No one came forward. Faced with Jude’s grim eyes, the board either looked away or put their heads down. Most of them shied away from Jude’s gaze. It was clear that Jude had lost his influence in the company. The fact was written in ink the moment Buffy secured the exclusive agency rights. A handful of directors felt uneasy about the situation as Jude had been in power for too long. They needed time to adapt to change. Jude grimaced hard. Kaze chuckled. “Seeing that nobody stepped forward, everybody must be in support of Buffy becoming the chairwoman. So that’s decided then. “I expect the minutes to be documented right away. The assistant should get everybody to sign as proof of today’s decision at the next board meeting,” Kaze said while waving his arm. Soon, the assistant of the president’s office drafted the minutes, and the board bit the bullet to put their names on the document. The board even bowed to Buffy. After the board, the senior executives followed suit.
“The senior members of the Gwake family will make things right for Mom and me.“So… Maybe you shouldn’t go, Kaze.“It’s a bad idea to air dirty laundry anyway.” Buffy looked away, avoiding eye contact with Kaze. Kaze was taken aback at first, but he quickly understood. Buffy had a good idea about the truth behind her mother’s coma. She may not know the specifics, but she had her suspicions. Hence, Buffy did not want Kaze to know the truth. It was all that was left of her dignity. She could not bear the thought of being exposed to Kaze. With that in mind, Kaze nodded. “Alright. You can head on to your family home. Dayton will go with you. You can call me if you need me for anything.” “Sure.” Buffy nodded and said, “I need to ask you of one thing, Kaze. Dad has lost power over Gwake Corporation. As you said, he won’t become the South River State Branch chief. He will lose everything. “He will be devastated if Faith can’t be saved. “I hope you can help Faith to the
“So you’re in?” Rose asked excitedly, her tone relieved. She did not get along with many of the young family members because she could not stand their behaviors. They were too pretentious. These family members lacked substance. All they cared about was showing off. Since Bella had urged the younger members to stand as one, Nelson and Agatha called to make sure Rose would go. Given Hanses’ rising influence within the family and invite, Rose felt compelled to attend too. She hoped Kaze would go with her. Having Kaze around would put her at ease. “Okay.” Kaze gave a nod. Understanding Rose’s reservations, Kaze patted her head with a smile and asked, “When and where?” “It’s at Buckridge Lounge at eight tonight,” Rose said happily. Thrilled, she went to get dressed and doll up.The Otter girls loved to dress for the occasion. Rose did not want to be outshined. Kaze simply smiled. He did not mind stuff like that. All he would do for the gathering was take a shower and sl
Rose and Kaze walked over and saw a huge group sitting in the booth. Of the group, Kaze only recognized Maxine and Patrick. The rest were unfamiliar faces. The men and women of the group were dressed to the nines, their clothes suggesting their wealth and power.As the group walked on eggshells around Patrick and Maxine, the couple must hold a higher position of authority. “Maxine, Patrick.” Rose said hello and asked curiously, “Where is Hanses? I have not seen him.” She was closest to Hanses among the young family members. “Oh, Hanses has a night drill with the Flying Dragons. He was called away when he just arrived. Max went to drop him off.” Maxine explained before glancing at Kaze. She said with a frown, “Where’s Darcy, Rose? Why isn’t she here?”“Are you talking about the chairwoman of Sky Ocean Corporation who has just been accepted back to your family, Maxine? She’s the head of the Ridgesouth Quints in the South River State.” Those sitting in the booth and all
“Kaze Lee! How dare you scold Maxine!” Patrick’s expression darkened, his eyes burning with rage as he bellowed, “You piece of shit! Don’t you know who owns Buckridge Lounge?” “Who?” Kaze raised his brows, asking in an intrigued manner. “You don’t even know who owns Buckridge Lounge? You’re really a bumpkin!” Then, a woman with meticulous makeup stood up from the couch elegantly with a wine glass in her hand. She looked at Kaze with disdain and said, “The owner of Buckridge Lounge is one of the big four gangster bosses in the underworld of Riverbank, Everett Techman! “Have you heard of Zoro, the general manager of Bronze Sparrow? If you haven’t even heard of the high-profiled Zoro, you should really bury yourself.” “Zoro?” Kaze scoffed. “I thought he’s dead.” “Hmph. I guess you are not that outdated after all.” The woman grunted and added, “Zoro is dead but when he was alive, he was one of the big four gangster bosses too. You are not even worthy of being his slave. “
“Don’t you run!” “Can’t you hear Maxine? Stay!” As Maxine bellowed, the young men and women in the booth bolted up and quickly surrounded Kaze and Rose. Rose argued, “What are you people doing? Are you holding us back? What are you people, kidnappers?!” “Don’t think about leaving without apologizing!” “Slap yourself and say that you are sorry!” The young men and women crossed their arms, surrounding Kaze and Rose in the center. Kaze looked at them indifferently and then turned around to Patrick and Maxine. He scoffed. “You really think these pieces of trash can stop us?” Patrick and Maxine knew how powerful Kaze was. In fact, even if everyone in the lounge jumped on him, they might not be able to hold him back at all, let alone the few men and women. Patrick grunted and said sinisterly, “Kaze Lee, you might be a little strong but that doesn’t give you the right to do whatever you want! They can’t stop you, but I know someone who could! “Waiter!” he cried. A wait
Maxine looked at Rose as if she was a baby. She teased. “How are we not respecting each other? Not uniting? “It’s him who’s acting all powerful and stuff, he disrespects us! That’s why we’ve decided that before we see him as a family member, we have to blunt his arrogance and fix his damn temper! “What’s the problem with that?” Rose was frustrated by Maxine’s unreasonable excuses. She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down. “Blackie is here!” someone exclaimed. Then, a group of men swaggered into the lobby. The man at the center, their leader, stood at an imposing two meters tall. His muscular frame was complemented by tanned skin, and his bald head gleamed like polished obsidian under the light. His eyes were frosty, the aura that he exuded was as intimidating as a tiger and his appearance silenced the noisy lobby instantly. As the man walked, the crowd moved to the side, making way for him. “Kaze Lee, that’s Blackie, the general manager of Buckridge Lounge! T
Noticing Blackie’s displeasure toward Kaze, the men and women gloated at him. Patrick and Maxine were delighted. Aside from Blackie’s position and status, his towering physique and intimidating aura alone were pressuring enough. Kaze was tall as well but he looked like a child beside the giant. He looked emotionless but others assumed that he was trembling inside. “Kaze, Blackie is asking you a question! Speak!” Maxine said scornfully. Kaze glanced at Blackie and said, “I’ve never heard of the man’s name until today before I stepped into this lounge.” Everyone gasped in shock at his words. No one expected him to be so bold with his words in front of Blackie. Had he lost his mind? Could he not tell that Blackie was displeased that he had never heard of Everett? Anyone with a sane mind would start bowing and apologizing, flattering Blackie by saying good things about Everett. Was he really bold enough to think that he could fight Blackie with that massive, muscula
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