Thane Quarry''s illegitimate son hade back, and just like that, the peaceful facade of the familypletely unraveled.
Susanna drew a long breath. "No, we''re not together. What, are you still hung up on Star?" She gave a sharp, exasperated sigh. "Let me spell it out for you-Star has nothing to do with you now. She and Mr. Quinn are married, and she''s pregnant with triplets. It''s over, Yorick. Move on." Worried Yorick was still stuck on Ste, Susanna decided to give him the unvarnished truth. Maybe then he''d finally ept it was impossible and stop clinging to hopeless fantasies.
"Just do me a favor and pass on a message to her," Yorick insisted.
"I''m not ying messenger." She refused tly. Why encourage him? She''d already told him to give up.
"There''s a girl called Regina Schultz in the Schultz family, but she''s not really their daughter."
Susanna frowned. "What are you talking about?" The Schultz family... Wasn''t that Xander''s family-Yvonne''s husband? Why was Yorick telling her this?
"Mona Haig''s real daughter isn''t Regina. It''s a woman named Berry."
"Berry? Wait, what?" Susanna''s confusion deepened.
Yorick pressed on, "Berry and Ronald were rumored to have had something going on before. Regina going after Ste was just a smokescreen. Tell her to watch out for the Schultz family."
This was getting more and more convoluted. Susanna rubbed her temple, trying to make sense of it. "You''re saying the Schultzes are still scheming against Star? Would they dare?"
"It''s not the family—it''s Mona specifically. Mona!" Yorick stressed, his voice tense.
"Wait, I''m lost. Give me a second!" Susanna''s mind was spinning.
Yorick added, "Berry''s been a regr at stic surgery clinicstely."
"stic surgery clinics?" Susanna echoed, more bewildered than ever.
"She''s been copying Ste in every way-her looks, her mannerisms, even her tastes," Yorick continued.
Everything clicked at once. Cosmetic procedures, obsessively mimicking Ste... So beneath all this surface calm, there was yet another scheme being plotted against Ste? Didn''t the Schultz family learn thest time?
"They''re making a move a big one," Yorick cautioned. "If they pull this off, you know what''ll happen..."
If they seeded... Berry would slip into Ste''s ce at Ronald''s side. The thought alone sent a chill racing through Susanna.
"Hold on," she blurted suddenly, suspicion prickling at her. "How do you even know all this? Is this some kind of setup?" With Yorick''s history his obsession with Ste, especially after the whole truth about Urs Larkin hade to light-she couldn''t help but worry he was ying some game of his own. Who knew what he was really after?
"How I found out doesn''t matter," Yorick replied coolly. "Just make sure Ste knows
her world isn''t as calm as it seems. There''s no shortage of women in Ferrond who want to be Mrs. Quinn."
Susanna fell silent, digesting it all.
"So why not call Star yourself?" she shot back. “Tell her directly."
"She''s blocked me ages ago."
Of course. Star was always ruthlessly decisive about closing doors that needed to stay shut-she''d cut Yorick from her life with no hesitation.
As soon as the call ended, Susanna didn''t hesitate. After only a moment''s thought, she called Ste. The phone was barely ringing before Ste picked up. "Susie."
"Star, I just got a call from Yorick," Susanna said, her tone brisk but anxious. "He ims Mona''s real daughter isn''t Regina, but someone named Berry." The name rang a bell-she was almost sure, Ste had mentioned Berry before.
"I''ve already gotten wind of that," Ste said, her voice calm and steady.
"You... already know?"
"Don''t worry," Ste answered. “Just look after your own affairs. I know what I''m doing."
Susanna was stunned. That fast? All
this time, she and Yorick thought they were the ones delivering news, but it turned out Ste was already
this
ahead of them on a secret well-hidden, no less. Clearly, she wasn''t the one in the dark, she already had contingencies in ce.