“Mr. Lee? He’s just another pretty boy. Do as I say, and I might spare your life! “If you continue to be a mute, we’ll make you scream. Your arms and legs might break, or worse, you might end up dead!” Otto continued to threaten and humiliate Kaze. His men laughed in accordance and even joined him in mocking. An ordinary person would certainly be infuriated by their words, yet Kaze remained calm and unfazed, as if he was not part of it. “You’ll have to take responsibility for the words you speak,” Kaze said as he looked at Otto coldly. “Take responsibility for dealing with a punk like you? What a joke! If you can just do as I say, you might save yourself some pain; if you continue to be stubborn, you’ll have a taste of pain,” Otto said. His men continued to laugh and sneer at Kaze. They hit their bats on the ground, producing irritating clinks that they assumed could scare Kaze. Kaze found their tactics to be crude and cheap, and he was not interested in refuting. “Mr
“That’s a new car! What the hell?!” Peter felt immense heartache looking at the dent. He had always taken good care of the car and given its luxurious brand, one dent would cost him tens of thousands to fix. More importantly, the car was imported and he had to send it overseas for repair, which would increase the cost. Peter initially did not want any trouble but Otto and his men crossed the line when they damaged the car. “I don’t care if the car is new or old, that guy is coming with us. Why don’t you do us a favor and walk away? You are not part of this.” Otto knew the value of the Maybach as well, but he had no qualms about damaging it as it was not his. Peter was frustrated and aggrieved. The damaged car made him feel worse. “Can’t we just talk this out? Why must you damage my car? We are all working for someone else. Why are you doing this?” he said, attempting to reason with Otto. “Cut the crap, or we’ll beat you together.” Otto signaled one of his men to attac
“You don’t need to know who I am but you will soon find out what will happen to yourself.” Kaze gazed into the distant horizon. A red supercar tore across the horizon, its engine roaring fiercely even from afar.The thunderous roar of the engine was enough to ignite excitement in any man’s heart. “So, there’s someone stupid enough to interfere? They must have a death wish!” Otto was displeased by the engine roars further away. He shot a gaze at his men. A few of his men nodded and headed in the direction of the incoming car with their bats. Whether the car was merely passing or intended to be here, Otto would not allow them to interfere with his plan. “I see you people are ruthless. Don’t tell me you are going to attack some innocent people,” Kaze said casually. If the car was just passing, it would certainly turn away when they saw the situation; if not, it would stop. Kaze watched as the red Ferrari slowed down to a stop in front of him. He initially thought the
The others were surprised by the situation as well, but they understood their roles and dared not back down. They grabbed their weapons and charged toward the man. After a brief fight, all of Otto’s men collapsed. Arthur continued to stroll toward Kaze, like nothing could stand in his way. One of his hands remained pocketed, and the cigar remained hung from his mouth, setting off a rugged and manly demeanor. “Mr. Lee, I am sorry for being late.” His strong and deep voice sounded from behind Otto. Otto was stunned as if struck by lightning, unable to believe the voice he had just heard. He stood frozen in place. His bat was still pointing at Kaze but his legs started to shake. An uncontrollable fear spread from the bottom of his heart. “What’s Alfonso doing?” Kaze was displeased by the arrangement. He should be resting at the hotel by now had Alfonso made better arrangements, not standing in the middle of the road because some thugs got in the way. “The boss was worr
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll just take it as a forgettable show. They are nothing, just expendable pawns to the employer.” Kaze already knew who sent Otto, so an investigation was not necessary. He came to Butterworth to deal with Jet, so it would be normal for the man to come after him. It was just surprising that Jet would resort to such a cheap tactic. On second thought, it was understandable because Jet never took Snow seriously. With that, it would only be natural that he assumed Kaze was a nameless lowlife, thus sending street thugs to humiliate him and then abduct him to threaten Snow. Kaze would never underestimate his enemies but Jet did not seem to share the same understanding. “You are just letting them go? Isn’t it a little dangerous? People might think that they can jump on us at any time without consequences,” Arthur asked while looking at Kaze with a serious look. He wanted to find out what plans Kaze had for the thugs. Kaze looked at the men crying on
“I’m okay for now.” “Mr. Lee, are you sure you don’t want to investigate the matter and find out who the mastermind is? I’m sure they are after you for a reason and it’s anything but good,” Arthur said, voicing his concerns. Even if no investigation was launched, he wanted to figure out what happened, or else it would be difficult to fend off potential attacks. “The Frost family won’t let me go this easily, but I have to say they underestimated me this time,” Kaze said nonchalantly, revealing a bit of information to Arthur. Arthur’s eyes narrowed into a serious look. He then gazed into the distance and softly sighed. This little incident might be out of his expectation but it was nothing serious as well. He knew Kaze’s identity, so there was nothing to be worried about. Kaze was the branch leader of the West State Viper’s Den, commanding multiple branches in the state. If he wanted to, he could deal with a lot of matters quietly. He must have had a reason for not using
This also meant that the upcoming schedule would be met with obstacles. Regardless, Arthur felt he needed to be with Kaze to keep him safe. “Let’s go to the hotel first.” Kaze was not in the mood to think about anything else. The car drove into the parking lot. They went up using the executive elevator instead of going in from the lobby. When Northborn Hotel was built, it was accustomed to the guests’ privacy and confidentiality, so an executive elevator was installed for convenience and safety. Due to that, many tycoons in the business world or famous celebrities chose Northborn Hotel when they visited Butterworth, allowing them to conduct business in private and not worry about being exposed. People with certain needs would also choose the hotel for special occasions, such as having an affair. Arthur guided Kaze to the elevator. Kaze scanned around the elevator box and realized there was no surveillance camera. “They did this on purpose?” Kaze said as he pointed u
“Mr. Lee, since you’ve just arrived, do you want to get a shower or get something to eat first?” Arthur picked up the phone to call the front desk and was ready to ask for room service.“I’ll have a shower first. I’m travel-battered.” Kaze might not be a clean freak but he was tired from all the traveling. Taking a shower would be a good way to relax. Arthur then told the front desk to deliver some food. Meanwhile, at Northborn Emerald Residence, Leah was forcefully brought back home by her mother. She was displeased with her mother’s attitude, but she could not defy her and had no choice but to accept her fate. Still, regret and guilt lingered over what had happened. Kaze helped her a lot but her mother misunderstood him and insulted him. Leah was aggrieved but could not do anything. Her mother had absolute control over her life. “Stay at home and don’t wander outside anymore. I’ll call someone to make you some dresses for the upcoming birthday party.” Katie loved
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