When Zenika saw the frosty look on Luis’ face, she knew Kaze would suffer his wrath tonight. She left the crowd and went over to the corner with a frosty look. “Rose, what are you doing? Luis is here and he helped you settle the matter! You should be there thanking him instead of playing with this guy here.” She did not mention Kaze’s identity as Rose’s cousin-in-law because she wanted to fan the flames. When she went to fix her makeup at the toilet, she found out from her friend that the slap she got from Eunice was because of Kaze. Eunice got punished but Kaze remained fine, so Zenika wanted him to pay. “Oh…” Rose saw Luis coming over with a frosty look. She politely said, “Thank you, Luis. And this is my…” Before she could finish, Luis stopped her and said with a stiff smile, “Rose, we’ll talk later. I have to settle something now.” He then looked at Kaze coldly and said, “Punk, I don’t want to know who you are. I don’t care who you are and what you are. “All I wan
As an ostentatious person, Luis loved being surrounded by people wherever he went. He liked the feeling of standing under the spotlight. The people he called were his followers. Ever since he met Rose during the previous gathering, he fell for her at first sight. He came from the Presleys and was the favorite child of his parents. His parents would have taken down the moon if he wanted it, which made him arrogantly confident. As long as he had his eyes on anything, be it items or women, he had to get it. He would never let go of Rose. Therefore, before he came, he had already released a notice to his friends saying that Rose was his target. Anyone who targeted her would be standing against him. In the previous gathering, many other young men were interested in Rose but after Luis made it clear, they decided not to take any action. Luis was happy with their reaction. He too, had power in the upper circle of Riverbank. To his surprise, someone at Bronze Sparrow had
Rose was disappointed in Zenika when she was asked to apologize. “I did nothing wrong! Why should I apologize? “You want Kaze to kneel and apologize? No. Luis doesn’t have the right to do that!” Zenika widened her eyes in shock when the words entered her ears. She anxiously said, “You… What are you talking about?” “No right?” Luis learned about Kaze’s background from his followers and his frosty eyes were fixated on him. He scoffed. “You are just some random guy from Lilyrose and you said I don’t have the right to make you kneel and apologize? Is that a joke?” His voice sounded sinister. It was obvious that Rose’s bold words angered him. As the young master of the Presleys, Luis was wealthy and powerful. People might not even get the chance to kneel before him. Yet Rose embarrassed him in front of his followers. “Kaze, don’t just stand there! On your knees and kowtow to Luis!” Zenika bellowed as she shot a fierce glance at him. “Rose is still young but you are an ad
The followers were stunned for a moment before they realized they had spoken the wrong words, allowing Kaze to seize the chance to humiliate Luis even more. One of the followers flushed with anger and shouted at Kaze. “You fuck…” Slap! Luis turned around and slapped the man to the floor. “Idiot! Isn’t it not embarrassing enough?” he shouted angrily. He really wanted to strangle the idiot with his own hands. He turned back to Kaze and said with a sinister tone, “So, you are Rose’s cousin-in-law, right? This is Bronze Sparrow, a place for the upper circle to gather and have fun, not a place that you can trespass, you lowlife! “You talk big in front of us but other than making yourself look like a fool, it doesn’t do anything at all. “In our circle, you have to compare power, background, connections, and resources to crush one another. If you have the confidence to beat me, show me what you got; if no, get down on your knees! “Don’t try to fool and bluff us with your l
Zenika wanted Rose to understand that the man whom she insisted on protecting would rather bluff and brag than care about her future, or life and death. Slap! Kaze looked at Zenika coldly before he threw a slap at the other side of her face. Now she got two slaps on both her cheeks, which made them even. “Aaaaah!” Zenika cried in shock with her hand covering her face. She looked at Kaze in disbelief and shrieked, “Kaze Lee! How dare you slap me!? I’ll kill you!” She never would have thought that the timid and quiet Kaze would slap her in front of the guests. Eunice was different because she was the manager of Bronze Sparrow, yet Kaze was nothing. Kaze said, “You can say whatever you want about me but you should not have tried to sabotage our relationship. Get it? Who gave you the confidence to think that Rose would believe what you say?” He never wanted to talk to the woman but she kept challenging and insulting him, so he had to fight back. “You piece of shit!” Z
Kaze spoke calmly but with absolute certainty.Everyone had a strange feeling that he might be able to pull it off because he sounded powerful and confident. “You? You and what army?” Luis scoffed. “You think this is a novel or a drama series? Do you think you can shut down whatever you want or oppress whatever you want…” “Listen up. Two things.” Again, before Luis could finish, Kaze stopped him once more. He had his phone in his hand and already dialed Collier’s number. “One, I heard the Presleys have a strong influence in the art field and their companies are big. I don’t care what you do, but acquire whatever you can to oppress them. I want to see the Presley family’s businesses under the company’s name in the shortest time possible. “Second, my cousin-in-law, Rose, is going to be an artist and I have her back. If anyone targets her, you’re in charge—no need to go through me.” After that, Kaze hung up the phone. He then patted Rose’s head again. “Don’t worry, Rose.
Influence was not the power of the word, it required the precipitation of time. The Presleys ran their businesses for a few decades and had a strong influence in the art field in Riverbank. Yet Kaze claimed that one call from him and he could oppress the Presleys’ influence and acquire their family company. He must have assumed everyone in the room were idiots and amateurs. With everyone sneering at him, Kaze nonchalantly said, “Oppressing the Presleys isn’t that big of a deal. I don’t need Kent to do it, I can just order Collier to do the job. He’s my dog after all.” The room was silenced once again. Collier Ettinger? The Collier Ettinger who teamed up with Hannah Delmore to defeat the vice chief of the Viper’s Den South River Branch, Josiah Dubb, and took control of Golden Scale Corporation? The one who held the same rank as Buffy? When Newell was still around, Collier’s status was higher than Buffy’s because his father was the chief of the Viper’s Den South River B
The coincidence was uncanny. Kaze made a phone call and ordered Collier to acquire and oppress the Presleys’ businesses. The next thing that happened was that the biggest entertainment company of the Presley family, Primeval Inc. got raided and Luis’ uncle was forced and threatened to sell the company. If it was true, who exactly was Kaze Lee? How powerful was his background that he was able to order Collier, a prominent figure in Golden Scale Corporation and Viper’s Den, like a dog? With that in mind, Luis’ legs started to turn weak and his stomach started to hurt. “W-Who are you?” he asked after he gulped nervously. His eyes fixated on Kaze. Kaze smiled. “You are not qualified to know who I am.” He was quite happy with Collier’s efficiency. As a lapdog, Collier worked perfectly. He might come across as a bit unrefined and rough but he was able to deliver the results in the shortest time possible. Looking at Kaze’s mysterious appearance, Luis had goosebumps all over
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