“Interesting. Riverbank’s underworld has been peaceful for a long time. There isn’t any challenging new blood for a while,” Everett muttered, his face still expressionless. Rodney asked, “Boss, what should we do with Kaze Lee?” “I don’t care what he can do, or how powerful he is. He hurt my son and in Riverbank, that is not allowed,” Everett said with his hands behind his back. He had reigned over the underworld for decades. No matter how volatile the situation was or how dangerous it became, he was able to stand firm in the face of the storm. Such was exactly the trait required to be a boss of a gangster organization, something Bob did not possess. Bob was incomparable to Everett as he was just a slightly more influential thug. Everett had seen people who could cause trouble and young men who were capable, but they were like fleeting fireworks, shining bright but fading fast. It was difficult for people like them to root themselves in Riverbank’s underworld. Riverbank wa
“I admit it. I made Duncan call you because I hope you would be a reasonable person. After all, you and I have no beef or any bad history. Even when Blackie, your best man, was crippled last night, he got it upon himself, not my fault. “That is why I hope to solve this in a peaceful way.” Listening to Kaze’s intention of showing goodwill and approaching the matter peacefully, Holfman nodded his head with approval. It seemed like Kaze did not want to push the matter to the point of no return. Solving it in a peaceful way would be ideal. However, Rodney scoffed, assuming Kaze was amusing, and giving an excuse. He should either be fierce all the way or not cause any problems from the start. Now, he chose a softer approach yet wanted to make himself look magnanimous. What a joke. Moreover, he was trying to play tricks in front of Everett, a notorious gangster boss, which made things even more amusing. “Sounds reasonable.” Everett nodded but then his expression darkene
Everett started to act like a gangster boss, fierce and unreasonable. He ought to crush Kaze’s confidence and arrogance today no matter what, or else his training days would be disrupted. As one of the big four gangster bosses, there were many ambitious young ones after his position, hoping to drag him down and replace him. They were like Kaze, arrogant and young, hoping to reach the top by taking him out. Over the years, many young men have tried the same, like people thrashing the gym he operated or him challenging others. Therefore, whether Kaze was after him or both incidents with his son and Blackie were purely coincidental, he did not care. Since Kaze had decided to stand in his way and break his son’s arms, then no matter the reason, he would certainly crush Kaze. Kaze scoffed. “So you are not trying to reason and want to resolve this with physical means?” “You can say so.” Everett continued coldly, “I only reason with people who rival me in terms of power. If
The air went still. Everyone in Herbal Spring was shocked by the scene. They felt chills down their spines, but at the same time in awe at what Kaze had just done. Even with Everett and his men around, Kaze still had the courage to slap Duncan in the face. He must think that the highway to hell was not fast enough. Everett’s expression darkened. His gaze at Kaze was sharp but at the same flabbergasted. To him, anyone with a sane mind would submit and de-escalate the matter while dealing with one of the big four gangster bosses in Riverbank and the most experienced one. Given his connections and reputation in Riverbank, plus his men who were ready to die for him, crushing Kaze was just a piece of cake. Even if Kaze’s wife was the branch head of the Ridgesouth Quints, nothing would change. They were in Riverbank of the South River State, and the family with the most influence and control was the Fowlers of Westeros. As for the Ridgesouth Quints, if Everett was facing
Bob called Miru. When Kaze performed the treatment for Sasha, he went out to make the call. Bob knew it was not easy to deal with someone like Everett. The man was able to reign for decades in Riverbank and it already started a lot of problems. Kaze himself was not Mr. Nice Guy either. Either one of them would fall should they clash, so those who were caught in the crossfire would suffer. Therefore, he called Miru, hoping that her influence could calm both of them down. When the people heard it was Miru who came, they all looked at her curiously. The people were curious about the woman who came to Riverbank with an attitude and made a name for herself through ruthless means. It was not that she did not live up to her reputation, but their image of her was completely different from what they saw. Her looks, body, and demeanor were out of this world, unlike the typical image of a kingpin. “Kaze, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Miru, leading Wolf, Sven, and her men
Kaze nodded frivolously. “Duncan here has gotten what he deserved. If Mr. Techman is okay with it and promised not to come after my friends, then I can just forget it.” Miru came to his aid as soon as she heard something happened, so he had to show her some respect. “Just forget it?” Everett found Kaze’s words amusing. He scoffed. “You broke my son’s leg in front of me and you want me to just forget it?” “What do you propose, Mr. Techman?” Miru frowned. If Everett insisted on holding Kaze responsible, then she, too, did not mind being rough with the old man. “There’s no such thing as who’s older and who’s younger. You can disrespect me all you want, I never took you as a young one either. “I have to admit. You killing Zoro and taking over Bronze Sparrow does give you the power to rival me, but…” Then, Everett’s tone shifted, saying, “If you think you alone can overpower me, forcing me to give up on my son’s revenge, then you are terribly wrong.” He exuded a powerful a
Soon, several men in suits with badges that represented the Riverbank City Council’s inspection department escorted two crestfallen individuals inside with their heads hanging low. The men and women were Simona and Zach, who had left earlier. “Mr. Mayor, Zach Oxborn, police chief of the Aries District Police Department. Simona Lombard, chief of Aries Trade and Industry Department,” said one of the suited men. The scene shocked everyone. Zach and Simona who came to Herbal Spring earlier with a temper were arrested and investigated. How long had it been since they left the establishment? The mayor’s power was indeed not to be underestimated! He was the most powerful man in Riverbank! Kent looked at Everett blankly. “Mr. Techman, I believe you know these two. Based on what I know, these two parasites were called here by your son and tried to give Kaze a hard time. “How dare they? How dare they hurt the special consultant of the Riverbank City Council? This is unacceptable!
On the other hand, Simona was not that bright. Panicked, the woman cried and looked at Everett, begging, “Mr. Techman, please save me. I helped you a lot…” “Bump!” Suddenly, Zach broke free from the suited men behind him and headbutted Simona in the chin. Simona cried in agony as Zach landed on her. The man and woman twisted and twirled on the floor, looking absolutely miserable. “Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!” Zach also cried in pain as he hugged his head. Everett, whose gaze turned sharp when Simona spoke, returned to normal after Zach interrupted her. Kent’s expression darkened. He knew Zach was simply acting but he could not do anything. He raised his hand and said, “Embarrassing fools. Take them away!” Zach and Simona were taken away by the suited men. Their absence ended the little interlude. “Mr. Techman, you are a man of many solutions. I bet it’s because you’ve been here in Riverbank long enough,” Kent said with a darkened expression. Even as the mayor, he
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