Everybody there was stunned. Um… It was bad enough that Kaze kept testing Trent’s patience. Now, he was reprimanding Trent as if he stood on higher ground. The young man, who was no more than 30 years old, was just a boy before Trent’s presence. The nerve of Kaze. Where did he find the courage to take jabs at the former mayor? The crowd was speechless. It was clear to them that Kaze did not know how to read the room. Trent smirked in rage. “I have walked this earth longer than you, young man. Who are you to tell me off?“I was the mayor of the city for twenty years, and the people love me. “The only thing I heard about you is your reputation as a mooching son-in-law of the Quints.“I don’t know why you think it’s appropriate for you to give me a dressing down.” Trent’s tone was flat. He had never met such an arrogant prick. Kaze smiled callously. “It’s just a nice reminder. “It’s your business whether you want to take my advice. “Don’t keep bringing up the
Apart from Kaze and Draco, everybody else in the villa pricked up their ears. They wanted to know Johnson’s response. Maybe Trent’s stern tone pressured Johnson for an answer. The latter did not keep the crowd waiting for long. Johnson replied eagerly, “Why do you ask, Trent?“No, I’m not his friend in high places.” The urgency in his tone gave the impression of his keenness to dissociate from Kaze. Mocking gazes fell on Kaze. “Yesterday’s news?” “Now you know the extent of Mr. Fuller’s influence. Your friend dropped you without hesitation.”“Who do you think you are to be rude to Mr. Fuller? You’re asking for it.” “Mr. Fuller can crush you without lifting a finger.” Lyon and members of the Four Ocean Commerce Guild were left frustrated since Kaze’s arrival. Finally, Trent broke the cycle. They attacked Kaze with taunts and jeers to blow off steam. Trent turned to Kaze and said callously, “What do you have to say for yourself?” He expected to see Kaze turnin
“What? You can’t?” Johnson’s response stirred an uproar. “Why? Kaze is just the son-in-law of the Quints. Yet, Mayor Brooks defied his teacher for him. Did I hear that right?” “Johnson didn’t punish Kaze for upsetting Mr. Glitter in his name and disrespecting Mr. Fuller. What is he thinking?” No one could figure out why Johnson would do such a thing. Kaze was just a loser who took his wife’s last name. Given Johnson’s steady rise in politics, he could just say the word to make Kaze pay. Even Trent could not wrap his head around it. No one expected Johnson’s shocking response. After reeling in from the shock, Trent blew up. “What’s the meaning of this, Johnson? “You can’t even handle a trivial matter. I can’t believe you were the mayor.” On the other end of the line, Johnson said patiently, “Anything to do with Mr. Lee is out of my hands, Trent. “I’d advise you to stay out of it too. “If you are not deeply involved, you can apologize to Mr. Lee. I believe Mr. L
“Johnson just hung up on you. Shouldn’t you learn your lesson by now, old man?” Kaze shook his head. Despite his age, Trent was stubborn and refused to admit he was wrong. “Hmph! Do you think I care about Johnson?” Trent said curtly, “He was only the mayor for a couple of years. He didn’t even get the hang of the job yet. “I’ll show you whose voice carries weight on the council.” Trent stubbornly thought Johnson was Kaze’s friend in high places. Johnson’s statement about not getting in Kaze’s business was just his way of washing his hands of the matter and humiliating Trent. Kaze was not powerful and well-connected as Johnson hinted. Otherwise, Kaze would not marry into an upper-middle-class family and take his wife’s last name. “I can say the word and make the Quints the public enemy, boy,” Trent threatened grimacingly. He would not let the matter go until Kaze yielded to him. Kaze furrowed his brows. He was disinterested in going around in circles with Trent.
The military had always been an extraordinary existence in Arcadia. Even the most prominent families would put their attitude down a notch in the face of the army. Trent’s heart skipped a beat when Draco admitted he was serving. Even Lyon frowned and observed Draco in silence. “Which branch of the military do you serve him, buddy?” Trent asked, even taking a more amiable form of address. Draco kept the vile attitude. “I serve Lilyrose Strategic Department. Just cut the crap and get to the point.” Lilyrose Strategic Department! He was from Lilyrose Strategic Department. Trent and Lyon’s hearts sank. Lilyrose Strategic Department governed the military in five states. The local council answered to Lilyrose Strategic Department, not the other way around. Lilyrose Strategic Department was prominent in the South River State too. Trent stared intently at Draco’s arrogant face as some bad times came to mind. As the mayor of Lilyrose for twenty years, Trent often got
Lyon tried to find out more about Draco before he made any decisions about the next move, but Draco did not even answer him. “Who do you think you are, talking to me?” With that, Draco strutted back and stood behind Kaze. Lyon and the others were surprised by Draco’s reaction. The man from Lilyrose Strategic Department seemed to assume Kaze as his leader. Who exactly was the useless son-in-law of the Quints? Lyon was a smart man who could read the room. He knew that before he identified Draco’s identity, it would be better to patch things up with him. As for what would come after this, it would be a matter for a later date. He took a deep breath and went over to Kaze. He bowed and nodded, saying, “Brother, I’m sorry to have offended you in any way. How about we put this little misunderstanding aside?” When the words escaped his mouth, Lyon was drowning in his own grievance. Since he was one of the martial artist Gareth Hornberg’s best students, and also affiliated w
Slap! “Don’t you have the Glitter family’s support? Where are your balls now?” Slap! Slap after slap, Kaze humiliated Lyon in the worst way possible. Slap after slap, Kaze exerted more strength, which caused Lyon’s face to swell. Lyon’s eyes were burning with the flames of rage and they were on the verge of erupting, but he managed to keep his fists to himself. “So you're this coward even when you have the Glitters behind you? You don’t even dare to raise your fist at me? I won’t have the excuse to kill you. How boring.” Kaze grew tired of slapping Lyon. He turned around and kicked Leigh in the stomach again. “Mr. Glitter, let’s continue talking about how you sent your men to thrash my wife’s car. How do you plan to settle that?” Leigh never thought he would be beaten up so badly. He was barely alive after all the torture and it grinded his intention to resist to nothing. He just wanted to get this over with and escape Kaze’s evil clutches. He weakly said, “Just t
Kaze did a sweep kick, sending the other disciples flying and spitting blood. They crashed into walls and the furniture around them. They were knocked out instantly, falling to the ground like a lifeless slug. All they could do was cry in pain. They were all crippled by just one kick! Lyon swallowed nervously. He was stunned. He could also take out his disciples but definitely not as easy as Kaze had done it. The room fell into silence. Kaze wiped his hand with a tissue and then said, “Bunch of trash. Can’t even take a hit. Is this what you plan to ambush me with?” Kaze scanned over the disciples and no one dared to answer his questioning gaze. Lyon then shouted madly, “Kaze Lee, you bastard! Leigh has agreed to give you a car, yet you diverted your friend away just to lure my disciples to attack you? Why?” His heart was bleeding. He raised his disciples with care yet Kaze defeated them easily. Kaze scoffed. “Because I suddenly realized that the Glitters are bullies
The hostages were locked up in the containers. Some of them were elites in their own field while some were ordinary people with average income, yet all of them got into trouble when they boarded the plane. Most of them could not accept their fate. Yet they dared not defy or resist the mercenaries. When things started to calm down, they broke down in tears, weeping in silence as resentment consumed them. Kaze sat down at a clean corner that allowed him to look outside the window. The window was dirty but at least he could see outside. The space inside the container was filled with people sitting closely, offering comfort to one another. They were aware they were just temporarily safe in this container. No one knew what the mercenaries would do to them at the next moment. “My parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I can’t even get in touch,” Barney muttered as he sat beside Kaze. He too looked outside the window, his feelings mixed. He watc
Kaze thought of what he had overheard in the toilet. If he told the hostages about that, they would probably panic. “It’s nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,” he said. He did not want to reveal too much because it would cause panic. Once the hostages knew their lives were on the line, things might spiral out of control. The mercenaries could kill a few of them to make an example, and none of the hostages would dare to cause problems anymore. Kaze kept it a secret because he wanted to protect the people. “That’s it?” “Is there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?” “We want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problem—we just got caught up in it.” The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. “I don’t know either.” No matter how m
“There’s a room there. Get in.” The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. “What do you want?” The mother was nervous. She clutched her son’s hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her son’s mouth to prevent him from doing so. “All women must go into that room. You go in now,” the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. “You people won’t hurt me, right?” the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. “We are not into MILF,” said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. “They told us they were going to separate us, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, worried that the mother and son would not cooperate. The mother then carried her son and followed the other mercenary into the room. It was called a room but it was actually ju
“Can you make him stop? If the man comes back, we’ll be done for,” someone said. The kid’s crying made everyone anxious. “What can I do? He’s crying because he’s scared. I can’t just stop him.” The mother was afraid as well, and she did not want her son to be taken advantage of. “Calm down. Just don’t alert the men and we’ll be fine,” Miguel said, hoping to ease the situation. “I’ll fight him if he comes in. I believe I can make it,” someone said. Those with an impulsive nature grew restless from being kept on the bus for too long, feeling like livestock being kept in cages. “Shut it. They are coming,” Barney said after a glance outside the window. The other passengers fell silent, sat back down, lowered their heads, and tried their best not to look out the window. The mother quickly hugged her son and covered his mouth to prevent him from crying. Kaze felt peace and quiet once more, even the air felt smoother. He knew the passengers were merely ordinary people and
Unfortunately, Leah knew she would not get an answer out of Snow since she was refusing to help. Everything seemed to have changed following her mother’s disappearance. She tried to stay for answers but when security came in, she could not resist them anymore. It was the first time she was escorted out by security guards and it impacted her. She used to be the daughter of the CEO of Northborn Group—everyone respected her. She used to enjoy a privileged status. No matter where she went, she was the star of the event. Yet when her mother disappeared, everything changed. She wanted to look for Kaze but she had just lost the chance. Snow turned her down and gazed at her with contempt and irritation. Leah could not accept the changes but some things felt like they were destined to change. She was forced to leave the branch office but then had no idea where else to go. She felt abandoned by the world. Before this, she could still hope for Kaze’s help, but now she had no
Leah went to her mother’s company but did not find her anywhere. Joey was busy working in the CEO’s office. Leah went over and asked, “Joey, where’s my mother? I can’t reach her.” She wanted to know what happened to her mother. “I don’t know about your mother either. We went out together earlier in the day but I don’t know where she went. I can’t get in touch with her.” Joey was so busy that she could not even free herself from the desk to explain to the girl. “Where did she go? How am I supposed to find her?” Leah panicked. If even Joey did not know where her mother went, then something must have happened. A bad feeling rose from her heart. Things just got serious. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask someone else?” Joey did not have time to deal with the girl. Leah was unfamiliar with Joey’s coldness. Joey had always treated her with kindness and flattery, so the sudden coldness caught her off guard. She felt like something had changed. “Who should I be looking f
“No! My daughter is still in the hospital!” Katie refused to accept her punishment. She started to regret her decision but it was too late. “Now only you think about your daughter? I guess you are not that foolish, but have you thought about her when you betrayed Chairman Lee? “Don’t worry. Leah knew Chairman Lee personally and we won’t hurt her, but she might not live a good life anymore,” Snow said coldly. She did not want to put the girl in a difficult situation but her life as a princess would come to an end. “You can’t do that!” Katie could not believe Snow would do that. “I bet you never thought of the consequences when you leaked the information. Too bad. You’ve lost.” Snow revealed the truth because she wanted Katie to suffer for the decision she made. Katie would now regret every decision she made because she knew she had jeopardized her daughter’s life. She would feel like a fool. She devoted her life to climbing higher to gain more power but she ignored the
“I went to a bar to have a drink and I bumped into an informant of the Viper’s Den.” Katie looked helpless as she explained as if everything that had happened was planned out for her, pushing her to the edge step by step. It was a lively night at the bar. The atmosphere was pleasant and most of the guests were having a good time. Katie was a single woman. She needed care and love at times. She was alone when she visited the bar. She started off by ordering some drinks at the counter, waiting for a chance to meet a man who shared the same ideals. A drink or two later, maybe she could get herself a company for the night. As a grown-up woman, she had her desires. It was a way to release her stress. Katie entered the bar in a casual outfit but it did not diminish her elegant demeanor. When she sat down at the counter, a few young men approached her but she was not interested in immature boys. She continued drinking. She looked at the dance floor occasionally, searching for a
“Who do you think will believe you?” Arthur frowned. There were too many coincidences that it felt like a giant setup. “I’ve explained what I need to. Don’t interrogate me like I’m a criminal. I am the CEO of the Northborn Group.” Katie left them speechless. She had said the necessary and it was up to them whether they wanted to believe it or not. They did not have the evidence to charge her anyway. “You really think we can’t hold you responsible?” Snow was not really looking for a definite answer. The moment she suspected Katie, whether or not she was truly the traitor, Snow already had the right to hold her accountable. It was necessary to make things clear and it was to find out who Katie leaked Kaze’s information to. “It has come down to this. No matter how you deny it, it’s useless. We already know what you have done and you can’t escape. Even if you don’t want to confess, we can continue the investigation, and we’ll eventually find out the truth. “If you come clean