For Quinton, it had never been just about sleeping with Christina. What excited him more was the thrill—the thrill of a top-tier predator closing in on an ice-cold beauty.

To him, conquering a woman like Christina would stroke his ego and validate his inflated sense of self-worth.

Unfortunately for him, Christina never felt even a flicker of attraction toward him. At best, they could be called business allies—or to put it bluntly, she only saw him as a temporary tool.

Quinton wanted power, possession, dominance.

Meanwhile, Christina only wanted leverage—specifically, to use him and his connections to push the Stevens Corporation into Blumedale.

…

Over at the Goldings family estate, word of the Haywoods' bounty hit hard. Both Richard and Elon were momentarily stunned when they heard.

"This kid really doesn't know when to stop," Richard growled. "Now he's provoked the Haywoods and even left a body behind. He's practically asking for death! He's so arrogant that it's disgusti