“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
Kaze knew what was on Johnson’s mind. Johnson put his career and everything on the line for Kaze because Kaze was the God of War. Johnson believed he could turn his family’s and his fortune around by getting in Kaze’s good graces. Hence, he worked hard to please Kaze. The moment Darcy was taken into custody, Johnson called Kaze before the latter did so, expressing that he was working to get Darcy out. However, Miru would never believe that story. In fact, Agnes and the rest of the family would think Kaze was just tooting his horn. Kaze was not bothered to explain, and a call from Snow happened to come in. He went out to take the call. “What’s up?” Kaze asked. Snow replied, “Mr. Chairman, I have found records of Liben’s and the others’ misconduct while they were working for Lilyrose Bank. What do you want to do with the information?” Ever since Johnson hired Snow as the chairman of Lilyrose Bank, she got straight to digging dirt on Liben and his friends when they wo
Darcy believed Agnes went too far, so she said angrily, “We didn’t do anything wrong, Mom. Why should Kaze apologize? Besides, Kaze convinced Joy to testify. The case will close soon enough.” “Why are you still defending him?” Agnes snapped back. “The Hansers nearly had you behind bars. It won’t be a bed of roses now that you crossed the top three families. Are you going to make us worry about you? It won’t kill him to apologize for once.” Darcy wanted to argue, but Kaze stopped her. He looked at Miru and said with a smirk, “Set up the meeting, Miru. We’ll see who’s the one apologizing then.” Kaze had enough of Miru. It was time to show the woman what he was made of, so she would quit looking down on him. “Not even a thank-you. Geez.” Miru scoffed. If it were not for Darcy, Kaze’s attitude would have pushed Miru to wash her hands over the matter. She did not take Kaze seriously. The dimwit was just stubborn because of his ego. “Leo, contact Liben, the director of
“I don’t trust you when you say it.” Leo might be intimidating to others, but Kaze felt nothing. “What’s with your attitude when you’re the one asking for help? Do you think I wouldn’t hit you?” Leo grimaced and decided to teach Kaze a lesson. “Who asked for your help?” Kaze side-eyed him. Miru thought she knew better and dragged him along to apologize to Liben. Kaze could not fall out with Miru because she was Darcy’s best friend. However, Kaze did not have to extend the same courtesy to Leo. Leo’s raised hand froze mid-air. All Kaze did was look at him offhandedly, and Leo had chills creeping down his spine. He felt as if a mysterious force was pulling his arm back from launching at Kaze. It was a hair-raising moment for Leo. He had a feeling that he would die if he were to pull the punch. “Stop, Leo. Are you trying to kill him?” Miru yelled. Although she could not stand Kaze, she could not allow Leo to kill Kaze under her watch. As a professional fighter, L
“Kaze, it’s your fault for breaking Liben’s legs and forcing alcohol down his throat that he’s in the ICU for alcohol poisoning. He nearly died.“If Lefteria Group hadn’t tried to talk things out with Liben and the other two, they would never stop until they ruin your family.” Thinking she knew better, Miru tried to talk sense into Kaze. Miru wanted Kaze to drop the ego act for the greater good. However, her disdain did not sit well with Kaze. His pride had no value to her. The lift opened on the sixth floor. “As I said, we won’t know who will be apologizing later.” Kaze did not even look at Miru. He gave his response and walked out of the lift without looking back. “Hmph! Ingrate.” Miru nearly stormed off. She was sick and tired of Kaze, who was a loser. What was wrong with apologizing to save his wife? If it were not for Darcy, Miru could care less whether he died. Leo stared at Kaze’s back and said coldly, “The guy doesn’t respect you, cupcake. I’ll sort him
Liben and the other two were taken into custody, screaming in tears. They had done their share of misconduct while working for Lilyrose Bank which called for jail time. “Kaze, why were Liben and his friends pleading with you when they were arrested?” On the way down, Miru asked Kaze to get an answer. She was still in disbelief although she saw Liben and the others begging Kaze for mercy with her own eyes. “I told Snow to dig into their dirt and arrest them. I call the shots, so of course, they are going to beg me for mercy.” Kaze told her the truth to show Miru what he was made of. “I can’t believe Snow would listen to you.” Miru was even more surprised. She knew Snow was the assistant to the chairman of Perfect World Group. Johnson elected Snow as the chairman of Lilyrose Bank after the resolution of Quintessential Group’s loan crisis. Could Kaze be the elusive chairman of Perfect World Group? Miru refused to believe that fact. Leo scowled at Miru’s reaction.
The Quints were miserable when Darcy took over the company, so they wished Darcy would be kept behind bars forever. “It doesn’t matter whether Darcy comes back. She’s dismissed from office. The employees on her side are fired too. She’s not a threat to us. Our happy days are back with Rudy’s family running the business.” Some saw the positive side of things. Rudy and Samus were incapable. To stay in power, they gave the rest of the family a little something to stop them from complaining to Logan. “It doesn’t harm us that Darcy is clear of charges. Our properties are going up on sale tomorrow. We don’t need bad press to hurt our sales.” “Shouldn’t we celebrate since our sales still shot up even though Darcy is removed from power?” A member of the Quints said, and many echoed his sentiment. Even Logan nodded and beamed. The Quints could see a bright future ahead of them. Noticing Logan’s reaction, Vincent said aloud, “My family’s sales team has an appraisal on the Pass
Logan never thought Vincent would admit to it. He snarled. It did not matter to Logan that Darcy was possibly framed. Logan was more concerned if the Hansers had ulterior motives against the Quints. Not wanting her fiancé to get in trouble, Deborah jumped in. “You have us to blame, Grandpa. We didn’t want Darcy running the business, so we sought help from the Hansers to remove Darcy from the company.” “That’s right You saw it, Dad. Darcy didn’t care about your opinion when she was CEO. This was the only way to get rid of her.” Bracing himself, Rudy stepped forward. He was afraid the anger would drive Logan to change his mind. Vincent was quick to explain, saying that he was just trying to help Rudy, his father-in-law, get into power. He squashed any possibility that the Hansers had any ulterior motives. Logan scoffed unhappily because he was kept in the dark. At the same time, he felt relieved. All was good so long as the Hansers were not up to something. With t
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“Jet sure is bold to ensure business. Isn’t he afraid of shooting himself in the foot?” Kaze had never met a man like Jet. “He has done a lot to get to the top. His ruthless methods got him a lot of money. A lot of people are happy to support him.” Arthur was impressed with Jet’s tactics. However, his approach was too cruel for his liking. “Let’s head to the residential building.” Kaze just wanted to check out the area. He was happy to help when needed. The flashy, red sports car was eye-catching. However, the flamboyant car was uncommon in these places. Most workers would express their amazement, but they would not ask questions. The car pulled up outside a soon-to-be abandoned building. It looked desolate. The power lines and infrastructure were not visible either. Kaze knew that was one of the Frosts’ methods. Sometimes, nothing, not even demolition, was required. The goal was to get the residents out. All Jet needed to do was cut the water and electricity.
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.