“Didn’t they move over from the Old District? Just make them move back.” Lyla made that statement right in front of Camry and Teresa. She showed no concern for their feelings. “No.” Winnie declined and said, “The Old District is in a bad neighborhood with high crime rates. I can’t raise Brenda there.” They were living there before because they had no choice. Now, they had moved back to their family home which was in a nice neighborhood. Winnie could not possibly send her daughter back to live in the Old District while she lived in comfort at the old family residence. Smack!Lyla slapped Winnie. Winnie’s thin face swelled up behind her loose hair. “Mom! You’re mean! Don’t hit my mom!” Lying in Kaze’s arms, Brenda cried out heart-wrenchingly. “Shut up, brat!” The angry look from Lyla made Brenda shudder. Teary-eyed and lips apart, Brenda looked at Lyla in horror. Lyla cocked her head and got her finger up Winnie’s nose. “You are a whore. You are still stickin
Wiping the sweat off her flushed face, Tiffany walked down the stairs. She had been cleaning on the second floor. Tiffany knew from the commotion downstairs that this could be her chance to get in Kaze’s good books.Hence, she made sure the timing was right before she made her entrance. “The Goldings have nothing on Mr. Lee.” Tiffany put on an air as expected from an heiress of the Chapman family, pulling a long face. However, she did not scare an aggressive woman like Lyla. Seeing that Tiffany was dressed like a housekeeper with her apron and broom, Lyla made a scornful look. “You’re an ignorant housekeeper. How dare you put the Goldings down. All it takes is one word to the Goldings, and you’ll never work in the big city again.” The top three families practically ran the city. It would be effortless for them to ruin the life of a housekeeper. “M-Ms. Chapman.” Standing next to Lyla, Zenny was shell-shocked. “Miss? Why are you polite to a call girl?” Lyla sc
“Do you think I wouldn’t know that you were trying to make contact with the top three families? Don’t try to be smart.” Kaze looked at Tiffany condescendingly and said indifferently. Tiffany addressed him formally in front of Zenny and Lyla. She looked as if she had the utmost respect for him. In truth, she was trying to get Zenny and Lyla to report what they saw to the top three families. They would learn that Tiffany was serving as a maid in the house because of Kaze. If the top three families were intelligent enough, they would have picked up that Kaze was more than what he was on paper. Her little plot could not escape the eyes of Kaze, who had survived countless hostile maneuvers on foreign battlefields. “I made a mistake, Mr. Lee. I was only giving my family the heads-up not to go against you. I don’t want to lose my family. “It’s not my intention to make them go after you. You’re the God of War, and you have the power to ruin my family. I wouldn’t dare.” With Ka
“Yeah. I’m happy to let the Soups take the mansion if it means Winnie won’t have to suffer. We are fine with a smaller house.” Teresa wiped her tears. Lyla was arrogant. She attacked Winnie in Teresa’s and Camry’s presence. Zenny was a mama’s boy, so he would not come to his wife’s defense. Teresa was worried that Lyla would inflict worse pain on Winnie behind closed doors. “Everybody has their own life to live. Winnie has remarried. Worrying about her won’t help.” Kaze could not understand Teresa and Camry. If Winnie had not sought solace in another man, Kaze would never allow the wife of his friend to be picked on. However, Winnie married Zenny not long after James’ death. Kaze did not have an opinion about Winnie, and he was not the type to meddle in the affairs of others. “How can we not? She’s like a daughter to us,” Teresa said helplessly. Camry sighed. “When James left, we owed people a lot of money. Brenda fell ill at the time, and the hospital told us to
Lyla smacked the drink away, and the hot liquid splashed on Winnie’s wrist. “Ah!” Winnie cried out in agony while holding onto her scalded wrist. Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain. “You’re an ingrate, Winnie. We fed you and housed you when you joined our family. In the end, you sided with your ex-husband’s family. “Without our help in settling your debt and covering the hospital bills, your ex-husband’s family would be in a far worse situation.”Lyla tore into Winnie and finally stood up to push her. “Get out. I want you and Zenny to get a divorce. You won’t be able to survive on your own because no company will want you.” Winnie fell to the ground. She looked at Zenny, but the latter put on earphones and played dumb. Truth be told, Zenny was not happy with her either. Winnie felt hopeless and helpless. Sorrow and despair picked up her soul. Her phone rang. Winnie brought the phone close to her ear and took the call. Her expression went from confusion to shoc
“I’m sorry.” As Snow watched on in surprise, Kaze apologized to Winnie with his head down. Kaze only had respect for Winnie. Tears rolled down Winnie’s cheeks. “I-It’s fine…” She covered her face. Hot with emotions, she was at a loss for words. Snow silently handed her a tissue. Once Winnie calmed down, Kaze cut to the chase, “The three major families acquired Shangrila Group and split the business between them. Bersina Group took over part of its resources, so I recovered the company and renamed it Shangrila Group. Do you know what I am after?” “Are you trying to avenge James?” Winnie asked emotionally. She was smart. Winnie could guess Kaze’s motivation upon learning that he adopted the alias, Jesse White. “I’m grateful for all the things you have done for James, Kaze.” Winnie persuaded him, “You don’t need to avenge James. They are not the most powerful families for no reason. They could take down Shangrila then, and it happened so quickly. You were always in
“Have you gotten the job yet, Kaze? Why are you eating here? The cafeteria is strictly for employees.” Miru could not stand Kaze. The guy had the nerve to threaten her at the hospital the other day. At first, Miru thought Kaze was the reason Liben and the other two were apprehended. Later, she found out that Kaze had Mathias’ influence to thank for. All the more Miru looked down on him. “That’s not your concern, Miru. I wouldn’t be able to access the cafeteria if I didn’t work here.” Kaze looked at Miru. “Why are you here?” “Did you really find a job here? I’m here to see your chairman, Jesse White,” Miru said arrogantly. Representing Lefteria Group, Miru arrived to offer the chairman congratulatory flowers and, of course, to check Jesse out. Many shared the same thoughts. “Oh, I bet you couldn’t meet him,” Kaze said with a smile. Snow mentioned at the office that some corporate representatives wanted to meet him. Kaze declined all requests without even aski
“Just let it go, Gino. Let’s grab lunch. You can tell me more about Chairman White.” Miru was always tempted to take Kaze down a notch because he annoyed her, but she did not want to get him fired. She cut Gino off and walked straight to the private dining area of the cafeteria. “Kaze, was it? I’ll keep your name in mind and sort you out later.” Gino pointed at Kaze menacingly before going after Miru. Kaze carried on with his meal, unaffected by the clown’s threat. After lunch, he did not stay long at the office building and went straight home. “Taxi!” Kaze hailed a cab by the road. A woman in formal wear rushed out of the office building with a phone in hand. She looked anxiously around. Her eyes lit up at the sight of a taxi. However, Sophie stopped disappointedly when the cab pulled up in front of Kaze. “Do you have an emergency? You can go ahead and have this ride,” said a tender voice. Sophie looked up and saw Kaze talking. She hurried over. “I’m sorry.
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