Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 773

After Yvonne’s phone call, Stella felt like someone had pulled the plug on her. She just couldn’t believe things had turned out this way. In her mind, Yvonne had always been rock solid—someone you could count on no matter what.

But now? Everything was falling apart.

Ronald, who’d hung up right after Yvonne, was right there beside her, trying to calm her down.

“Hey, don’t overthink it. It’s not as bad as it seems,” he said, pulling her gently onto his lap. Stella looked up at him, her eyes wide and worried, but she couldn’t find the words to say anything.

“Star,” Ronald murmured.

She finally whispered, “I just wanted to help Susie.”

Now Susie’s whole world had been flipped upside down. It was like dropping her into a pack of wolves. If Susie didn’t have some survival skills, she’d never make it back to Black Gate. And with Lacey’s enemies piling up, half of Black Gate was out for blood—Derek, Dan, the whole lot.

With Susie’s mom tangled up in all of this, there was no way Susie could keep her head down and stay out of trouble. Stella had just wanted to teach her how to protect herself. How could things go so wrong?

Ronald finished putting a Band-Aid on her hand, his voice steady and sure. “Do you really think Dan would dare hurt her right now?”

Stella blinked at him, confused.

Back when she was living in Portis City, she’d had to figure everything out on her own. Ronald wasn’t there, so she’d learned to make decisions and keep her cool, no matter what. But nobody else had ever managed to make her feel so messy and out of sorts—except Ronald.

He pinched her nose playfully when she didn’t answer. “Lacey didn’t go back to Black Gate on her own. Dan’s people dragged her back—kicking and screaming.”

Stella’s jaw dropped. Seriously? These Black Gate family ties were brutal.

The father wants to kill his own son. The son’s ready to go after his dad and his brother. There was nothing they wouldn’t do for their own interests.

“So Susie really won’t get hurt?” Stella still wasn’t convinced.

Ronald shook his head. “Right now, Derek and Finch are focused on Lacey. Dan knows he can’t let anything happen to Susie. If something did, Lacey would come after him with everything she’s got.”

Black Gate was like a swamp—any wrong step and you’d get swallowed whole. But Dan? He’d managed to keep all the different factions in check for years. He wasn’t stupid. Not by a long shot.