Dan had practically run out of things to say about that night. He tried to exin, but Yvonne wouldn''t believe a word; Xander tried too, and got nowhere. At this point, nobody had the faintest clue what would possibly convince Yvonne and everyone was running out of patience.


    ...


    Susanna, meanwhile, had cut off Barnabypletely. Then, in the middle of the turmoil, her phone rang. The sight of who was calling left her breathless, almost as if she were dreaming.


    "Mom?" she managed, voice shaky. The moment she heard the familiar voice on the line, the tears spilled over. "Mom, where are you?"


    "Now what''s all this crying about? Pull yourself together!" came Lacey Tucker''s scolding, loving as ever. Her voice was still full of thatmanding, indomitable spirit Susanna had always admired. Even after vanishing for so long, she was nothing less than the fiery force of nature Susanna remembered.


    Sniffling and fighting back sobs, Susanna tried to exin, "I couldn''t find you anywhere. I was scared." It was honest-Susanna''s stomach had been in knots for weeks, bracing for dreadful news. It had always just been the two of them-except Lacey was constantly busy, always away, so much that Susanna grew up mostly in thepany of various nannies. Still, her mother was her world, her only real family.


    "None of that crying now," Lacey chided, her tone brisk. "You''re not a child anymore."


    "I just-Mom, I was worried about you..."


    "Worried? What, you think a few thugs could actually hurt me?” Lacey dered, fearless and sharp-tongued as ever.


    Susanna hesitated. "They sure looked dangerous..." She couldn''t help worrying something really terrible had happened.


    "Rx. I can handle myself. Any fool who thinks they can take me down seriously doesn''t know who they''re dealing with!" Lacey scoffed, full of fire.


    Susanna blinked through tears. If her mom had the energy to chew people out like this, maybe she really was all right...


    "Then where are you, Mom? Why are you only calling now?" Susanna pressed.


    "You''re in Litamark, right?"


    "Yeah!"


    "Listen to me. Stay away from cktower. Don''t go anywhere with that geezer, Derek. He is NOT your father."


    "Uh, I never said he was," Susanna replied, loyalty unwavering. Her mother had sacrificed so much to raise her alone-she''d never go calling anyone else ''dad.''


    "He''s not your father and never will be, so don''t even think about it," Lacey said firmly.


    Susanna blinked, confused. "Wait, what?"


    "If hees looking for you, don''t go. Do you hear me? He''s not your father. Got it?"


    "Um... got it. But then... who is my father?" Susanna managed.


    But Lacey only replied, "I''ve got to go." And before Susanna could get another word


    in, the call was cut. When she dialed back, Lacey''s phone had already been switched off.


    Susanna stared at her phone,


    exasperated and bewildered. You


    call me just to say don''t go with Derek? Are you really safe? And what was that about not being Derek''s daughter was that for real? She''d never felt any connection with him, but... could he really not be her father? So then who was? Susanna''s head spun.


    Just then, her phone buzzed again. She answered distractedly. “Hello?”


    "It''s Yorick Quarry.”


    The cold, severe voice caught Susanna off guard. “You...?" Yorick? How long had it been? Since she''de to Litamark, the two of them had barely had any contact— truth be told, there''d never been much reason for it in the first ce.


    "So, why are you calling me?" she asked brusquely.


    "Is Ste with you?" Yorick''s tone was as clipped as ever, but as Susanna listened,


    she caught an unmistakable note of weariness, even defeat.


    She paused, picking up on it. He must have been having a rough time. She''d heard rumors he''d gone all the way to Ferrond looking for Ste eurely Mr. Quirin wasn''t about to let that go unpunished. No doubt Yorick had been put through the wringer, and the entire Quarry family had apparently be a ticking time bomb.


    "No, she''s not here," Susanna replied. Then, unable to help herself, "Seriously? You''re still chasing after her? Listen, Star has moved on. She''s married to Mr Quinn, she''s expecting triplets, and you are ancient history. So do yourself a favor-let her go."