Sieg’s frosty glare instilled fear into Hart’s heart. For a moment there, he thought he was being stared at by a beast. Behind Sieg, a man who was obviously his bodyguard, stepped forward. He too stared at Hart, sending chills down his spine. Hart used to serve in the military when he was young. Based on the man’s presence, he could tell that the man was a killer. Syed bellowed, “Hart, watch your mouth! How dare you defy Uncle Sieg! He’s our senior!” “I…I…will do what you say, Uncle Sieg…” Hart was forced to lower his head. For the sake of his family’s safety, he dared not oppose Sieg or Syed anymore. Sieg smiled. He then shot a gaze at Daphne and his eyes lit up. Daphne had instant goosebumps. She stiffly nodded. “G-Granduncle Sieg, I’m Daphne.” “How come I didn’t know there’s such a beautiful girl in our family?” Sieg sounded amused. He added, “Daphne? Have you ever considered moving to the main family?” “What?!” Syed bolted up instantly and said, “Uncle Sie
Sieg’s casual words sent Hart and Daphne down to the depths of the abyss. Minnie, Glory, and the others who were jealous of Daphne earlier instantly gloated at her. They thought Daphne would be accepted into the main family and rise in status, but it turned out differently. It was somehow expected of a family like the Lyfes or the Hacks. The top four families of Geranium all shared the same customs and thoughts. The marriage was not a celebrated one. An illegitimate child of the Hacks family, 40 years old, had a divorce, and was not a valued member of the family. When all the criteria added up, Daphne was not marrying a man with power but a man with a terrible fate. Everyone could tell the arranged marriage was just a way to turn Daphne into leverage for the Lyfe family so that they could negotiate for more benefits. “Kingston Hacks? The name does ring a bell. If I remember correctly, he’s the person in charge of Paladia Moose and he teamed up with Desmond Litman to o
“Yes, Uncle Sieg!” Syed said excitedly. In other words, Sieg wanted to keep Hart and Daphne in the house so they would not cause any trouble. Hart would lose all chances of fighting back with all the connections cut off. From today onward, Rove would belong to Syed and his supporters. However, the excitement did not last. Syed calmed down and glanced at Sieg before he nervously moved his gaze away. His young uncle from Geranium had just arrived in Lilyrose yet the whole company had already gone through a power shift with Hart and his family ousted. Syed was actually scared of Sieg. He knew that he and his family’s life and death were nothing but a word for Sieg. Sieg said, “Syed, I won’t spend too much time on Rove, so you’ll have to take care of the rest. Try to minimize the effect of the power shift and keep it running. “I will stay in Lilyrose for a while. I got reliable news that the mayor of Lilyrose is planning to renew the entire Old District. I came here to pl
Kaze did not know Hart and Daphne were already imprisoned at home with no contact with the outside world. Otherwise, he would certainly do something about it. “Keep an eye out and update me as things develop,” he said as he got up from his chair. He went to the city council and saw the flood relief efforts were progressing in an orderly manner. Caleb and Lou were skilled and experienced. After they updated Kaze about the progress, Caleb said, “Mr. Lee, there are some comments about you popping online recently and I wonder if you have seen them. “A number of people questioned your ability. Due to the flash flood, a series of problems were exposed and put under the microscope. Lilyrose’s governance is in chaos and they all blame you for being too inexperienced and incompetent…” Caleb expressed his disapproval through his upset tone. It was his true feelings because he saw with his own eyes what Kaze had done. If Kaze had not solved some of the problems, the situation woul
Rose pouted and said, “Kaze, you are the one who doesn’t stay home. Every day when I wake up, you are already gone. “I went to school every day, practiced my dance lesson, and studied for my upcoming test. I’m exhausted. How can you say that I’m out every day?” Rose had decided to go to art college after high school, so she had been practicing dance as one of her majors. Kaze smiled. “Dance? Like ballet or belly dance? When are you going to show me?” Rose had a nice body and her dance attire would definitely highlight her youthful physique. “No way! Not even if you pay!” Rose blushed when he realized Kaze was teasing her. She had another glance at Kaze and realized it was purely a joke and meant nothing else. For some reason, she was slightly disappointed. Then, she shifted the topic and asked, “Kaze, are you free tonight?” “Depends.” “My dance coach is asking me to join a gathering. I want you to accompany me.” Noticing the lack of interest on Kaze’s face, Rose e
On top of that, Wanda even came to pick Rose up. Even though it was normal for the coach to pick a student up, even in an expensive car, Kaze had a feeling that Wanda had ulterior motives. “Uh… I’m actually living in my brother-in-law’s house.” Rose did not reveal how many houses Kaze actually owned in the district. “Ms. Wanda, you are a local. Haven’t you heard of Skylar View District?” “I used to live abroad and only came back recently to start a dance school with my friends. I’m not familiar with the places anymore,” Wanda said. She then switched her attention to Kaze. “Who might this be? I told you Young Master Corax is joining us today and we only invite our circle. “I don’t think he will be happy about you bringing a stranger there.” Wanda switched to a harsher tone and scrutinized Kaze. “Young Master Corax?” Kaze finally understood Wanda’s intention. He looked at Rose and the girl looked slightly guilty. She timidly explained, “Kaze, Young Master Corax is o
Rose almost burst into laughter when Kaze decided to play dumb. She curled his arm, refusing to let him go. She said to Wanda, “Ms. Wanda, if Kaze isn’t going, then I’m not going either. “I promised to bring him along. I want him to have good food because he seldom gets the chance. You wouldn’t want me to break my promise right?” Rose wore an innocent look, though behind her big googly eyes were nothing but devious thoughts. Kaze could not help but knock her head. She made it sound like he had never eaten anything good. “Hmph.” Wanda chuckled in disdain. It seemed like he was not just an idiot, he was a glutton. She assumed someone as useless as him would not pose any threat to Corax or steal the limelight. He could even be the clown to entertain everyone. On second thought, it might be a good idea. With that, Wanda started to look forward to the gathering. She smiled and said, “No, no. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I am concerned it might not be appropriate.
The car drove away from Skylar View District and headed to a bar street in the heart of the city. Half an hour later, they arrived at a bar that looked much more premium and expensive than the others. It was peak hour but the bar was much quieter than others. There was even soothing jazz music heard from the inside. “Young Master Corax reserved the entire bar for our gathering. It cost like ten grand just to book out the place. Now you know how important this gathering is.” As Wanda brought Kaze and Rose inside, she continued to flaunt Corax's wealth. Up until this point, her intentions were clear as day. The three of them went through a long corridor to reach the main floor. A dozen young men and women mingled inside, wearing beautiful clothes and looking confident. However, the spotlight was on the man in a black shirt, sitting in the center of the couch. He was tall and had pronounced facial features. He sat on the couch casually but each time he opened his mouth