Buffy sighed. She knew Kaze was right. Even if Jude was ready to let go, Faith’s birth family, the Krads, would not allow it either. Unless Jude had the resolve to break away from the Krads but it was impossible. No matter how many connections Jude had, the strongest and the only reliable support was the Krads. Like Kaze said, desperate times require desperate measures. Whether Jude and Faith wanted it or not, they would eventually bow before Kaze and accept his terms. “Kaze, if my father holds his promise, will you really cure Faith?” Buffy asked out of curiosity. Kaze smiled. “Of course. I am not like your father. If I said I will do it, I intend to deliver, since curing Faith doesn’t cost me anything. If she comes after me, I’ll just swat her like a fly.” He sounded casual and calm as if it was a casual chat. Buffy was curious. She never understood how Kaze got the confidence to do everything as if there was no obstacle big enough in his life to stop him. “It’s mid
Darcy sounded calm but Kaze felt troubled. It was obvious that she was jealous. Kaze awkwardly chuckled and said, “Darcy, why would I stay outside while you are at home? Besides, Buffy has Dayton and his friends at her place.” As he spoke, he walked over to hug Darcy by the waist. Hearing him, Darcy’s jealous expression softened but she still tapped his hands away and said coldly, “Go take a shower.” Kaze breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to the bathroom. After his shower, he received a phone call from Draco. He answered it and asked, “What is it?” “Boss, the Battle Dragon Troops’ battalion, the Flying Dragon, just came back from the battlefield and was ordered to join the South River Strategic Department. “But you know how those fellas behave, arrogant and feisty. Other than the boys from the God of War Palace, they looked down on everyone. “They got into a little argument with Aaron Krad, the new guy in the South River Strategic Department. “I thought o
Kaze saw it as a mere errand, so he nodded and said, “I’ll drop by tomorrow.” “Haha, with Boss showing up, this is in the bag already. I’ll tell Ryken that you will be going there.” After the call, Kaze headed to the bedroom and tried to go in but the door was locked from the inside. “Why don’t you sleep in the other room? I have to work late and I don’t want to keep you up.” Darcy’s voice came from inside. It seemed like she was still jealous of Buffy. Kaze chuckled helplessly and then headed to the guest room. On the second morning, after his morning jog, Kaze came back to the villa and saw people delivering boxes to his door. “What are these? Who sent them?” Agnes asked. Her eyes lit up when she saw the boxes. She always had the bad habit of taking advantage of things whenever she could. The person from management said politely, “I’m sorry, we don’t know. A car came by earlier and left the boxes with us. The driver said they are tobacco and wine, specially prepared
“Tsk. Tobacco and wine? Kaze, what friends do you have? Why are they giving you these?” Agnes looked disappointed and upset. She rolled her eyes at Kaze and said, “Be mindful of what friends you made. Can’t they give you something better? “Look at the boxes! It’s like they picked it up from the streets. Putting them in front of our house makes us look bad. Just throw them away.” “This is my house. I can put whatever I want in it.” Kaze took one of the boxes, opened it up, and gave the person in charge and his team a few cigarettes. “Thank you, guys. Here. Can you help me move the boxes inside?” The person in charge and his team nodded and smiled and then moved the boxes of tobacco and wine inside. Kaze’s offhand response left Agnes annoyed but recalling the sharp sting of his slap, she chose to be quiet. She grunted coldly and then went back into the house, bumping into Darcy who was coming downstairs. She said, “Darcy, your Uncle Alex called earlier and told me the O
“You’re going to give your brandless cigarettes and wine to my mother? Hmph! It certainly is an idea only you can come up with.” Agnes waved at Kaze in disgust. “Go, go to the side and don’t disturb us.” Darcy disagreed with the suggestion. After a quick thought, she said, “I think we should just go with some jade or something elegant for Grandmother. It’s more acceptable.” “Sounds fine to me. It’s settled then.” Agnes agreed with Darcy’s suggestion. Almost 11:00 AM. After choosing the present, Darcy and her family went off, together with Rose, who had been freeloading at their house since yesterday. Kaze glanced at the jade bracelet that Darcy picked and it was not particularly impressive. He quickly packed two boxes of cigarettes and two bottles of wine into a black plastic bag and then stored it in the trunk of the car as a backup gift option, just in case. If Madam Otter was displeased with the gift Darcy picked, he might be able to give the special cigarettes and w
Many guests went up to Darcy to make acquaintances, especially the younger ones. They were not just attracted by Darcy’s status but also her beauty. If they could win her affection, then it would be a harvest of beauty and wealth. No man could resist the temptation. Darcy knew exactly what the people were thinking. Just as she was surrounded by people, as annoying as flies, she dragged Kaze over and said, “Let me introduce you, this is my husband, Kaze Lee.” Kaze looked at the “flies” who looked at him in shock and smiled. “I’m Kaze Lee. Nice to meet you.” “Oh? Ms. Quint is married…” The young men glanced between Kaze and Darcy, unsure of how to react. As the atmosphere grew awkward, they could only chuckle uncomfortably. Adam knew Darcy was using Kaze as a shield and it displeased him. He said, “Darcy, Kaze does not share a common language with them. “They know you are a businesswoman and want to talk business with you. Their fathers are our family’s close friends and
“I just got it!” The man was Maxine’s new boyfriend, Patrick Weather. The smile on his face was bright. “I have been working for my cousin, Casius, and I have been performing well, so he rewarded me with this Cullinan. “I literally just got it just now and I wanted to surprise you.” Knowing that the young man was Casius’ cousin, Kaze raised his brows and spared an extra glance at him. Everyone at the scene knew who Casius was, so their eyes on Patrick showed respect. Casius Weather, one of the Riverbank Seven. His status and power could easily pressure everyone at the scene, combined. “You’re always full of surprises! It’s just a Cullinan, you don’t have to keep it from me!” Maxine playfully punched Patrick in the arm but her eyes widened with affection. Her boyfriend’s arrival made her proud and happy. She even felt proud in front of Darcy, who had been overshadowing her. “Uncle Alex, hi…” Patrick then went up to the seniors of the family and greeted them. He the
Patrick looked shocked. “Huh? He’s a live-in husband? So he has been unemployed?” Kaze looked at Maxine and Patrick, who were obviously asking for trouble. He smirked and nodded. “I guess you can say so.” Everyone heard his answer. Those who were simply watching from the side were surprised that he admitted it so quickly. Their gazes at him showed a strong sense of contempt. How could a man like him deserve a woman like Darcy? Even if he did not manage to marry himself into Darcy’s family, he still should not be qualified to even be her follower. Patrick did not expect Kaze to be so witty. It caught him by surprise and it left him speechless for a moment. It was until Maxine nudged him, he regained his composure and scoffed. “Is it because you didn’t get any suitable jobs? “Why don’t you tell me what you are interested in, I can recommend you. My company has been recruiting lately, like security guards or janitors. “For Maxine’s sake, you can simply pick a job under ten
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
Leah had not had it easy these recent days. However, she had learned to be submissive and give in. It never occurred to her that Perry would do this to her. After repeated beatings, she quickly wised up. “Mr. Duncan, why is this disgusting person here? She’s an eyesore.” Dressed in a red number, a woman with wavy hair sat next to Perry. She clung to Perry intimately. She spoke in a sultry and mesmerizing voice. “Oh, she’s just a bitch. “She got on my nerves, so I punished her. I’ll dump her once I’m bored with her.” Perry had the time of his life getting back at Leah. He got a kick out of it. However, he did not feel that it was enough. Every time he looked at his injured hand, his resentment toward Leah grew. “How did she upset you, Mr. Duncan?” Another lady extended her arms to knead Perry’s shoulders while gently murmuring into his ear. With women gathering and fussing over him, Perry felt his ego thoroughly stroked. He was thrilled. “Well, she doesn’t kno
Katie thought about everybody. Kaze was the odd one out, so he had to be the suspect. It made sense that Leah would elope with Kaze. “There must be some sort of misunderstanding. We can talk it out. Don’t do anything reckless.” Snow stopped Katie from doing anything extreme. “How could there be a misunderstanding? There can be no one else but him.” Katie was stubborn. “We can help with your daughter’s disappearance. You won’t get anywhere by picking on him.” Snow tried her best to defend Kaze. She would not let Kaze be hurt on her watch. Eager to find her daughter, Katie believed her suspicion to be the truth, and Kaze must have stashed her daughter somewhere. “I don’t have time to waste, but no one could’ve taken Leah away.” Katie was naїvely convinced that Kaze was behind it. Kaze had only just learned about Leah’s disappearance. It was quite late for Katie to finally look into the matter. “I didn’t take your daughter, but we can dig deeper into this.” Leah w
The blue gem necklace around Snow’s neck brought out her elegance and class. Snow was educated well. She carried herself with ease at the social event. She exchanged pleasantries with business partners and greeted them all. Snow shared a few drinks with several prominent families. Aloysius and her secretary stayed with her and drank on her behalf.The party was a success. Kaze held a glass of wine to sip in a corner. Snow’s brilliance was the assurance he needed. He did not have to worry about her leading the Frosts now. “I guess I was worried about nothing. I didn’t even have to be here. She has gotten everything covered.” Kaze was concerned about Snow because she had always been his assistant. He was apprehensive that Snow would have no control over her staff after her promotion. He even asked the Viper’s Den to lend a hand. Nevertheless, Snow did not let him down. She had done a great job. Kaze drank wine and enjoyed the music. Soon, men and women entered the
Aloysius looked at the business venture at hand with a mix of emotions. Jet was supposed to make a comeback with the project, but the defeat was a huge slap to his face. “Can I ask whether Kaze was behind this?” Aloysius braced himself to ask the question. Even though Aloysius had an inkling, he feared receiving confirmation of his suspicion. “Chairman Lee helped me. If Jet hadn’t hurt my mother, I wouldn’t have rushed back to take his place. “He did this to himself,” Snow said blatantly. “How did you know about the island project? We have been discreet about it.” Aloysius was eager to find out. The question would burn on his mind unless he got some answers. “You can’t keep anything from the Viper’s Den, but this is the end of the matter. If you’re interested in the project, I can put you in charge of it.” Snow could not be bothered to explain herself. Aloysius played it smart. He had been carrying out Snow’s orders without a hitch. Snow was happy to honor her prom
“Tell them that the company is expecting funding, and all the projects will be launched in a few days. Everything will be back on track. It’s a good thing that the higher management is gone. We will be opening the positions for internal employees to apply.” Snow got the right solution to handle the situation. She had to give these employees hope to gain their dedication in return. Aloysius was surprised. “Who would pour money in when our finances are in a mess?” Having worked with Jet, Aloysius had a good understanding of the company’s ins and outs. Several business ventures were up in the air, and the company was bleeding money. Even with a relaunch, these projects would not bring in much of a profit. Most importantly, the relaunch had to be backed up by some funding. The business got a loan from the Viper’s Den. If payment was not made in time, the company’s shares would be used to make up for the loss. The whole thing spelled trouble. Snow just joined the company.
“This is the financial report you submitted today. Any intern can do a better job than you.” Snow mocked Jack. She was disappointed in his performance. A finance director who could not even get his basics right should not be working in finance in the first place. “Who do you think you are, doing this to us?” The others are only out to save their own asses. They did not sympathize with Jack. “I’m sure you are well aware of what you have done.” “You’re on your phone all day at work. You put your daily expenses on the company card, and we’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars a month. You only bought stuff for your personal use. “Let’s not forget about you. Your so-called business trips are to take your mistress out for expensive hotel stays and vacations.” Snow looked at each one of them while detailing their deeds. She shamed them in public, utterly humiliating them. “Why were these allowed before? Why are you stopping these practices now? If you can change