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 ck Gate, aren''t you? That''s what this is about-ck 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 n. For all Adelle knew, Lacey had been scheming behind everyone''s backs, manipting 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 ck 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 nced 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 ck Gate yet."


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


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


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


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


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


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


    belongs to s


    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 ck Gate was legendary and she could easily get caught in the


    crosshairs.  s


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


    Ronald''s rtionship 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 nced 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<fn1f5b> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n Find[?]ovel</fn1f5b>


    the anxiety was


    cranked up to eleven. Food was the


    belongs to s