Darcy frowned and said, “Grandaunt, we don’t need to be afraid of Aiden Krad’s dirty tricks. As a matter of fact, I dealt with the banks and their repayments last night. “Sky Ocean Corporation is fully prepared for the upcoming auction. All our funds are being diverted and we will receive them today…” “Shut up!” Phoenix shouted to cut Darcy off. Her eyes were sharp and fierce as she said, “You are more ignorant than I thought. The bank repayments are nothing! “I heard that the auction committee raised the deposit to ten billion. You can’t even afford to qualify for that, yet you dream of opposing the Krad family? You are delusional! “I don’t want to repeat myself. Call Aiden Krad right now and drop out of the auction!” The deposit alone was ten billion?!” Agnes and Hector, who were hiding behind the crowd, were shocked by the astronomical amount. “Darcy, what are you doing standing there? Make the call!” Noticing Darcy’s silence, Agnes finally lost her patience and de
“Why do you think the Krad family sanctioned Sky Ocean and did not eliminate it entirely? It’s because of the Quint family!” Phoenix spoke with utmost righteousness, as if Sky Ocean Corporation belonged to the Quint family. “Is that so?” Kaze shook his head and said, “If Aiden Krad knows Sky Ocean belongs to the Quint family, would he even try to stop us by using dirty tricks? “Can I also assume that in Riverbank, or in the entire West State, no one actually takes the Quint family seriously?” His words silenced the entire meeting room. Kaze was practically challenging the entire Quint family. Phoenix was stunned by the disbelief and anger. She raised her shaking hand and pointed at Kaze, shouting, “Y-You! How dare you! The Ridgesouth Quints are one of the top ten families in Arcadia! You shall not insult us!” Kaze chuckled. “Me? I am not insulting you—it’s Aiden Krad and his family. He knows my wife is a Quint but he still threatened her to drop out of the auction. “G
Gasp! Everyone in the meeting room gasped in fear. The brutal scene sent chills down the spines of those who saw it, causing their eyelids to twitch in fear. Phoenix grinned and said, “Darcy, what do you say?” She raised her hand as she spoke, signaling her man with the whip to move closer to Darcy. Darcy subtly avoided looking at the man with the whip. Her face slightly paled but she steeled herself up and said, “Grandaunt, this is too much! How could you hit my employee?! “And I said I won’t drop out from the auction! I will never!” Everyone looked at Darcy, astonished by her words and resolution. No one expected her to show so much courage. “Hahaha! Fine! Fine! This is unexpected! I have to say you do have some nerve as the branch head of the Quint family!” Phoenix laughed hysterically out of anger. Then, she screamed, “Teach her a lesson!” “Ms. Quint, I’m sorry.” The man with the whip scrutinized Darcy and then smirked. He swung the whip in Darcy’s direction.
“Aaaaagh!” Phoenix cried in shock, her voice carried a sense of fear. Everyone else was startled by the loud crack, but they quickly realized that the whip had not struck Phoenix. It was merely a blank snap! Yet it was enough to terrify Phoenix, reducing her to tears. Realizing the whip did not hit her, Phoenix was stunned for a moment before she regained her composure. She looked at Kaze in shock, her body shaking as she stammered, “Y-You…” She was furious and horrified, embarrassed and aggrieved. She really thought Kaze would whip her. “Grandaunt, it’s just a joke. I respect my elders, why would I hit you with the whip? If I scared you, I apologize,” Kaze said with a smile. He even bowed to show his sincerity. He then straightened up and tossed the bloody whip away. He looked straight into Phoenix’s eyes and said, “Sky Ocean belongs to my wife, Darcy Quint. The Quint family had not provided any help in its expansion and growth. “Therefore, whatever decision Darcy
Pamela held her chest to calm down and then said loudly and slowly, “I said, our company account just got 1.5 billion Uleanian dollars! “Kaze was right! He was telling the truth!” Her gaze toward Kaze shifted from disdain and contempt to one of utmost admiration. The entire meeting room was in shock. 1.5 billion Uleanian dollars would equal 10.5 billion Arcadian gils based on the current exchange rate. Just as Kaze had said, the company account, which previously held less than two billion, suddenly had over ten billion by noon. Ring! Suddenly, a phone rang. One of Phoenix’s men answered the phone and then went up to her, saying, “Grandaunt, it’s from Mr. Aiden Krad.” Everyone in the room heard him. Kaze and Darcy exchanged a quick look. It appeared that Aiden was the one who had urged Phoenix to come to Sky Ocean Corporation to stir up trouble. “Huh? Oh…” Phoenix regained her composure and reluctantly took the phone from her man. Due to her age, she could o
“When you are released, I’m afraid Sky Ocean has been devoured! “But of course, you can beg me to speak on behalf of the company, and if I am feeling good, I might speak a word or two to the Krad family so that they would let Darcy and her company go.” Phoenix was deeply aggrieved after being embarrassed by Kaze. Even if locking up Kaze would not change anything, she could still air her grievance. She then raised her hand toward Joan. “What are you standing there for? Call the police and have him arrested! My man was whipped, and the police must give me a satisfactory explanation!” Joan quickly pulled out her phone. Suddenly, Kaze raised his hand and said, “That won’t be necessary.” “Huh?” Phoenix narrowed her eyes at Kaze and smirked. “What’s the matter? Afraid? I said if you beg me…” Kaze interrupted her by saying, “No, you’ve misunderstood me. I have already called the police, so that won’t be necessary.” “You called the police? What’s the meaning of this?” Phoen
“Kaze, Darcy, you two little brats! When I get out, I will crush you two…” Phoenix screamed like a madwoman as she was taken away by the police. As for her threats, Kaze simply turned a deaf ear. He even smiled at the others and said, “This is how a reputable figure behaves when she’s taken away by the police. Manners and respect are nonsense…” The other family members did not expect things to take such an unexpected turn. Phoenix landed in Riverbank for less than three hours and she was taken away by the police. How did Kaze do it? What gave him the nerve? Phoenix was not just some old woman, she was a respectable elder of the Quint family! Joan looked at Kaze with gritted teeth and said, “Kaze Lee, you got what you want. “Grandaunt slapped some filthy employees and you got her arrested? It’s not even that serious! How dare you call the police on her? “How long do you think they will keep her? One call and she will be out in no time! Just you wait! When Grandaunt get
Kaze’s appearance was unexpected and his arrogant attitude that disregarded everything gave Joan and the others a hard time. He did not care whether it was a setup or not because he did not even show any respect to Phoenix, an elder of the Quint family. Phoenix represented the Quint family and came to Riverbank for an inspection, yet she was arrested on her first day there and the one who called the police on her was a junior in the family. There was no such precedence in the history of the family! “Kaze Lee! Your arrogance will kill you one day! Grandaunt will certainly come after you!” The others went up to Joan to help her out, cursing at Kaze as they walked out. Kaze did not even bother arguing with the incompetent fools. “Kaze, you are going to get us in a lot of trouble! How dare you call the police on Grandaunt? You wretched…” Agnes pointed at Kaze with her shaking hand but there was nothing she could do. She grunted heavily and walked out of the meeting room.
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
With trains, there was still an option to jump out. However, everybody was sitting ducks in a plane. Kaze had always been sensitive when it came to safety. He had a sinking feeling in his gut as if something was about to happen. He turned his head back to observe the plane’s interior. Several passengers stood up in the business class section. Strangely, these people were seated separately. However, they seemed to know each other. They exchanged glances as if searching for something. Finding the whole thing bizarre, Kaze observed them. Those passengers went straight into the air stewardesses’ compartment and disappeared out of Kaze’s sight. Kaze could not shake off the eerie feeling. Something was off. He looked back, and several more rose to their feet. These individuals were young but toned. They likely underwent some form of specialized training. Kaze had a bad feeling. Trouble was brewing, and the plane was likely being hijacked. “Why are you looking around? Is
“I see. What bad timing.” Katie was a little disappointed to learn that Kaze had left, but in a way, she was relieved. She had gotten on Kaze’s nerves, and he could turn around and make things difficult for her. Now that Kaze was gone, Katie got to keep her job. She did not have to fear Kaze’s retaliation. The news caught Leah off guard. “Why did he leave without saying goodbye? I didn’t even thank him yet.” Leah had a hard time digesting the news. She had been waiting for a chance to show her gratitude to Kaze and see him again. He was out of her life before she could do anything about it. “I’m sorry. Chairman Lee’s departure was unplanned.” Snow put on a professional smile, appearing friendly and distant. “Please present the gifts to him for us if you can. We are grateful for Mr. Lee’s help.” Katie was annoyed that Leah could not spend time with Kaze. The bond could help with her career. Kaze’s departure cost Katie an opportunity, but there was no point in dwel
“Now that’s the spirit. You can’t take every matter into your own hands. You’re a leader now. You should put the right people in the right jobs.” Feeling relieved, May nodded. “Where’s the guy? I have been wanting to meet him. I missed the chance when I was unconscious.” May came over right away just to score a chance to see Kaze. Kaze saved her life, but she did not have the chance to thank him in person. “I set the date. We’re seeing him tomorrow afternoon. Let’s freshen up. I’m taking you home to rest.” With a time in place, Snow had to get ready. May nodded. The pair returned to the mansion where they felt at home. Even though it had been a while since their return, nothing had changed. “Did Jet say anything when he stepped down?” May was clueless on the specifics. “He went mad and ran out. I get this uneasy feeling, but I can’t locate him anywhere.” Snow was concerned. Jet, as witty as he was, likely played up his meltdown. It was a shame that Jet got aw
“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