When Renee learned that Zac had ties to the Tremo family, she couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. She never expected her useless, disappointing son to suddenly become such a valuable asset! Without hesitation, she agreed to Zane's request to arrange a meeting with Zac. But to her utter astonishment, Zac flatly refused, citing his busy schedule - the first time he'd ever so blatantly refused his own birth mother. Under intense pressure from Zane, Renee used every tactic imaginable, even resorting to emotional blackmail and tearful pleas, but Zac remained completely unmoved. With all other options exhausted, Zane had no choice but to shift his focus to Raelynn and her daughters. That's why, after John's funeral, Zane personally called Stephen with explicit instructions - he was to bring all four women back to the Yarbrough residence, no matter what. Having them under his roof would make it much easier to manipulate the situation. Although he intended to use Raelynn's group as bait to lure Zac out, Zane still insisted on keeping Stephen and Julie's relationship completely secret from outsiders. As the Yarbrough family's heir, Stephen's marriage would ultimately be arranged solely for the family's political and financial benefit. The fact that Zane waited several days-until long after John's funeral, when all the mourners had departed-before finally allowing Stephen to retrieve her spoke volumes. Pitifully, sweet, naive Julie remained completely oblivious to these machinations, still clinging to her impossible romantic fantasies about Stephen. Xylia nodded thoughtfully at Zane's suggestion, stroking her chin. "You make a good point, son. I suppose I was too hasty in my excitement." She turned to Raelynn with a sweet smile that didn't reach her cold eyes. "Raelynn, would you be so kind as to help us arrange a meeting with Zac? Our Maris is almost the same age and is dying to make his acquaintance." Her next seemingly innocent question to Stephen was painfully revealing. "Stephen, is the south courtyard really available right now?" The blatant implication couldn't have been clearer if she had shouted it. Moments earlier, she'd stated definitively that the courtyard was available - now she feigned uncertainty to reinforce her unspoken threat. Even the usually oblivious Gray women couldn't possibly have missed the clumsy message underlying the entire charade. This so-called "welcome dinner" had never been about welcoming them at all - it had been about gaining access to Zac. We were merely bargaining chips, pawns in the Yarbroughs' game. Julie vividly remembered Zac's smug, triumphant expression when she'd threatened to call the police at the Gray mansion-that unshakable confidence had clearly come from powerful new backing. But who could have imagined that his mysterious benefactor would turn out to be someone even the mighty Zane desperately wanted to woo? Somehow, this worthless adopted brother had turned into someone even the Yarbrough patriarch needed to carefully flatter and appease! After dinner, Julie quietly explained the whole situation to her shell-shocked mother and sisters in private. Xylia's meaning had been crystal clear - if they successfully delivered Zac to the Yarbroughs, they'd be rewarded with that luxurious Southern courtyard. If they failed to invite him, their already precarious status would plummet to new humiliating depths. Beneath the table, Rosie's hands trembled with barely contained rage, her nails leaving crescent marks in her palms. We may be the Yarbroughs' "guests" for the time being, but we are certainly not servants to be ordered about or women to be subjected to the arbitrary whims of this old crone! The sheer audacity of the old woman's thinly veiled ultimatum - perform like trained monkeys for our benefit, and you'll get a slightly larger cage. As if we'd debase ourselves for a few extra square feet of living space! And to cozy up to the very person responsible for our father's death? To betray our family's honor for such pathetic crumbs? Never! Absolutely never! Just as Rosie gathered her breath to angrily announce that they were leaving, to her utter shock, Susie suddenly chirped with shocking enthusiasm before she could speak. "Oh, don't worry, Madam Xylia!" Susie gushed with sickening sweetness. "Since you're all so fond of Zac, we'll absolutely arrange a meeting for you!" Rosie and Julie both whipped their heads around to stare at Susie in utter disbelief, their mouths actually agape. How could she? How could she agree to this betrayal so easily? So cheerfully?Julie's cheeks burned with humiliation - not just for herself, but for her entire family's honor being so casually trampled. After all Zac had done, after he'd essentially killed our father, how could we grovel and beg for his attention like this? But before Julie could even begin to gather her sisters to make a dignified exit, Susie had already committed them to this unconscionable betrayal with her careless words. The damage was done.