“Then let’s begin.” Without further ado, Buffy started to shuffle the cards. While shuffling, she saw Kaze looking at her hands, seemingly trying to mark down the cards. She smirked. He must have thought that he was the God of Gamblers. After Kaze cut the card, Buffy dealt two pairs of cards, one for him and the other for herself. Each person had two cards with one face-down.“Kaze, your card is an Ace and mine is a King. Hit?” Kaze leaned back and crossed his hands behind his head. He looked at Buffy in a teasing manner and said, “Don’t waste your time. Hit, and just show the card.” Buffy felt a slight discomfort. She felt like a toy on display when she saw Kaze’s eyes on her. Then, she tracked his gaze and noticed he was looking at her chest. She was wearing an evening gown and half her chest was revealed. The pervert had been looking at her breasts! She had not lost the game! Buffy blushed. She clenched her teeth and said coldly, “Fine. If you are so eager t
Kaze remained calm and composed. “I still have one card face down. Why do you assume that I’ve already lost? We continue.” He showed another amusing smirk. “Though I don’t want people calling me a cheater, so why don’t you open it for me?” Buffy looked at the unrevealed card in front of Kaze and she was left speechless. The table for blackjack was wide. If she had to open the card for Kaze, she would have to bend over. She was wearing a sexy gown for the evening and if she bent over, Kaze would have a full frontal view of her chest. The pervert did not only want to look, he wanted to take advantage of her. “Windy, show the card.” Buffy called her friend from earlier to reveal the card. She was not that dumb to lose her dignity to Kaze. “Alright.” Windy came over and reached out to the face-down card. For some reason, when Buffy saw the amusing gaze in Kaze, her heart sank. Windy flipped the card. Ace of Spades! 21 points! “W-What?!” Windy was stunned. Sh
Due to her pride, Buffy could not go back on her promise. She initially planned to play only one round, yet Kaze suggested the best of three. Yet she refused to hand herself over to him for the night. Luis and the others could not believe what just happened and they all thought Kaze was being ridiculously arrogant. Buffy was the birthday girl and he humiliated her, and that would mean offending the entire upper circle of Riverbank. How could a useless bumpkin from a small city do such an outrageous thing? “Bumpkin! Don’t celebrate too soon. One round isn’t enough to determine the winner. This must be a best of three!” Zenika said, “Ms. Gwake, play two more rounds. With your skills, you will win!” Luis added, “Kaze Lee, play two more rounds. Whether you win or lose, I’ll wipe our bad blood away and I won’t come after you. “If you don’t play, once you step out of Bronze Sparrow, I will destroy you!” He started threatening Kaze. He was smart. He knew if Kaze continue
Kaze appeared rather cocky. Buffy glared at Kaze, her eyes burning with rage. Since Buffy would not let the matter go, Kaze smiled and rose to his feet. He drew close and put his arm around Buffy’s waist. Furious, Buffy exclaimed, “What are you doing, bastard?” “Didn’t you say that you’d be mine tonight? Hasn’t night come yet?” Kaze kept her within his grasp, giving her no chance to wiggle herself out. “You’re my woman. What’s stopping me from holding you? I have not taken things far yet.” “You!” Buffy was livid. However, Kaze had her locked tightly against him. Take things far? He could dream on! Kaze raised a glass without a care. “Today is my woman’s birthday. You are all my guests. Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the drinks. “Let’s raise our glasses!“Hahaha!”Kaze’s manic laugh echoed across the hall. To the crowd, Kaze’s behavior was a textbook example of arrogance, ignorance, and smugness.It looked like Kaze failed to identify his place. He
The socialites were quick to deny these allegations. No one wanted to be associated with a crime. Even a mere suspicion was a social suicide for them. Wesley said grimacingly, “We have seen everybody around. Given our relationship, we can be confident that neither of us will engage in theft.“But one individual is an exception.” Wesley pointed his finger. The crowd followed the direction of his pointed finger to Kaze, who stood next to Buffy. “I’ve never met Kaze Lee in any of our social gatherings before. I don’t even know how he got in.“He headed straight to the buffet table as if he hadn’t eaten for days. I bet he’s poor. “He must be desperate for the seven-million-dollar diamond. “Don’t you think so?” Many nodded, finding that Wesley had a point. First of all, Kaze had not been seen in the prestigious get-together among the upper class before. Even Rose was only on the guest list as Zenika’s plus-one. Luis was Rose’s suitor right now. No one knew much about
“We can’t call the cops, Ms. Gwake.“Yeah, we can handle this on our own. It’s just seven million dollars. There’s no need to get the cops involved,” the socialites said. Buffy furrowed her brows. She was in no position to dismiss the opinion of the majority. Wesley said, “Here’s an idea, Buffy. Since we’re in Bronze Sparrow, we can just go with the place’s rules. “Find the diamond and handle it discreetly.” Buffy gave a nod and pulled out her phone. “Alright. I’ll give them a call.” “I got it.” With Buffy on board with the suggestion. Wesley said with a smile, “I have contacted Eunice. She’s coming here soon with her employees.” He then turned to Kaze and uttered sternly, “If you know any better, you should hand over the diamond now, Kaze. We can implement a lighter punishment since it’s Buffy’s birthday. “No one can save you once we find the diamond on you later. “Please don’t take my words lightly. Ask around. “The punishment for theft at Bronze Sparrow is a br
“I’m pleased that Bronze Sparrow is taking this seriously.” Luis nodded and pointed at Kaze. “I have reason to suspect that he stole my diamond, Ms. Lapel. “I know it’s him. He just looks like bad news.” Eunice nodded, unsurprised by the accusation. At the wave of her arm, several burly men in suits surrounded Kaze. Eunice stood outside the ring of intimidating men and said sternly, “Hand over the diamond, boy. “If you kneel and admit to your mistake, I can consider just cutting your finger off. “If my men find the diamond on you, you’ll be losing an arm.” Kaze replied indifferently, “You don’t even have one shred of evidence to determine that I stole the diamond. “Is this how you do things around here?“Cut my finger? What right do you have? “Do you think the rules of Bronze Sparrow trump the law?” Eunice responded curtly, “Ask anyone here who the owner of Bronze Sparrow is, Kaze. “You’re right on one account. The rules of Bronze Sparrow trump the law!“Even
“What did you call Ms. Gwake, boy?”Eunice gritted her teeth, her eyes flickering menacingly. She was aware of Casius’ feelings for Buffy. Hence, Kaze’s affectionate nickname for Buffy was an insult to the owner of Bronze Sparrow. Luis said, “Don’t take him seriously, Ms. Lapel. The guy won Ms. Gwake in a game of cards, so he got a little cocky.” He turned to Buffy. “Why are you standing up for the guy who hit on you and took advantage of you, Ms. Gwake?“He doesn’t appreciate your help either.“No need to take the bet seriously. He’s just a country bumpkin. He wouldn’t be playing cards with you if you hadn’t been so kind to let him sit at the same table. “Don’t feel obligated to help. It won’t be on you or your family if you don’t fulfill your promise.” Luis was afraid that Buffy would take Kaze’s side. In that case, Kaze might get off scot-free. Luis could not allow his carefully devised plan to fail. With that in mind, Luis waved at Eunice and said annoyedly, “Don
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