For once, even the unreachable prominent figures were courteous and friendly with the Lyfes. The delight helped the Lyfes grow a spine. Hart finally showed up. Syed sneered, “Oh, didn’t you talk about loyalty in the family? Why did you heed Mr. Hornberg’s call then?” “I bet you’re kicking yourself because you see how great we are doing now, Hart.” The other Lyfe family members taunted him. Ashen in the face, Hart said nothing. He could not bring himself to ignore Gareth’s invitation. The feeling of apprehension had not left Hart as he wondered why Gareth had summoned him. “Get inside. Don’t stick out like a sore thumb at the entrance.” Syed lashed out at Hart before lifting his chin arrogantly for a scoff. The Lyfes would hit it big time after tonight. They believed the dumbest thing Hart ever did was cut ties with them. Once some heavy hitters entered the scene, the Lyfes stopped attending to guests at the door. The feast began at 7:00 PM. Guests were sea
The air crackled with tension at the start of the feast. To everybody’s surprise, Gareth demanded the new mayor show his face. Either way, the new mayor ran the city. Yet, Gareth, fresh off the plane, had utter disregard for him. Some who kept in the loops of things were aware of Gareth’s motives. Gareth did not come all the way to Lilyrose just to confront Kaze. He had his eye on the upcoming Lilyrose New City project. If Gareth could overpower the new mayor, Gareth would basically be running the city. Anybody who wanted to dip their fingers into the project would have to go through Gareth. The venue was pin-drop silent. Normally, no one dared to break the silence for fear of being caught in the drama. Nevertheless, the crowd was filled with anticipation. The new mayor had been in office for a while now, and he had never made a public appearance, not even on the local news. No one knew what the mysterious mayor looked like. Maybe the identity of the new mayo
The Lyfes consoled Gareth at the front of the hall. “Calm down, Mr. Hornberg. It doesn’t matter whether the mayor comes or not. You’re the star tonight.” “That’s right. No one can take the limelight away from you.” “Please take a seat.” Gareth nodded. He went to the head of the table to sit down. “Weren’t you expecting an answer from the mayor’s office, Gareth? “Don’t bother looking back. I’ll give one to you now.” A harsh voice cut through. The remark caused a stir among the crowd. It was clear that the speaker held Gareth’s threat in contempt. The speaker’s defiant tone was telltale. Gareth paused. As his face fell, he turned his attention to the source of the voice. The crowd looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from too. Many gasped restrainedly when their eyes laid on the face. They recognized who it was. “Kaze!” Mary Sue, Syed, and the others grimaced. They were surprised that Kaze would show up at the Lyfes’ residence. Sur
Kaze said indifferently, “You’re out of your depth, so you used Gareth against me. Get lost. I don’t have time for you.” “You!” Trent heaved heavily and pointed at Kaze resentfully. “Fine. I’ll watch you crash and burn today.” Amid the strange looks from the crowd, Trent took a seat with an ashen face. He looked at Kaze grimacingly. “You sure are cocky in my party, Kaze. Do you even take me seriously?” Gareth said chillingly. Trent’s statement was the last thing on Gareth’s mind. The question of whether Kaze was the mayor was not important because the showdown between Kaze and Gareth was happening anyway. Kaze asked with a smile, “Aren’t you asking the obvious?” Tension hung heavy in the air. Kaze sure did not see Gareth as a threat. Gareth was upset. He eyed Kaze while figuring out where the latter’s confidence stemmed from. He was not in a hurry to set Kaze straight. “You’re taking things far by starting trouble here and disrespecting Mr. Hornberg, Lee.”
The Lyfes shared Darry’s sentiment. Anyone would cower in fear upon learning that Gareth invited Lilyrose’s most prominent figures to go up against them. Surely, Kaze was no exception too. Gareth’s reputation for aggression was well-known, and he would not even show the mayor of Lilyrose basic respect.Little did Kaze know, he upset Gareth without knowing the degree of Gareth’s horrible influence. Now that the Lilyrose VIPs heeded Gareth’s invitation, Kaze must have been terrified and knew he had done it this time. “A numbskull? Ha.” Kaze smiled and looked at Darry like he was an idiot. “What? Am I wrong?” Darry scoffed and swaggered toward Kaze. He said smugly, “You call us out for kissing Mr. Hornberg’s ass, Lee. “I admit that we are ass-kissers. “But you’re just a loser. You don’t even have the right to suck up to Mr. Hornberg.“You’re not worth Mr. Hornberg’s time. He will just kill you. “I might consider giving you a chance to kiss up to me and my family if
Darry exerted all his might. However, Kaze stayed rooted to the ground. “Fuck! Just kneel!” Humiliated, Darry shouted angrily, then raised his hand to hit Kaze. Kaze narrowed his eyes and retaliated with a slap. “Smack!” Blood bled out of Darry’s nose. Darry was knocked back and slammed into the ground, bouncing twice.He did not make a sound the entire time, not even opening his eyes. Silence befell the room. The crowd looked at Kaze, dumbfounded, their eyes widened. Kaze had the nerve to attack the Lyfes in front of Gareth. They wondered if Kaze was aware of his actions. “Darry!” After a long pause, Syed reeled in from the shock and ran to his son with a scream. “Are you okay, Darry? Are you okay?” Since it was not the time to lash out at Kaze, other members of the Lyfe family approached Darry, shaking and calling out his name. Alas, Darry was unresponsive. Syed came to a realization when he stared at Darry’s lifeless body. He reached out his trembl
With his eyes bulging, Gareth stared at Kaze menacingly. He shifted his chilling gaze from Kaze to Mary Sue, Syed, and the others. Mary Sue, Syed, and the group felt chills running down their spines as if they were preyed upon by a vicious beast. They could not understand the body language between Kaze and Gareth. “You’re evil, Kaze. It’s cruel of you to put him in a coma when he only criticized you a little.” Syed stood up with bloodshot eyes and glared resentfully at Kaze. Gritting his teeth, he kneeled before Gareth and shouted devastatingly, “Please kill Kaze, Mr. Hornberg. My family will be eternally grateful to you. We will serve you wholeheartedly.” “Get lost.” Gareth responded with a kick. “Blegh!” Syed coughed out blood and collapsed to the ground. “Grandmaster Hornberg?” Pale in the face, Mary Sue looked at Syed confusedly. Gareth flung his arm back, slamming Mary Sue away. Um… Silence hung heavy in the air. The crowd was dumbfounded. Gareth
Kaze demanded Gareth to leave Lilyrose. It was a last warning to Gareth. The crowd could not believe the words coming out of Kaze’s mouth. They suspected their ears were playing tricks on them. The whole thing was so bizarre. The Quints’ son-in-law just threatened Gareth, the renowned martial artist from Sunrise City. The roles should be switched. It would have made more sense if the threat came from Gareth. “Just do it, sir. Kill Lee!” “We need to make an example out of him!” “Show these bozos in Lilyrose that no one should challenge your authority!” Gareth’s disciples clamored savagely. For Kaze to insult their mentor, he was insulting them too. The disciples would jump on Kaze at Gareth’s command. The tension was coming to a breaking point. Amid the crowd, the heads of the Vikroms, Logmans, Joestars, and several others aware of Kaze’s identity were kept in suspense. Once Gareth chose violence, blood would be shed tonight in Lilyrose. Gareth stared K