Outside the villa, the crowd looked at Kaze in reverence. Kaze commanded the respect of a powerful Ryokanian. He was the real hero in this story.Everybody used to think that he was a pushover who held his tongue in the face of mockery. Now, Kaze’s behavior was perceived as discretion and refusal to stoop low to the level of petty people. Kaze glanced at Reiko and laughed. “I must say that I am surprised that you’re here.“I didn’t think you’d be here to apologize.” Reiko uttered, her head down, “It’s only right to apologize after making a mistake. I came here tonight to offer my apologies.” “Oh, really?” Kaze smiled offhandedly. He was skeptical of Reiko’s intention. His conflict with the Ryokanians was way past the death of Jiro. “Please believe me, Mr. Lee. I only come with good intentions.” Reiko waved her arm, and one of her people brought forth a box. The lid was opened, and the box revealed a black card inside. “What’s this?” Kaze raised a brow. Re
Ryna was focused on repairing the damage to her reputation as the mentor’s wife in the eyes of Kaze. Kaze shook his head and waved his arm, gesturing for Reiko to follow him. As the pair disappeared into the villa, Lock furrowed his brows. “What’s wrong, Dad?” Cyan asked curiously before uttering in glee, “I didn’t think Kaze’d be amazing. I guess I had the wrong idea about him. “Tsk, tsk. Even a Ryokanian VIP is sucking up to him. That’s brilliant. “Draig sure is nothing compared to him. “You are a good judge of character, Dad.” Cyan’s perception of Kaze changed. She was relieved that while she had been taunting Kaze like her mother, her family would remain close to Kaze because of Lock’s support.Well, all was not lost. Since Kaze was amazing, Cyan would make sure to be nice to him. She could exploit Kaze to get her family ahead in life. “I’m worried about Kaze.” Lock sighed and uttered, “The Ryokanian is not playing nice because of him but because of Mayor
On the other hand, Lock was worried about what Kaze might face. Any long-time resident of Riverbank would know of the Ryokanians’ entrenched and extensive influence in the city. Given his business in the city, Lock had a deeper understanding of the situation. Kent may be the mayor with absolute authority, but a direct confrontation with the Ryokanians could destroy him. Consequently, Kaze would be in grave danger. “Dad, I think you’re getting to your own head.” Cyan said without a care, “I trust in Kaze. I’m sure everything is fine.“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? “We should be thinking of building a business relationship with the mayor while Kaze has Mayor Synder’s respect.“All that matters is making money; everything else is just fluff.”Cyan did not take Lock seriously. To be honest, Cyan did not care what would happen to Kaze. The only thing on her mind was to gain her family an advantage through Kaze. “Sigh…” His daugh
Kaze smiled offhandedly. “At least, I know more than you know.” “Oh, really? I’m let down by my intelligence team.” Reiko leaned forward, giving a glimpse of her long neck and beyond. Her voice softened. “I don’t know much about you, Mr. Lee. “But my curiosity grows the more I know you.“I want to know everything about you.” The dim light gave off an amorous vibe as Reiko worked her magic. Somehow or rather, Reiko’s bare foot managed to creep up Kaze’s pants. She was a vision of beauty. Every part of Reiko’s body was a fatal attraction. Her foot was a powerful weapon to a man with particular fetishes. Tension brewed as Reiko’s foot inched higher up Kaze’s pants. Kaze said, “Do you behave this way with Aiden too?” His words broke the spell. Reiko withdrew her leg. Not feeling out of place, she beamed and said, “Aiden has nothing on you, Mr. Lee. “The Krads are prestigious in the West State, and he was born into power. He’s mediocre in achieving what he has tod
“I don’t mind being a friend to you, Ms. Hara. “But I’d rather pass if it’s the kind of friendship you have with Casius. “If I can be frank, I don’t like your people.” Reiko looked hurt. “I know many Arcadians do not look at my people favorably, but I didn’t think a man of your stature carries this prejudice too.” Kaze let out a self-deprecating smile. “I’m just a moocher who nobody thinks highly of. Why are you putting me higher than other Arcadians?” As one who rejected the notion of social hierarchy, Kaze would never treat others based on their social standing. Not playing along with Reiko, Kaze said callously, “I can tell you now that unless Sanwell Finances agrees to Mayor Synder’s proposed terms, I would never be on good terms with the Ryokanians.“Just hit me with your best shot.“I can tell you now that you will pay a heavy price. “You might not be able to handle it.” Reiko kept a straight face. “Don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Lee. I’m committed to ending our confli
“I see.”Kaze nodded. He knew Welson, the police chief of Riverbank. As Lock and Welson shared some similarities, Kaze suspected their relationship. It never occurred to Kaze that Lock was one of the Yaphets. Lock waved his hand unhappily. “I’m not a member of the Yaphets. Don’t show off. I don’t deserve to be a part of the family. I’m a Yemen now.”“What’s the matter? Are things not going well with you and the Yaphets?” Kaze asked with a frown. Lock replied with a wry smile, “Things are worse than you think. My relationship with the Yaphets is similar to yours with the Lees.“You can say that the Yaphets disowned me. I looked out for you not just purely out of affection. “I felt for you because we were in the same situation.” Kaze said with a smile, “Don’t say that. Regardless of your reasons, I could feel the love and care from you.” Lock nodded with relief and uttered, “The Yaphets have always looked down on me because of my failures.” “Ha! We have suffered a lot
Lock’s expression was complicated and wry. “As expected, only my older brother cares enough to come. The other members don’t think we’re good enough. They find it beneath themselves to attend our parties.” Even so, Lock and his family went up to give a warm welcome. The car door opened, and a stern-looking middle-aged man with a square jaw stepped out. It appeared that the man drove himself there. Kaze looked at the middle-aged man with a raised brow. The man turned out to be an old friend. He was Welson, Riverbank’s deputy mayor and police chief.“Welcome, Welson.” Lock reached his hand out. Welson did not respond to the handshake. Instead, he scoffed. “Well, aren’t you eager to buy a villa and throw a party after making a bit of money? I heard that a real mixed bag of people attended. “You’re old enough to know better. Can’t you act more like a member of the family?” Faced with his brother’s criticism, Lock smiled apologetically. “You’re right, Welson, but Cyan bo
Following Welson’s arrival, Kaze’s stature rose in the eyes of the partygoers. Once again, Kaze could not care less. The world may not have high hopes for him, but he would remain unfazed. His experiences had equipped him to remain unperturbed in the face of change.Welson did not stick around for long. He had tea with Kaze before taking off. He was a public servant, so it was inappropriate for him to attend a private get-together with a mix of characters. “Kaze, Mayor Synder thinks highly of you. Thank goodness you are here. Otherwise, Welson wouldn’t play nice,” once Welson was gone, Ryna said in glee.She could not stand Kaze before, but tonight, Kaze was a star. Of all the Yaphet family members, Welson was the kindest to Lock’s family, even attending his niece’s party.It went to show how unpopular Lock’s family must be with the rest of the Yaphet family members. Ryna was overjoyed that Kaze brought honor back to Lock’s family. “You’re amazing, Kaze. You appear t
“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
After Katie sent Leah to the hospital, she went back to work. She had a lot on her plate recently and it made her hesitant. Many decisions must be made at once. Many documents required her attention but she was not in the mood to go through them. Her eyes were watching the news on her computer screen. She seemed to know what had happened yet the headlines were not showing, which made her anxious. “Nothing?” Katie felt strange. According to the scale of the incident, it should be making headlines. Hijacking a plane was no small matter, yet not one article about it was published. She felt strange. “Madam Loren, the Viper’s Den wanted to meet you. They said it is for some documents,” Joey said as she came in. “What documents?” Katie felt strange and instantly became suspicious. “The projects previously under Jet Frost and his family required your signatures. The money has already been transferred but they need one last confirmation on the numbers,” Joey said professiona
Snow could not go to Kaze because she had to stay back to handle the rest of the matter. “You know that person.” Peter dared not lie anymore because he wanted to ask for forgiveness. “You’re still trying to negotiate?” Arthur knew what Peter was targeting since he did not finish the sentence. “I regret what I have done but I want to see if the Viper’s Den could forgive me this once. I’ll make up for what I have done. Can you please let me go?” Peter boldly made his request, albeit knowing that it was unlikely to work, he hoped to gain attention. “Don’t even think about it. You’ll be out of the Viper’s Den after this. We won’t hold you responsible and consider it mercy from us.” Arthur did not want to go after Peter but he could not allow the young man to stay in the organization anymore. People who had betrayed the Viper’s Den could no longer be part of it. “I didn’t know it was this serious. Besides, that person is from the Viper’s Den as well.” Peter regretted hi
“I wonder how Chairman Lee is doing. If he’s alone, he’ll definitely get out of the situation but there’s a whole plane of hostages with him. He must be in a difficult position.” Snow knew Kaze’s personality well enough, thus her worries. Kaze would never escape alone and abandon the people. He would either leave with everyone or stay to find a way to solve the matter. Snow then suddenly sighed a breath of relief because she knew Kaze would never spare the hijackers for what they did. She was no longer overly concerned and focused instead on resolving the matter at hand. A while later, Arthur came back hurriedly. “I’ve checked the records. Only a handful of people know that Mr. Lee left and they are all whom we are familiar with and trusted. The traitor must be among them.” He dared not believe that Kaze’s schedule was leaked from his side. “No one at my side knows about Chairman Lee’s schedule except me,” Snow said confidently. She started to feel more certain about t
Snow had already sent men to where the plane was found. If the passengers were taken away, then they must still be nearby. It was difficult to transport an entire plane of passengers to some place far within such a short time. It was a race against time. Snow did not know who would do such a thing. Kaze took a common flight like everyone else, yet it was hijacked. It was strange. The coincidence was uncanny. Snow believed the hijacking happened because of Kaze but she did not know why. “The only explanation is that there’s a traitor among us…” She finally came to an unlikely conclusion after combing through the details. If there were a traitor, it must be within the Viper’s Den. Kaze had laid a low profile for as long as he was in Butterworth. Not many people knew about his identity and those who wanted to make connections with him were because of Snow. It was unlikely that someone would go after him so suddenly unless this person knew his identity and background.
If they were sent to capture Kaze, then they were severely under-numbered. In addition, they allowed Kaze to be alone with the captives, which proved that they were inexperienced. Or maybe they did not know what he had done in the past as the God of War. Kaze believed that the mercenaries were after him but they did not know his true identity. There must have been some miscommunication between them and their employer, which was good news to Kaze. Tiguan and his men were eating. Since they were unable to identify the target, they were forced to bring everyone back. The plane was huge. It would be an easy target for the law enforcement to locate them. Maybe the outside world had caught wind of the hijacking. “Boss, what should we do now? That man seems like he vanished into thin air.” “We got his boarding information but we can’t identify him on the plane.” “Who are we looking for exactly? Why is he so mysterious?” The men were baffled. “We are looking for the righ
“We are almost there. We have to transfer these people as soon as possible. The plane must take off right away. We cannot leave any traces behind.” They must hurry or they would be caught very soon. They held the pilot hostage and forced him to do an abrupt landing. The sudden descent caught everyone off guard, shocking them. A few of the passengers even hit their heads. Many of them did not get the chance to fasten their seat belts. Kaze grabbed Barney and protected his head from hitting the front seat. “Thank you.” Barney looked at Kaze with gratitude and then looked outside. “Where are we? Have we reached?” He was worried that they would be completely trapped. “They are going to transfer us elsewhere.” Kaze had a similar experience before and he knew what the hijackers would do next. “Transfer us? Are they going to transfer us to somewhere secluded and kill us all?” Barney looked horrified as he stared at Kaze. He somehow felt safe beside Kaze. “They sai