He could have just told her, right? Why did he have to get all condescending?


    She was so mad!


    Yvonne was fuming. Xander remained silent.


    "Hey! I spent weeks frantically searching for Susanna, terrified that her disappearance would drive a wedge between you and my brother. And this is how he treats me?" The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.


    "Do you know anyone on his team?" Xander asked.


    "Of course. I know Barnaby and Ss."


    "Call them."


    "Is that a good idea?" Yvonne hesitated. "What if they''re with Hull? I''ll just sound like a nosy gossip."


    Hull''s tone had already made her feel like that. And she wasn''t that kind of person... was she?


    "So what if you sound like a gossip? Is it a crime to want to know who you''re gossiping about?" Xander reasoned.


    "Good point."


    Yvonne decided he was right. She pulled out her phone and dialed Ss. He wasn''t with Hull at the moment. He was a bit surprised to see Yvonne''s name pop up on his screen but answered respectfully, "Ms. Quinn."


    "Ss, I need to know. Is Susanna with Hull?"


    "Huh?" Why was she asking that?


    "Is she, or isn''t she?" Yvonne pressed.


    "Yes, she is."


    The line went silent. Yvonne felt like the world was crumbling around her. Her mind went nk, a roaring storm of emotions crashing down on her.


    For a long moment, she couldn''t process it.


    Ss, hearing nothing on the other end, cautiously asked, "Ms. Quinn?"


    Yvonne''s voice was tight. "You''re saying Susanna is with Hull?"


    "Yes?"


    "Since when?"


    "She''s been with him the whole time," Ss said matter-of-factly. He saw no reason


    to hide it. As Hull''s right-hand man, he knew the situation with ck Gate was nearly wrapped up.


    That sentence-"She''s been with him the whole time"-nearly sent Yvonne''s soul flying out of her body.


    The whole time...


    Ss just said Susanna had been with Hull the entire time?


    "You mean, ever since she left my ce?"


    "Yes."


    The line went dead silent again. But this time, a fire was building inside Yvonne, a raging inferno that threatened to burn everything down.


    Damn it...


    "She was with him the whole time, and you didn''t tell me?"


    She wanted to hit someone. Preferably Hull. So, he was the one who had taken Susanna!


    Yvonne waspletely losing it.


    "Well, you never asked," Ss pointed out.


    Yvonne was speechless.


    Never asked? How could she have asked? Susanna had vanished from under her watch. She was terrified that saying orte wrong word would make Hüll tear her to shreds. And now his right-hand man was telling her she never asked?!


    Damn it...


    "You people!"


    These bastards. They were ying her, weren''t they?


    With the confirmation she needed, she mmed the phone down and slumped into her chair,pletely shutting down.


    Xander''s face was a mirror of her own chaotic emotions.


    Susanna... had been with Hull all along. So what was the point of their all-out war against ck Gate? Not that Dan didn''t deserve it, but this time, they had made an enemy of the entire organization for Susanna''s sake.


    "What did I tell you before?" Xander started.


    "Don''t talk to me!" Yvonne snapped. "This is so messed up. Do you have any idea


    how much I trusted him?"


    After a moment of tense silence, Yvonne exploded.


    She had genuinely trusted Hull. She trusted himpletely! And now this?


    She remembered it clearly. Xander had asked her if Hull could have been the one to take Susanna. And what had she said? That Hull wasn''t that kind of person. That if he had taker Susanna, he would have told. her.


    SWIT


    Yvonne''s mind reeled.


    Could someone please exin to her why Hull was exactly that kind of person?