Kaze would never do as told. His eyes gleamed coldly and wanted to teach Larry a lesson. However, he frowned when he saw the righteousness in the young man’s face. Something was not right. “What do you mean?” Did the Quint family owe the Laime family a life? Larry scoffed, “Stop acting stupid, you fuck. If you don’t dare to cut your neck with a knife, then sit back and let me suck off your family!” He then lit another cigarette and strutted into the house. “Agnes, I’m thirsty. I want tea!” His arrogant voice could be heard from inside the house. He was like a king who returned to his palace. Kaze looked at Darcy and Sky. “What do we owe him?” Darcy sighed and started recounting the past. “Five years ago, when my mother was still the section deputy chief of Prime Hospital, a medical incident happened and a patient lost her life.” The deceased was Larry’s older sister, Letty. Agnes was the person in charge. She lost her medical license and was fired by the hospi
“That’s certainly not the case, Naomi. We’ve known each other for years, why wouldn’t we tell you?” Agnes smiled awkwardly and added, “We just moved in and haven’t tidied up everything. I was planning to inform you in a day or two.” When she moved into Horizon Mirror with her family, she indeed did not want the Laime family to know, but she could not escape them forever. The three of them waited for her outside the house and when she returned from grocery shopping, they caught her. Naomi grunted and scoffed, “Agnes, are you taking us as fools? We called you and asked if you’ve moved, but you stammered! “I know what you’re thinking. You don’t want us to know that you moved into a big house so we can’t get money from you. But can you run from us forever? Don’t forget you are the reason my daughter is dead! You owed us! And you can never ever repay us!” She slammed the tea table suddenly, startling Agnes. Her words pried open Agnes’ old scar. “Yes, I understand, Naomi. It
“Kaze Lee right? Get the fuck out of my face right now!” Larry pointed at the door as if he was the owner of Horizon Mirror. Kaze’s eyes gleamed coldly. “This is my house. YOU should leave!” He was upset by the mess the Laime family caused. He had not asked them to leave because Agnes owed them a lot, but Larry crossed the line by asking him, the owner of the house, to leave and his patience ran out.Larry must be joking! Larry scoffed, “Are you fucking with me now? Your house? You are also a useless parasite that lives under Agnes!” His gaze looked dangerous as he rolled his sleeves. “You don’t want to fuck off, then I’ll make you!” Larry threw a kick at Kaze. Kaze was furious. He simply lifted his leg and Larry’s kick landed at the back of his calf. Larry felt like he kicked an iron wall. “Ouch!” Larry cried in pain. His tanned face flushed and his expression turned bitter. “Fuck! How dare you fight back!” Larry swung a slap at Kaze. Kaze grunted. A hint of
“There’s a million in this card? Are you serious?” Larry’s eyes shone greedily when he heard there was a million in the bank card. He snatched the card and held it in his hand like he had gotten his precious. He eagerly asked for the PIN to access it. The card was Darcy’s, so the PIN was her birthday. Agnes told Larry the PIN, and only then the family decided to leave. They got up from the couch and swept the husks and ashes off their clothes before heading to the door. Agnes and her family breathed a sigh of relief. Before they stepped out, Naomi said, “Can any of you drive us back? This neighborhood is huge! We walked quite a bit to reach your house.” “Kaze, drive them back, and mind your manners!” Agnes was afraid that the Laime family would give her more trouble, so she urged Kaze to send them off. Larry glanced at Kaze and nodded. “Fine. Little piece of shit, you can drive us back!” He resented Kaze for hurting him earlier and decided to humiliate him on th
“Naomi, what happened? What did I do to Larry?” Agnes was confused, and so were the rest.The Laime family came over for a million dollars in the afternoon and drove off Darcy’s car. Now, Lance and Naomi came back and claimed that Agnes ruined Larry. They must be out of their minds. Naomi shouted at Agnes, “You! You gave Larry a million! If he didn’t have the money, he wouldn’t have gambled it all off! He lost the million and owed Hades two million! The car and Larry are still at his place! They want us to pay up to get him back!” Agnes and her family exchanged a baffled look. Larry said he wanted the million to start a business but he ended up gambling the money away. It had just been hours and he lost a million! Agnes felt an intense heartache for losing the money. She did not spend a penny yet Larry lost it within hours! Lance shouted, “Give us two million to get Larry back! Hades, the boss of the casino, said if we don’t get the money by tonight, he will cut of
“You can bring Larry back!?” Lance and Naomi looked at Kaze, skeptical. They looked down on him from the bottom of their hearts. Even though Larry had no academic credits or job, they would never make him marry into a family for money. Kaze ignored the two of them. He offered to bring Larry back because Larry was held together with Darcy’s car and that was what he wanted to bring back. If not for the car, he would not care if Larry died. Darcy shook her head. “Kaze, stop fooling around. The casino bosses are not someone you can mess with. They have a lot of men and it’s too dangerous. I don’t want you to go.” She insisted on calling Miru for help. Kaze felt comforted knowing that Darcy worried about him. He said, “Darcy, don’t worry. I’m just going to talk to the casino boss and negotiate with him. Maybe I can get your car back. If things go south, we’ll see what we can do.” Darcy looked at him, still worried. After some serious consideration, she sighed and said, “Fine
Thugs and kingpins of the underworld—one could tell how much of a difference between the two monikers. Hades was Cronus’ nephew and the owner of the casino. Darcy had goosebumps when she learned about Hades and Cronus. She regretted it. She should not have allowed Kaze to go to Hades’ casino. They could not afford to mess with someone like Hades. “Sky, call Kaze right away and tell him to come back! Don’t let him go to the casino!” Darcy said to Sky. Sky heard Darcy’s conversation with Miru as he was just beside her. Even though he had seen how powerful Kaze was in the past few days and he believed Kaze was almighty, he was also worried when he saw the look on Darcy’s face. He called Kaze immediately, but the call could not get through. “He’s on a call. I can’t get through.” “Again! Call again!” Darcy then went back on the call with Miru and asked, “Miru, can you get in contact with this Hades? We’ll give him two million for Larry. If Kaze is there, tell him not t
“Sigh. I thought I had a powerful brother-in-law. It seems like I was overthinking…” Sky walked away with a disappointed look. Darcy was both amused and upset by Sky’s disappointment. Though her worries for Kaze remained. She hoped Miru could settle the matter before Kaze arrived at the casino. On the other hand, Kaze arrived at a hotel with Lance and Naomi. “Hades told us to come here for the manager.” Lance pointed at the hotel before glancing at Kaze. “Hey, useless shit, can you really bring Larry back?” “If you continue to speak to me with that mouth, your son will die inside,” Kaze said coldly. Lance and Naomi were furious. Agnes and her family were nothing but tools to extort money and they had gotten used to being treated like kings. Yet as Agnes’ son-in-law, Kaze did not treat the Laime couple with respect. However, the ferocity Kaze showed back at Horizon Mirror deterred Lance and forced him to silence himself. Naomi grumbled, “Then what are you doing
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“Jet sure is bold to ensure business. Isn’t he afraid of shooting himself in the foot?” Kaze had never met a man like Jet. “He has done a lot to get to the top. His ruthless methods got him a lot of money. A lot of people are happy to support him.” Arthur was impressed with Jet’s tactics. However, his approach was too cruel for his liking. “Let’s head to the residential building.” Kaze just wanted to check out the area. He was happy to help when needed. The flashy, red sports car was eye-catching. However, the flamboyant car was uncommon in these places. Most workers would express their amazement, but they would not ask questions. The car pulled up outside a soon-to-be abandoned building. It looked desolate. The power lines and infrastructure were not visible either. Kaze knew that was one of the Frosts’ methods. Sometimes, nothing, not even demolition, was required. The goal was to get the residents out. All Jet needed to do was cut the water and electricity.
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.