“What’s going on? I thought they were here to give Kaze hell. Why are they thanking him?” “When did the idiot save a member of the Queens?” “Goddamnit! I wouldn’t have led them to him had I known.” Samus, Deborah, and Vincent, who were standing not too far away, were furious to learn the truth from Sandy. They showed Mathias and Sandy the way on foot, and they were now gasping for air. It turned out Mathias and Sandy came to fix Kaze’s problem. Samus, Deborah, and Vincent were jealous that Kaze managed to be associated with the Queens from Butterworth. The dimwit was best at pretending to be someone big to get ahead in life. Well, he was living the life now. Kaze observed Sandy, whose youthful spirit and clear eyes shone through. He was relieved to save her, but that was as far as his feelings went. Others were jealous that he rubbed shoulders with the Queens of Butterworth. However, the Butterworth Queens were not up to his level. “Thank you, Kaze. I was devastat
Mathias waved at his bodyguard, who then pulled out a checkbook and wrote 100 million dollars on it. Mathias signed the check, ripped it out, and held it near the car window. “Take it. You will be the owner of a hundred million dollars. You can cash the check at Industry and Commercial Bank. I’ll call to make the withdrawal happen.” In case Kaze did not get it, Mathias patiently gave him further instructions.“The idiot is lucky. He doesn’t deserve the hundred million. If only we saved Ms. Queen.” Standing not too far away, Samus and Deborah could drool at the amount of money. They wished they could take the check for Kaze. It was as if Kaze hit the jackpot. Kaze did not take the check, though. Instead, he stared coldly at Mathias. “Who wants your money? Don’t get in my way. I’m starting the car.” He knew where Mathias was coming from. Mathias wanted to dismiss him with a lump sum in exchange for saving Sandy. That was the behavior pattern of the rich and powerful; if
“What? Is the amount good enough for you now?” Thinking that Kaze was finally pleased with the money, Mathias said with a smile, “But you need to promise me that we’re even. You can’t go around telling people that you saved a member of the Queen family in Butterworth.” Mathias did not want Kaze to do anything in the Queens’ name that would tarnish their reputation. Kaze smiled. “Mathias Queen, right? Here’s some common sense for you. “Due to the format of Arcadian checks, the maximum amount you can fill is 999,999,999.99 dollars. You can’t sign a check for one billion dollars.” Kaze looked at Mathias as if he was a dummy. Dumbstruck, Mathias turned and asked the bodyguard, “Is that true?” “Indeed, sir.” The bodyguard asked, “Are we still writing the check? I doubt 1 cent makes much difference.” “Like hell we are!” Mathias shouted angrily, his cheeks burned with shame. He was the heir to the Queens of Butterworth. Yet, the son-in-law of some family with a bit of mon
“Ah!” Mathias screamed in fear before hopping to the side. Discolored, he looked back and noticed Kaze was still there. The bastard tried to scare him. He was not actually going to run him over. “Can’t take the heat,” Kaze said before rolling the car window up. The silver Quattroporte drove off. “Bastard! Bastard!” Mathias was hopping mad. However, he could not do anything to Kaze. He ranted a little before getting into the car. Soon, the Queen siblings’ convoy left Taurus Automobiles. “Do you think the idiot has lost his mind? He refused the money from Mr. Queen, acting like he couldn’t be bought. All he has done is make Mr. Queen his enemy.” “He had the chance to befriend the Queens, but he didn’t seize it. He’s an idiot.” “I, for one, am happy he’s a dummy. We will be in trouble if he gets in the Queens’ good graces.” Samus, Deborah, and Vincent felt full of themselves and mocked Kaze. They then took off. Outside Taurus Automobiles, Kaze finally met Sky w
“Why, Hellen, I’m free to go anywhere I want. Why can’t I be here?” Agnes gave the woman an attitude. Hellen was Agnes’ former colleague when she worked for Lilyrose Wholeness Medical Center. Agnes was involved in an altercation with Hellen and her family at Lily Garden Hotel. “Hmph! You talk like you’ve got it all figured out.” Hellen said sarcastically, “It was quite the stir when you were fired from the center after that medical disaster. Deputy Director Soup just talked to me about it yesterday. I can’t believe you’d show your face here. “If I were you, I’d never step foot into the premises ever. I would go the long way around the medical center, but I guess you have no shame.” The comment hit Agnes’ sore point and color washed off her face. Taking a deep breath, Agnes retaliated, “You’re no better than me. Let’s not forget the time you were hit and kicked out of Lily Garden Hotel. That was humiliating. If I were you, I wouldn’t come back to work.” Hellen scowled.
“You don’t know when to shut up, Kaze,” Agnes stamped her foot and yelled furiously. Kaze would be the death of her. It was bad enough that Hellen’s family showed off their newly bought half-a-million dollar Mercedes Benz and mocked the Quints for their three-hundred-grand Audi A4. Kaze came out of nowhere and explained the Audi A4 was totaled—as if things were not bad enough already. Agnes was tempted to smack the dummy’s head. “Oh, my. The Quints’ only car is wrecked.” Hellen laughed in delight. “I guess it must be inconvenient for you since you can’t go anywhere without a car, Agnes. Tsk, tsk. Poor you.” Agnes scowled without a word. Hellen was right, and Agnes could not refute the fact. The last million in the family was used to pay Larry’s gambling debt, so the Quints had no funds available to get a new car. “What makes you think that we don’t have a car?” Kaze said, “We would need to get a new car since the last one was written off.” “Oh, any cars in parti
“Who did this? Why did they park inconsiderately and block us in? They must think they are all that to drive a sports car,” Yenny whined loudly. The passersby glanced at the cars and gave her a bewildered look before going on their way. Sam came over for a look and was dumbfounded by his wife’s idiocy. “Stop yelling there. You didn’t park within the lines. I was going to park the car, but you insisted you could do it.” He stopped Yenny. Sam got out of the car and went to get cigarettes, not realizing that his wife was bad at parking. “How could you blame me, Sam? They blocked me in.” Yenny took after her mother’s behavior. Livid, she pinched her husband. “Enough!” Sam shouted, “I said you didn’t park in the box. The cars next to you stayed in their lines. Even if you call the owners here, we’re still in the wrong.” He was speechless. His idiot wife parked across three parking spots, blocking cars on both sides from getting out. They could not get in through the
Kaze thought Agnes did not carry enough money for a consultation at the hospital. Now, he realized that the 20 thousand dollars was for Larry. “I have the twenty thousand as you requested.” Agnes entered the ward and asked with concern, “Are you alright, Larry?” Larry spread his legs like a boss. He scoffed and gave Agnes an attitude. “Is he alright? Does Larry look alright to you?” Naomi shot an angry look at Kaze. “Your useless son-in-law should’ve brought Larry back sooner. He would’ve been battered and bruised.” Kaze saved Larry last night but Naomi was not the least bit grateful. She even complained that Kaze could do better. Agnes remained without a word. Kaze was not going to hold his tongue, though. He replied curtly, “He got off lightly with a beating. He had it coming for gambling. If it wasn’t for me last night, he wouldn't have been beaten to death.” “What are you saying? The nerve of you to say that about my son!” Lance pounded his fist on the bedsi
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.