NovelEnglishIt wasn't until this moment that Antoney finally understood Stella's true intention.
She'd brought him here as a decoy, to muddy the waters.
The three women glanced at the three men present, then turned their eyes
collectively toward Joshua.
"It's him."
Stella asked, "Do you know his name?"
The businesswoman replied, "He toldhis nwas Caleb."
The heiress added, "He toldhe was Rankin."
The socialite said, "He introduced himself as Cory."
Three different names. Classic con artist behavior.
Stella pressed further, "Since you were in a relationship with him, you must have
sphotos or videos of him on your phone, right?"
The women calmly handed over their phones.
With how advanced photo editing is these days, it's hard to tell real from fake just
by looking. You can't trust your eyes anymore.
Stella continued, "Can each of you describe when you dated him, where you met,
and what happened?"
Though they'd already posted about the story online, those were just general
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtsummaries.
The businesswoman stole a quick, almost unconscious glance at Haynes.
Clearing her throat, she began. Her account matched what she'd written online,
but this tshe added plenty of vivid details.
There wasn't a single logical flaw to be found.
Next, the heiress shared her story:
her relationship with "Rankin"-who
was actually Joshua. She spoke
smoothly and confidently, as if she'd
rehearsed this story a thousand
times in her mind.
Still, she cast a few surreptitious glances in Haynes' direction.
These subtle gestures didn't fool Haynes-and even Antoney picked up on them.
The socialite's account was just as convincing, every detail delivered with the ring
of truth. But unlike the others, she never once looked at Haynes. Her gaze kept
darting around the room.
Stella spoke again. "You're all sure you were in a relationship with Joshua, right?"
All three nodded in unison.
"Then," Stella went on, "does he have any birthmarks or scars-anything
distinctive?"
The businesswoman answered steadily, "We never got that close, so | wouldn't
know."
The other two nodded in agreement.
Haynes watched the trio, brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
Their stories were airtight, not a single inconsistency to latch onto.
But sometimes, a story that's too perfect is the biggest red flag of all.
Stella pressed on, "You've known all along, but never cforward. Why are you
choosing now to expose Joshua?"
The heiress replied, "After he
scammed us-our feelings, our
money-he disappeared without a
trace. We tried everything to track
him down, but it was like he
vanished. That's when we realized
all the personal info he gave us was
fake."
The socialite added, "Honestly, it's
because Ms. Cameron is so famous
now. Even people around her are
getting a lot of attention. Someone
online said her assistant was really
good looking. My friend recognized
him as the guy who scammed me
and then disappeared. She told me,
and | decided I couldn't let him hurt
anyone else. | made a post about it. |
never expected the other two
women to see it and realize we'd all
been through the sthing."
Stella turned to Joshua. "Joshua, do you know these women?"
He shook his head. "No, | don't."
The businesswoman spoke up, "Well, since you go by Joshua now, I'll use that.
Joshua, Ms. Cameron is a good person. She's about to represent our country in
the competition and bring us honor.
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