Getting into trouble at school was a regr urrence for Yvonne, and their mom had to deal with it time and time again. Eventually, she dreaded going to the school. And then, much like Finley, Ronald found himself cleaning up the messes left by his rebellious sister. Why did Ronald care so much for Ste? Well, in the fiercelypetitive Quinn family, Ste was like a gentlemb. She was meek and soft-hearted, standing in stark contrast to Yvonne, who was theplete opposite- especially at school. Ronald was equally exasperated by Yvonne''s antics and worried about the possibility of Ste being bullied.


    Seeing Yvonne silent, Ronald''s tone grew more stern. "Speak up."


    Who on earth had the audacity to mess with someone close to him?


    Ronald had already devised a n for when they returned to Ferrond he knew exactly how to deal with Yvonne.


    Yvonne stammered, "Well, I, um... I didn''t, um..."


    How had her brother found out? Could it be that Skye had already located Ste? That couldn''t be right. If Skye had, why hadn''t she told her?


    If that was the case, Skye would be quite the backstabber, taking advantage of her favors without keeping her in the loop.


    "Yvonne!" Ronald repeated.


    "I swear I didn''t."


    Faced with Ronald''s severity, Yvonne caved, "I swear on my life, I didn''t."


    "Oh?"


    Yvonne hesitated. "I, uh..."


    Ronald continued, "Really? Two months ago, when Idris was on an errand, he came across someone who looked a lot like that person. Just not sure if it was." Yvonne was speechless.


    The silence on the call became palpable.


    Finley and Hull, overhearing Ronald''s statement, turned their gazes toward him, eyes wide with shock.


    Was he talking about the person Yvonne had been secretly concerned about? But that person was supposed to be gone. What was Ronald implying? After a moment of silence, Yvonne''s voice came through, strained. "Where?"


    "As for Skye, I don''t want her staying in Portis City."


    "I''ll get in touch with her immediately," Yvonne responded without hesitation, dropping any pretense of ignorance about Skye.


    Then the call ended.


    Finley rushed forward, his heart racing. "Using that person to deceive her? That''s low, even for you!"


    Finley and the others knew all too


    well what that person meant to


    Yvonne. She had nearly lost he


    mind when they thought that person was


    gone.


    No one dared to mention it in front of Yvonne, and now Ronald was using it to flush Skye out of hiding?


    Ronald lit a cigarette and took a drag. "I didn''t deceive her."


    Idris''s people had indeed seen that person.


    Finley drew in a sharp breath. "But I was the one who performed the surgery. I saw it myself."


    The heart surgery, where Finley had tried to remove a bullet, had been a disaster. It nearly drove Yvonne insane and left Finley withsting trauma Because of that, he had focused on heart research all these years.


    It was his first and only failed surgery.


    Ronald flicked the ash from his cigarette, giving Finley a sidelong nce. "Is it possible the person wasn''tpletely gone?"


    "What?" Finley exploded. "Are you questioning mypetence?"


    To be told a patient was alive when dered dead was a p in the face to any doctor.


    "Are you kidding me?" Finley was on the verge of losing it.


    Ronald continued, "The resemnce is uncanny-aside from being older, even the blood type matches."


    Finley was at a loss.


    Could it really be the mistake he made back then? Or was Ronald just deliberately humiliating him?


    "But... no way. That person was definitely dead at the time."


    He reyed the events in his mind.


    Wait, there was a moment when..


    he had intended to conduct a more thorough check, but then Yvonne had burst in, wailing hysterically.