Miru knew who was on the other end of the line. It was her stepmother, who had control over the Hidens’ business.Fanny put down the phone with an awful look on her face. “Miru, Isabelle wants me back in Harrowdale.” Fanny spoke to Miru, but her eyes were fixed on Kaze. Jared made a face as well. However, he could not defy Isabelle’s command. It was Fanny’s way of explaining to Kaze. Kaze responded with a smile, “I owe you one for making the trip to Lilyrose. “Miru, you should see your aunt and uncle off for me.” Fanny glanced at Kaze in surprise. She did not expect Kaze to keep his cool, and that changed her view of him. Her previous two encounters with Kaze were not pleasant. Heck, Kaze left quite a bad impression. In the end, Fanny and Jared left. …“At least, the place isn’t so cramped anymore.” Sieg clapped his hands nonchalantly and walked out of the lounge. Back in the hall, the crowd looked dazed. Sam, the top-notch physician; Zephyr, the son of
Kaze was an outstanding man. However, he had nothing on Sieg. Kaze still had a fighting chance in the face of the Quints and the Lyfes’ overthrow. However, when Sieg was on the job, Kaze was doomed. He could only wallow in defeat. The crowd was there for the drama at first, but now they took pity on Kaze. Only the weak deserved sympathy. Despite the sympathetic looks, Kaze remained unfazed. He looked up, meeting the condescending gaze of Sieg, and responded aloofly, “Is that all you got, Sieg?” “Ha!” The room broke out in sneers. The sympathy turned into taunting. Faced with Sieg’s aggression, even the most headstrong would yield by now. To everybody’s surprise, Kaze still hung in there. He had a backbone, but there was a time and place for everything. The crowd believed Kaze should do a better job at reading the room. “You have proved yourself enough today, Kaze, but you don’t have to take things far.” “At least you don’t have to feel bad since you’re
“This is where I stand.” Kaze looked at Sieg from above and asked with a faint smile, “Happy, Mr. Lyfe?” “Ugh.” Sieg struggled to get up when Kaze’s sarcastic remark rubbed him the wrong way. He coughed out blood. “Mr. Lyfe!” “Are you alright?” With reality sinking in, Sieg’s sidekicks rushed over to help him up. “Get lost!” Sieg rose to his feet and shook off his sidekicks, his face grimacing. Known as a gentleman, Sieg was not one to express his feelings openly. Yet, he saw red. Sieg wiped the blood off his lips, his eyes fixating on Kaze murderously. “How dare you hit me, Kaze! You asked for it!” Sieg said, his broken voice filled with rage. Sieg had to admit that he was proved wrong. He assumed that Kaze would submit to his power. He misjudged Kaze’s unpredictable lunacy.Kaze knocked him to the ground in public. “Hit you? “Didn’t I hit you at the auction?” Kaze fearlessly stared at Sieg’s menacing face and sneered. “I guess I didn’t go hard enoug
“Anyone who sides with Kaze will be dealt with accordingly.” Tension rose to an all-time high following Sirius’ remark. The Ridgesouth Quints and the Geranium Lyfes did not hit home so badly. The wealthy families were established far in the south, so they would be limited to economic means of revenge. The most they would do was hurt everybody’s wallet. The Viper’s Den was a different story. The special institution could take lives. Established in the West State, the Viper’s Den could find any reason under the sun to destroy anyone on their turf. Anyone would fear for their lives. “Hahaha!” Mason burst out laughing. “I want to see who would go against us!” He was utterly humiliated by Kaze. Sieg’s presence turned the tables. Surely, everybody would bow down to the threats of the Ridgesouth Quints, the Geranium Lyfes, and the Viper’s Den.With the crowd succumbing to submission, Sieg gave Kaze an eerie look and glanced up at the huge screen. As the share price in
“Go and inject the 10 billion dollars into the market. Let’s hope Kaze enjoys wealth in his afterlife too.” Sieg clapped his hands, and his sidekick went to make the phone call. The trading market went into a frenzy in no time. The market was still reeling from the influx of the first seven billion, and now it faced another massive injection of 10 billion dollars. The Geranium Lyfes stepped in to short Rove. The shares stood no chance against the influx of funds. The Geranium Lyfes’ clout in the stock exchange contributed to the sharp decline of Rove’s shares. 10 points. That was right. Rove’s shares were only worth 10 Geranium dollars. Those who kept an eye on the trading market were dumbfounded. Rove’s share price experienced unprecedented volatility, soaring and plummeting like a roller coaster.The share price hit rock bottom and plummeted even further, basically making the shares worthless. The investors, who jumped the bandwagon and bought Rove’s shares at
“Autumn?” Kaze narrowed his eyes, recognizing the woman in the front right away. Though he had never met Autumn, the submissive behavior of Scarlet, the chief delegate of the Viper’s Den, was a dead giveaway of the woman’s identity. Furrowing his brows, Kaze knew why Autumn had come along. Her name was as dark as her soul. The leader of the Viper’s Den seemed to be shrouded in an air of intimidating darkness. “Chief, I am Sirius, leader of the Viper’s Den branch in the West State.” While the crowd was left guessing who the woman was, Sirius and a dozen members of the Viper’s Den approached with quick paces. Steps away from Autumn’s group, Sirius and the Viper’s Den members fell to their knees. It was a welcome of abject submission. This was undoubtedly the respect of the highest form. Chief?Only one individual within the Viper’s Den deserved that title. Autumn was the queen of the Viper’s Den, one of the four government-sanctioned leaders.Everybody was shocked
“My Queen!” Swallowing the humiliation, Sieg hissed through clenched teeth. “The Geranium Lyfes are part of Geranium City high society, and we have always been a tight-knit community—” “Smack!” Scarlet raised her hand and gave Sieg another slap. “Tight-knit? Are Geranium City elites going to retaliate?” Autumn’s indifferent voice resounded. Color drained from Sieg’s face. He could never accept the accusation Autumn pinned on him. Even Geranium City high society could not face the charges of conspiracy. “Not at all!” Sieg jumped back and said indignantly, “Is it worth your while to attack me because of Perfect World Group, my Queen?” In the corner, Mason, Sirius, and the others made faces. They knew Kaze would not go down without a fight, so they predicted powerful figures to back him up during the event. In other words, they had run all possible scenarios that could happen. However, Autumn’s presence threw them for a loop. They could not believe their eyes.
Mason shuddered and approached Autumn apprehensively. “My Queen, Kaze has stepped down from his mayoral position. Yet, he still wants to control the city and insult the Ridgesouth Quints. It’s only fair that I retaliate by squashing his business. Don’t you think so?” Mason hissed through clenched teeth. He knew Autumn would not go easy on him. However, he did not want to be publicly slapped just like Sieg. “Smack!” Autumn whipped her hand across Mason’s face. “While running for mayor, you try to ruin the local business out of personal vendetta. You don’t care about the people at all. Don’t you think the problem lies with you?” “Smack!” “Did Kaze pick a fight with you, or did he fight back because you were aggressive to assert your dominance? Do I need to spell it out for you?”“Smack!” Autumn viciously attacked Mason while talking. The sound of whacking echoed across the hall. Blood seeped from Mason’s lips after he sustained multiple blows. Mason, a deputy-gover
Joan, a Quint member in Riverbank, walked in the front. She glared at Rhys and yelled, “Bastard! Didn’t you say that you were in Westeros attending some film festival? Why are you still in Riverbank?” Rhys looked at his girlfriend, who put him on a tight leash lately, and said awkwardly, “Well, the film festival is over. I arrived home early. I just got back.” He and Joan had been dating for six months. They were not serious, though. There were a lot more women for Rhys to explore in the world. He did not want to be held down by a ball and chain. However, his father, Boris, felt that it was time for Rhys to get married and have kids. Since Joan came from a prestigious family, Rhys got together with her. Joan had always been the one to act submissive in his presence. She would turn a blind eye to his romantic pursuits and even cover for him. Rhys understood well that Joan would be marrying up. However, Joan had been getting full of herself lately. It was not her fi
“Do you know who Mr. Road is? His father is Boris Road, one of Riverbank’s four underground kingpins. “If you don’t want trouble, you better delete the video now!” The group turned white and deleted the video. They might not understand the threat that came with Great Road Group. However, Boris, one of Riverbank’s four underground kingpins, had been a menace for twenty years. No one would want to get on his bad side. Many shook their heads and sighed. No one could save Sasha now. It was a shame that the innocent and pretty girl ran into Rhys today. They knew what would happen to Sasha at the hands of Rhys. No one dared to speak up against Rhys’ indecent behavior in broad daylight. “Sasha is your name? It’s beautiful. You can use it as your stage name.” Rhys did not care what others thought about him. As Sasha shivered in fear, Rhys stood proud at his decision to slap the sales representative. He gave Sasha’s cheek a squeeze and said with a lewd smile, “Trust me. Get
“I’m sorry, mister, but I’m not interested in becoming a star.” Sasha backed away and said firmly but politely, “I’m waiting for a friend. Please leave me alone.” While talking, she looked outside for Kaze. Rhys was surprised that Sasha would turn him down without hesitation. He said with a grimace, “You’re not interested? What are you interested in? “Why are you saying no to money?” Sasha was scared as the guy would not leave her alone. She replied, “I just want to finish school. Now isn’t the time to think about money.” She took out her phone to call Kaze. “Aren’t you rude?” Rhys commented with a fake smile. He snatched Sasha’s phone, and the latter panicked and uttered in fright, “G-Give that back!” “I offered you a shortcut in life, and you should’ve taken it.” Rhys released his grip, and the phone dropped to the floor. “Crack!” He stomped on the phone and said grimacingly, “Don’t act like you’re above all, gold digger. What’s a poor college girl doing at
Out of the two young sidekicks, one sported a soft gray hair while the other had a buzz cut and a shaved undercut along his temple. The pair checked Sasha out, their eyes reflecting greed. Since their leader made a request, the pair played nice. Since their leader took a fancy to the girl, the two sidekicks no longer stood a chance. Maybe when their leader had enough, they would have a go with the girl too. “Are you… Talking to me?” Taken aback, Sasha looked at the leader. The man was in his thirties. Despite his good looks, his heavy eyebags and pale face were pretty off-putting. Sasha had no idea that these were symptoms of bad habits, alcoholism, overindulgence, and lack of exercise. Still, the man gave off a disgusting and fearful vibe to Sasha. The man smiled at Sasha pretentiously, lewdly, and maliciously. The customers stepped away, not wanting to get on the man’s nerves. “I won’t hit on anyone else but you.” The man thought he made a pretty badass comm
Kaze said with a smile, “Alright. A few thousand, it is.” He was relieved to see Sasha staying true to herself despite knowing that he was rich. Kaze wanted to put Sasha in something nice to save her from being mocked. At the same time, he did not want her to acquire something too high of value without putting in some kind of effort. It would not be a good thing for Sasha. The present situation was perfect. Ruby grimaced and looked at the sales representative with a sneer. She said, “I hope you’re not in on this too.“Hundreds of millions in transactions? Him?” Ruby may act like an adult, but her experience was limited to the academic world. She would not imagine that kind of money. The sales representative cocked her head back and said curtly, “Ma’am, the problem isn’t in the lack of knowing, but ignorance coupled with arrogance is. “Don’t question things you don’t understand.” The sales representative could care less about her manners now. Her manager warned
“His act was so convincing. He nearly got me fooled.” “Tsk! So we have a repeat offender in our hands.” Ruby and Lance felt the sweet taste of vengeance. They were this close to believing Kaze was wealthy. The female customers in the crowd looked at Kaze in disdain. Kaze sure went all out to tell the sales representative to put the bill on his card when his bank account was empty. At least Lance was honest. He could not make the payment because his card was frozen. “Now you know, girl. There are a lot of men out there, pretending they are made of money to scam young, innocent girls like you.” “Don’t be so nice to the bastard. Just tell him to get lost.” Two kind customers persuaded Sasha. Sasha waved her arms with a red face. “No, Kaze isn’t putting on a show. I didn’t want this gown anyway.” She could not bring herself to put on a two-hundred-thousand-dollar gown. Ruby scoffed. “Oh, stop defending Kaze. He’s just a poser.“Haha! Only a hick like you would fall
With a darkened expression, Ruby commanded Lance, “Don’t you have a lot of wealthy friends? Just get two hundred thousand from them. Call them and ask them for help!” Lance gradually lost his patience. “They are not the friends who would lend me money. I should be grateful that they don’t come to me for money, and you are asking me to go to them for help? “It’s just a dress. Why are we buying it today? Let’s just do a rain check. When my father unfreezes my credit card, I’ll buy you something more expensive!” He wanted to take Ruby away but the woman was being stubborn. Anger rushed to her head as she shook Lance’s hand off. She shouted, “You useless piece of shit, you can’t even afford a two-hundred-grand dress? Don’t touch me! Get out of my face!” Lance got mad too. “If you have the fucking money, buy it yourself! I’m not your husband! You are begging me to buy it but you’re raising your voice?!” “You?!” Ruby wanted to slap some sense into Lance but the other customers
Ruby was confident in her body. Her physique allowed her to wear all kinds of beautiful dresses flawlessly, so she knew she would fit in the gown without even trying. However, the gown had a pure and innocent vibe, which did not fit her demeanor and temperament. The different style did not bother her because she was carried away by the price tag; the more expensive it was, the more it satisfied her vanity. “Miss, this is the most expensive gown in our store. It was created by a famous designer overseas. It cost two hundred thousand,” said the storekeeper. “Two hundred thousand for a gown?! Even the celebrities aren’t wearing something this expensive!” “Yeah. Maybe the top celebrities can afford it but a small one could never!” “Forget about it. We won’t be able to afford it, but it’s nice to have a look.” “I can’t afford it either. Different people, different lives.” When the price was revealed, the other customers gasped in astonishment, followed by regret and jealousy
Ruby thought that after mocking Sasha and Kaze, they would leave the store with a sour look, yet the two of them went to another section to continue shopping. Sasha’s timid figure was a pain in her eyes. In the other section, Kaze asked the storekeeper to do the same as the previous store. “Pick a gown for my sister here. She’s going to wear it to emcee at a party.” To their surprise, Ruby and Lance came after them. “You two poor bastards, get out of the way! Can you even afford the clothes here? Hmph! “You, I want you to pick something for me that is fitting!” The female storekeeper looked troubled. “Miss, this…” “Cut the crap and get on with it!” The storekeeper was instantly defeated by Ruby’s aggressive demeanor. She quickly sized up Ruby’s body and physique and selected a red gown with a deep frontal cutting for her. “Miss, this one might look nice on you.” “Let me have a look.” Ruby took the gown and looked at the price tag. She then tossed it on the floor