Chapter 1When the cops knocked on the door, Quintessa had just rolled out of bed where Tyrone


    lay.The air was still thick with the scent ofst night’s steamy escapades, clothes strewn haphazardly


    on the floor – a testament to the passion that had unfoldedst night.The persistent fierce knock at the


    hotel room door didn’t faze her as she leisurely showered, slipped into her clothes, and applied her


    makeup with the meticulousness of someone in her own apartment.Who was she? Quintessa the


    notorious, the ultimate femme fatale, always had to look dazzling, outshining everyone with her


    radiance.Tyrone, bare-chested, still bore the tell-tale crimson marks of Quintessa’s nails on his skin, a


    mottled pattern of desire. He lit a cigarette, “You know, if you ask nicely, I might just be able to shave a


    couple years off your sentence.


    “Quintessa sauntered over, plucked the cigarette from his lips, took a drag, and then ced it back


    between his lips.Her slender hand yfully pped his cheek, taunting him in a manner reminiscent of


    a flirtatious tease, “Mr. York, next time you go hunting for ady, keep your eyes open. Don’t think just


    because you’re loaded, I can’t outsmart you.”Indeed, the man she had bedded was her aunt’s man, the


    dream of every woman in Emberbrook, the sole heir to York Financial Group – Tyrone York.His looks?


    Only those who’d seen him knew. His wealth? Perhaps even he couldn’t fathom.Otherwise, Quintessa


    wouldn’t have been able to resist bonking him.Ranked as the city’s most coveted one-night stand,


    Tyrone had spent the previous night tangled in the sheets with her. Quintessa couldn’t help but feel a


    sense of achievement; after all, not everyone could boast such a conquest.After that night, her verdict


    on the man? Rich and undeniably forceful. In every aspect, Tyrone had his pride.The police snarled


    outside, “Open up, or we’re breaking down the door!”Quintessa, confident she looked presentable,


    turned to answer it, but Tyrone suddenly grasped her wrist, “This is yourst chance, Quintessa. Are


    you sure you don’t want it?”His eyes, slightly upturned at the corners, his lips thin, nose sharp – he was


    the epitome of detached beauty, always wearing a smirk of nonchnt arrogance. Those eyes, no


    matter who they were fixed on, were cold and indifferent; seemed devoid of warmth or


    emotion.Quintessa raised an eyebrow, “What, got feelings for me now? Don’t tell me you’re nning to


    dump your fiancée to fool around with me. Since when did the illustrious Mr. York be so


    sentimental?”His grip tightened in an instant, nearly crushing her wrist, “You sleeping with me, all just to


    get back at the Young family?”She blinked at him coquettishly, and then leaned in, her breath a whisper


    against his skin, “I slept with you because you’re Rachel’s man. Isn’t that something you’ve known all


    along? Why the act of innocence?”From the moment she first saw Tyrone, she knew his heart was as


    cold as his blood; he was prideful, looked down on everyone, including her aunt, Rachel Young. No one


    could probably catch his eye.Darkness clouded his gaze as he spat out, “You’re despicable.”Her rosy


    lips curved, “Indeed, and that’s why you’re hooked by me, aren’t you?”With a thunderous crash, the


    door burst open and a motley crowd surged in – cops, reporters, and the Young family members from


    the oldest to the youngest.Quintessa’s aunt Rachel stormed at her, hand raised, and delivered a


    stinging p across her face, “Quintessa, you tramp! Do you realize this is my fiancé? Do you get it?


    He’s supposed to be your future uncle-inw, and here you are seducing him! Have you no


    shame?”Tears streamed down Rachel’s face, her visage a portrait of sorrow that could soften people’s


    heart.Quintessa licked her split lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood. She nced at the frenzied


    reporters, their cameras clicking like crazed crickets, and sneered. And then, in a swift move, she


    wrapped her arms around Tyrone’s neck and kissed him passionately. The crowd gasped and


    murmured as the cameras captured the scandalous moment.Tyrone hesitated, fully aware of what


    Quintessa was doing. He should have pushed her away, should have pped her for this brazen act,


    but, damn it all, he didn’t. Instead he responded, wrapping his arms around her waist.Her waist was so


    slender; it was as if she had no bones at all. His brain, his body – they both remembered all too well


    how she moved, like a siren’s call.After a heated kiss, Quintessa released Tyrone and looked up at


    Rachel, saying, “That’s right. I’m shameless. I deliberately slept with your man. What are you going to


    do about it?”The crowd was aghast.A mistress caught in the act should be running for cover,


    humiliated, shouldn’t she? But this woman, she was brazenly defiant, kissing her future uncle-inw


    right in front of her aunt. Truly, there was no limit to her audacity!Rachel was so shocked she forgot to


    cry, her trembling finger pointed at Quintessa.Finally, a sympathetic police officer stepped forward and


    uttered, “Quintessa, you’re under arrest for embezzlement and assault. Please,e with us.


    “Quintessa cooperated, extending her hands for the cold handcuffs that strangelyplemented her


    wrists with a twisted beauty.As the police escorted Quintessa out, she paused by Rachel, whispering in


    her ear, “You had the gall to y me, so I slept with your man. Let’s see who gets thest


    laugh.”Rachel’s face instantly went pale.The night before, she had plotted against Quintessa, drugged


    her, hoping she’d get addicted to drugs and then be defiled by some street thugs, all to be exposed by


    the media. Her whole life would be ruined totally.But somehow, Quintessa had turned the tables and


    ended up bonking Rachel’s own fiancé. Rachel gritted her teeth with utter venom.At the guest room


    door, Quintessa saw her father Sean, her stepmother, and her half-brother. They watched silently as


    she was taken away, their faces barely concealing their schadenfreude. Within the same family,


    Quintessa was the thorn they all wished to pluck.Embezzlement, assault – these usations were the


    filth her family had sshed upon her.A malicious glint shing in her eye, Quintessa addressed her


    father, “Dad, don’t forget to visit. I’ve got something you want, and if you don’t show, I might just toss it.


    Who knows who’ll pick it up then.”Sean’s face twisted into a mask of disgust, “I’m so disappointed in


    you; I never imagined it woulde to this. I thought I’d give you a chance to intern at thepany


    after graduation, but your greed knows no bounds. You had the audacity to embezzle funds. Who gave


    you such courage? Even now, with your back against the wall, you show no remorse. How did our


    family ever produce a ck sheep like you?”Quintessa sneered, “Disappointed?


    You haven’t seen true despair yet.”A police officer nudged Quintessa from behind, “Quit dragging your


    feet; let’s move.”In the end, Quintessa left her father with meaningful words, “Dad, remember what I


    said. Time is running out.”Tyrone impassively watched Quintessa being led away, her demeanor


    unshaken in the face of doom, a wild recklessness that cared for nothing. A monster must dwell in that


    woman’s heart.“Quintessa’s been caught! She’s been caught in an affair! She’s headed to


    jail!”“Quintessa of Emberbrook, the notorious rich girl, has finally yed herst hand!”The reporters


    Rachel had called were ecstatic to the point of madness.“Quintessa, the second daughter of the Young


    family of Emberbrook, was caught in bed with her own uncle-inw, and that adulterer was none other


    than Tyrone.”“Who’s Tyrone? There isn’t a man in all of Emberbrook handsomer or wealthier thanN?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Tyrone.”“If this news breaks, it will dominate the headlines in a heartbeat, a juicy tale of feuds and


    entanglements within the halls of the wealthy.”But the reporters’ excitement was short-lived, cut off by


    the York family’s bodyguards.The explosive story was suppressed thoroughly; by the time they


    emerged again, the faces of those with the scoop were ashen, their cameras, phones, video recorders,


    and voice recorders, all smashed to bits.Trying to scandalize Mr. Tyrone York in Emberbrook? That was


    a death wish.Tyrone slipped into the clothes his assistant had brought him, as Rachel wailed before


    him, “Tyrone, I know, it must have been Quintessa who seduced you. Like father, like son. Her mother


    was a mistress, and so is she. Just like that vile woman, that tramp, born to lure in men. My brother


    should’ve never brought her back, should have let her die out there. I was so good to her, and she


    repaid me like this. I must have been blind to not see how low and venomous she was.”Rachel was five


    years older than Quintessa and bore a slight resemnce to her. As Tyrone looked at Rachel spewing


    venom at Quintessa, he felt a deep revulsion.


    There was nothing about her he could stand anymore.He used to think she was at least observant and


    obedient, and when she lied to others, iming to be his fiancée, he couldn’t be bothered to correct


    her. It saved him the trouble, after all.But now, he saw her for what she was: as foolish was she, she


    still pretended to be clever. Another nce would just sully his eyes.Tyrone’s hand shot out, gripping


    Rachel’s chin, “I don’t make a habit of hitting women, but don’t y smart with me. You’re nothing


    compared to your niece.”Rachel gasped, “Tyrone.”“Get lost.”Despite her unwillingness, Rachel dared


    not anger Tyrone. She had schemed hard to be Tyrone’s fiancée, a status she had reached with


    great difficulty. She could not let Quintessa ruin everything she had worked for.