The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Neville didn't hesitate for a second. He didn't even leave the airport—instead, he called his assistant right away.

"Book the fastest private jet to Sandford," he ordered. "And mobilize everyone we have near Sandford."

He paused, his tone darkening. "One more thing-look into Foreman Richards' recent movements."

After ending the call, Neville stared down in thought for a moment before dialing Foreman himself.

No answer. The phone just kept ringing.

Neville wasn't the type to sit around wasting time on unanswered calls. Within minutes, he was boarding his flight to Sandford.

Fortunately, Sandford wasn't far from Neo-Vespera; the trip would take just two hours.

By the time Neville arrived, it was already deep into the night.

While en route, his assistant had been busy, pulling together everything they could find about Foreman and Stella's recent schedules. Stella had been attending competitions-nothing out of the ordinary there. But Foreman, apparently, had been attacked and hospitalized not long ago.

Sandford was Foreman's turf, so the information Neville was able to get was patchy at best. He thumbed through the incomplete dossier, lost in thought.

For someone like Foreman, an ambush wasn't exactly surprising. Stella, meanwhile, was still out of reach, but what made Joshua so sure that her disappearance was tied to Foreman?

Neville tried calling Joshua again, but this time the call went straight to voicemail.

He guessed Joshua must be on a flight, racing over here as well. Neville had no idea exactly where Joshua was, but if he could get back quickly, he wouldn't have bothered calling in the first place.

"Foreman..." Neville muttered the name under his breath.

He knew Foreman had helped Stella before-she hadn't kept that from him. Neville hadn't interacted with Foreman much himself, but from what Stella and Abby had said, they both held Foreman in high regard.

Neville had met him a few times. Foreman always struck him as a gentleman calm, collected, with a warmth that put people at ease. The kind of man who seemed approachable, but if you looked closer, you realized he kept people at arm's length.

What would drive someone like that to betray his closest friends and side with Stella?

Neville's gaze sharpened. Stella had gone missing in Foreman's territory. Could it be... Foreman was hiding her?

It wasn't impossible.

Haynes O'Brien's divorce from

Stella-sure

Rachel Pearce had

sparked it, but Haynes' two friends had played a crucial part as well. Jasper Wilkinson was a lost cause-Rachel's loyal lapdog But Foreman... With his intellect, if he'd chosen to warn Haynes at the right time, maybe Stella and Haynes wouldn't have fallen apart this way. Maybe, Neville thought, Foreman had been fueling the fire behind the scenes.

His first instinct was that Foreman had locked Stella away.

Neville had been traveling a lot lately and wasn't up to speed on the issues between Leonard and Stella. Neither Abby nor Stella had mentioned anything about it to him.

He turned to his assistant. "Call Benson. Tell Haynes' people to track down Foreman's whereabouts as fast as possible."

Neville's own team could search as well, but this was Foreman's stomping ground —if Foreman wanted to disappear, finding him wouldn't be easy.

With Stella missing, every second counted.noveldrama

For now, Neville set aside any misgivings he had about Haynes. Stella's safety was all that mattered.

At the hospital, Foreman listened grimly as his men delivered their report.

With no sign of Stella anywhere, Foreman found it impossible to sit still and recover.