“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, I thought you got someone useful to help but he's useless bullshit as well!” “He looks ferocious. He might be able to scare normal people like us but he’s useless against Hades!” Lance and Naomi immediately jumped in and mocked Dan after seeing his failure. They were frightened by Dan and they thought the man was someone powerful. However, a few minutes later, Dan came running out. Dan slapped himself again when Lance and Naomi mocked him. He was fine with the humiliation but he did not want to embarrass Kaze. It would be a great sin if he did. He knelt on the ground and said, “Master Lee, I’ll call all my men here and make Hades pay for what he had done!” “Shut up you! All you know is brag!” Naomi looked askance at Dan. She then looked at Kaze and said, “Tell Darcy to pay the two million to get Larry back! If anything happens to Larry, I’ll make your family pay!” “Yeah! Forget about the lousy car! Larry must be fine! Call your wife immediately!” Lance berate
Miru? The casino players looked confused. Someone said hesitantly, “Is she the goddaughter of Alan who owns Lefteria Group?” Woah! The casino erupted in a commotion.Lefteria Group and Alan were mentioned a lot. Alan had been the godfather of Lilyrose underworld after all. The group had left behind its criminal roots and become a legitimate business empire in Lilyrose.“That’s right. That’s her.” Tim said in chuckles, “The bitch thinks she’s all that. She called to get my boss to return the car. She and Dan upset my boss, so he trashed the car.” There was an uproar all around. Hades was something else to disregard Dan and Lefteria Group. Many were unaware of Hades’ origins. However, that did not stop them from revering him. Hades enjoyed being the center of attention. Still, he remained nonchalant on the surface. “Bottom line, my connections in Lilyrose run deep enough to back the casino up. No one, regardless of their legal or illegal standing, will dare to cause
“The young man is amazing. Tim, the best fighter in the casino, is no match for him. Man, Tim got beaten up real bad.” “I know, right? I witnessed Tim take down a few gym rats who were on orders to cause trouble in the place.” “Tsk. So what if the man can fight? Didn’t you hear Hades calling on his security officers to kill him? They are all armed with weapons. The young man can’t defend himself with just his fists.” The casino players stared at Kaze and chatted among themselves. The two dozen security officers whipped out their weapons of choice and charged toward Kaze. Hades had always been generous to them. Now that Tim lost to Kaze, anyone who could restrain Kaze would be heavily rewarded. These fugitives with blood in their hands saw dollar signs in Kaze. The person charging in the front was a burly man with a scarred face, waving his 20-pound knife around. He zeroed in on Kaze’s neck, his gaze sharp. Swoosh. The knife went for Kaze’s neck. Some timid casino
“I have pointed you in a direction. If you still can’t trust your team, you can go to the Viper’s Den.“There’s one thing, though. Don’t rely too heavily on the Viper’s Den, or your company will be left without secrets.” Kaze’s suggestion gave Snow assurance. She considered tapping into the Viper’s Den’s resources. However, Kaze warned her against excessive dependence. “Why did you say that, Chairman Lee? Will the Viper’s Den stab me in the back?” Surely, the Viper’s Den took orders from Kaze. The Viper’s Den would always be an ally so long as Kaze was the branch leader. “I just don’t want you to put too much faith in others. You find loyalty by developing your own team. Those who revere me will never trust you completely.” Kaze analyzed the situation. Snow ate her supper and looked at Kaze in confusion. “You can only count on the people you win over. You can’t trust anyone else, and that includes me.” Kaze would never hurt Snow. However, he hoped that she would fin
“As you said, all is in the past. What’s the point of dwelling on it?” Leah perked up. Such was life, but it took her too long to understand the harsh reality. She guessed things were just not meant to be. “I’ll think about what to get Kaze. Rest well. We’ll visit him in a few days.” Taking the matter seriously, Katie wanted to get gifts ready ahead of time to thank Kaze. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do too. I want to be in touch with the outside world. I don’t care what they have to say. This is not my fault. I won’t blame myself.” Leah wanted her phone back to contact her former friends. Ultimately, she needed to move forward instead of backward. She had to face and fight back the rumors with courage. It was the crucial step to kick trauma in the face. The abduction was kept hush-hush for the most part, but Katie’s frantic search for her daughter at the cocktail party did not go unnoticed. Hearing about the incident, the influential people were keen to find out
“When did Kaze start setting it all up? I get the feeling that everybody played into his hands right from the start, and he had controlled every step of the way.” Leah realized that Kaze was an amazing man. Nothing could go past his eyes. “I don’t know.” Katie feared someone like Kaze. She would not be caught dead near him. Even when grasping the situation, Katie dared not look into Kaze for fear she would be targeted. Katie was careful not to show her face around Kaze. For all she knew, Kaze might get back at her. “But he came to Butterworth alone. We met at the train station, and he helped me out of a bad situation.” Leah felt warm and cozy inside just remembering the events. They did not know each other then. Kaze was kind to help a stranger out. From then on, Kaze could do no wrong in Leah’s eyes. Leah befriended him and found him nice. Her interest in him grew. They also got along well. Her memories of Kaze were sweet. Anyone could hurt her in the world, but
Even though Katie was the CEO of the Northborn Group, many eyed her position. There were too many vying to replace her. Without dedicating herself to her work, Katie risked falling from grace. Katie had been too eager to find success to give her daughter the best life. Leah could not understand the pain Katie had to go through. “I understand it now. I explained the nature of my relationship with Kaze to you, but you just wouldn’t get it.” Leah stubbornly expressed herself in hopes her mother would understand. “I just couldn’t get it through my head that you have grown up. You make an easy target since you just graduated and have not stepped into the real world.” Katie would not always be there for Leah. Hence, Katie did her best to get rid of potential danger. Her overprotectiveness triggered Leah’s defiance. It was Katie’s fault for not realizing it sooner. “I’m not angry with you. I didn’t understand a mother’s good intentions, but I understand now. I will listen to
Leah’s face beamed, but her mother’s words threw her into a daze. In the end, she tried to squeeze a smile to assure her mother. However, Leah could not muster a smile. Those days lingered with her like a recurring bad dream. Whenever she recalled the incident, she felt trapped in that nightmare again. Leah wanted to let those memories fade away, but she just could not do it. She would get startled awake late at night and trace the scars across her skin. During moments like this, she resented Perry. Leah was rather cheerful during the day as if the past was behind her. However, it was simply a way for her to escape the pain. By the way Leah was behaving, Katie instantly regretted the question. She should not have probed. Even if they avoided the elephant in the room, they could pretend like nothing ever happened. Nevertheless, the act of asking brought up unsettling times for Leah. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked.” Katie gently held Leah, hoping to cast
When the ambulance door closed shut, Leah wailed once more. The reality of her rescue finally sank in, and she grasped that it was not just a dream. It was a pity that she did not have much time with Kaze. She longed to spend more time with him. “Don’t cry, young lady. You’ll get better soon enough. Don’t worry about the scars on your face. I can administer medicine to help you,” the doctor said while wiping her tears. “Thank you. I’m finally out of the hell hole.” Leah’s worst nightmare would be to be trapped in there forever. Kaze watched as the ambulance disappeared into the night. He then turned to face the villa. “Apprehend everybody in there. Perry should be punished for his crimes.” Kaze had not intended to go after the Duncans, but the family had crossed the line this time. Leah was an adorable and vulnerable woman. She was abused beyond recognition. It never occurred to Kaze that the Duncans could be so cruel. “Perry has passed out in there. Where should
With the secret out in the open, the housekeeper dropped his attitude. He pointed at the basement not too far away. “My employer is in there.” The housekeeper grimaced and kept his head down. Kaze laughed. Unaware of his impending doom, Perry was still living it up. It was absurd. Perry was playing with fire by hurting Leah. “About time you wise up.” Arthur smiled and patted the housekeeper’s face. He opened the door to the basement. Kaze walked to the bar counter and picked up the best bottle of champagne there. He fiddled with the bottle before carrying it to the basement. The other Viper’s Den members followed him. Kaze took a stride down the steps, to the basement. The noisy music was blasting before they reached the entry. Kaze was filled with a mix of emotions. Nevertheless, he said nothing. He opened the door and walked in. The light in the basement was bright, making everything perfectly clear. However, the people inside were not bothered by the
“You know him. It’s Perry Duncan, Leah’s ex-boyfriend.” Snow did not see the point of hiding the truth, so she laid everything out. “Leah must be feeling foul because she was unaware that she was being stalked. By the time she realized what was going on, she was taken into a vehicle. “We spotted the vehicle they departed in from the surveillance footage. They headed to the mountain up north.” Snow had a general idea of the location. “I got Arthur on the job. He’s putting up a team from the Viper’s Den.” Snow was uncertain of Kaze’s stance toward Leah, but now that she was made aware of the situation, the least she could do was help. Katie belonged to the Viper’s Den, so Snow was lending a hand to a friend in business. “Thank you. Please save my daughter.” Katie was nervous. The Viper’s Den was the people she could count on. “Arthur is good, but he’s slow. I’ll do it,” Kaze said. The whole thing was unrelated to him. Kaze was well within his right to stand on the si
Even so, Elsie was out to get Leah. Elsie could pick up on Perry’s delight when she took a swing at Leah. Poor Elsie was just trying to survive by catering to others. People like her learned to pick up social cues and read body language to please customers for money in return. Their income would double if their customers were happy. Leah was the obstacle. If the women could not get rid of her, they would lose their profit. They had no hard feelings for Leah, but they stood on opposing ends. “You should be fawning over Mr. Duncan, not begging me,” Elsie said while grabbing Leah’s hair to pull her up. Leah snatched Elsie’s wrist to try and break free. “Let me go. I never did anything to you.” Leah was no doormat. She did not want to cross these people or get involved with them. She still hoped that by waiting here, her prince would arrive to save her. However, all she got was a cruel beating, and she had enough. “This isn’t my fault. Blame Mr. Duncan for your cir