The air went still.

tepeak Mines had always been a crucial resource for ck Gate, packed with all kinds of minerals.

And now Lottie was saying she wanted it?

"Is she messing with me?"

Want it? What did that even mean?

"Lottie said she wants it."

"How much is she offering?"

"She''s not paying anything."

Derek: "..." Not paying?

She just wants to take it?

Has everyone lost their damn minds?

Things inside ck Gate were already a mess, and now Lottie was openly trying

to snatch one of ck Gate''s key assets?

Not just any asset either—she was basically going for the heart of ck Gate, trying to cut them off at the source.

This woman...

"Mr. Chapman is already here," the voice on the phone added.

Lottie''s Mr. Chapman? That old fox!

If she brought him in personally, Derek knew Lottie was absolutely serious. Boiling with anger, Derek hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. Everyone on the outside thought he''d stopped caring about ck Gate years ago. Little did they know, he still kept a tight grip on the most important resources.

That was exactly why Dan was always pissed at him he thought Derek was saving it all for Finch.

And now Lottie was just going to take it by force...

Leroy appeared in the doorway. "Sir?"

"I''m heading out. Get Adelle to meet with Hull. She''ll know how to handle him."

He''d seen how she dealt with Yvonne earlier-not that he agreed with her methods, but like she said, they didn''t have much choice these days.

People were suddenly swarming in, and no matter what they said, nobody believed them.

Everyone had already decided Susanna was in their hands...fnd1c5 Updates are released by Find?Novel/fnd1c5

Right now, Derek feltpletely powerless-like no one even cared about the truth.

"Yes, sir."

Seeing Derek''s mood, Leroy didn''t dare say anything else.

"I''m taking the back door," Derek growled.

Leroy blinked. "Sir, I don''t think you''ve ever used the back door before."

Derek clenched his teeth. "What the hell is going on?"

He was fuming.

He was about to storm out when Adelle rushed over. "Derek, Finch says he didn''t take Susanna."

"He absolutely did."

Derek was already furious, his voice dropping to a harsh growl.

Adelle stared at him. "You don''t trust Finch?"

"Tell him to let Susanna go now is not the time to use her as leverage against Lacey, got it?"

Derek spat out every word, barely holding it together. Ever

returncey had suddenly

à bunch of ck Gate''

guard had started backing her, and things were spiraling out of control  s

Now the Quinn family was here, the Schultz family had shown up, and to top it off, the most dangerous

weapon from Yornd was in the

house: Hull.  s

"But Finch-"

"I just got a call. Lottie wants tepeak Mines. Do you realize what that means?"

Adelle''s eyes went wide. "What?"

tepeak Mines? Was Lottie out of her mind?

Derek''s voice was grim. "She''s squeezing us, forcing us to hand over Susanna to her daughter, Yvonne."

He''d known it-Yvonne showing up meant the Quinn family was officially turning their sights on ck Gate.

Adelle''s breath was shaky.

"But Finch said Susanna isn''t with him."

She still believed her son.

If Susanna wasn''t even there, but

De was m

on the pressure.

Las

just no reasoning with these people!  s

Derek could see Adelle was adamant, and it only made his headache worse.

"Tell him—if he keeps holding on to Susanna, we can kiss the mines goodbye!"