“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Before we begin the auction today, let me go over the rules first.” Eddie went up to the stage and started to act as the auctioneer. The auction was not really legitimate. It was organized by Rove themselves and they did not seek the professional service of an auction house, so Eddie took the role of auctioneer. “The rule is simple. Rove will be auctioning 20% of our shares and the highest bidder wins!” 20% of the company shares were considered high. Lee Investment only had 5% of shares and they were already the biggest shareholder with the power to hold a shareholder meeting or dismiss the chairman. Rove was a family business, so the Lyfe family held the majority of the shares, which allowed them to still be in power. 20% of shares allowed one to have power in the shareholder meeting and could also make strategic decisions to determine the future of the company. The management of Rove must have been desperate. To acquire large funding,
Then, Dakota shot his frosty gaze at the few individual investors who were not part of his alliance. The individual investors were startled and instantly alarmed. They were reminded that they were just here to fill in the numbers. They struggled internally for a moment but ultimately decided to stomach their grievance when they sensed the dangerous glares from Dakota and his alliance. They sat quietly and decided not to call against South Hill Holdings anymore. Some even got up and left the venue. “With Tulip Corporation behind my back and an alliance of more than ten powerful investors, nothing can stop me today!” Dakota was happy with the result. He had the entire auction under control after he eliminated all the competition. After the little incident, no one dared to call against him anymore. The auctioneer, Eddie, said, “810 million once.” “810 million twice.” “Last call.” Eddie smiled as he raised the mallet high in the air. “810 million thrice…” “Hold
Both Eddie and Dakota were surprised for a moment before their expressions turned heavy. Rove clearly stated that Hudson Investment Firm was not allowed to invest but then Kaze attended and participated in the auction in his own name, as an individual investor. Looking at Eddie’s grim look and pursed lip, Kaze smiled. “Mr. Fork, don’t tell me Rove is not big enough to house another investor in the auction. If you can’t afford that, you can tell your big boss to set up another rule for me alone, and hold an emergency shareholder meeting if you have to. You can ban me from attending or participating in the auction in any form. “But do be careful this time because I am good at exploiting loopholes.” Kaze’s smirk was a punch in their guts. Even Darcy had the urge to slap him for his snarky remarks, let alone the others. They were all frustrated. “Kaze Lee, are you sure you want to oppose us? Do you know what the consequences are?” Dakota bellowed coldly as he glared at Kaze
Kaze was a madman for raising the price against South Hill Holdings. South Hill Holdings could have gotten Rove’s shares with just 810 million, but after Kaze’s interruption, the price went up a billion. “Kaze Lee, are you really doing this?!” Dakota shouted angrily. His eyes were burning with anger. He wished he could skin Kaze alive. He had been in the business for decades and no one had ever embarrassed him so directly. Yet he hit a snag in a supposedly controlled situation because of Kaze and his unexpected actions. A nameless, useless man challenged him repeatedly, provoking him in front of everyone. Dakota really wished he could strangle Kaze with his own hands. Kaze scoffed. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m bidding with what I have. Don’t tell me you can’t accept it. Are you calling? If not, I will be taking the 20% shares of Rove.” He then looked at Eddie on the stage. “Why are you standing there? Start the countdown.” With a bitter look, Eddie started
Eddie sounded generous when he mentioned the rounding up. “Hahaha! Congratulations, Mr. Lee! 20% shares of Rove for 6.3 billion is quite the deal!” As soon as Eddie’s voice subsided, another loud voice came from behind, gloating at Kaze. Dakota, who looked gloomy earlier, came in with loud laughter. Behind him was his investor alliance, all gloating at Kaze. Darcy’s heart skipped a beat. “Eddie Fork! You colluded with South Hill Holdings to trick Kaze?!” She was furious when she finally knew what happened. At first, when Kaze said he wanted to participate in the auction as an individual investor, Eddie refused to accept it. However, after a brief argument, Eddie agreed and even asked Kaze to pay a hundred million deposit. It looked like Eddie and Dakota were trying to give Kaze a hard time but it was a trap to lower his guard. It was to make Kaze and Darcy think that they were cornered and were forced to accept Kaze’s participation. Then, Dakota challenged Kaze
“Young Master Sieg!” The proud and arrogant Eddie instantly turned into a loyal puppy, hopping over to Sieg and bowed like one. “Young Master Sieg, long time no see.” Dakota and the others greeted Sieg as well. “Sieg? Sieg Lyfe?” Kaze scrutinized the young man but he did not seem surprised. As a matter of fact, he came to the auction just to meet with Sieg. “Yes, in the flesh.” Sieg nodded and then smiled. “So, you are Kaze Lee who broke my cousin’s arm and leg, am I right? I have to commend your courage. You already know I have Rove under control and you still dare to show up at the auction today.” “Why wouldn’t I?” Kaze asked. Sieg nodded. “You are indeed bold. Very well. Now that the auction has ended and you’ve gotten 20% of Rove’s shares, you should pay up now. “But I have to say, not even I can fork out 6.3 billion at once. I admire your audacity, Mr. Lee.” Sieg curled his lips into a smile and continued, “If you can’t pay up and decide to turn away from t
“I have named my conditions. Now it’s up to you two to make the decision,” Sieg said with a laugh. He sounded stern and indubitable despite his light tone. In the end, Sieg was after Kaze and Darcy’s companies. Being one of the Geranium Four, he was interested in Sky Ocean Corporation, Shangrila Group, and others. Darcy’s expression turned bitter. “Sieg Lyfe, don’t you cross the line!” “You think it’s too much?” Sieg smiled and continued, “Alright. Since we are on the mainland and not Geranium, I’ll tone it down a bit. If we are in Geranium, your stupid husband is already swimming with the fishes.” He became the embodiment of arrogance and power when he said that. “Kaze Lee, what is your choice?” Sieg asked again and looked at Kaze with a wicked grin. Kaze looked at him and said coldly, “Get out of my face!” “You’re not choosing? It’s not up to you now!” Sieg grinned and said, “No one can take advantage of me and walk away!” “Who do you think you are?” Kaze went
“You wouldn’t dare, would you? If I die here in Lilyrose, Geranium will go to hell and many people will go down with me! “Your wife, your family, and your friends, and even Hart Lyfe and his family. You know them, right? Do you know how they are doing? Are you going to put their lives at risk by killing me?” Sieg laughed frantically. He was not like Astral or the others who cried at the moment of defeat and started to beg Kaze. Even though Kaze’s foot was on his chest, he continued to provoke Kaze. “You think I’m afraid?” Kaze looked at Sieg coldly. He grabbed the young man by the neck and lifted him into the air like a little animal. Suffocation started to attack Sieg and he began to feel the fear of death. “Ugh…” Sieg struggled in the air, his tongue was out, his eyes were red, and he was losing his breath. “What happened to Hart and his daughter?” Kaze slightly released his grip to allow Sieg to speak. Sieg’s legs were able to touch the ground, which gave him
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