"I..."

"I''ll make sure the person who did this is brought right to you. You can deal with them however you like, okay?"

He hadn''t really exined anything, but it felt like he''d exined everything.

If he were actually guilty of something, he''d never say something like that.

Ste blinked. "R-really?"

"Of course it''s true. Don''t believe me?"

"I do," Ste mumbled.

Ronald chuckled. "If you believe me, why are you still crying?"

Ste fell silent.

Seriously, who wouldn''t freak out after getting a positive pregnancy test out of nowhere? Anyone would immediately call their husband.

Seeing Ste quiet, Ronald just sighed. "You always get all worked up when you''re pregnant."

"I''m hanging up," Ste replied, her voice small, and ended the call, her fingers fiddling nervously.

Her friend Lottie was still by her side. When Ste hung up, Lottie grinned. "See? Nothing happened, right?"

"He didn''t exactly say that," Ste admitted.

Lottie rolled her eyes affectionately. "Well, of course he didn''t. It''s not about him, so what do you want him to say?"

She reached over and gave Ste''s cheek a yful pinch.

Lottie stayed with her for a while longer, soothing her nerves until Ste finally calmed down. After all the drama, they were both exhausted.

Lottie made sure one of the housekeepers stayed close by to take care of Ste, then sent her off to bed.

Once Ste was resting, the butler approached. "Ma''am."

"Find out who''s behind this," Lottie said, her tone suddenly icy.

At that moment, her whole demeanor radiated danger.

Whoever tried to mess with Ste was basically stepping on the Quinn family''sst nerve.

If someone in the shadows was bold enough to make a move, they''d better be ready for the consequences.

The butler nodded. "We''ve already started looking into it."

"And what about Yvonne?"

"Mr. Schultz went over there. He leveled Mr. Murray''s estate-made quite a scene."

Lottie nodded. "Dan had iting for what he did to Yvonne back then."

"Miss Yvonne got the short end offn5282 ???? ????s? ???????s ?? F?nd-Novel/fn5282

the stick this time, too. Dan, kept her locked up overnight. Mr. Schultz had, to go in and get her out.  s

Lottie''s silence was heavy. Rage simmered just beneath the surface.

"Send Old John to ck Gate. Derek''s got things there we could use."

The butler hesitated for a moment. Sending Old John now? Still, maybe it was the perfect opportunity.

ck Gate was in absolute chaos right now.

Lottie had never cared topete with ck Gate before, but things had changed.

Ever since she''d learned that Dan

was Derek''s son-and the one

pulling the strings at ck

Gate-she''d felt like she couldn''t breathe.  s

Her own daughter, toyed with like that, nearly driven to a breakdown.

There was no way Lottie, as a mother, was letting that go.

Meanwhile, Yvonne and Xander were finally facing Derek, with Adelle present too.

The whole living room felt tense and heavy.

Yvonne spoke first. "That''s how it is.

Hand Susanna over to us, and we

can work something out.

II

over

the...

s.Het

She didn''t finish, but the way she spat out "otherwise" left no doubt about her threat.

Xander sat beside her, idly flipping a silver pocketknife in his hand, a faint smirk on his lips.

But in this dangerous moment, his smile was more like the devil''s.

Derek looked pale, but with Yvonne staring him down, he didn''t dare lose his temper.

He knew all too well-Yvonne had the entire Quinn family behind her.

And everyone knew what Lottie Lugar was capable of when she wanted revenge.