"Look at Dan-he doesn''t even try to hide how little he cares about you."


    If something happened to Susanna now, it was obvious: Lacey would end up at war with the Quinn family, and Dan... well, he''d have managed to screw Yvonne over one more time.


    Only this time, his n didn''t work.


    Yvonne let out a dry chuckle. "Dan and I? Please. There''s nothing between us worth mentioning."


    Honestly, part of the reason she agreed to help Ste this time was because she knew Dan had be the one pulling the strings at ck Gate. And the way he''d snatched that Nn deal from her father all those years ago? Yvonne still hadn''t gotten over it.


    That man-he used love as bait and trapped everyone around him.


    A guy like that? He''s not even worth talking about loyalty or friendship.


    Chloe chimed in, "ck Gate''s in total chaos now. Derek wanted to hand the reins over to Finch, but it''s not working out."


    Finch.


    The name lit a spark of interest in Yvonne''s eyes.


    "Seems like ck Gate''s family drama is even messier than I thought," she mused.


    No one had known before that Dan even had a younger half-brother.


    Finch.


    Derek treated Finch like his real son. As for Dan or Susanna? They may as well have been invisible to him.


    Yvonne nced at the small figure in the distance, shrinking with every step. "Poor kid''s gotten a rough hand in life."


    Chloe followed her gaze, nodding in agreement.


    “With a dad like that, it''s no wonder she''s had it tough,” Chloe said softly. “The fact that she''s got the guts to face any of this is impressive."


    Yvonne just snorted. "Most people in her shoes wouldn''t have survived, let alone put up a fight."


    At least Susanna had Hull and Ste''s connections to lean on-otherwise, she''d never have made it this far.


    Chloe nodded. "Yeah."


    Susanna was never the type for adventure of rock climbing. Back when she lived in Portis City, she was the ssic spoiled princess-her biggest concern was waiting for her mom to Venmo her monthly allowance.


    But now...


    After being tossed into the ocean, she was clinging onto a sheer cliff, scrambling for her life. From a distance, the bluff hadn''t looked that high, but up close, it was a


    verme


    nightmare-slick, with barely anywhere to grab hold.


    The crescent-shaped cliff bent back on itself, and she''d already fallen more times than she could count, barely making five meters before hitting the ground again.


    The sun slipped away, and the ocean wind got icy cold.


    Susanna knew: if she didn''t make it to the top tonight, Yvonne wasn''t sending anyone to pick her up.


    Her clothes were stered to her skin, soaked with salty sweat and seawater. She climbed, and climbed, until finally-at 1 a.m., shaking and spent-she staggered onto the summit.


    Just then, a helicopter began circling overhead.


    Yvonne''s people were here to get her.


    ...


    Inside the ind''s wooden cabin, Yvonne lounged in a ck silk robe when Susanna stumbled in, filthy and exhausted, copsing right onto the hardwood floor.


    She was so tired she could barely think straight.


    "If I go through all this and still can''t beat Dan," Susanna panted, "I''ming for you next."


    Yvonne arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You think you can take him on?"


    Beat Dan? She had to hand it to Susanna-her optimism was off the charts.


    Dan had grown up in ck Gate, where you couldn''t even trust your own family. That guy lived with a knife at his throat, always ready for betrayal.


    And Susanna thought a few climbing drills would make her a match for him?


    Susanna groaned. "I''m so beat I feel like roadkill. If I''m gonna go through hell, I bettere out with at least a shot at kicking his ass, right?"