Cole took a few more puffs from his cigar. Even the clouds of smoke failed to shield his smirks at Kaze. He saw a frosty glare from Kaze but it did not bother him. “Punk, do as you are told. I am sure that if you wait until Cole makes you do it, you will suffer badly.” The woman who Cole hugged earlier came over to curl her arms around his arm and mocked Kaze. The thugs stared at Kaze with a ferocious grin, their eyes had nothing but contempt. They thought Kaze was someone powerful, which explained his confidence in defying Cole, but it turned out that he was just an idiot from a small city. With Cole’s status and position, even though he was not the strongest in Riverbank, he had dealt with many arrogant playboys who crossed his path. All of them looked down at him for just being the mayor’s nephew but in the end, they all got down on their knees and begged for mercy. To be honest, Kaze was nothing compared to those arrogant playboys. With Cole’s power, he could step
Everyone was stunned. No one thought Kaze would hit Cole under such circumstances, and he did not hold back at all. Cole’s woman and the thugs were all petrified, their eyes widened in disbelief. It was the first time they saw someone had the nerves to go up against Cole in Riverbank, let alone one-sidedly beat him up. Everyone knew Cole as the nephew of the mayor. Even the gangsters of the underworld would bow and smile to him when they learned of his identity. Every gangster would try to curry favor with him. Offending Cole would mean total annihilation, regardless of how big or powerful the gang was. It was foolish for the ordinary to go up against the authority. No matter how powerful the gangster boss was, he was no match for the police officers from the police department. The sultry woman was petrified. She covered her mouth in disbelief and her body was shaking. Kaze was on a spree and would not just stop after a kick. He grabbed Cole by the hair and slappe
“If the people you called can scare me, I will break my arms and legs for you.” Kaze then slapped Cole again, sending him sliding away. The poor guy curled up on the ground and twitched in pain. “Don’t just stand there! Get him! Why do you think Cole is paying you?” The sultry woman shouted at the thugs, urging them to do something. A dozen of the thugs regained their senses and quickly jumped on Kaze. “Bro, I can take this.” Conan stepped in and volunteered to deal with the thugs, with his bare fists. Following a barrage of slaps and ceaseless cries, more than a dozen thugs were slapped to the ground. Ever since Conan started following Kaze, he learned from the best and realized slapping people in the face dealt the most damage, physically and emotionally. Cole never took Conan seriously before this. After Conan slapped all the thugs to the ground, Cole was terrified. He could not believe even Kaze’s followers were that strong. “Give me my phone, I have to call
Kaze sent Darcy a picture of the fish he ate for dinner and came up with all kinds of lame excuses to tell her that he was doing well in Riverbank, telling her not to worry. Darcy had no idea how ‘amazing’ Kaze’s first day in Riverbank was. Kaze smiled happily. Everyone said he was kicked out by his wife’s family but only he knew that if Darcy could, she would abandon everything just to accompany him in Riverbank. His happy smile felt like an insult to Cole. Vroom! Ten minutes later, expensive cars drove into the parking lot one after another. All the cars looked flamboyant with lights and decorations around it. One could tell the driver or the owner was a show-off. Cole had a lot of friends in Riverbank and he called all of them here just to support him. They might not be able to help him physically but they represented their family or organization. Their backgrounds and influences could easily threaten the ordinary. Cole planned for this the moment he dialed the n
Kaze might not sound as harsh as Cole but it sounded real. People in the parking lot knew that he was serious. They looked at him with eyes widened in disbelief. How dare a bumpkin like him challenge Cole in front of more than a hundred people? Cole did not expect Kaze’s bold challenge either. He stomped on the car and shouted, “Kaze Lee, if you keep pissing me off, you will only end up worse! When I get my hands on you, you will suffer even more!” Kaze scanned over the crowd and smiled. “Cole, if these pieces of trash are all you brought, then I would suggest you start kneeling and crawl toward the exit. There’s quite a distance, I’m afraid you might not make it outside in one night.” Cole was furious. “You motherfucker! Kaze Lee, you will know what are the consequences of pissing me off!” “Consequences? What consequences?” Kaze pursed his lips and said casually, “I just gave you a kick, a few slaps, and burned you with the cigar.” To the crowd, it sounded like Kaz
Collier heard that someone from another city came to Riverbank and challenged Cole. Without further ado, he decided to take the matter into his own hands. He failed to crush Kaze but he was confident this time. If this person decided to come all the way to their turf and challenge one of the most powerful people here, then he would suffer the consequences of doing so. Collier gathered his men and headed to the scene. “Mr. Ettinger, you are finally here!” “You’re hurt? You have to be more careful!” “Yeah. Young Master Collier, you are the representative of the younger generation here in Riverbank…” When Collier arrived in the parking lot, the other young men and women made way for him by stepping back and greeting him with the most flattering smile, trying to leave an impression on him. Listening to all the flattery, Collier felt a surge of pride welling inside him. The confidence that he lost returned to him. “Mr. Ettinger, you are finally here!” Cole jumped down
Collier laughed when he heard Cole. His gaze turned cold. He thought of Kaze, who was also arrogant. However, Kaze was powerful enough to be arrogant. As the branch leader of the West State Viper’s Den, the person appointed by Autumn Fall to cleanse the organization, it was normal for him to be arrogant. Yet how did some random guy from another city dare to act the same? “I’d like to see if this guy is really capable or just some liar,” Collier said coldly. The young women looked at the confident Collier with utmost admiration and respect. As the eldest son of the branch chief, Newell Ettinger, Collier could utilize his influence on the Viper’s Den South River Branch and also the resources of Golden Scale Corporation. A man with such power would be the ideal husband candidate for every woman out there. All of them looked at Kaze as if he was a dead man. No matter how arrogant Kaze was or what he did to Cole, all would end as Collier arrived. A loser like him had n
“Kaze Lee, I thought you were a show-off. Come on, now that Mr. Ettinger is here, why don’t you call him a dog again?” Cole said with a smirk. He was standing in front of Collier, so he did not see the shift of expression on Collier’s face. Collier’s expression turned bitter. Kaze glanced at him and then smiled. “Collier, why don’t you bark for him?” His words stunned everyone again. They assumed he continued to court death with his words. Pft! Cole burst out in laughter. He called Kaze a stupid idiot inwardly. He provoked Kaze to disrespect Collier and Kaze fell for it. Kaze did not only do as told, but he did it worse than before. He was practically digging his own grave. “Mr. Ettinger, you hear that? Kaze Lee called you a dog and wanted you to bark in front of us. He disrespected you and the Viper’s Den South River Branch! “If I were you, I would break his arms and make him bark like a dog!” Cole then turned around to Collier with a smirk as he tried to fan t
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