“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
As he spoke, Blackie went up closer and grabbed a bottle of beer from the table. Usually, the beer bottle looked huge in a normal person’s hand but in his hand, it felt like a little torchlight. “Flick!” With a flick of his thumb, the cap was flung out. “If you finish every bottle of beer here, down to the last drop, you can walk,” Blackie said coldly as he shoved the bottle of beer forward. Rose gasped in shock. She glanced at the long table in front of the booth and saw the row of beer, whiskey, and all kinds of other alcoholic beverages. There were fifty bottles of beer. She knew how good of a drinker Kaze was. He was a lot stronger than the ordinary, but if he had to drink every bottle to the last drop, he might suffer from alcohol poisoning. Patrick, Maxine, and the others were initially disappointed when they thought Blackie was not going to teach Kaze a lesson. Now, they gloated at Kaze happily. If Kaze drank all the beers, he would certainly end up in the
“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.
Eli dined offhandedly as if he had taken hold of the group. His words were layered with threat. “What? Are you trying to replace us?” Knox asked in disbelief. “I don’t have that power, but the investor does. I heard that he enjoyed dinner with your superiors. I’m sure the project will get the green light in no time. “Even if you didn’t approach me today, my team and I would have invited you out for a get-together.” Eli knew when to back down, easing the tension in the air. It was another type of reconciliation. Eli needed to go through the review board to get the rights to air the films. The carrot-and-stick approach was the best way forward. Kaze was surprised by the sophistication of Eli’s tactics. Still, he believed he had come to the right place. Sure enough, Jet would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Surely, he was bound to leave loose ends. Nevertheless, he probably did not care. Arthur cocked his head back to look at Kaze. Kaze grinned, unbothered
The purpose of the visit was to inform Rising Sun that the films did not make the cut. Since Rising Sun would not make the necessary amendments, the project would come to a halt. “Please, don’t. Since we are all here, we should talk it out.” It took Eli quite some effort to get the group to the hotel. Eli had plans to please the crowd, so he could not let them leave just yet. This went beyond getting the green light for the films. Eli needed to make the group happy. “There is nothing more to talk about. We can’t proceed unless you make the changes.” There was no way around it. Since Rising Sun refused to make the right amendments, and Knox had orders about putting a hold on Rising Sun’s films, that was one less problem for Knox to deal with. Eli could not let the group walk out on him. Hence, he quickly sent people in. Several thinly clad women entered, each holding a small bag. Despite the weightlessness, the bag appeared to be carrying something of substance. “You
For that reason, Rising Sun’s film productions were not cleared to be aired. “I told you the reason. The investor supplied us with the scripts, and we were told to base our productions on the scripts. Our hands are tied.”Eli would have made the amendments if he could. He knew where the problem lay. However, the company had to take the investor’s perspective into consideration. In the end, the films were yet to be approved for release. “I guess you won’t get the permission to air them then.” Knox was surprised that Rising Sun would not budge on the matter. Nevertheless, Knox and his team were not there to give the all-clear or talk some sense into Rising Sun. Knox and his team could care less about what Eli had to say. “We’re serious about getting the approval. “I’m sorry that we aren’t a better host for your visit today. Why don’t we move to the nearby hotel for a talk?” With the review board making an appearance, Eli knew there was still hope. If Eli did not grab
Arthur chuckled, his smile carrying a touch of sleaziness. “Oh, I see.” A realization dawned on Kaze. “Are you with quality control?” Several individuals in dark blue suits approached. The men and women carried files and documents. Kaze nodded without a word. “We are just here to announce the results. We shouldn’t be long.” Arthur came forward to engage with them. The group was likely given the heads-up as they had the right number of people. They swaggered into Rising Sun’s building. The general manager straightened up his tie in a fluster and walked out. None of the film productions made the cut yet, and the delay was costing the company money by the day. At this rate, the project would go down under. Eli, the general manager, rushed to the entrance upon learning the news. The review team was there to do one final check. The films would get the green light if the board found that everything was up to par. The head office would stop putting pressure on
Given Kaze’s status, Alfonso knew better than to have him waiting under the hot sun. Of course, he would send his people to be on standby for Kaze’s arrival. Peter only came to the rescue when Kaze was pestered by some street gang. Alfonso’s omission of Kaze’s identity led to this hiccup. Kaze did not care one bit about the incident. Heck, he did not even bring it up. Arthur straightened his back nervously, becoming even more cautious behind the wheel. “You knew, but why didn’t you say anything, Mr. Lee? You didn’t even tell on us.” Arthur could not understand why. However, he had more respect for the man. “I didn’t see a point. You’ll learn what happens when you displease me, so I won’t bother telling you now.” Kaze was mild-mannered as ever. He spoke softly without a hint of anger. All the more Arthur revered him. “Mr. Lee, we didn’t do our jobs right. We didn’t know who you were.“But my duty is to protect you in the dark. “We saw you getting out of the train
“Rising Sun is a media company. Several of their films are about to be released. They are trying to get them approved to air due to some censorship issues.” Arthur took out a document. “Are there any issues with the films? Why aren’t they approved yet?” Kaze asked curiously. Kaze had no idea. “There are some issues. They aren’t fit to be aired. “Typically, there aren’t a lot of restrictions for film productions so long as the themes aren’t sensitive topics. “But these films featured altered history. The company has been asked multiple times to make revisions, but the films still don’t make the cut.” The Viper’s Den’s members were not privy to the information. The Frosts were insignificant. Kaze was after the Frosts. Otherwise, the Viper’s Den would not waste its resources on a mere film production company. Jet’s investment of nearly ten million bucks in Rising Sun caught the Viper’s Den’s attention. The delayed approval of the films would be catastrophic to the in