“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.
“So you’re saying that Kaze was the psycho that James had been looking for?” Gino was surprised. “We’ll know once we check whether he was one of the patients at Lilyrose Mental Institution,” Megan said. Megan was James’ former assistant. James instructed her to locate Kaze. Once Kaze was pinpointed at Lilyrose Mental Institution, James then wanted her to contact the staff to see if Kaze could be removed from there. Megan could still remember everything like it was yesterday. At the time, James had unexpected visitors who threatened him to stay clear of Kaze. However, James would not listen and kicked them out. Later, James met with a car accident after a visit to the mental institution. That was the start of Shangrila Group’s fall. Megan spent the last two years hating James and Kaze. It was all Kaze’s fault. James was to be blamed for his stubbornness too. If not for them, Shangrila would not have fallen apart. Megan was once the assistant of the chairma
Gino sounded condescending as if he was giving out charity. He believed Kaze had to play nice with the former employees to survive at the company even if he managed to pull some strings to get the COO position. A loser like Kaze would not miss the chance to expand his network. “Alright. I’m in.” Kaze nodded in agreement with a smirk. Gino was not helping out of the goodness of his heart. He had something up his sleeves. Kaze only accepted the invitation because many former employees of Shangrila Group would be there. The re-establishment of Shangrila welcomed back many former employees. Most of them were loyal to the previous management and they were competent at their jobs, but a few with ill intentions might slip through the cracks of Snow’s hiring. Kaze could use the opportunity to check these people out.Soon, Gino sent a text with the address of the place they were meeting at. The venue for the party was Golden Key Lounge, a bar located adjacent to the office
Megan spotted the girl and assumed a commanding tone, her voice dripping with condescension. Sophie once worked at the former Shangrila Group too. She was hired back as one of the leaders in the HR department, working under Megan. “I’m sorry, Megan. My mother fell ill. I admitted her to the hospital before coming straight over.” Sophie knew Megan had a reputation for being harsh, so she would not miss the latter’s birthday party unnecessarily. She rushed over to the venue without getting home for a change of clothes. Still, it gave Megan a reason to rip into Sophie. Megan would not have any of it. She pulled a long face and gave Sophie a piece of her mind. Swallowing her discontent, Sophie avoided talking to the leaders and sought solace in a quiet corner, only to find Kaze there. “Hello, sir. Thank you for letting me catch the ride ahead of you.” Thinking Kaze belonged to higher management, Sophie expressed her sincere gratitude. “I’m Kaze. No need to call me ‘sir’.”
Arthur chuckled, his smile carrying a touch of sleaziness. “Oh, I see.” A realization dawned on Kaze. “Are you with quality control?” Several individuals in dark blue suits approached. The men and women carried files and documents. Kaze nodded without a word. “We are just here to announce the results. We shouldn’t be long.” Arthur came forward to engage with them. The group was likely given the heads-up as they had the right number of people. They swaggered into Rising Sun’s building. The general manager straightened up his tie in a fluster and walked out. None of the film productions made the cut yet, and the delay was costing the company money by the day. At this rate, the project would go down under. Eli, the general manager, rushed to the entrance upon learning the news. The review team was there to do one final check. The films would get the green light if the board found that everything was up to par. The head office would stop putting pressure on
Given Kaze’s status, Alfonso knew better than to have him waiting under the hot sun. Of course, he would send his people to be on standby for Kaze’s arrival. Peter only came to the rescue when Kaze was pestered by some street gang. Alfonso’s omission of Kaze’s identity led to this hiccup. Kaze did not care one bit about the incident. Heck, he did not even bring it up. Arthur straightened his back nervously, becoming even more cautious behind the wheel. “You knew, but why didn’t you say anything, Mr. Lee? You didn’t even tell on us.” Arthur could not understand why. However, he had more respect for the man. “I didn’t see a point. You’ll learn what happens when you displease me, so I won’t bother telling you now.” Kaze was mild-mannered as ever. He spoke softly without a hint of anger. All the more Arthur revered him. “Mr. Lee, we didn’t do our jobs right. We didn’t know who you were.“But my duty is to protect you in the dark. “We saw you getting out of the train
“Rising Sun is a media company. Several of their films are about to be released. They are trying to get them approved to air due to some censorship issues.” Arthur took out a document. “Are there any issues with the films? Why aren’t they approved yet?” Kaze asked curiously. Kaze had no idea. “There are some issues. They aren’t fit to be aired. “Typically, there aren’t a lot of restrictions for film productions so long as the themes aren’t sensitive topics. “But these films featured altered history. The company has been asked multiple times to make revisions, but the films still don’t make the cut.” The Viper’s Den’s members were not privy to the information. The Frosts were insignificant. Kaze was after the Frosts. Otherwise, the Viper’s Den would not waste its resources on a mere film production company. Jet’s investment of nearly ten million bucks in Rising Sun caught the Viper’s Den’s attention. The delayed approval of the films would be catastrophic to the in
“It’s quite a bustle even when it’s late at night.” Kaze looked down from above and saw the bright lights. A street in the distance was brightly lit with many people working into the night. “The majority of people would do many things to make a living.” Arthur rarely observed these sights. “Thank you. Keep me in the loop of any progress. I’m curious as to what you’d do.” Kaze did not see a need to get involved with the minor stuff. He delegated the tasks to his people. “If you have time, why don’t you go out and have a bit of fun, Mr. Lee?” Arthur asked. The reason for Kaze’s trip was to deal with Jet. Kaze would get some satisfaction from upsetting Jet. “I don’t want to attract attention.” The last thing Kaze wanted was to blow his cover. From Kaze’s question, Arthur knew that Kaze was interested. “No. We can give you a whole new identity.” Arthur knew what to do. “I’ll leave you to it, but don’t take it too far,” Kaze replied. Still, Kaze was intrigued a
Katie was narrow-minded to spit out the unpleasant things. Her words would never harm Kaze. Kaze took the private elevator back to the penthouse for a rest. He had more important things to do. He needed to keep tabs on the Frosts. Leah’s business was none of Kaze’s concern. Sure, Leah was in a state, being manipulated by her mother and all. However, it was a family matter at the end of the day. Kaze had no rhyme or reason to get involved. Kaze soon put the whole thing behind him. Arthur was already there at the penthouse. As Kaze entered the room, Arthur jolted up from the couch. “Mr. Lee, this is the document you requested. It should have detailed information to give you a clearer idea of the situation.” Arthur put the papers in front of Kaze and grabbed him a bottle of water. Feeling hot from his walk back, Kaze took a sip and held the document up for a look. “I got to give it to the Frosts. They sure work in the shadows.” Kaze grinned. A strong opponent p
“Despite everything I’ve said, you still won’t listen! Kaze is a liar! He befriended you with a motive. Yet, you trust him. He’s a good friend to you? What do you take me for?” Katie could not put up with her daughter’s defiance. Leah must obey her because that was what a good daughter would do. “I see you as my mother. What about you? Am I a daughter to you?” Leah did not want to ask such a distressing question. However, there was no way around it. She was escaping reality. Still, she had to swallow the truth, however cruel. “What are you talking about? I wouldn’t raise you if I didn’t consider you my daughter.” Katie worked hard to keep a level head. The last thing she wanted was the whole thing to blow up into a bigger fight. She had a lot to do for the upcoming party. There was no time to lose in keeping her daughter happy. Besides, Leah was no longer a child. Yet, she was so defiant and rebellious. “Why do you plan on giving me away if I’m supposed to be your d
Katie proudly made the statement, convinced that she had done a lot for her daughter. It was only right for Leah to be grateful and understand her sacrifice. To Katie’s surprise, Leah chuckled. “What else have you done for me? You never showed me any attention. You don’t know what I like. You have no idea what I want.” Leah finally saw her mother as the person she was. This side of Katie was terrifying. “What more do you want? Am I not supposed to work? Should I be spending every waking minute of the day with you?” Katie understood Leah’s needs. However, there was no way she could make it happen. It was not easy for a woman to take hold in the Northborn Group, much less secure a high position there. Katie went through great pains to get where she was today. Alas, Leah could not understand where she was coming from. “I’m not asking you to be with me every day. I’ve tried my best to do everything you asked of me, but you can’t even be there for me during my birthdays.
“Everything I do, I do for you. Get this straight. The guy approached you because of what I could bring to the table.” Katie was pissed by her daughter’s defiance which was becoming worse with age. “I know the kind of person he is. Without Kaze’s help, I wouldn’t have escaped. Where were you then? You’re in no position to say that. “Even if there’s something he’s after, what would he want from me? I have nothing to offer.” Leah did not believe a word Katie said. Clearly, Katie was out to get Kaze. “He’s nothing but a poor kid. Why are you blowing this out of proportion? I’ve clearly stated what needed to be done. Why are you still being stubborn?”Katie believed she had not raised her daughter right. Leah turned out pretty naïve. “I told you. He has no ulterior motive. He doesn’t know who I am. He doesn’t have any other intentions. I approached him, not the other way around.” Leah kicked herself for pulling a reckless stunt. All she did was give Kaze more problems. Kat
Leah hated her mother being unreasonable. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I fed you, I gave you clothes, I put a roof over your head, I gave you life! The least you could do is to listen to me!” Katie did not expect her daughter to go so far as to defy her. Kaze remained silent, knowing that no matter what he said, it would be meaningless to someone unwilling to listen. “Kaze, I’m sorry. It was my fault that you are in this mess. I’m a jinx…” Leah blamed herself for getting Kaze in trouble with her mother. If not because of her, he would never encounter her mother. “Shut it! Why are you apologizing!? He approached you with purpose and you can’t even see that? He’s not worthy of your time!” Katie was livid. She felt her daughter was blinded by emotions, incapable of making the right decision. And to make matters worse, the girl even apologized to Kaze—what nonsense! A poor man without any background was no match for her daughter and her status. He approached the girl becaus