After a whole lot of coaxing, Yvonne finally managed to calm Ste down.

Before hanging up, there were endless "love yous" and virtual kisses-honestly, if you didn''t know better, you''d think Yvonne had just married Ste.

The whole thing gave Xander a serious case of goosebumps.

As soon as the call ended, Yvonne wasted no time and tried to call Ronald. The phone rang forever, but he didn''t pick up.

With no luck there, Yvonne called Idris instead. Xander, who was still listening in, said, “She still relies on you this much?"

In Xander''s mind, Ste had never really learned to take care of herself-not unless she was living in Portis City. Back at the Quinn house, she''d always leaned on Ronald first, then Yvonne came next.fn151d N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?/fn151d

And sure enough, with Ronald away on a business trip and not answering his phone, who else was Ste going to turn to but Yvonne?

Yvonne just shrugged. "Come on, she''s still a kid at heart. It''s totally normal to feel helpless when something goes wrong."

Xander rolled his eyes. He''d never seen Yvonne act like the big sister she imed to be back in Portis City, so to him, Ste was still a kid.

"She''s about to be a mom of three, you know," he pointed out.

"That doesn''t mean she''s not young! Honestly, if I hadn''t taken on Susanna''s mess, I''d be right there with her now," Yvonne sighed.

If it weren''t for Susanna dragging her into this Hull business, Yvonne would''ve dropped everything to be there for her baby sister. No way would she let Ste cry her eyes out alone.

Xander just snorted. "Yeah, right. Like you''d stay put for anyone. You''re always dashing around the world."

Yvonne was quiet for a second. Okay, he had a point-she couldn''t just give up her free spirit for a kid.

But this felt different.

If she weren''t tied up with Susanna, she''d already be on a ne back home.

Just then, Idris finally picked up. "Miss?"

"What''s my brother so busy with? The house is burning down and he''s not picking up!" Yvonne snapped.

"Huh?" Idris answered, confused.

"Where is he?"

"He''s with Mr. Morrow. Their meeting should wrap up in half an hour."

"The house is burning down" wasn''t literal, but Idris was clearly puzzled.

Yvonne continued, "Look, when you get a second, tell him: Star called me bawling her eyes out. It was a total meltdown."

That made Idris''s heart skip a beat. "Mr. Ronald''s phone is with me. Why was Star crying like that?"

"Oh, so you''ve got his phone? Great. No wonder he didn''t answer, and now Star''s upset."

Idris went pale. He never thought missing one call would turn into such a disaster. "I''ll head in and get him right now," he promised.

"Yeah, hurry up."

"But why was Miss Star crying?" Idris pressed, sounding genuinely lost. As far as

he knew, nothing big was happening at the Quinn ce.

Yvonne exined, "She got a package st now-a pregnancy test,

three lines. Someone''s saying they''re pregnant dont need to spe?

it out for you, do I?"  fo s

Idris: "What?!"

Oh God.

Even if he knew Ronald would never get caught up in something like that, the situation was officially a mess.

Yvonne hung up.

Xander turned to her. "Wait, three lines on a pregnancy test?"

"Doesn''t that mean pregnant?" Yvonne asked.

"No, that''s two lines," Xander said.

Yvonne just shrugged. "Whatever.

The point is, it means

pregnant As long as

message

got across, she didn''t really care

about the specifics.  fo s

A momentter, they arrived at cktower.

Yvonne and Xander mmed their car doors and marched inside, looking like they were on a mission.

Derek had just been chewed out by Dan. As soon as Dan left, the butler, Leroy, announced, "Mr. Schultz, Ms. Quinn is here."

Derek''s heart sank.

He instinctively exchanged nces with Adelle, whose face had gone stiff. She hadn''t expected this. She just wanted her son Finch to take over ck Gate, but Dan had turned

the whole thing into a circus.  s