“Kaze, are we really going to attend the drinking party? Is there going to be a trap? Why not let me make some calls first.” Buffy picked up her phone, looking worried. She had many friends in Riveria and if Naix said there would be many influential figures there, then some of her friends might be there too. A while later, Buffy put her phone down. “I’ve asked some of my friends who got invited. It seems like it’s a legit drinking party, not a trap for us. “I’ve also asked around about this Kiefer Heartano. He’s the youngest son of the head of the family and he has an older brother named Khan. “He’s capable and he has been contributing to the family business in Geranium. He lived a high-profile life and is known to be impatient.“He just arrived at Riverbank yesterday and found out what happened to St. Mary’s. That’s why he is hosting the drinking party to build connections with the folks in the upper circle…” “An impatient person?” Kaze pondered for a moment and then sa
Naix was not in the mood to argue with Kaze because, to him, Kaze was already a dead man. He knew Kiefer back in Geranium City, where they used to hang out and drink. In addition to his excessive flattery, Kiefer had already viewed him as a good friend. On top of that, Naix also knew that Kiefer was the favorite child in the Heartano family and his parents always gave him what he wanted. If he could just make Kiefer happy, then getting the rights to St. Mary Hospital would be a piece of cake. It was the reason Naix was overflowing with confidence. The only thing he needed to think about was how to make Kiefer happy. He used to do the same to earn favors but always felt something was missing. Kiefer was a cautious man. He would not act before seeing what he would gain. He always remained ambiguous, so he never fully agreed to give Naix the rights to the hospital. However, Naix came up with an idea that he believed could work. With that, he had another glance at Buffy a
Back at Bronze Sparrow, Kaze beat Buffy in a game of cards, which got him a night with her. The news spread like wildfire in the circle and sparked a heated debate. It was no secret that Casius saw Buffy as his future playtoy. Anyone who had the nerve to go after her would end up dead. It was said that Buffy’s parents already agreed for them to get married. Just when everyone expected things to end badly for Kaze, a few days later, they saw Buffy and Kaze together, attending a party hosted by Kiefer. Were they making a statement to Casius, telling him that his little plaything was no more? The young men and women surrounded Kaze, scrutinizing him. They wanted to know what was so special with the bumpkin that Buffy fell for him. However, no matter how they looked, they found nothing stellar about him; he was just another man. Maybe he was brave and meticulous, two aspects men could use to win most women’s hearts. However, Buffy was not just any ordinary woman and she
Hearing Buffy said she wanted to date Kaze but the circumstances could not allow it, Rayes automatically thought she did not want to hurt Kaze. He was jealous while feeling happy inwardly—jealous because Buffy had never expressed romantic intentions for a man verbally and happy because, with Casius in the picture, Kaze was destined to be a loser. Despite this, Rayes was forced to take Kaze seriously. He scrutinized Kaze, wondering what made the bumpkin so attractive that Buffy would fall for him. “It has nothing to do with Casius. Who I date is none of his business and he has no right to interfere.” Buffy’s tone was cold when she talked about Casius. She then looked at Kaze again and said with slight regret, “It’s because Kaze is married and his wife is an amazing woman. They love each other.” “Ooooh.” The crowd gasped in realization. Buffy could not date Kaze because he was a married man! Kaze widened his eyes at Buffy, gesturing and signaling her to stop messing aroun
Some things were not meant to be compared. If a man could marry a woman like Darcy, the man must be successful in some way. No wonder Buffy made a statement in front of her friends that she wanted to date Kaze. Listening to the comment, she had mixed feelings. She actually did not want to mention Darcy but neither did she want others to look down on Kaze, so she revealed his marriage. “Hoho, it seems like you’re really close with your friend, Buffy.” While everyone was looking at Kaze with newfound respect, wondering how they could make his acquaintance, Rayes, whose expression darkened, scoffed. Buffy was taken aback. “What do you mean, Rayes?” Rayes explained, “My family business, the Shure Group, used to work with the Sky Ocean Corporation in Lilyrose. I knew Darcy Quint from back then. “My father even introduced me to her and he was impressed by how capable she was. He said if she’s still single, he would support me in chasing her, making her the daughter-in-law o
Kaze knew what Buffy was trying to achieve, so he quickly intervened and stopped her. He knew Buffy had developed feelings for him but like she said, he was a married man; he could no longer provide for other women. If so, he should stay away and not hurt the poor lady. “Buffy, it seems like you are attending this party with Kaze for a reason, right?” Rayes was delighted and he asked Buffy. If Buffy was not here to brag about her new boyfriend, then she must be here with Kaze for another reason. It had been a while since Buffy attended any social gatherings, and now that she suddenly showed up with Kaze, there must be something she wanted to achieve. Buffy was displeased by Rayes’ arrogant attitude but he had been her friend for many years. She patiently said, “Yeah. Gwake Corporation is seeking to work with St. Mary Hospital. Kiefer is holding the party here, so I came, hoping to meet him later to talk about a potential deal.” Everyone was struck with realization.
“Rayes, Kaze is here with me. Of course, I have to bring him with me,” Buffy said with a hint of displeasure. Rayes pursed his lips. “I don’t want to sound like I’m nagging. I know you want to bring him out so he can meet people but you have to depend on the occasion. “Look at him! How can you bring him to an important party like this? While you are here to ask Kiefer for a favor? Come on.” “What’s wrong with him…” Buffy was agitated. Just as she wanted to argue, Kaze put down his plate of food and said with a smile, “It’s okay. I’m done anyway. It’s better to work on a full stomach, right?” Rayes cast a disdainful glance at Kaze. Seeing Buffy’s determination to bring Kaze along, he didn’t dare risk angering her. Reluctantly, he nodded and said, “Fine, he can come, but he’d better keep his mouth shut and just watch. Got it?” After giving Kaze a warning, Rayes brought them to a room behind the banquet hall. “We are here to see Kiefer.” Rayes seemed to be quite chummy wit
“Naix, if being shameless is what it takes to be the vice president, then you will be the most suitable candidate,” Buffy said, her tone upset. She was upset by Naix’s shamelessness. Naix said he could get the rights to St. Mary Hospital at the meeting and used it to threaten her and the executives. Yet now he shamelessly said Tiffany was the most likely recipient, and he expected Buffy and Kaze to take it from her. Naix was not bothered by the criticism. He smiled and said, “Ms. Gwake, you don’t need to tell me all that. Even if you mocked my parents or my ancestors, I won’t lose anything. “And you, Kaze Lee, if you have the nerve, go snatch the chance away from the Blue family, make sure you get the rights. “Tiffany went to Geranium City for this and now Kiefer is there. Why don’t you consider selling ass as well? If one isn’t enough, make it two. As long as you can get the rights, I’ll crawl out of the company without complaining. “If you can’t, I will be the one watch
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