When Kaze first arrived at Riverbank and visited Lock at his family gathering, Wesley presented the family with a few boxes of blood bird’s nest, which the family cherished and appreciated. Now, Ryna swept the boxes to the ground and bellowed, “Get out! No one wants your stupid gift! We can afford it ourselves! Compensate the value loss of our house? How are you going to do that? “Are you going to give us your villa at Wyomspring?” She shouted at the top of her lungs as she was irritated by Kaze’s words. Kaze crouched down to pick up the presents and calmly said, “The villa was given to me by the mayor, I can’t just simply give it away. But, if you want, I can rent it to you for a long-term stay.” “Long-term stay?” Ryna got even more furious. “Kaze Lee, so this is the compensation you are talking about? Are you looking down on us? Who wants your stupid villa? Get out! Don’t let me see you again!” She slammed the gate in his face and went off. Cyan was not as angry as he
“Snow? Emerald Bull Palace?” Cyan only recovered after Kaze got into the car. Her expression shifted a few times before she ran over to stop him from closing the car. “Something happened to Snow?” “Yeah. Take your hand off, I’m heading there now.” Kaze already started the car. Bump! Cyan quickly opened the back door and got into the rear seat. “I am going with you!” Kaze did not have time to ponder what Cyan had in mind. He simply said, “Sit tight.” Vroom! The Ferrari that Sky treated like a baby sped off with a loud roar. Cyan was shocked by the sudden acceleration. She screamed, “Slow down! You really think speeding can save Snow in time? Who do you think you are?!” Kaze did not reply and he did not slow down either. If anything happened to Snow, going after the killers would no longer be meaningful. His priority was to stop the worst from happening. Cyan was shocked at first but when she realized Kaze was a really good driver and the car sped off smoothly,
Cyan blurted out strings of words, but Kaze barely reacted, not even a frown. His eyes were fixated on the road as he continued to speed through the traffic. His mind was calculating the fastest route to get to Emerald Bull Palace. As for Cyan’s words, he did not even listen to them. Cyan was annoyed that Kaze ignored her. She grunted coldly and said, “Kaze, stop wasting your energy. When you get to Emerald Bull Palace, it’s already too late. I have already texted Draig and he already replied. He’s been training there for the past two days. “You should know that Draig is the best candidate to save Snow because he can do it with just one call. If I were you, I wouldn’t go there and ruin things for them. They are made for each other. “Besides, when you offended that Ryokanian back at our place, Draig was beaten and he didn't hold you responsible. You should know that if not for me, convincing Draig not to hurt you because it would leave a bad impression on Snow, he would neve
The man looked at Snow and said, “You are from a rich background, like the most beautiful flower but the flower usually withers after a while. “No matter what you do, you should have a backup plan or leave some space for negotiation so that you won’t be in danger. You have to be careful of people who harbor malicious intent against you…” Backup plan? Snow wondered if the man was referring to the note he left for Albert. People with malicious intent? Could it refer to her trip to Emerald Bull Palace as being interfered with by bad people? Snow thanked the person in charge and then left Tri-Clarities Court. When she was at the exit, another man who worked at the place came over to her and bowed. He asked, “Are you Ms. Snow Frost?” Snow was slightly taken aback before she nodded. She came to Emerald Bull Palace because she received a message from her mother, May. Her mother informed her that she fled the Frost family and was hiding at Emerald Bull Palace. May asked f
Feeling the serene and meditative atmosphere in the small court, the anxiety and alarm in Snow faded a lot. The small side court should be a temporary lodging spot for the worshipers when they came to pay respect and it lacked the liveliness and crowd. When Snow was young, she used to accompany her mother to visit different churches and temples. This particular small court was something that her mother would prefer. Could her mother really be here? Creek! The wooden door in front of her opened up. Out came a woman whose hair was tied up high and dressed in black and red traditional Ryokanian wear. She wore a pair of clogs and had a sheathed katana in her hands. When she came over to Snow, she put her hands before her waist and bowed at Snow. “Pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Frost. I am Ali Uehara.” A Ryokanian? Snow frowned. She looked past the woman and realized the wooden door had been shut silently. Her expression shifted but she did not react recklessly. She
Snow breathed a sigh of relief at Ali’s words. She feared that after losing his dignity by collaborating with the Ryokanians, Jet might go so far as to harm her mother. On second thought, Jet’s actions made sense. Snow was in Riverbank, yet Jet could work with the Ryokanians to make an attempt on her life, even making it secretive. However, her mother was still with the Frost family and if anything happened to her, Jet, who had gained power over the entire family, would be the main suspect. At least for now, even with Jet’s influence, he could not simply and openly target an important figure of the family. With that in mind, Snow said, “Thank you for the good news. How about the second question?” “Ms. Frost, you are as curious as a kitten.” Ali chuckled once more and explained, “Let me introduce myself again. I serve the Hara family as a counselor, a servant to Reiko.” Snow was shocked by the revelation. Kaze was wrong this time. After losing a bunch of elite memb
“You should also be aware that Senji and his men, all the elite members of the Refined Blade Clan, were wiped out while trying to save Anzu. “If you want her back, no matter what you do or how many men you send, the odds are slim. So, I can act as a hostage and let you exchange me for her.” Snow made her proposal calmly and firmly. She had been collecting information from the conversation with Ali, hoping to find her value in all this. Now that she finally saw a chance to save herself, she quickly grasped onto it. Snow was confident that, to Kaze, her value outweighed Anzu’s. If the Ryokanians proposed to exchange hostages, Kaze would agree to it without a second thought. However, Ali laughed at Snow’s proposal. “I have to admit that you are a smart one, knowing how to collect information to your advantage, but I am afraid that your proposal won’t work. “We lure you here because we want to divert attention from Bronze Sparrow, so we can send more men to rescue Anzu. A
“Shrill!” Ali drew out her sword, the sound of metal on metal ringing. She said, “You sure think highly of yourself, Ms. Frost. “Chief Commander Krad takes a fancy to you, but do you think he’d cut ties with us over a dead woman?“Trust me. He wouldn’t. “He may be fond of you, but he will always choose himself over anything else. He knows how best to maximize his gains. “All he has is infatuation, but do you think he’d do anything for you? “If he really cares about you, he won’t send his brother to sort his affairs while he focuses on his career. “Once you’re gone, our fair lady will set him up with Ms. Okita. “Chief Commander Krad will know that Ms. Okita is perfect for him.” Snow burst out laughing. “I get it. Ms. Hara must know that due to her ties with other men, she doesn’t deserve Aaron. “But your people want to form an alliance with Aaron through marriage. “I stand in your way, so you want me out. “But don’t you find it funny?“I’m sure there will only b
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