The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1318

Stella fell silent. Looking back now, she realized Foreman's story was full of holes. He claimed he never saw Joshua, but Joshua had been lying right there in the heart of the fire. There was no way he could have missed him. She couldn't understand why Foreman hated Joshua so much—enough to want him dead. This wasn't the Foreman she thought she knew.

Harold placed a calming hand on Jake's arm. "Ms. Cameron," he said to Stella, his voice softening, "I know Foreman has done a lot for you. But no matter how much you owed him, you shouldn't have had to repay that debt with Joshua's life. If you had, how would you be any different from Haynes, who made you suffer for what happened with Rachel?"

Stella nodded slowly. "I understand."

Harold's expression relaxed. "This time," he explained, "Joshua's plan was to draw Gibson's attention while we moved in to disarm the explosives. Gibson had laid traps everywhere, intent on killing both Joshua and Keen."

Gibson had never planned on letting Keen go. Killing Joshua was his primary goal, but killing Keen was his way of making Stella suffer the same loss he had. Sometimes, destroying what someone loves is a more profound revenge than simply killing them.

Jake added, "We also discovered that Gibson had positioned snipers to watch the warehouse. Their orders were to shoot anyone who made it out alive."

After the first shot, Harold and Jake had pinpointed the sniper's location and neutralized him before he could fire again. That first shot was the one that had hit Foreman.

With a clearer picture of what had happened, Stella returned to her vigil outside the operating room.

Once she was out of earshot, Jake turned to Harold. "Why did you tell her all that?"

His true purpose for leaving was to see someone else. Whether Joshua lived or died, he had to deal with Gibson before anyone else had the chance.

Gibson was being held in a secure underground cell, currently watched over by Foreman's men. With Stella and Haynes completely focused on Joshua and Keen, Foreman slipped away to see him.

At the sound of footsteps, Gibson barely cracked open his eyes before closing them again. "You a friend of his?"

Gibson had been well-prepared to kill Joshua, but he had underestimated his opponent. Joshua had anticipated his every move.