“Darcy, how does it feel when everyone turns against you? First you had Lilyrose Bank’s Liben Radar, and now Ned Brooks, the former chief of the Housing Department! With that many charges on you, you are going to spend the rest of your life in jail!” Jean grinned viciously. Darcy used to be the COO of the company and Jean was just a secretary. The difference in position was huge. Now Jean became Darcy's gravedigger, a job she was happy to do. Darcy was devastated upon hearing Jean. Ned was brought into the room. He was crippled and his hand was hanging in front of his chest in a cast. His injuries required at least a hundred days to heal and it had only been less than two weeks since Kaze wreaked havoc at the Housing Department. It was Johnson who dragged him out of the hospital and brought him here. Han said, “You claimed to have important evidence? Let’s talk in the other room.” Ned looked at Kaze in fear. It had been around two weeks but his fear of Kaze lingered
“I have a video on my phone. You can have a look, Commissioner.” Han took the phone from Ned. Albeit the poor quality of the preview, it showed a woman and a man hugging. Han glanced at Darcy. He did not play it immediately because he was afraid that the filthy content would be inappropriate. “Commissioner Feyan, just play it. My wife is not a child,” Kaze said. Han then tapped on the play button. It was the footage of Ned and Jean in bed, not while having sex, but their cuddling and smoking session after they had done the deed. Their conversation was recorded clearly. Ned gave Jean a card containing a million dollars and wanted her to leave Quintessential Group the next day. Jean fell for the temptation and took the card. She delicately asked what Ned wanted from her. Ned said he planned to sabotage Quintessential Group’s project and make the company send Darcy over to negotiate with him. Jean was delighted. She even praised Darcy for her beauty and body, which a
Even though Jean’s case had been solved, Darcy’s case with Lilyrose Bank was still ongoing. Liben Radar and the other executives sued Kaze for intentional harm and the case had been filed. It could not just go away like nothing happened. Fortunately, Kaze already had a solution to that. Ned was then brought out of the room. The moment he saw Kaze, he bowed and said, “Mr. Lee, I’ve confessed everything that I have done. I hope I’ve met your expectations.” From the day Kaze wreaked havoc at the Housing Department, Johnson had found out about the Hanser family’s plan from Ned. Johnson resented the Hanser family for using his nephew as a bullet to hurt others. He had been waiting for a chance to take revenge on the Hanser family. He told Ned to hold the evidence and even let the police search for Jean while he visited her house to talk to her parents. When the Hanser family found out that the police were looking for Jean, they got anxious and decided to get Jean back to m
“Mr. Lee, Jean Lander confessed everything. The Hanser family instigated her to frame Ms. Darcy Quint. We will proceed to arrest the relevant members of the Hanser family and provide a follow-up to the case,” Han said before Kaze left with Darcy. Ned’s confession devastated Jean. She spilled the beans right after Kaze and Darcy left. What happened was actually quite simple. After the Hanser family located her, they used her family against her and tempted her with promising rewards for her to frame Darcy. The invoice and documents were all forged by Rudy and his family. The person responsible for the scheme was Bronik Hanser, Vincent’s uncle. “Commissioner, there’s no rush in arresting the man. Wait for my notice.” Kaze declined the suggestion of arresting Bronik immediately. What the Hanser family did to Darcy had crossed the line. Arresting Bronik alone could not soothe his wrath. Besides, Bronik was not even a core member of the Hanser family. Arresting him might
It was a happy day for Rudy and his family as they were finally able to express their grievance. They got back the company, the house, and the cars. In addition to that, the company got an extra two hundred million in investment and the pre-sale of Passion Fragrance District was about to start. Their house was upgraded to a mansion and their cars supercars; their lives enhanced, and it was all thanks to Darcy! She worked tirelessly just for them to live a better life! “Agnes, stop crying. No amount of tears you shed can bring your daughter back! Pack your things and get out!” Karen was annoyed by Agnes’ silent sobbing. She was never on good terms with Agnes and they had always argued over the years. Seeing Agnes’ family decline excited Karen. “Karen, if you say one more word about my daughter, I’ll rip your mouth off!” Agnes bellowed. She cried a river when Darcy was arrested, but she could not stand to hear others badmouth her daughter. “Your daughter is a crimin
Even though Jean had confessed that she was set up by the Hanser family to frame Darcy, Darcy knew that her uncle and cousins must have had a hand in it. Without their involvement, it was impossible for the Hanser family to forge the documents. Darcy was disappointed in her uncle and cousins. Since they had never accepted her as family, there was no need for her to show them any compassion. This time, she did not need Kaze to be the bad guy. She called Bruno, the CEO of Heavensward Group, and said coldly, “Mr. Bandino, there are trespassers on my property. Please send security over to my house and take them away!” Rudy and his family were shocked. Infuriated, Karen shouted, “Darcy, how dare you call the guards to throw us out!?” “Darcy, I am your uncle, she’s your aunt! How can you throw us out?” Rudy bellowed. Darcy said nothing with a cold face in response to her uncle and aunt’s shout. She did not like raising her voice. She preferred to prove herself with real ac
The threat Deborah left behind lingered in Agnes’ mind. Rudy’s family turned cocky once in power. They would certainly throw their weight around the family. Darcy did not take her mother’s words seriously. Instead, she frowned. “So, the Hansers acquired the Passion Fragrance District project.” Kaze, upon returning from causing a scene at the housing department, told Darcy the Hansers were plotting to steal Quintessential Group.Fortunately, Kaze got Johnson, the mayor, on his side and foiled the Hansers’ plan. Yet, the Hansers refused to give up and came back with a vengeance. This time, they succeeded. Darcy pulled out her phone to give Logan a call. “Aren’t you under investigation, Darcy? Why are you calling me?” Logan did not want to take Darcy’s call because she was the last person he wanted to see right now. Still, he could not resist the curiosity and surprise, so he took the call. “The case is overturned. Johnson told Ned to testify for me.” Disheartened an
“Since your case is thrown out, you should run the company again, Ms. Quint. We are waiting for you to set things right so that we can come back to work for you.” Fish, the sales manager of the Passion Fragrance District project, expressed the thoughts of many resigned senior executives and employees. Only a handful were fired by Rudy and Samus. Most of them walked out on their own. Following Darcy’s arrest and Rudy’s return to power, they saw no hope in the company. Even though they would get a better job offer for quitting before getting a job lined up, they resigned without hesitation. As Rudy and Samus contributed nothing to the company, the employees would be wasting their time expecting a career with Quintessential Group. Darcy learned from Fish that the Hansers took over the Passion Fragrance District worksite the moment she was taken away into custody. The project manager and chief engineer were replaced by the Hansers’ people. The sales team Fish put togethe
“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