His inherent intimidation factor made anyone think twice before crossing him.

When Ronald didn't answer, Hull asked, "Boss, have you ever been afraid?"

"Afraid?" Ronald repeated.

A cold, dangerous light flickered in his gaze at the mention of the word.

Afraid? No, that word didn't exist in his vocabulary. He feared nothing.

"Not even that someone might hurt Star?" Hull pressed.

Hurt Stella? A predatory smirk tugged at the corner of Ronald's mouth. "Then I'll make damn sure they suffer the consequences."

Take the Schultz family, for example. Ronald had been absolutely merciless. What was left of them now?

His sister, Yvonne, was with Xander, leaving the Schultz family with nothing, yet she still wreaked havoc, turning the place upside down.

Regina was currently rotting in prison, crippled. Even if she wasn't dead, her life was a living hell.

Come to think of it, Hull realized that over the years, aside from Regina, no one had dared to lay a finger on Stella. And the only one who did had met a devastating end.

That was the sheer power of Ronald's existence.

"You have to hold everything in the palm of your hand," Ronald said coldly.

If anyone even thought about harming her, he would be the first to know—and he would destroy them.

He had already received word about Berry's little stunt. But before he could even act, Yvonne had beaten him to the punch.

Hull took another drag of his cigarette, falling silent. Maintaining total control meant constantly worrying about the ones who slipped through the cracks. It was exactly why he planned to walk away from this life after everything was settled.

Ronald glanced at him. "Where do you plan on taking Susanna?"

"She loves the snow. I'll take her somewhere cold first."

A place with snow. Susanna truly loved it. Back in Litamark, she had constantly complained about the dry heat.

Meanwhile, with Xander.

Yvonne was on the phone, making arrangements in Novaderma. She wasn't about to give Berry a single chance to escape.

Xander received a call at the same time. As soon as Yvonne hung up, he spoke, "Over in Litamark Lacey and Derek are at each other's throats."

"Why?"

"Something about a medical report," Xander replied. "Derek refuses to believe he's infertile."

"Can you blame him?" Yvonne scoffed.

He had just found out three of his kids weren't his, and finally managed to confirm the other two were. If he admitted he was infertile, he would be admitting his bloodline was dead. For a traditional man that was a Suffocating wave of despair. matter what the evidence said, Derek would deny it to his dying breath.

"But," she added, "what does that have to do with us?"

"Finch took off."

Yvonne was speechless. That still had absolutely nothing to do with them.

"Finch controls an independent faction," Xander explained, "and now he's clashing directly with Black Gate."

Yvonne paused. Okay, things were getting a little messy.

Lacey was fighting with Derek, and Finch was at war with Black Gate. "Doesn't that put Lacey in a bad spot?"

met

Even though Finch wasn't Derek's kid to begin with, having his true parentage exposed like this was exactly the leverage Lagey and Susanna needed. By now, Finch probably despised Lacey with a burning passion.

"How strong is his faction?" Yvonne couldn't help but ask.

"Significant," Xander warned. "We need to stay sharp. With Black Gate in total

chaos, we have to protect everything we've taken back."

Yvonne rolled her eyes. So he was just worried that Derek might snatch back the assets he had worked so hard to claim?