chapter915

Since Stella insisted on preparing dinner herself, she didn't walk back with Abby.

When Abby returned carrying the herbal broth, Foreman's assistant had already left.

"Mr. Richards, Star made this nourishing soup for you today," Abby said gently as she set the tray on the table.

During his first couple of days in the hospital, Foreman had needed help with every meal, even just a glass of water. But after that, he insisted on doing things himself.

He accepted the bowl from Abby, managing a tired but grateful smile. "Please thank Star for me."

Foreman finished every last drop.

Abby watched him, unable to hide her admiration. "Back when Star made these broths for Haynes and Keen, Haynes always got caught up in work-he'd eat half, then rush off to deal with something, and the rest would just sit there until he forgot about it. As for Keen, well... he was always tempted by takeout and junk food. He'd have a few bites just to be polite, then refuse to eat any more, never mind how much care Star put into it."

Foreman gave a wry chuckle. "They just didn't know how to appreciate what they had."

What they took for granted, Foreman had nearly risked his life to earn. Now, after all he'd been through, he was finally treated the same as Haynes-a reward paid for in pain and near disaster.

Some people really had all the luck.

He glanced up. "Where's Star? Why didn't she come back with you?"

"She's still in the kitchen, making you dinner," Abby replied.

Foreman frowned, the lines between his brows deepening. "She could have let the staff handle that."

Abby avoided his gaze, unwilling to admit that Stella was simply too embarrassed to face him. "Star still feels terrible about your accident. Let her do this it'll help put her mind at ease."

He didn't argue further.

But when dinnertime came and Stella still hadn't appeared, Abby stood and said, "Mr. Richards, I'll go check on Star in the kitchen."

"Alright," Foreman agreed.

But Abby never returned.

Foreman began to sense that something was wrong. He texted Stella-no reply. He tried calling her, but no one picked up. The same thing happened when he tried to reach Abby.

A chill ran down his spine. Something was off. He immediately sent his people to investigate.

The news came back quickly: Stella and Abby had both vanished without a trace.

Foreman shot out of bed, his heart pounding. "What's going on? Didn't the hospital already secure the entire building? How could they just disappear?"

The truth was, there had never been any assassin sneaking into Sandford to target Stella. The supposed attacks had all been part of Foreman's elaborate ruse -a calculated plan to play the victim.

Novaris wasn't the kind of place Leonard could just send hired killers into on a whim. Stella might not have understood that, but Haynes and Neville certainly did-especially Haynes. After all, the two brothers had spent years building their

networks in Novaris. They knew

exactly which territories belonged to

whom.

That was why Haynes had to get hurt. He had to end up in a coma-otherwise, he'd have quickly realized something was off. How could assassins keep slipping past such tight security, again and again? Did they really think he and his men were fools?

Foreman had made sure Leonard couldn't step foot in Sandford. All those bodyguards he'd posted around Stella were for show, just part of the act.

He never believed Leonard could steal Stella away under his nose. The whole

point had been to get closer to her, to spend more time together.

And it had worked. In just a few days, Foreman had seen more of Stella than he had in all their years of acquaintance combined. The last time he'd managed to keep her at his place for three days straight, he'd gotten a taste for it-so he'd staged another rescue, both to extend their time together and, hopefully, to make her feel indebted to him.

But he never expected Stella to disappear on him.

His assistant hovered nearby, watching his face nervously. "According to the investigation, sir, it looks like someone managed to sneak in through the kitchen vent system..."