“We are just trying to help your husband, we didn’t mean anything else. If we offended you anyhow, I’ll apologize on their behalf…” Faye held onto Darcy’s hand and apologized with a smile. Not offensive? Kaze scoffed. Before he could speak, Darcy beat him to it. She said coldly, “I can differentiate between what is offensive and what is not. I know you lot look down on my husband. You even believed the rumors about his illegitimate acquisition of the Shangrila Group Chairman position. “But, you have no idea that it was he who made me the president of Lilyrose Commerce Guild.” Kaze called out to the guild members and elected her as the president. It was such an astonishing scene that Darcy would never forget. With Darcy’s revelation, everyone looked at Kaze in shock, including Greg. The shock lasted for a moment before it was replaced by disdain. They assumed Darcy was just trying to protect her husband, and thus credited her husband for that. “Oh, I see. President
Lilian’s eyes were shining as she moved her glass closer to Greg. She was ready to surrender her body to him the moment he gave the signal. Faye and the others were the same, concentrating only on Greg. They raised their glasses to drink with him and flatter him. They were smart because they knew what words would make a man tick. Greg was drowning in flattery. He drank with all the young women and smiled happily. “Greg, we’re going out for some air.” The guys who followed Greg to the gathering had gotten used to it and they wisely excused themselves. As long as Greg was present, the girls would surround him like bees to flowers. Other men would not stand a chance. Since it would be an eyesore, it would be better for the other guys to leave and find chances elsewhere. “Forget about them. Let’s drink!” Greg ignored his followers and continued to drink with the girls. Surrounded by alcohol and women, Greg felt like the king of the world. However, when he saw Darcy
“So, Ms. Quint, now you know how powerful is the priority partner list of Red Foundation. It’s a recognition. With that, Lilyrose Commerce Guild will be as good as being gilded! Your reputation will skyrocket! “Anyone with ill intentions toward the guild, or you, will have second thoughts.” Greg boasted his so-called priority partner list as if it could change the world, yet no one doubted him. He might sound exaggerating but the foundation indeed possessed such influence and power. The recognition that Greg mentioned was the reason many celebrities and powerful companies had to respect Red Foundation. Those who offended the foundation would be publicly questioned, causing reputations to be ruined and company shares to plummet. Therefore, many companies wanted the so-called recognition from Red Foundation. As Greg said, a company would be gilded once recognized and received endless benefits. It was also the main reason Lilian and the other girls tried to flatter Greg.
Darcy frowned. She resented Greg’s coercive tone, but she was forced to endure it because of the three hundred million dollars she donated. “Mr. Nanas, that’s not what I mean. I would never look down on you. It’s just that I am really not a drinker, I can’t drink that much.” Darcy refused to compromise, which made Greg’s expression grimmer. “Darcy Quint, when are you going to show some respect to Greg?” Lilian continued to fan the flames. She said, “Greg is looking after you. He proposed a toast twice, yet you gave him the cold shoulder. You should learn how to socialize and show some respect. Don’t embarrass yourself and others…” Kaze looked at Lilian and said coldly, “Forcing others to drink, that’s respect? If that’s the case, I respectfully ask you to drink all the alcohol on the table!” Lilian’s expression turned gloomy. Before she could speak, Greg beat her to it. He slammed the table and pointed at Kaze, shouting, “You piece of shit! Successful people are talking h
The sudden crash shocked everyone. “Aaaaah! What the fuck!?” Lilian screamed. Lilian was an avid supporter of the no-bra movement, so she never wore one when she went out. After being splashed by the alcohol, her nipples were revealed through the sheer from the wetness. She was so embarrassed that she quickly covered her breasts. “What the fuck?” Greg was furious as well. His face was covered with trash and alcohol, looking miserable. When he had a good look at the person on the table, he was even more infuriated. The man was one of his followers, Han. Han’s limbs were hanging from the table. He could not speak due to the pain. He was also Greg’s driver cum bodyguard, which explained his tall and buff figure. Yet he was thrown inside like a piece of trash. The one who hurt him must be powerful. Greg was scared but when he saw his man being beaten up, the fear was replaced by anger. It was not just hurting his man, but also his pride. He must find the person
“Greg, help!” Greg’s men cried and asked for help the moment they saw him. Greg was furious. He pointed at the young man and bellowed, “I order you to release them right now, or you will pay dearly!” “Pay dearly? Have you never seen blood? You dumb shit. Should I open your eyes?” said the young man with a grin. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the table and smashed it on the man’s head. Crank! The bottle was smashed into pieces, knocking out the already injured guy. The buff man released him, letting him fall onto the floor. His head started to bleed. The puddle of blood shocked everyone. Gasp! Lilian, Faye, and the others were horrified by the young man’s ruthlessness. Even Greg was shocked. The young man was no stranger to violence or blood. What was more terrifying had yet to come. Crank! Crank! The young man grabbed a bottle after another, smashing them onto the heads of Greg’s men. He looked casual and unfazed throughout the bloody and violent proce
Slap! Greg’s face burned. He covered his cheek and stepped back in anger and embarrassment. “You slapped me!? Have you heard of Red Foundation…” Slap! The young man slapped him once more before he could finish. “Bullshit. I’ve heard of Red Foundation but I just don’t give a shit.” Slap! A third slap landed on Greg’s face. “Greg!” Faye and the others were worried. If Greg got hurt and they did nothing, he would surely come after them next. Lilian stood as well. She stepped up and said, “Hey, do you know what this place is…” “This place?” The young man paused and glanced at Lilian. Lilian said strongly, “I’m Lilian Wheel, the person in charge of the supercar club in Sunrise! This bar is our branch here in Lilyrose!” “Supercar club?” Lilian grinned when he saw the reluctance on the young man’s face. The young man might not care about Red Foundation but he seemed to have heard of the supercar club. The club was founded for rich people with supercars to gather
The Butterworth Queens were on par with the Sunrise Lees. Compared to the Lee family, which had just risen to prominence in recent years, the Queen family had been around a lot longer, even longer than the Vinland family of Chrysant. Their resources and influences were unimaginably large. On top of that, the family preferred to keep a low profile and make money quietly. When the top three families of Lilyrose were taken down, every other company and family in the city tried to get a piece of the pie. The Lee and Vinland families tried but were defeated terribly. The Queen family was barely interested in the competition. They might be quiet but no one would truly ignore them or underestimate the benefits they gained from the collapse of the top three families. Red Foundation and the supercar club were considered rather influential, yet Greg and Lilian were merely executives. They could not fully represent their respective organizations. Therefore, they were powerless i
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