Half an hourter, Dan arrived at cktower.


    Derek, Finch, Adelle, and Ivanna were assembled, their faces grim masks of anxiety.


    Leanne was still in the hospital, recovering from serious injuries. Rumor had it, when she learned her assets had been seized, she threw a fit, screaming from her hospital bed that it was all Susanna''s fault.


    She''d even vowed that the first thing she''d do upon release was kill the girl.


    A dark cloud of despair hung over the entire Murray family.


    As Dan entered, Derek''s voice, tight with tension, cut through the room. "Well? Did you find Susanna?"


    Finch also turned to re, his expression demanding.


    He''d made zero progress on his end.


    He''d always seen Susanna as nothing more than Lacey''s illegitimate brat, never imagining she could cause this much trouble. Now, like Leanne, he wanted her dead.


    Dan sank into an armchair and lit a cigarette, taking his time. His studied calm infuriated the others.


    "I''m talking to you!" Derek snapped. "Did you find her or not?" His tone implied finding Susanna was Dan''s sole responsibility, even though Finch had been assigned the same task. Now, all eyes were on him.


    Dan blew out a cloud of smoke and turned to Finch. "Did you?"


    "You..." Finch''s already foul mood darkened further as Dan deflected the me.


    Seeing them bickering, Derek''s temper red. "This is not the time for infighting! The priority is to find that girl and throw her back at them!"


    Derek spat the word "throw" with


    such disgust, as if Susanna were a piece of garbage, that Dan let out a cold, humorlessugh. "Allow me to remind you," Dan said his voiceced with irony, that the problemy you''re so eager to hand over is your own daughter."


    Adelle shot Dan a sharp re.


    Derek''s eyes narrowed. "I don''t need you to remind me of that."


    "And yet, your heartless behavior suggests otherwise. I thought I should point it out."


    Derek''s expression darkened. "We''re


    all in the same boat here," he


    growled. "Are you sure now is the


    time to be picking fights?" He was


    clearly out of patience All he wanted was to find Susanna.


    Even if she was just a pretext for their enemies, finding that pretext was now their


    only remaining hope of stopping the bleeding.


    "Call off the search," Dan said, taking another drag from his cigarette.


    The room froze. Derek, Finch, Adelle, and Ivanna stared at him as if he''d grown a second head.


    "What do you mean?" Derek demanded, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and fear.


    Finch exploded. "What, are you


    trying to get us all killed?" The


    thought that Dar hadn''t even been looking for Susanna sent a fresh wave of rage through him.


    Adelle chimed in, her tone pleading. "Dan, whatever issues you have with me and Finch, now is the time to put them aside."


    "Yes," Ivanna added, her voice shaky. "If ck Gate falls, we''ll all have nothing left."


    Adelle and Ivanna were genuinely panicked. They had lost the most in the recent attacks and were desperation-ready to bury the hatchet with Dan.