Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Nathan’s face turned beet red, and he jabbed his finger toward the door. “You want cash? Fine. 40 million dollars. Right now. Just get out of my placer

Fiona just waved nonchalantly. “Make it 80 million dollars.”

Nathan huffed, “80 million dollars? Are you outta your mind with greed?”

Fiona flashed a sneaky smile. “I don’t mix it up for fr

free. I charge 40 million dollars per scuffle,”

“It was you who beat us!”

“But it was you who were asking for it and you can’t throw a punch!”

Nathan was boiling mad. “Fine. I’ll give you 200 thousand dollars and the rest next week.”

*200 thousand dollars? I’m no charity case! It’s gotta be 20 million dollars minimum or I’m camping out here forever!”

Charlotte was about to lose her temper, her head pounding. She was getting dizzy and spun towards Sebastian, “Sebastian, are you just gonna stand there and let her push the Quinns around?

Sebastian with his turquoise bracelet saying, “You can’t pull together 20 million dollars all a sudden, but you could swing a million dollars right now. The rest… Oh wait, doesn’t Nathan own a house in Griffinview that’s worth maybe 10 million dollars or so? That should cover it. And for his side girl, toss her 2 million dollars for all the . Don’t worry; it’ll get done” Sebastian gave a quick look to his assistant, Evan Gibson, ordering. “Evan, check out that house’s value and get the paperwork going for handing it over.”

Evan was knocked silent. There was a girl blackmailing the Quinn family, and instead of telling him to shut down the , his boss was paying up with Mathan’s fancy property. He wondered if it was his hearing off. This wasn’t the Sebastian he knew.

Sebastian blew Evan’s mind with his next move. “The Griffinview place isn’t even set up yet. You cool with that?”

Fiona’s prin couldn’t get any wider, and she nodded like crazy. “Better than cool–

, sir! You’re like an angel in disguise. Running into you must be karma from all my good vibes. How were used houses used men alike? She didn’t need any man’s leftovers, but a house like the one in Griffinview? The more the merrier.

Evan’s mind was spinning. There was Sebastian, making sure the girl who had just shook them down happy with the deal. He sneaked a peek at Sebastian

Sebastian was watching Fiona, his smile just a bit sly and way too patient.

Evan exclaimed in his heart, ‘Mr. Quinn is grinning at a lady? Is he for real, digging this cheesy, over the top praise?”

Fiona didn’t notice the shook Evan. She bit back laugh and cleared her throat a couple of times before chilling out and saying, “Take that 10 million dollars as –bye fee I’ll hang here until I’ve got the cash. When I got the dough, we were done. And the house? I’m counting on you, Evan sort it -out quick. The rest, well, for Mr. Quinn’s sake, you’ve got a month. Then we swap money for the token and photos, and we’re square.”

Nathan really didn’t want to let Fiona walk away with a , but he was super keen on cutting ties. He got Charlotte to fork over the cash.

With the pile of money in her grip, Fiona was all grins, shining like sun. “Cheers, boss, I won’t be a pain in your neck any longer. And hey, if cash is tight later on, I’m cool with taking a to settle up.”

Fiona and Sebastian booked it out of there together, with on cloud She looked at him with big, sparkly eyes, saying, “Massive thanks, Mr. Quinn.” Without Sebastian stepping in, things could’ve been rough. The idea of Macy and Aloxa coughing up a sweet 2 million dollars got feeling super pumped. She with relief. Out of the 80 million dollars, she only took a little 10 million dollars, the rest depending on Sebastian. She had to stay on his good side; it he wore to change his mind, she could not get the rest 70 million dollars. She absolutely not let such

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Chapter

a tragedy happen. “I owe you dinner, big time,” she offered, all smiles.

Sebastian caught on to Fiona’s excitement and her little game, but let it slide. “Mr. Quinn? I thought you don’t know .”

Fiona hit the brakes and quickly chirped up, “Mr. Quinn, wanna honor me by picking a dinner spot?”

“What a smooth–talking gold digger!‘ Sebastian cracked a grin and said yes.

Out at the Quinn residence, Alexa was having the worst day ever and just had to bail. Right after the other two split, she hit the road too. On her way out, Alexa Fiona hopping into ride. Her fists clenched, and herface twisted with rage.

“What went down?” Macy caught a glimpse of the car peeling out, grabbing Alexa’s chilly hand and starting to sob. “What’s with Sebastian today, always on that witch’s side? Alexa, you’ve been done dirty. Mom’s gonna make it right and get you some payback!”

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Alexa leaned into that hug, tears falling. But all that, a storm of poison and hate brewing. She cursed inside, ‘Fiona Harrell, how dare you mess with I’m gonna make you pay.”

the Quinn residence, it was all a mess. Only Charlotte and Nathan were there. Nathan, seriously ticked off, had just flipped the coffee table, going full drama queen mode. “That house was Great–grandpa’s gift to me. Mine! And there he goes handing it off like some freebie. Plus, he’s acting all high and mighty–what’s he think, words are gospel? Taking that outsider’s side against his own blood!”

Charlotte’s face was dark, her voice sharp as ice. “Got the guts to whine, huh? Didn’t you catch the family about calling off that engagement today? Why’d you drag him here? Without him, it wouldn’t have up like this. Now we’re the laughingstock–totally humiliated!”

Nathan was feeling all kinds of down. “How could I guess he’d help that bitch today? He shows up here, but out of the blue, he wants to tag along. The guy’s a loose cannon, scared of his own shadow with ladies, a real nut job. Just my luck, he’s got to mess with me on purpose!”

arlotte let out a harsh laugh as she thawed out just a touch. “Does it even matter if he is capable? To be straight with you, he’s basically a dead end-

‘t do the family tree any favors. He’s just a stepping stone, nothing more.”

Sebastian joke, a big shot with his fingers in all the pies, from business deals to political connections. His presence alone gave everyone the heeble jeebies. The Quinn family owed a lot of their clout to him. But a kid, some awful twist of fate got him in trouble, and now he couldn’t have kids. A guy like that didn’t fit the bill to be the head of the Quinn family.

Nathan was fuming. “What happens now? Give my place and a truckload of cash to that nobody? After she embarrassed me like that and she beat you guys, no way I’m letting her slide with this!”

Charlotte hit back with a smirk. “She’s gonna pay up that 8 million dollars, by hook or by crook. Macy owes us a solid explanation. But the real issue’s Sebastian. Right now, he’s the boss man in the Quinn family, even your great–granddad can’t make a peep. Those zingers you’ve got for him? Keep them inside. When you’re out there–zip it. And don’t forget-” She stopped short, eyes glinting like she had some ace up her sleeve, “Macy favors Alexa lot, probably giving her dough to Alexa, with what your great grandpa feels for Mrs. Bridget Harrell…

Nathan’s head was in the game now. “Alright, I’ll sweet talk Alexa, lock down the Harrell family, and get Great–grandpa backing me up. For now, Sebastian’s looking the other way, but when I’m the head of the Quinn family, I’ll kick him to the curb. Turn him into a nobody!”