?<strong>Chapter 306:</strong>


    Displeasure clouded his features at her continued avoidance.


    Carrie’s avoidance frustrated him, but he didn’t press her.


    He’d long since learned that Carrie’s body often betrayed her true feelings, yet her mind was an enigma he couldn’t decode.


    She straightened, her tone firm. “Thepany was founded by my mother. I won’t let them destroy it. And I won’t let them seed either. They’ll pay for what they’ve done.”


    Her words carried the weight of years of bitterness and resolve.


    Despite sharing a father, Yara had always been cherished, while Carrie had been little more than a tool—convenient and disposable.


    Carrie reflected briefly on her past.


    Tristan’s decision to send her to live with Gracie as a child had been a blessing in disguise.


    Gracie had instilled in her traditional values and independence, shielding her from the toxic dependency that might have bound her to Tristan in gratitude.


    Without Gracie’s influence, Carrie doubted she’d have the strength to act so decisively now.


    Kristopher leaned back in his seat, his gaze never leaving her. “I’ll help you.”


    Carrie hesitated, her instinctive response to refuse caught in her throat.


    She knew she didn’t have the resources or the money to take on this fight alone.


    After a moment, she spoke. “I don’t want your help. Let’s make a deal instead. You lend me the money, and I’ll repay you in a month. As interest, I’ll give you 20% of thepany’s shares.”


    Kristopher raised an eyebrow, crossing his legs as his fingers tapped rhythmically on his knee.


    Her formal tone irritated him.


    “What would I do with shares from such a smallpany?”


    Carrie was taken aback, her confidence faltering.


    He wasn’t wrong.


    Even at its height, the Campbell family business’s monthly profits couldn’t match the cost of one of Kristopher’s watches.


    Offering him 20% of the shares seemedughable, almost insulting.


    Wary of his intent, she asked cautiously, “Then what do you want?”


    “Forget the shares, and you don’t need to repay the money,” Kristopher replied casually. “After your shooting wraps, apany me on a vacation.”


    Carrie’s shoulders rxed slightly.


    She had braced herself for something more insidious—perhaps a condition involving Lise or the divorce.


    This was… manageable. “Alright, no problem,” she agreed without hesitation. “But let’s be clear: I’ll still repay the loan. If you don’t want the shares, that’s fine, but I don’t take money without paying it back.”


    Kristopher’s expression darkened, his pride pricked by her insistence on keeping things separate. “Suit yourself,” he muttered in a clipped tone.


    Just when Carrie thought her day couldn’t get worse, her phone buzzed with an iing call.


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