I can't even leave the house with my son in Solmaris, on Williams family territory, then maybe the great Williams family isn't as powerful as everyone says. Maybe you're all just an empty shell."