Stella watched as Melissa swore her innocence with such fierce determination that she finally believed her.

"Alright, I believe you," she said.

Melissa sniffled. "So... what about the Norton family?"

"I'll talk to Mom," Stella replied.

Hearing that, Melissa immediately let go of her knees, grabbed some tissues, and wiped her nose. Stella took in her pathetic state, a rare sight for someone usually so composed.

"Wow. This is new-you're not usually one to cry, you know?"

"Walk a mile in my shoes!" Melissa shot back, voice thick with misery. "Accused by my whole family for something I didn't even do!"

She looked utterly wretched—rightfully so, Stella thought. Even the proudest of people eventually bowed under enough pressure.

Just then, Stella's phone vibrated-Yvonne was calling.

Leaving Melissa behind, she stepped aside and answered. "Hey, sis."

"All sorted," Yvonne announced. "Skye will give Tegan James full protection. You need to send Skye all of Tegan's info ASAP."

"Got it," Stella replied, relieved, but too curious to resist. "How'd you manage to pull that off?"

Her brother always insisted Yvonne and Skye weren't at odds, but from Stella's perspective, those two could hardly be in the same room without sparring-they came straight at each other every single time, neither ever willing to budge.

"I told Skye Tegan was going to be her sister-in-law. How was she supposed to slack off on protecting her? What, did you expect me to do the job myself?" Yvonne said breezily.

Stella was caught completely off-guard. "Wait, Tegan isn't actually with Finley, though."

"Who cares?" Yvonne retorted. "We say she is, so she is. Right now, we just need to keep Tegan safe."

Stella sucked in a breath. “Aren't you worried Skye will come after you from one end of the earth to the other once she finds out the truth?"

If anyone had a temper, it was Skye-fiery, impulsive. Finley couldn't mention his

sister without wearing that pained, long-suffering expression.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. For now, just send Skye the info." Yvonne sounded completely unfazed.

"Okay..."

Vel

Stella was quietly worried, listening to Yvonne's casual tone. Those two had been setting traps for each other their whole lives, but this. time.. This time, Yvonne's scheme for Skye was on a whole new lever She half feared Skye might just bury her alive.

"Relax," Yvonne said, guessing Stella's thoughts. "By the time Skye has even a minute to spare, she'll be too busy fighting it out with Uriah. She won't care who fooled her into this mess."

arus

If Skye realized, after protecting her "sister-in-law all this time, that it'd all been a ruse? There was no way she'd keep her cool. She'd just dive into the chaos, grab at what she wanted, and take the fight straight to Uriah-no talking, just action. Those two would tear each other to pieces.

Who'd have time to go after Yvonne?

Stella considered that. "I mean... you do have a point. If Skye and Uriah start

fighting over Tegan, neither of them will care who started it.”

“Exactly. Now go send Skye what she needs,” Yvonne said.

"On it," Stella sighed.

Deep down, she felt this business with Tegan might turn out to be even more of a powder keg than what happened with Susanna Tucken Susanna

trough dull had been

trouble enough, but Susanna had never had another man in her life before. With Tegan, things were different. There was history with Uriah-he'd practically raised her. Even if Tegan was fully over it, would Uriah ever really let her go?

As for Finley... well, no one could guess how he'd handle all this. But one thing was certain: when the time came, Skye and Uriah were bound to go head-to-head, and it wouldn't be pretty.