After their joy-filled outing, John escorted Zara back to the Remar estate.
When they parted—
The girl tiptoed and kissed him again.
This time, it wasn't on his cheek.
It was on his lips.
A soft, lingering kiss, scented faintly with youthful innocence and a hint of lavender lip gloss.
John froze.
What the hell?!
That was my first kiss!
A moment of stunned silence passed before he let out a bitter chuckle.
Was he destined to be a repeat offender when it came to stealing hearts?
He hadn't intended to win Zara over—he really hadn't.
It just… happened.
But if a single kiss could keep her focused on her studies and motivated to succeed, he supposed it was a small price to pay.
Hell, if he had known this was all it took, he might have asked her to introduce a few of her prettier classmates. He could've set up goals for all of them. Graduate from an Ivy League, and you get a hug from Mr. Lopez.
He smirked at the thought.
The King of Horizon—fostering academic excellence one seduction at a time.
A strange way to serve the motherland, but a noble cause nonetheless.
Back at Greenland Villa.
Alice was in the middle of a yoga routine. She moved with feline grace, her limbs pliable and fluid. With ease, she slipped into a perfect straddle split and began lowering herself toward the floor.
John strolled over and crouched beside her.
"Let me help," he offered with a mischievous grin.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently pressed her torso down to deepen the stretch. His eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Alice," he asked, tone casual, "Do you know what Bertha's up to these days?"
"What?" Alice looked up, wiping sweat from her brow with a towel. "Don't tell me you're bored of the three of us already and can't wait to track down another sister?"
She flashed him a teasing smirk.
John chuckled sheepishly. "No, no. I was just curious. That's all."
Alice rolled her eyes. "Ungrateful man… Fine. I'll humor you. Angela and Bertha are both pretty secretive. But I do remember Bertha once saying she worked with… higher authorities or something."
She shrugged. "That's all I know."
As expected.
The sisters had no idea Bertha was actually the leader of the Central U.S. Martial Arts League. She probably didn't see the point in telling them. After all, the gap between martial artists and civilians was vast.
But…
What if none of my sisters are ordinary?
John frowned.
He was starting to suspect they were all hiding something. Big things. Powerful things.
Take Alice, for example. If he hadn't come back unexpectedly, who would've known she was a professional assassin?
Angela, too, was cloaked in layers of mystery. Always vanishing, always leaving trails no one could follow.
They're all hiding their identities from each other, thinking the rest are just "normal."
What a joke.
The doorbell rang.
John stood, expecting to see Queenie or Tracy.
But when he opened the door, his expression instantly darkened.
Standing outside were Monica and Joshua.
"What the hell do you two want?" John said coldly.
The last time he saw them, they'd tried to trap Queenie at the Royal Garden Hotel. He hadn't forgotten—nor forgiven.
Monica gave a nervous smile. "Uh… Is Queenie home?"
"How dare you call her that?" John snapped. "After you tricked your own college roommate? You really are vicious."
"I know… I was wrong," Monica said, bowing her head in shame. "I came to apologize. I—I deserve whatever punishment you think is fair."
John stared at her, unimpressed. "Good. It's nice to see you finally admit it."
Before she could respond, Joshua suddenly shoved past her, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed to John with a loud bang.
And then again.
And again.
Ten full times—his forehead slamming against the floor.
"Mr. Lopez, I'm sorry! It's all my fault. I shouldn't have laid eyes on Miss Tennat. I was wrong—please forgive me!"
His voice was thick with desperation.
The man looked like hell.
John raised an eyebrow.
Joshua continued, nearly choking on his words. "I… I haven't dared go near a woman since that night. Hell, I can't even—function—when I get home. I've visited every hospital in New York. Even flew down to Houston to see the top andrology specialist. Nothing helped!"
John folded his arms, listening quietly.
"I'm begging you," Joshua pleaded. "Only you can fix me. I'll give you anything you want."
He hurriedly pulled a folder from his coat and held it up like a lifeline. "Here! I'm transferring all my shares in Golden Group to Miss Tennat. Free of charge. No conditions. Just please, cure me."
John's eyes narrowed. "You're giving all your shares to my sister?"
"Yes!" Joshua nodded eagerly. "Every last one."
Silence settled over the room.
John didn't speak right away.
He knew Queenie had been trying to break into the Rochester market, and taking over Golden Group would give her a real foothold there.
But there was a problem.
The Yeats Family.
They practically ran Rochester—and lately, they'd been pressuring Queenie's company hard.
She had even mentioned that her skincare line's sales in New York were suddenly plummeting, right after she'd started eyeing Golden Group.
John suspected the Yeats Family was behind it.
Classic tactic: choke them out locally, then block them in Rochester.
If that was the case, then even with Golden Group in hand, Queenie would still be under siege.
Before making any big moves, he needed to know one thing.
What was the Yeats Family's true attitude?
He turned to Joshua and said calmly, "I'll cure you. And you can keep Golden Group."
Joshua's eyes widened in surprise.
"But," John added, voice sharp as a blade, "you'll do one thing for me. Your company will serve as the bait."
Joshua blinked. "You mean…?"
John's gaze darkened.
"We're going to test the Yeats Family. See how far they're willing to go."
Joshua's lips trembled. "Y-Yes, Mr. Lopez. Anything you say!"