Adelle was practically seething on the other end of the line, her voice tight with anger. "Ms. Quinn, I have every reason to believe you people aren't even trying to find Susanna."

Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"You're all just teaming up to take down Black Gate, aren't you? That's what this is about-Black Gate's resources!" Adelle spat the words out, barely holding herself together.

Ever since the Murray family had started losing control over their key assets, it felt like everyone else was circling, ready to swoop in and split the spoils. Lacey, that snake... Maybe getting called back by Dan was all part of her plan. For all Adelle knew, Lacey had been scheming behind everyone's backs, manipulating Dan until he arranged to bring her home.

The more Adelle thought about it, the more convinced she became. Why else would it feel like Black Gate was being carved up on purpose? Like all of this had been orchestrated from the start. The situation had spiraled out of control so fast, with all these different factions barging in-it was chaos.

Yvonne listened to Adelle's outburst, then glanced at Xander, who was lounging nearby.

Adelle continued, her voice practically trembling with rage, "You guys are so cunning, you've been in cahoots with her all along, haven't you? What did she promise you?"

Now Adelle was convinced-Yvonne and the others had teamed up with Lacey. Yvonne snapped, "Look, are you giving her back or not?"

Adelle exploded, "She was never in our custody, and you know it!"

"Yeah? What exactly do I know?" Yvonne's patience was running thin. "So you're not handing her over, huh?"

"Fine. Clearly, we haven't put enough pressure on Black Gate yet."

And with that, Yvonne hung up, her anger bubbling over.

"Can you believe these Black Gate people?" she fumed to Xander. "No wonder Dan's been such an ass lately. Honestly, it's infuriating."

Xander took a sip of his red wine, looking utterly unconcerned. "What did she say?"

Yvonne rolled her eyes. "Adelle claims Susanna isn't with them. She's obviously stalling."

If Susanna wasn't with Black Gate, then where the hell was she? The whole thing was driving Yvonne mad.

"Check again-see if there's any word from Black Gate. We need Susanna back ASAP," she ordered. Given that attitude, if they didn't act quickly, who knew what kind of mess would come next?

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Yvonne felt her blood pressure rising. Just thinking about Hull's obsession with

Susanna made her head ache.

"Seriously, what's with Hull and

Susanna? It's a nightmare. If we can't get her back soon..." She trailed off, imagining the firestorm that could follow Hull's temper with Black Gate was legendary and she could easily get caught in the

crosshairs. FindNovels

It wouldn't just be her own problem, either. If this blew up and messed up

Ronald's relationship with Hull, that would be a disaster.

"God, the Murray family is absolutely shameless," Yvonne muttered, still fuming.

Xander, swirling his wine, looked unreadable as ever.

"Are you going to say something or just sit there looking pretty?" Yvonne snapped, exasperated.

Xander glanced at his watch. "There's no rushing this. Let's eat."

Yvonne stared at him. "Eat? Are you serious? How am I supposed to eat right now?"

She'd been on edge ever since

Susanna went missing, and alwa

that call from Ade

the anxiety was

cranked up to eleven. Food was the

last thing on her mind.

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