The next day, Kaze got a call from Buffy first thing in the morning. Buffy said on the phone that Jude brought the family meeting up by a day. He informed her late last night that she should head to the family residence today to find out the truth. Hence, Buffy got ready to go to the family residence. To uphold the last of her dignity and not to air her family’s dirty laundry, Buffy would head out alone as agreed with Kaze. Jude’s eagerness did not sit well with Kaze. For all Kaze knew, Jude could give up fighting him after Kaze stripped his power in public yesterday to push Buffy to take his place. Kaze felt that Jude was not the type to give up so easily. “Since your father has expressed his stance, I should be generous and cure Faith at the hospital today. “Take Dayton with you. Call me for anything,” Kaze said on the phone. Kaze was not so kind as to help Faith. Faith was only his pawn. If anything were to happen to Buffy, Kaze could use Faith against Jude.
The Viper’s Den member put away his phone and said, “Mr. Gwake said that you can go inside.” “Lead the way.” Kaze stepped inside with a smile. It was not as if the Viper’s Den members could stop him if he wanted to barge into the place. Kaze was simply sounding Jude out. For now, things were in the all-clear. Outside the ward, the Viper’s Den member announced Kaze’s arrival through the closed door. “Kaze may enter on his own.” Faith’s soft voice boomed. Kaze did not think Faith would want to see him alone. Kaze opened the door and saw Faith slouching against the couch. In just one day, Faith underwent a huge transformation. She no longer looked sickly. Instead, she was glowing in health. Kaze even noticed that Faith had light makeup on. She looked delectable. She had traded her hospital gown for a silk slip.The dress barely covered her thighs and legs, adding a thrilling and sensual vibe to her presence. Faith was like a ripe peach, sweet and ready to be sav
“Come here, Kaze. I made this for Jude when I was free. It’s for men to get stronger down there and gain more stamina. “Jude doesn’t need it anymore. Why don’t you have some? I’ll feed you myself.” Faith poured the soup into a bowl and carried it to Kaze. The aroma of the soup and the feminine scent of the woman could easily arouse a man. Even Kaze was slightly shaken. Fortunately, he saw the woman’s true color before and he knew it was nothing like her current self. She must be up to no good. Kaze subtly and calmly took a step back and said, “I’ve eaten breakfast before I came. Thank you for the offer.” “Are you really going to turn me down?” Faith pouted and groaned but did not pressure Kaze anymore. She put the bowl down. Her eyes, adorned with a faint touch of pink eyeshadow, blinked twice as she gazed at Kaze. “Kaze, I’ve misunderstood you before. I thought you approached Buffy and stood against me because you are trying to leech off us, trying to take over our
Looking at Faith’s pretentious side, Kaze smiled and asked, “What do you think? Do you think I’ll do something like that?” “If I’m letting you treat my condition, that means I believe in you. You won’t do something that terrible, right?” Faith said coquettishly. Kaze replied, “Since we had a deal, as long as you keep your side of the promise, I will keep mine. The root of your condition is your practice, and I can easily treat it.” He did not disclose that Faith’s condition was not solely due to her martial arts practice going awry but also stemmed from other underlying issues. Given her current condition, the main issue remained her wrong martial arts practice, so the other symptoms were not that obvious. However, once Faith’s current condition was cured, other symptoms might start to appear. If Faith kept her promise and stayed away from him and Buffy, he would, in time, help her address the underlying conditions and cure them one by one. If she broke her promise, then
“Buffy is a dull girl and she doesn’t know how to capture a man’s heart. She’s boring. Why don’t you be mine? I can make you my personal bodyguard. “You can do what bodyguards do, and I will also let you do what bodyguards cannot do. As long as you wish, I can satisfy you however you want…” Faith moved closer to Kaze, pressing her body against his and her soft fingers dancing on his chest. She licked her lips seductively, looking at him with temptation. Even if Kaze had a heart of steel, it trembled for a moment. Faith was stepping over the line. Kaze shook his shoulder, causing his chest muscles to bounce her hand off. “Mrs. Gwake, I have to say you do know your ways around a man, but if you think this is enough for me to turn my back on Buffy, then you must have underestimated me,” Kaze said calmly. “Turned your back on her? Who are you to her?” Faith scoffed. “Don’t try to hide it from me. When I last saw her, I could still tell from her eyes that she was still a vir
“Yes.” “She got into power because of you and she gave you only half the shares? She doesn’t sleep with you either. Don’t you hate her for not giving back?” “Buffy is my friend. I don’t hate her.” Kaze looked blank and stiff but his lips curled into a sincere smile. “I see you are a… Simp. Yeah, that’s the modern way of calling it.” Faith scoffed and continued, “Are you my friend now?” “Yes…?” Kaze nodded after a slight hesitation. “You little ungrateful scoundrel.” Faith poked Kaze on the forehead and then said coquettishly, “Then if I want you to give me all the shares you have in Gwake Corporation, will you do it?” “I will.” Faith then went over to take the share transfer documents. “Here, sign this and I will give you a reward.” “What reward?” Kaze’s tone showed anticipation. Faith pointed at her lips with her finger. “I can give you a kiss here.” “Yes!” Kaze then quickly signed his own name on the document. “Hmph. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Men. No matter h
“Hsss…” The maggot looked ferocious despite its size. It was struggling and hissing on the tip of Kaze’s finger. As he pinched it, the little maggot died. Heat energy from his palm burned the carcass into a crisp. “You know voodoo?” Faith looked at Kaze in fear. Kaze said, “Faith Gwake, voodoo works well on most people but to me, it’s just a cheap trick. I have to say, you’re disappointing. “You did all this to set me up and you wanted me to kill Jude Gwake? Do you know it’s lame?” His tone was sarcastic. He waved his phone and said, “If I send him this voice note, I wonder if he would kill his own wife?” “You! You! You…” Faith’s expression darkened. She glared at Kaze ferociously and shouted, “My voodoo spell didn’t work on you?!” She could not understand what went wrong. She was certain that based on Kaze’s earlier reaction, he should be under her spell. His looks and reactions seemed exactly like the other victims under her spell. To be safe, she even t
The God of War Palace had many extraordinary men with special capabilities, including witch doctors and voodoo witches from the mountains of Megisto. Back when Kaze was serving on the foreign battlefield, he was once ambushed by a voodoo master from a southern country. The spells that the voodoo master used were a variation of spells passed down in Megisto. It was Kaze’s own witch doctor whom he recruited from Megisto that saved his life. He was no stranger to voodoo spells and witchcraft. Kaze was so familiar with them that he was qualified to say that the little trick that Faith used on him was child’s play. After all, he used to witness the witch doctor from the God of War Palace cast a massive curse that killed tens of thousands of enemies in three days. “Kaze Lee, I have underestimated you. I did not expect you to be this sharp. You are right. I am not the real Faith.” Faith’s expression shifted but her eyes fixated on Kaze. She had to admit that every encounter
“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