Samus was trying to get the Horizon Mirror Mansion without spending a dime. Kaze smiled and nodded. “Of course, let’s bet.” Before he could speak any further, Agnes stopped him. “What are you talking about?” Agnes stared at him. “We are not taking the bet! The Horizon Mirror is our home! Don’t even think about taking it away, Samus!” Samus pouted. “You really think I’m an idiot? I’m just playing with your retarded son-in-law. You people are poor, if you don’t have the balls to bet, then don’t brag like you have them!” Agnes was silenced. She turned pale, and like her daughter, she did not have any valid points to counter. She turned away, aggrieved. Kaze then said coldly, “Samus, watch your mouth. So, is the bet still on?” Samus was slightly surprised. He did not expect Kaze to accept his bet. He laughed hysterically as if Kaze were a dead man. He said wickedly, "If you want to bet, then let's bet." “Kaze, don’t do anything stupid!” Darcy pulled Kaze back. Even if h
Gasp! Everyone choked in shock, including Darcy and her parents. Master Quint and the others reacted bitterly. They had been teasing and sneering at Kaze for not being able to afford ten million dollars worth of furniture, yet the rosewood study table set alone was worth exactly that much. Kaze went up to Master Quint and smiled, “Grandfather, is this house big enough?” “It’s huge! Not just the house, even the lake outside is massive! Haha!” Master Quint was much more courteous when he talked to Kaze now. Kaze smiled. “Is it classy enough?” “Of course! This house is worth fifty million! Many people dare not even dream about living here!” Kaze remained smiling. “Then I believe staying here must look good, right?” “Of course! There are less than a handful of families in Lilyrose who could afford this place!” Master Quint nodded. He thought Kaze asking all these questions was because he wanted to invite him to move in together. Kaze then put his smile away and said,
“Darcy, look at your husband! He’s asking me to leave the house!” Master Quint stared at Darcy coldly, emanating his authoritative aura as the head of the house. "I order you to divorce him immediately!" “Darcy, you heard Grandfather. Divorce this idiot immediately!” The Quint family gloated at Darcy’s situation. Master Quint’s words were indisputable; no one dared to defy his order. Without a second thought, Darcy said, “Grandfather, I am in charge of my own marriage. No one can decide for me.” Master Quint was furious. “Darcy, do you still take me as your grandfather?!” While Darcy bit her lip and kept quiet, Master Quint turned to Hector and Agnes. “You two, make your daughter divorce Kaze immediately!” Hector did not respond either. Agnes scoffed and said, “Save it, old man! If Darcy divorced Kaze, who else is going to help her? You and your family? “When her company faces bankruptcy, you ask her to recover the debt from Pietro. When Ned Brooks took advantage of
Kaze said, “I support that. As long as you are happy, Mother.” “Kaze, my son-in-law, you know me best. You two are not as supportive as he is!” Agnes was delighted to find someone on her side. “Whatever, Mom. Brag all you want.” Darcy was happy that her mother finally accepted Kaze as her son-in-law. They also talked about Darcy’s intention to hire more people for the company. Silver Wind Company suffered a huge turnover a while back and was in severe lack of manpower. “From now on, Silver Wind is my career and everything. I will do my best to bring it back on track.” Darcy looked regretful when she said those words. She had worked at Quintessential Group since she graduated and devoted almost everything to her work. Moreover, it was her goal to regain the company’s former glory and reinstate her father back to his righteous position. Now that they had broken away from Master Quint and the extended company, she might not be able to remain at Quintessential Group.
Samus reached out to King Kong right away. This time, the call got through. He asked King Kong to seize Horizon Mirror Mansion tomorrow and would reward the man with fifty thousand once succeeded. All King Kong needed to do was send his men to scare Darcy and her family away and they could get the money. It was an easy job, at least from the looks of it. “Horizon Mirror? That’s a high-class residential area. The security guards from the Heavensward Group are professionals from a top-tier security company. This is a difficult job.” King Kong sounded troubled on the phone. Samus flattered the man, saying, “King Kong, you are Gold Tooth’s best hitman. No professional security guards are a problem for you. We’ve known each other for so long, can you do me a favor?” “Fine. I’ll take this job. I am only doing this for you and no one else.” Right before Samus could thank the man, King Kong added, “But, you must pay me more.” “Grandfather, he wants five million!” Samus covere
King Kong shouted, “You two! Hold it right there!” Agnes was terrified by the mob of gangsters in front of her house. King Kong strutted over and bellowed, “Are you two old hags Hector and Agnes Quint living in Horizon Mirror Mansion? You and your family are moving out today!” “Why must we move out? This is our house!” Despite her fear, Agnes tried to reason with the man, but the gangsters were not there to reason with her. Slap! King Kong slapped her in the face and bellowed arrogantly, “I don’t care whose house it is. You move when I tell you to!” “What if we refused?” Kaze and Draco came out of the house when they heard the commotion. When he saw Agnes covering her face, his eyes turned bloodthirsty. “Oh? Here’s a stubborn one.” King Kong looked at Kaze with a grim look. “Get him! I want ten slaps on his face!” One of the gangsters went up to Kaze, looking fierce as he raised his hand. Thump! Before he could touch Kaze’s face, a powerful kick landed on hi
Kaze talked to Hector and Agnes quite a bit to calm them down. He sent them back into the house to rest after what happened. When he came back out, Bruno and his men came over in a hurry. “Mr. Lee. I am so sorry about what happened. It is the security’s mistake to let those gangsters in here. It is our responsibility.” Bruno bowed and apologized to Kaze. “The security guards are really useless,” Kaze said coldly. The security personnel were not some old men part-timers; they were hired from professional security companies, yet they were unable to hold back a bunch of gangsters. “Mr. Lee, they were frightened by the name Gold Tooth. I gave them a strict order and requested more men to guard the place. If the gangsters return, the security guards will stop them with their lives.” Bruno felt helpless as well. He could frighten off others using Heavensward’s name but it did not work against the gangsters who disregarded the law. “That won’t be necessary. I will not be usi
“A woman?” Darcy frowned. “Yeah. She looks rich. She had a chauffeur driving her around in a Maybach. Judging from her looks and presence, she must be a powerful woman in the business world. Even Mr. Bandino from the Heavensward Group respected her.” Kelly observed Darcy’s reaction closely. She asked, “You don’t know about it? Kaze bought the furniture using that woman’s money. Do you know why I failed the interview? Because I bumped into your husband and that woman together that day. They were…” She rolled her sleeves up. “Look at this. Mr. Bandino already agreed to hire me but because of what your husband said, I was thrown out by the security guard.” Darcy did not expect something like that to happen. “Kelly, are you serious?” Kelly nodded. “What? Do you think I’m lying to you? I lost my job and got thrown out in public. Why would I lie to you with something so embarrassing?” Darcy was suspicious. Kaze barely knew Kelly. Why would he ruin her chance at the intervie
“I have pointed you in a direction. If you still can’t trust your team, you can go to the Viper’s Den.“There’s one thing, though. Don’t rely too heavily on the Viper’s Den, or your company will be left without secrets.” Kaze’s suggestion gave Snow assurance. She considered tapping into the Viper’s Den’s resources. However, Kaze warned her against excessive dependence. “Why did you say that, Chairman Lee? Will the Viper’s Den stab me in the back?” Surely, the Viper’s Den took orders from Kaze. The Viper’s Den would always be an ally so long as Kaze was the branch leader. “I just don’t want you to put too much faith in others. You find loyalty by developing your own team. Those who revere me will never trust you completely.” Kaze analyzed the situation. Snow ate her supper and looked at Kaze in confusion. “You can only count on the people you win over. You can’t trust anyone else, and that includes me.” Kaze would never hurt Snow. However, he hoped that she would fin
“As you said, all is in the past. What’s the point of dwelling on it?” Leah perked up. Such was life, but it took her too long to understand the harsh reality. She guessed things were just not meant to be. “I’ll think about what to get Kaze. Rest well. We’ll visit him in a few days.” Taking the matter seriously, Katie wanted to get gifts ready ahead of time to thank Kaze. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do too. I want to be in touch with the outside world. I don’t care what they have to say. This is not my fault. I won’t blame myself.” Leah wanted her phone back to contact her former friends. Ultimately, she needed to move forward instead of backward. She had to face and fight back the rumors with courage. It was the crucial step to kick trauma in the face. The abduction was kept hush-hush for the most part, but Katie’s frantic search for her daughter at the cocktail party did not go unnoticed. Hearing about the incident, the influential people were keen to find out
“When did Kaze start setting it all up? I get the feeling that everybody played into his hands right from the start, and he had controlled every step of the way.” Leah realized that Kaze was an amazing man. Nothing could go past his eyes. “I don’t know.” Katie feared someone like Kaze. She would not be caught dead near him. Even when grasping the situation, Katie dared not look into Kaze for fear she would be targeted. Katie was careful not to show her face around Kaze. For all she knew, Kaze might get back at her. “But he came to Butterworth alone. We met at the train station, and he helped me out of a bad situation.” Leah felt warm and cozy inside just remembering the events. They did not know each other then. Kaze was kind to help a stranger out. From then on, Kaze could do no wrong in Leah’s eyes. Leah befriended him and found him nice. Her interest in him grew. They also got along well. Her memories of Kaze were sweet. Anyone could hurt her in the world, but
Even though Katie was the CEO of the Northborn Group, many eyed her position. There were too many vying to replace her. Without dedicating herself to her work, Katie risked falling from grace. Katie had been too eager to find success to give her daughter the best life. Leah could not understand the pain Katie had to go through. “I understand it now. I explained the nature of my relationship with Kaze to you, but you just wouldn’t get it.” Leah stubbornly expressed herself in hopes her mother would understand. “I just couldn’t get it through my head that you have grown up. You make an easy target since you just graduated and have not stepped into the real world.” Katie would not always be there for Leah. Hence, Katie did her best to get rid of potential danger. Her overprotectiveness triggered Leah’s defiance. It was Katie’s fault for not realizing it sooner. “I’m not angry with you. I didn’t understand a mother’s good intentions, but I understand now. I will listen to
Leah’s face beamed, but her mother’s words threw her into a daze. In the end, she tried to squeeze a smile to assure her mother. However, Leah could not muster a smile. Those days lingered with her like a recurring bad dream. Whenever she recalled the incident, she felt trapped in that nightmare again. Leah wanted to let those memories fade away, but she just could not do it. She would get startled awake late at night and trace the scars across her skin. During moments like this, she resented Perry. Leah was rather cheerful during the day as if the past was behind her. However, it was simply a way for her to escape the pain. By the way Leah was behaving, Katie instantly regretted the question. She should not have probed. Even if they avoided the elephant in the room, they could pretend like nothing ever happened. Nevertheless, the act of asking brought up unsettling times for Leah. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked.” Katie gently held Leah, hoping to cast
When the ambulance door closed shut, Leah wailed once more. The reality of her rescue finally sank in, and she grasped that it was not just a dream. It was a pity that she did not have much time with Kaze. She longed to spend more time with him. “Don’t cry, young lady. You’ll get better soon enough. Don’t worry about the scars on your face. I can administer medicine to help you,” the doctor said while wiping her tears. “Thank you. I’m finally out of the hell hole.” Leah’s worst nightmare would be to be trapped in there forever. Kaze watched as the ambulance disappeared into the night. He then turned to face the villa. “Apprehend everybody in there. Perry should be punished for his crimes.” Kaze had not intended to go after the Duncans, but the family had crossed the line this time. Leah was an adorable and vulnerable woman. She was abused beyond recognition. It never occurred to Kaze that the Duncans could be so cruel. “Perry has passed out in there. Where should
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