“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
Kaze nodded. “Mhmm. Did you bring enough money? 6.3 billion.” “6.3 billion?!” Astral was surprised. Kaze looked at him. “Any problem?” “N-No problem at all!” Astral shook his head nervously. His pursed lips were twitching helplessly. He received a call from Kaze last night, asking him to prepare some money to buy Rove’s shares. He did not expect it to be so much! Astral Wealth Management’s funds were basically empty and he even had to get a loan to meet the numbers. Kaze did not feel bad for using Astral’s money. However, Astral dared not say anything out loud or even defy Kaze. The incident at Landor Residential Area had broken him completely. Soon, Rove’s 20% shares were acquired under Astral Wealth Management’s name. “Astral, you won!” Sieg grunted heavily and then left with a bitter look. He thought Astral was the one pulling the strings behind and Kaze was just the puppet. Kaze and Astral teamed up secretly to acquire 20% shares of Rove. Kaze look
Kaze then kicked Eddie away before leaving the hall with Darcy. Eddie fell on his butt. He stared in the direction where Kaze and Darcy walked away and felt like hope was leaving his world. “Kaze, did you and Astral…?” Darcy still could not wrap her head around the situation after leaving the exhibition center. Astral did not come here to cause trouble but he brought money here to help Kaze acquire Rove. Kaze smiled and said, “I told you when I came back from Landor Residential Area. I beat him up and he’s now as loyal as a dog.” “Uh…” Darcy had no idea what to say. Looking at how Astral behaved in front of Kaze earlier, it really looked like he was scared of being beaten up again. Kaze started the car and then said, “I’ll drive you back to your office first. I want to visit Hart and his daughter at their place and see how they are doing.” “Alright.” Darcy nodded. At the entrance of the exhibition center, Sieg and Dakota appeared together. “I’ve underestimated K
Daphne’s message surprised everyone in her family. “R-Really?! Who would have thought! Sieg got beaten up by Kaze?!” Hart cried in surprise after he heard the news. His wife was also excited and happy. “If we can contact Mr. Lee and ask him for help, Daphne can be free as well!” As a mother, she did not want her daughter to step into a trap. Hart did not want it to happen either but with Sieg on their backs, they could not resist his orders. The entire family had been living in despair for the past two days. Until they got the news of Kaze beating up Sieg, it lit the ember of hope in their hearts. A quick thought later, Hart said, “Daphne, see if you can get the message to Mr. Lee.” However, before they could come up with a solution, guards came to the courtyard and brought them into the living hall. Every family member was in the hall. Syed was also there in the main seat, looking nervous and anxious. The moment the brothers met, Hart said coldly, “Syed, I heard
“Hart Lyfe, I know you.” Mary Sue shot her sharp gaze at Hart. “You are also responsible for our young master’s arrest!” Despite being only Madam Hacks’ maid, she remained proud and stern while facing Hart, one of the pioneers in the business world. Mary Sue stared at Hart, asking, “So, you are the head of this family? What a joke. You are not even a big family yet you dare to oppose the Hacks family of Geranium and disrespect our young master!” Syed was afraid when he heard Mary Sue. He wondered if Madam Hacks knew that he and his brothers were no longer on the same side. He did not want the lady to blame the entire Lyfe family. He said, “Ms. Roberts, our family is also quite influential here in Lilyrose. Hart is not qualified to be the head of the family. “He is on his own, he has nothing to do with us. The Lyfe family had always respected Young Master Kingston. “Ms. Roberts, please come in and have a seat. I’ll have the servants to serve tea to you!” Syed attenti
What? Kneel and apologize again? This whole kneel and apologize routine seemed to have grown old and boring but people seemed to be hellbent about it. Hart’s expression turned grim. He thought he could just pay some money, or a lot of money to have this problem solved. Surprisingly, it was another round of trampling people’s pride and dignity. Mary Sue looked at Hart and coldly asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t want to do it? “Madam Hacks’ condition is considered lenient because your daughter is going to marry our young master. She has gone through Daphne Lyfe’s profile and she’s quite happy with it. “She wanted to pick a date for you to send her over to our young master, but not to get married. Your daughter is to bear a child for the young master within two years and only then they will be legally wed. “The madam sent me here to teach her manners because she doesn’t want the girl to embarrass everyone, especially the young master.” Mary Sue spoke in the most relaxed m
Mary Sue narrowed her frosty eyes. She got up from the chair and sauntered over to Daphne. No one in the room dared to make a noise as they watched her movement nervously. Hart quickly stepped in front of Daphne and then said, “Ms. Roberts, please. Daphne is still young…” “Out of my way!” Mary Sue bellowed and glared at him. Hart tried to argue but one of Mary Sue’s followers, a bald middle-aged man, came over. “Move, old man!” The man grabbed Hart by the neck and shoved him to the floor. Hart grunted in pain when he hit the floor. The expression on his face was proof that the fall really hurt. Daphne was shocked. “Dad…” Slap! As soon as the word escaped Daphne’s mouth, Mary Sue slapped her in the face. A clear slap mark appeared on Daphne’s face. “What was that?!” Daphne covered her face and shouted. Her eyes teared up due to the pain. Mary Sue remained frosty. “A girl who does not know manners must be taught a lesson!” The others in the family gloated
Syed and the other family members were also scared. One strike from the whip could easily lacerate the skin. Mary Sue furrowed her brows. “Be careful with that, Stone. Don’t ruin her face. We cannot allow a disfigured girl to marry into the family.” “Don’t worry, Mary Sue. I’ve been practicing the whip for years and I’ve used it on live targets as well. I never missed. I assure you the girl’s face would be spared,” Stone said casually. Judging from Stone’s tone, he seemed to be at the same rank as Mary Sue. He then looked at the terrified Daphne and grinned. “Don’t worry, I will only whip you where you have clothes on. It’s painful but it won’t leave a mark. After all, the madam chose you as her future daughter-in-law.” Daphne shivered in fear when she saw Stone’s perverted grin. Her mind even went numb. Hart teared up watching her daughter being threatened. He tried his best to get up and shouted, “Daphne, run! Go! Go find help! Look for Mr. Lee!” The shout brought D
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