The Quints’ hearts sank when they saw Vincent smirk. “Here comes the old birthday boy.” The Quints exchanged looks, wondering the meaning behind Vincent’s words. Cheers burst out in the hall. Liam, the head of the Hanser household, appeared with a ruddy glow, surrounded by many. “You are only 70 once, so I wanted to have a party at the Dynasty Hotel. Thank you all for coming…” What? It was the birthday celebration of Liam, the head of the Hansers. The Quints were stunned. Samus grabbed Vincent by the collar and yelled, “You better explain yourself, Vincent. You were supposed to get engaged to my sister. Why is it a birthday celebration now?” The commotion caught Liam’s attention. After learning the situation, he said peevishly, “My grandson can’t possibly get engaged to a member of the Quint family. What engagement are you talking about? That’s ridiculous. Vincent, show them the invitation we sent out.” The Quints quickly saw the invitation sent to the guests.
With Logan passed out on the street, the Quints were a mess. They tried pinching his nose and calling the ambulance to take him to the emergency room. After a bustle, Logan finally regained consciousness. He seemed lost, though. Lying in bed, Logan stared at the ceiling without a word. It was bright outside, but the mood in the ward was gloomy. Following Logan’s fainting spell, the family felt like their world had crumbled. The Quints were toasted this time. Rudy’s family, especially, took the news the hardest. Deborah, often conceited, sat there in a daze. When Darcy’s family arrived at the ward, they saw the Quints looking dejected as if drained of life. “Is Logan alright?” Agnes wheeled Hector toward Logan, only to be shocked by his condition. If the ECG monitor had not shown Logan’s heart rate, Agnes would have thought he was a goner. Logan finally showed some signs of life. Catching Darcy’s family by the corner of his eye, Logan shouted, “What are you d
Kaze’s words were met with scoffs. Agnes and Hector, aside from the Quints, had no faith in Kaze. The Quints were helpless against the Hansers’ meticulously crafted plan. It was not as if Kaze, a good-for-nothing, could accomplish anything. “If you’re able to demand the complex back, I’ll jump off the building.” “You’re just here to gloat because our family is in trouble. Even at our worst, we won’t put up with your arrogance. You’re just a dummy who took our family name.” “The loser’s up to no good. He must be trying to pull the same scam as Vincent to con the last 100 million dollars out of us.” The Quints sneered. The dimwit was delusional to think he could scam money like Vincent. Vincent had the support of the Hansers to pull the elaborate scam on the Quints, but Kaze had nothing. “Scam your money? Why would I be bothered to?” Faced with jeers, Kaze smirked. “I’m only getting the assets back from the Hansers for my wife’s sake. I don’t care what happens to y
“Shut up, Sky!” Agnes cut Sky off with a glare. “I’m warning you, Kaze. Stop giving our family problems!” Kaze was not in the position to refuse with Agnes narrowing her eyes at him. He nodded to get her off his case. “Alright, Agnes. I heard you loud and clear.” Agnes scoffed and got into the car. Darcy was not so easily fooled. “Just listen to Mom, Kaze. Don’t go to the Hansers. I’ll try to figure something out and get a lawyer’s advice. Maybe the law will be on our side. We can make other plans if we can’t get the assets back.” She did not carry much hope. The Hansers were rich and powerful, so they would have a family attorney who had covered all their bases in legality. Taking them to court would be time-consuming. It might be a year or so before a verdict was out, and by then, the assets would be gone. Kaze said, “Do you really want me to stay out of it, babe? The opening day of the Passion Fragrance District project is this afternoon. Don’t you want to stop t
“Bernard Vikrom, you old horse! Since when did the Hansers owe the Vikroms money? My birthday event is over and you are causing problems?” Liam was furious when Bernard asked him to pay the money back. Liam and Bernard were never on good terms, and Liam believed the man was here to cause trouble. The man even picked his birthday to cause a scene to disgust him. “You still have the nerves to hold a birthday event? Liam Hanser, if you don’t pay us back, you will be having not a birthday but a funeral today!” Bernard widened his eyes and added, “The Vikroms lent eighty-five million to the Quints’ property to help them repay their loans. We have an agreement and it’s all in writing! You can’t escape this! “Now that Quartet Group had acquired Quintessential Group’s property company, legally, you would have inherited their debts as well.” Liam widened his eyes in disbelief. “Bernard Vikrom, watch your mouth! Quartet Group doesn’t belong to the Hansers! Don’t slander us!” He
Liam originally thought he could brush off Bernard with some money but it turned out that he had poked the hornet’s nest. A number of people demanded more than two billion from his family. The Hansers just got around the same amount from Quintessential Group. They could still afford to pay them all back, but Liam did not want to lose the money he had just acquired. “Nonsense! If Quintessential Group owes you money, go ask for the money from them!” He added, “Quintessential Group’s property company and its assets are sold to Quartet Group. It’s their problem now. This has nothing to do with the Hansers!” The Hansers had almost drained Quintessential Group dry but they did not mind getting rid of the company once and for all. Liam had no scruples to shift the responsibility back to Quintessential Group. “The Hansers had drained Quintessential Group dry! If they can pay us, why would we come to you?” “You have the money! You must pay us back even if you don’t want to!” “
Not a single bank was willing to lend money to the Hansers, and they did not even want to negotiate. “What is happening? We didn’t offend the banks, why are they not helping? It’s as if they had ganged up against us!” A great shadow loomed over the Hansers and fear started to spread. “Could it be related to the one we offended?” Liam murmured with clenched teeth. His hands were shaking. After Bernard and more than twenty debtors left, the banks cut the Hansers off. The Hansers had gloated at Quintessential Group when they faced a financial crisis previously. Now that they experienced it themselves, they were devastated. Soon, Liam received news. It was Snow, the chairwoman of Lilyrose Bank, who released an order to all bank directors to boycott the Hansers, cutting them off completely. “Grandpa, what are we going to do? The pre-sale is starting and we are cut off…” The Hansers were anxious. They all looked at Liam, waiting for further instructions. “Pre-sale? Forget
Mathias was here to return the debt of gratitude. Kaze once requested the Queens to purchase Taurus Automobiles for him as a gift. Matthias talked to his family but his family declined it. Even though the Queens had money, it was their hard-earned money. They could not satisfy Kaze’s request of more than a hundred million and it was at that moment that the Queens realized how greedy Kaze was. They wanted nothing to do with him. Therefore, the Queens told Mathias to stay in Lilyrose to return the debt of gratitude so that they could cut ties with him once and for all. When he heard about the Quints’ situation, Mathias knew it was a great chance to repay Kaze, so he came over immediately. The Quints were overwhelmed to see Mathias. The young master of a wealthy family came to them with a helping hand. How amazing! “Mr. Queen, really? Are you going to help us with anything?” Master Quint asked excitedly. Mathias was disgusted by Master Quint’s less courteous request.
“You’re finally growing up.” Katie was pleased. “Thank you for your guidance, Mom. You need to get one thing straight, though. Don’t force me to do the things that I don’t want to do,” Leah whispered. Marriage was not the path she chose. “Today is just about formalities. You won’t have to commit to anything. We can talk about this later. If you see someone you fancy, you can talk to me.” Katie would not pick a fight with her daughter on an important day like this. She gave Leah some space. At the very least, Katie would not upset Leah right now. Though Leah did not get the answer she was looking for, Katie had backed down a little. Hence, Leah said nothing. As the pair smiled politely from across the room, the crowd grew envious of them. “Even though Katie is a grown adult, she looks young and beautiful for her age.” Jonathan’s breath was taken away. It was no secret that Leah was beautiful, but the mother-and-daughter duo held their own when standing together. Le
Leah was glowing in her princess outfit today. “Thank you, Joey. You’ve worked hard for my birthday party.”Leah was thankful to hear her friends’ well wishes from Joey. “I didn’t do much. Madam Loren is the one doing the heavy lifting.” Joey put in the good word for Katie.“My mother only barks orders. She won’t do things herself,” standing in the elevator, Leah murmured. For that reason, Leah did not have much expectation for her mother. Leah would celebrate her birthday with an intimate party at the villa every year. This year was special and more elaborate. Leah enjoyed putting a look together, but she was no commodity. Most of the attendees were Katie’s business partners or bootlickers. Leah felt like a product up for sale, and she did not even have a say about it. The choice was in the customers’ hands. “Don’t say that. Madam Loren had been keeping an eye on the event planning. Though she wasn’t here, she determined every detail, including the flowers.” Al
Joey did not expect her comment to upset Leah. Leah should not be throwing a tantrum on an important day like this. However, Leah’s mind was elsewhere, to begin with. She merely stayed at the hotel to increase her chances of running into Kaze. Luck was not on her side because Leah did not see Kaze again. Leah felt down, but she was reluctant to leave. Despite feeling annoyed about being pushed around today, Leah could only sit around and wait. Joey’s remark made Leah feel like she was a commodity. Her mood dropped to an all-time low. Leah kept to herself, not keen to carry on with this life. Her life bore no meaning. She was her mother’s mindless puppet. “Why the sudden frown? Not everybody gets to wear such a beautiful gown,” flustered, Joey consoled her. She could not understand Leah’s change of mood. “I’m fine. I just feel uneasy about joining everybody at the event hall.” Leah knew she should not be headstrong, but the words just came out of her mouth. T
“We should make the call for our kids. They’re too young to know much,” Jonathan uttered. “Excuse me while I tend to other guests. You should get inside. We can talk later.” Katie was not keen on pursuing the subject. Joey rose to her feet and led Jonathan and Kody into the event hall. Jonathan kept pressing on, only to find Katie brushing him off. He was upset. However, Katie had the power to ruin his business. Jonathan knew better than to rub her the wrong way. He joined others in the hall. Katie was all decked out to befriend more potential business partners. Leah started getting ready first thing in the morning. She was dolled up nicely too. She looked like an elegant princess in the pink tutu dress. The outfit brought out an adorable side to her. Leah picked out the dress a while back, and it was only one of its kind. The dress was air-shipped to her. The dress was tailored to fit her perfectly. She looked refined with her long, black hair resting behind
“It’s your birthday party tomorrow. You might want to cut down on your drinking. Don’t do anything rash.” Joey could tell that Leah had a problem with her. As Katie’s assistant, Joey had a lot on her plate. However, some things were out of her hands. Joey could not do anything about their mother-daughter problems. Since she could not fix anything, she had to leave them to it. “Pfft.” Leah had been hoping to run into Kaze, but he was nowhere to be found lately. Disappointment washed over Leah, but the only thing she could do was wait. “Is there someone you’re waiting for?” Joey often caught Leah turning to look at the entrance. She would turn around every time an individual walked through the door. “Are you just going to tell on me again?” Leah did not like to be threatened. Most importantly, she did not want Katie to know about this. She was not mean to Joey on purpose. Leah’s words came off harsh because she was feeling down. “I won’t tell on you. I just feel
“But you run the place. I doubt anyone would try anything. The guy just didn’t know any better.” Leah acted like she did not care. In truth, Kaze was standing tall and proud in her head. “Oh, I hope you will give me fewer things to worry about. Put up a few days at home, and you can come back to stay at the hotel after the birthday party.” Katie rejected Leah’s proposal. She could not possibly let her daughter stay elsewhere when she had a home. Leah understood that while her mother seemed easy to talk to, the latter would not budge when her boundaries were crossed. “Got it.” Leah pretended to be compliant. “The housekeeper will go shopping with you to pick out some clothes and jewelry.” Katie was generous to her daughter, especially when she behaved. Freedom was the one thing Katie took from Leah. “I’ll shop around, but I don’t need anyone following me.” Leah did not like being controlled. “Be good now. Your birthday party is around the corner. All eyes are on
“If you won’t listen to reason, I’ll have to send you abroad and leave you to fend for yourself.” Katie would have no choice but to ditch Leah if she became too hard to manage. Leah never thought that her mother would say such a thing. While Katie was a callous mother to her, it never crossed Leah’s mind that Katie would send her away. Leah did not want to leave Arcadia. It would cut her off from the person she wanted to meet. Though it was uncertain whether she could see Kaze again, the odds would be in her favor if she stayed. Leah was defenseless against Katie’s coercion. With Leah falling silent, Katie knew that she was moving in the right direction. “Be a good girl, and I’ll make it worth your while. You’re my daughter. Of course, I love you and want what’s best for you.” Katie backed up a little to ease the tension. “You don’t have to do anything. Just stay with me. There’s still room for discussion if marriage isn’t for you right now.” Katie knew her daught
Katie, taking off in the car, was not in the best mood. The smile on her face quickly vanished as soon as the car was out of sight. “What’s wrong with you today?” Katie questioned. “What do you mean?” Leah talked smack. “I’m sure you know full well why I took you with me.” Katie had conceded, but Leah just would not take her win and leave it at it. The nerve of her to defy. “I did. You’re trying to sell me, aren’t you?” Holding a grudge on the earlier slap, Leah was pretty rude to her mother. “Since you can’t accept the big man from the Viper’s Den, I set you up with a young, handsome man. There’s no pleasing you.“Jet is the whole package. He has the looks and wealth. Is he not good enough for you?” Katie felt put in the spot. Leah was getting more unruly by the day. “I want to live life on my own terms.” Leah voiced her thoughts. She was nobody’s puppet. “Oh, you want to dictate your life. As you can see, everything you have comes from me. You’ll lose eve
“I am just telling the truth. Thank you for your enlightenment, Madam Loren,” Jet said humbly. “It’s getting late. We should be going. My daughter easily gets tired at night. She’s like a little rabbit at home. “If you have any other gathering in the future, remember to bring her alone and let her make some friends.” Katie once again pushed her daughter to the forefront, hoping to matchmake the two of them. “Let’s keep in touch, Leah. If you want to have some fun, just call me. I’ll arrange everything,” Jet said. “Thank you. As for your problem, don’t worry about it. I’ll go ask around,” Katie added. Jet had already achieved his objective, so he stood up and sent them out. After the mother and daughter went into the car and drove off, the humble smile on his face disappeared. Aloysius then came from the side. “Have you prepared the present?” Jet rubbed his stiff cheeks and then lit up a cigarette. “Yes, sir. It’s a set of jewelry.” Aloysius had prepared a presen