Darcy scoffed and rolled her eyes. Kaze suddenly had a way with words. “What else are you keeping from us, Kaze?” Darcy asked, her voice a mix of annoyance and excitement.When Darcy was named the head of the Lilyrose Quints two days ago, Agnes no longer thought Kaze was good enough for her daughter. Yet now, Kaze’s position at Perfect World Group dismissed Agnes’ opinion. He was the chairman of Perfect World Group. Kaze always seemed to blow Darcy and her parents away with surprises. “Mom, truth be told, I—” Parting his mouth, Kaze was about to reveal who he really was.However, Agnes waved her arm. “Never mind. I’m not trying to criticize you. All I care about is that you and Darcy are happy together. “That reminds me. When are you planning to have a baby with Kaze?” Agnes’ question threw Darcy for a loop. Though Agnes no longer insisted that Darcy and Kaze slept in different rooms, she made sure they were safe against pregnancy. Agnes, likely bitter about the
Darcy’s family was baffled. They could not wrap their heads around the reason why Miru’s aunt and uncle would want to visit them. Their families had no prior interaction. Shocked, Kaze glanced at Agnes and said with a smile, “Maybe they want to thank us for always watching over Miru since she was all on her own in Lilyrose.” Fanny and Jared presented a gift and even wanted to visit. It appeared Miru’s cocky aunt could be finally playing nice. …The Quints’ residence was elaborately decorated by the next day.A fleet of luxury cars gridlocked outside the residence. No cars worth less than a million dollars would be found in the area. All of the most important people in Lilyrose had arrived. The event was not exclusive to the locals. Even the representatives of prominent families and businesses in neighboring cities like Sunrise and Riverbank attended the function. With the Lilyrose Quints rekindling their connection with the main family, they would rise to become a
Some local residents of Lilyrose seized the opportunity to curry favor with Mason, hoping to establish a solid relationship upon his appointment as mayor. It was their chance to ensure success in the coming years. “Mayor Quint.” “Welcome to Lilyrose. The city will only get better under your leadership.” “We have faith in you to govern the city, Mayor Quint.” The crowd greeted Mason. They acted like Mason already got the job. These people flattered Mason in the presence of Kaze, the former mayor. The reality was that Kaze was already yesterday’s news. “Hello, everybody.” Mason responded with a smile, carrying himself humbly and discreetly. No one could fault his kind manners. Passing through the crowd, Mason made his way to the Quints. The group behind Mason behaved cockily. Jackson, whose head and arm were patched up, was among the people. He looked at Kaze grimly. “Uncle Mason, I am Darcy.” Darcy, the head of the household, went up to introduce herself.
“From this day on, Darcy, Hector, Agnes, and the other 123 members are accepted back into the family. “We should always love and care for each other. “It is against our code to harm those of our own blood.” After recording the names in the booklet, the old man rose to his feet, read out the family names, and talked about the family rules. At that point, the ceremony was over. Hector and Agnes beamed. Now that they were part of the Ridgesouth Quints, no one would walk all over them. “Uncle Mason, everybody, if you could take a seat.” Darcy breathed relief and invited the guests to sit as the feast would begin. “Hang on.” Mason waved his arm. The group had been a bundle of nerves for hours. Just when they were able to loosen up, Mason’s stern face put them back on edge. Surprised, Darcy asked, “What’s the matter, Uncle Mason?” “Is someone missing from the registry?” Mason took the registry from the old man and flipped through it. “Oh?” The Quints paused an
Kaze frowned but did not make a move. He was not as naїve as Darcy and his in-laws. Not to mention that he was reluctant to be listed in the Quint family’s Golden Family Registry, when Mason mentioned it, Kaze sensed conspiracy. At first, Kaze thought Mason sided with him because of the upcoming mayoral appointment and it was to return the favor at a later date. However, when he saw the frostiness in Mason’s eyes when he looked at him, Kaze realized it was not as he thought it would be. When Mason voiced out his suggestion, Kaze knew his suspicion was right. “However, the Ridgesouth Quints have a rule. The live-in son-in-law must change his last name to be listed in the Golden Family Registry. For example, Kaze Lee’s name must be changed to Kaze Quint. “Once the name is listed, he or she will be a Quint forever, alive or dead. When the time demands it, a Quint family member must be prepared to sacrifice for the family’s greater good. “What do you say, Kaze?” Mason said
“No matter where you are, be it in Lilyrose or anywhere in the South River State, or even the whole Arcadia, you can tell others that you are my godson and I will protect you!” Kaze never showed courtesy to people who sought trouble with him. His words silenced the entire house. Guests who came for the event widened their eyes in disbelief and almost forgot to breathe. Even the local Lilyroseans looked at Kaze in shock. They expected Kaze to reject the name change since he was known to be a tough guy, a stubborn person who spoke louder with his fists. He had crossed paths with many powerful and prominent figures up until now. From the top three families to the Vinlands, Magnus, the Viper’s Den West State Branch’s leader, and Gunter, the Glowmoss Powells, he bowed to no one. Everyone laughed at him and called him useless trash just because he married into his wife’s family but he was tougher than anyone else. Therefore, such an expectation was completely reasonable. Ho
It was just that things had taken an unexpected turn. Mason thought of Kaze rejecting but not in this humiliating way. He was aggrieved. It felt like a debate where one party was carefully choosing their words not to use vulgarities to maintain composure, while the other side bluntly resorted to outright hostility and said ‘fuck you’ in the face. Mason was the one trying to maintain composure while Kaze was the one who said ‘fuck you’ in his face. Thus Mason’s face flushed with emotions. “Kaze Lee, how dare you!” Jackson was also furious and aggrieved. If his father became Kaze’s godson, then it would make him Kaze’s god-grandson! He stepped up, pointed at Kaze, and shouted, “Know your place! My father is the head and the face of the Ridgesouth Quints, he represents us all! “You are just a live-in son-in-law of one of our tiny branch families. Who gave you the confidence and the audacity to challenge and insult my father like that?” Kaze looked at him and said indif
Jackson understood his father’s intention of getting revenge and it excited him. “Hehe, family rule?” Suddenly, Kaze scoffed. In the next moment, he moved swiftly and appeared in front of Jackson. With his hand extended, he seized Jackson’s throat, lifting him up like a little pet. “Kaze, what are you doing? Let go of my son!” Jackson was shocked and infuriated. Crack. Unfazed, Kaze moved his hand toward Jackson's uninjured arm. With a sudden exertion of strength, he snapped it cleanly. “Aaaargh!” The pain made Jackson cry like a little girl as his body shook violently. Both his arms were broken. Kaze tossed him aside like a ragdoll and then looked at Mason. With an indifferent smile, he said, “Is this what you called family rule?” “Aaah! Dad, it hurts so much…” Jackson twisted and twirled on the floor. His excruciating cry echoed across the living hall. His painful cry was the only noise in the quiet house. Everyone was stunned by the jaw-dropping scene,
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