“Kaze, you don’t even know what’s going on. You have the nerve to yell at me.“I run the Red Foundation. I have a hundred ways to ruin you and your wife.” Greg looked menacing, and his voice bore threat. He was not acting tough this time. Since Greg held the 300-million-dollar donation to Lilyrose Commerce Guild in his hand, he had Darcy eating out of his palm. However, Kaze was no doormat. “Here’s a piece of advice, Greg. You shouldn’t use donations for your personal agenda.“You can puff yourself up for our little fights. “But some lines crossed can be fatal,” Kaze said callously. His flat voice indicated no emotions. The crowd was taken aback. Was that a death threat? The people wondered if Kaze was serious. “Ha!” Greg grinned in disdain. “Is that a threat from you, moocher? “Did you hear that, Darcy? Your husband wants to finish me off. He’s so cocky. I must say he’s more arrogant than Conan. What should I do? I’m so scared.” Greg looked at Darcy, his
The group made a fuss. Although they called themselves elites, there were tiers within the class. They would only check out the Koenigsegg One:1. Six of its kind worldwide, the Koenigsegg One:1 was not available to just anybody with money. Only the rich and powerful could acquire one. “Um…” Lilian was too uncertain to say anything. She knew Leigh had just purchased one from a VIP. However, the car was parked there and unregistered. She could not be sure that the car belonged to Leigh. What if one of the Queens owned the vehicle? Lilian would be upsetting someone else if she gave up any name. “Not even you know, Lilian?” The group was disappointed. They would earn bragging rights if they knew who the owner was. In fact, they could also say that their friend had just gotten a Koenigsegg One:1. “Who cares? We are not at the VIP’s level anyway.” Greg thought the car looked familiar. He looked away and fished out the car key before turning to Darcy with a smile.
Greg and the others were upset by Kaze’s claim, but they had no comeback. The Koenigsegg headlights blinded them. It was pointless to fight against absolute power. “Come on, honey.” Darcy brought the car closer to Kaze. Kaze turned around and got into the car. Soon, the Koenigsegg left a trail of dust behind it. “Oh, my god! The car belongs to Darcy. Who the hell is she?” “Funny enough we have been showing off and mocking them. Now that I think about it, I feel so foolish and silly.” It took a while before Greg’s group could think straight again. Dwelling in regret, they beat themselves up. They were totally humiliated today. Greg grimaced, his eyes reflecting malice. He wanted revenge. Reservations were holding him back, though. Since Darcy owned a Koenigsegg One:1, he did not want to get on her bad side. What if he hit a brick wall like with Conan? Lilian glared at the person talking. “Funny, my ass. It’s obvious Kaze stole the Koenigsegg. Why are you
An influencer donated one billion dollars. That was way more than the megarich corporations. It was totally unheard of. The news rocked the online community. Many Internet users, who loved drama, examined the list to check how much the rich and famous donated since they always advocated helping charities. Then came the problem. Lilyrose Commerce Guild was nowhere to be found on the list. Not a single local business had donated. The public was not having it. “Donations are coming from all over the country in the wake of a disaster, but none of the local businesses donated. Is there no decent soul in Lilyrose?” “No way. Lil Dee signed onto Lilyrose’s Lee Investment. He’s not from that city, and yet he donated one billion dollars. I guess none of the locals think it’s worth giving money to their community.” “Aren’t there major corporations there? Sky Ocean Corporation and Shangrila Group were established there. They got Professor Whiteman as a spokesperson and poured a
“That’s right. She was only running a small business a month ago, and now she’s the chairwoman of both Quartet Group and Sky Ocean Corporation. That’s a lot of wealth in a short amount of time, don’t you think?” “I read online that her husband is the biggest mob boss in the city. Mr. Vikram, Mr. Logman, Mr. Joestar, is that why you’re afraid of him?” “Maybe the Vikrams, Logmans, and Joestars are in on it with Darcy. I bet they are aiming to be the next top three families. Even the former top three families weren’t as bad as you people.” “A-Are you trying to rebel?” Bernard and his friends shook with rage. They rushed to put out the fire, but they got burnt instead. In fact, the fallen top three families were deemed better than them. “Lilyrose Commerce Guild is for everybody. You don’t decide everything for us. What do you mean by rebelling?” “That’s right. We demand an answer.” Strength in numbers, the members gathered around Darcy demanding that she did right by the
“Hold up!” Greg cut Darcy off from speaking. “Why are you making such a big deal out of things, Ms. Quint? “I’ll tell you what. I’ll talk to the staff member about the tiny mistake.“This is to show that I’m taking the matter seriously,” Greg said with a chuckle, his tone unhurried. Enraged, Darcy blurted, “Are you still asleep, Mr. Nanas? The online community is attacking Lilyrose Commerce Guild over this. “Over a hundred of our members’ businesses are currently facing boycotts, and distributors are returning their stock.“If we don’t address the issue promptly, things will only get worse. The trade industry in Lilyrose will falter. “Businesses will close down, people will lose jobs, they won’t be able to afford their mortgages, and we can see an increase in social unrest. “Are you going to be responsible for the chain reaction?” The members clenched their fists in rage. Darcy was not practicing scaremongering. The incident could very well happen. The consequenc
Kaze spoke callously. Greg had pissed him off for the last time. “Haha. Are you talking to me, Kaze? “It has only been a night. Did you forget that your wife pleaded for your release when I tried to straighten you out?“Fine. Come and find me. “I read online that you’re the biggest mob boss in Lilyrose. Come here, and I’ll validate that you’re no more than a criminal to the public. “I’ll make sure you and your wife will never live in this town again.” Greg hung up. He did not take Kaze seriously. The Red Foundation dominated the narrative in public opinion. They ran the show. The disconnected tone ensued. Kaze put down the phone emotionlessly. The sparkle in Darcy’s eyes dimmed. Greg was hell-bent on destroying them. “Tsk, tsk. Lilyrose Commerce Guild has lost its reputation, but you still find time to get together.” A group swaggered into the place. The three individuals acted haughty. The leader, a bespectacled woman, was proud. Disregarding the bu
“I heard that you are trying to get new investors for Rove, Kaze.“Let me put this out there. It’s pointless. “Lil Dee’s fans will attack Rove’s live stream by flooding and crashing it on command. It’s just a few thousand views anyway.” Kaze remained unfazed in the face of Emma’s threats. Standing in the crowd, Hart, who arrived not too long ago with another group of members, became upset. He had checked Desmond’s live stream out before. Fans swarmed into the live stream the moment it started. It was a struggle to keep up with the flooding comments, and soon, the live stream crashed. The engineers had to work around the clock to fix the bug. The major corporations, including Hart, were jealous of Desmond’s huge following. Rove did not have many followers to sell products to. If Desmond’s fans were to crash Rove’s live stream, the business could really go down. Kaze smiled faintly. “Sure. Desmond can tell his fans to do that. “I was thinking how to get the tractio
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