Kaze was on good terms with Cole, and it was true that he was connected with the Viper’s Den South River State Branch. It was a mistake to dismiss Kaze as incompetent.At least, he could read the room and was good at playing the game. Still, Kaze was not as great as he made himself out to be. He was so aggressive about acquiring St. Mary’s, but that was all there was to it. With that in mind, Miya felt at ease and confident. She said, “Where is Kaze now?“To be honest with you, I’m here to demand answers.”Dropping the niceties, Miya got in the Otters’ face. “Agnes, call your deadbeat son-in-law to get his ass here now!” Before Bella could say anything, Caster turned to Agnes and said crudely, “He can deal with his own problems. We’re not picking up after him.” “I’ll give him a call now.” Agnes whipped out her phone in a panic. Darcy took a step forward and asked grimly, “Mrs. Heartano, I am Darcy, Kaze’s wife. Can I ask what you are expecting of him?” “Oh, I ha
Displeased with Darcy’s annoyance, Miya found her ungrateful. “I’ll cut to the chase then, Ms. Quint.” Miya took a sip of her drink and said indifferently, “I’m only asking for three things from Kaze after what he has done. “First, I expect him to pay 100 million dollars to cover St. Mary’s losses.“Secondly, my family in Geranium City took a financial hit of three billion dollars because of him. I don’t think I’m asking for much by asking for five billion dollars in compensation due to the shortfall of the plummeting shares. “Finally, I want him to lose one arm. He should repent his sins outside St. Mary’s as a warning to others not to mess with St. Mary’s. “Before your husband gets here, why don’t you tell me how you feel about my demands, Ms. Quint?” The Otters expressed their shock ahead of Darcy. Kaze was expected to pay five billion dollars. The Otters did not have assets worth that much. Caster and Bella looked grim. They were reluctant to say anything, give
“What?”Darcy’s response left everybody doubting their ears. She was willing to cough up five billion dollars in damages, but there was no way she would let Kaze break his arm and repent outside St. Mary’s. “Have you lost it, Darcy? Just leave Kaze be! Why pay five billion dollars for him? Do you even have the money?” Agnes was not having it. She was the first to express her anger. She believed Darcy had lost the plot. The Otters were in disbelief. Kaze was just a bluffing deadbeat. Yet, Darcy would go to lengths for him. Miya scowled in shock at Darcy. Darcy looked her straight in the eye. “Save me that look, Mrs. Heartano. I can compensate you, but you can’t insult my husband.” “Did you think it was a negotiation, Ms. Quint?” Miya smirked in rage, her eyes reflecting no emotion. “Kaze didn’t just attack my hospital staff, but he slapped me in front of everybody too. I may not be a big deal, but I hold a certain amount of social standing in Geranium City and Arca
The murderous intent in Miya’s eyes was abruptly replaced by wariness. Miya glanced at Hanses before uttering flatly, “But young man, this is between me and Kaze. It’s not your place to comment. Once you formally join the Flying Dragons, you might earn yourself the right to speak.” “I—”Hanses scoffed, having the right mind to tell Miya off. No one knew better than him who Kaze was. It did not matter that the Geranium Heartanos was one of the elites of Geranium City. Her family did not run the military anyway. “That’s enough, Hanses!” Bella abruptly cut Hanses off before turning to Miya. She said, “I know it would take a lot to make up for what Kaze has done. “I’m going to ask a favor of you, Mrs. Heartano. Given my age, can you be a little flexible with your terms? Darcy is committed to finding a solution. “Perhaps we can drop the demand to break an arm and kneel.” Darcy gave Bella a look of gratitude. Miya chuckled. “Alright then. I can show some leniency by lett
Tension rose to an all-time high in the living room of the Otters’ residence. Darcy’s reluctance to budge came out of nowhere. “How dare you, Darcy!” Miya slammed her fist on the table angrily and got up, shaking with rage. She glared at Darcy and said curtly, “Just because you’re the head of the Ridgesouth Quints, you have no right to dismiss me. “You should know that you’re just leading the family branch in Ridgesouth. You’re not a key member of the family. “The nerve of you to speak rudely to me. “Buck Bob, slap her!” “Easy there, Mrs. Heartano,” Bob blurted. While he was known for his arrogance as the underground boss, he knew better than to pick a fight with just anyone.He did not want to make an enemy out of the Otters or Darcy. Hanses was about to be a full-fledged member of the Flying Dragons. Darcy headed the Quints in Ridgesouth. “Oh?” Miya looked daggers at Bob, and the latter shuddered. He opened his mouth to say something but went ahead to Darcy i
“Eek!” The Otters gasped sharply.“What are you doing, Kaze? He’s the criminal boss of Golden Ray.”“How dare you attack Mr. Damian? You’re asking for it!” “The audacity! How could you hit him before figuring out who he is?” “Mr. Damian, Kaze attacked you. This has nothing to do with us.” Max, Maxine, and the others tore into Kaze, fearing revenge from Bob. “Bob!” Several of Bob’s men went to help him up. “Get lost!” Bob pushed his people away and rubbed his numb cheek. He spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at Kaze with gnashed teeth. “Do you know who I am, boy? Who do you think you are to attack me?” Bob asked menacingly. “I don’t care who you are. You will get it for hurting my wife.” Kaze said flatly, “Since you’re so proud of who you are, I can satisfy your need to show off. “Tell me. Who are you?” Bob grimaced without a word. His henchman pointed at Kaze and criticized. “You’re playing with fire, boy. Buck Bob calls the shots in Golden Ray. Even th
“Smack!” “There, I did it. What are you going to do about it?” “Smack!” “Kill my family?” “Smack!” “I’ll make you disappear from Golden Ray before you can make anything happen.” “Smack!” Kaze kept pounding Bob’s face, leaving him without a chance to catch his breath. Soon, Bob’s cheeks swelled, and he lost his buck teeth. The Otters were shocked by what they had witnessed. They had not expected such aggression from Kaze. Kaze had slapped Bob without considering the consequences. “Thud!” With Bob out of it, Kaze kicked him toward Miya, who was ashen by then. As Miya’s sidekicks exclaimed in fear, Kaze approached Miya and said callously, “I asked you a question, Miya. Haven’t you learned your lesson? Are you back for more slaps?” Kaze addressed her by her first name. The press in Geranium City coined Miya with her married name, and it stuck with the public. Her married name sounded more respectful anyway. For Kaze to address her by her first name, he must
“Do you think you have me in the palm of your hand because I have done nothing, Kaze?” Miya sneered. Kaze smiled. “Save me the talk.“Just get to the point why you’re here today.“Are you prepared to kneel and beg me not to take St. Mary’s away or are you demanding an answer from me? “If it’s the latter, you came all this way for nothing. “You won’t get anything from me.” As Kaze carried himself with confidence, Miya smirked harder and said grimacingly, “Don’t be so full of yourself and get ahead of yourself. “I must admit that I have underestimated you. You seem tough and unbreakable. “But there will always be others who are better than you, Kaze, even in Riverbank.“I met someone yesterday.“You are nothing compared to him.” While talking, Miya waved her arm. A sidekick in the back presented a case with both hands. The open case revealed a roll of paper inside. Miya wiped her hands clean before retrieving the paper from the case and handing it to Kaze. “I was
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