“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
“Just lay all the bad news on me.” Jet started getting some ideas, seeing that the situation was rather unique. “The other important business dealings are halted indefinitely. I can’t get hold of the higher-ups.” Something did not add up, but Aloysius could not figure it out. This was the reason why he had to see Jet right away. “Have you investigated? Who is behind this?” It was clear to Jet that someone was out to get him, and the person targeted his business ventures. “We have run some checks. It’s a peculiar situation. It looks like someone is pushing this forward, but we can’t figure out who this person is.” Aloysius had been with the company for a long time. He knew a lot of people. Yet, he had never run into a case like this before. Despite the investigation, Aloysius could not find anything. “What’s the situation like?” Jet asked, holding back his rage. It was strange, indeed. However, there had to be some sort of trace. Who would attack the Frosts, th
Tens of thousands in assets were lost as every second passed. Jet, as powerful as he was, could not let that happen. “Look into any prominent figures who have come to Butterworth lately.” Driven by fury, Jet had no qualms about attacking his people. Jet would compensate him with money anyway. Aloysius was used to the treatment. He kept his mouth shut and cleared up the mess before taking off. Jet’s nerves were on edge. After all, he had never encountered such a situation before. It was a mystery as to who would resent him so much as to take action. After much thought, Jet gave his previous business partners a call. He either could not get through to them or was transferred to their assistants. As it turned out, he could not reach anyone. Jet realized that he may have upset the wrong person. Otherwise, this would not happen in the first place. “That’s strange. I’ve been staying in Butterworth. I doubt I have upset anyone.” Jet just could not figure it out.
Aloysius entered the room. He was in a sorry state with a bandage on his head. “Mr. Lyfe can’t make it today, sir.” “Didn’t he say he was coming?” Jet asked without a second thought. “Mr. Lyfe’s son is apparently pursuing Leah.“Katie is planning to throw her daughter a birthday party here.” It was old news. The Frosts had always received an invitation to the celebration. “Katie sure put a lot of thought into the party. She must be trying to reach out to more powerful people.” Jet saw through Katie’s little plan. “What do we do now, sir? These people are saying they can’t make it now.” Aloysius had long understood that he would lose friends when he lost power. However, things had not progressed to that state yet. Yet, Jet’s previous business partners ignored him. “The Frosts are still in power. Where are they getting their intel from?” Jet could not put up with the humiliation. “What do we do now, sir?” Aloysius did not expect these people to be so disrespect
“No! My daughter is still in the hospital!” Katie refused to accept her punishment. She started to regret her decision but it was too late. “Now only you think about your daughter? I guess you are not that foolish, but have you thought about her when you betrayed Chairman Lee? “Don’t worry. Leah knew Chairman Lee personally and we won’t hurt her, but she might not live a good life anymore,” Snow said coldly. She did not want to put the girl in a difficult situation but her life as a princess would come to an end. “You can’t do that!” Katie could not believe Snow would do that. “I bet you never thought of the consequences when you leaked the information. Too bad. You’ve lost.” Snow revealed the truth because she wanted Katie to suffer for the decision she made. Katie would now regret every decision she made because she knew she had jeopardized her daughter’s life. She would feel like a fool. She devoted her life to climbing higher to gain more power but she ignored the
“I went to a bar to have a drink and I bumped into an informant of the Viper’s Den.” Katie looked helpless as she explained as if everything that had happened was planned out for her, pushing her to the edge step by step. It was a lively night at the bar. The atmosphere was pleasant and most of the guests were having a good time. Katie was a single woman. She needed care and love at times. She was alone when she visited the bar. She started off by ordering some drinks at the counter, waiting for a chance to meet a man who shared the same ideals. A drink or two later, maybe she could get herself a company for the night. As a grown-up woman, she had her desires. It was a way to release her stress. Katie entered the bar in a casual outfit but it did not diminish her elegant demeanor. When she sat down at the counter, a few young men approached her but she was not interested in immature boys. She continued drinking. She looked at the dance floor occasionally, searching for a
“Who do you think will believe you?” Arthur frowned. There were too many coincidences that it felt like a giant setup. “I’ve explained what I need to. Don’t interrogate me like I’m a criminal. I am the CEO of the Northborn Group.” Katie left them speechless. She had said the necessary and it was up to them whether they wanted to believe it or not. They did not have the evidence to charge her anyway. “You really think we can’t hold you responsible?” Snow was not really looking for a definite answer. The moment she suspected Katie, whether or not she was truly the traitor, Snow already had the right to hold her accountable. It was necessary to make things clear and it was to find out who Katie leaked Kaze’s information to. “It has come down to this. No matter how you deny it, it’s useless. We already know what you have done and you can’t escape. Even if you don’t want to confess, we can continue the investigation, and we’ll eventually find out the truth. “If you come clean
After Katie sent Leah to the hospital, she went back to work. She had a lot on her plate recently and it made her hesitant. Many decisions must be made at once. Many documents required her attention but she was not in the mood to go through them. Her eyes were watching the news on her computer screen. She seemed to know what had happened yet the headlines were not showing, which made her anxious. “Nothing?” Katie felt strange. According to the scale of the incident, it should be making headlines. Hijacking a plane was no small matter, yet not one article about it was published. She felt strange. “Madam Loren, the Viper’s Den wanted to meet you. They said it is for some documents,” Joey said as she came in. “What documents?” Katie felt strange and instantly became suspicious. “The projects previously under Jet Frost and his family required your signatures. The money has already been transferred but they need one last confirmation on the numbers,” Joey said professiona
Snow could not go to Kaze because she had to stay back to handle the rest of the matter. “You know that person.” Peter dared not lie anymore because he wanted to ask for forgiveness. “You’re still trying to negotiate?” Arthur knew what Peter was targeting since he did not finish the sentence. “I regret what I have done but I want to see if the Viper’s Den could forgive me this once. I’ll make up for what I have done. Can you please let me go?” Peter boldly made his request, albeit knowing that it was unlikely to work, he hoped to gain attention. “Don’t even think about it. You’ll be out of the Viper’s Den after this. We won’t hold you responsible and consider it mercy from us.” Arthur did not want to go after Peter but he could not allow the young man to stay in the organization anymore. People who had betrayed the Viper’s Den could no longer be part of it. “I didn’t know it was this serious. Besides, that person is from the Viper’s Den as well.” Peter regretted hi
“I wonder how Chairman Lee is doing. If he’s alone, he’ll definitely get out of the situation but there’s a whole plane of hostages with him. He must be in a difficult position.” Snow knew Kaze’s personality well enough, thus her worries. Kaze would never escape alone and abandon the people. He would either leave with everyone or stay to find a way to solve the matter. Snow then suddenly sighed a breath of relief because she knew Kaze would never spare the hijackers for what they did. She was no longer overly concerned and focused instead on resolving the matter at hand. A while later, Arthur came back hurriedly. “I’ve checked the records. Only a handful of people know that Mr. Lee left and they are all whom we are familiar with and trusted. The traitor must be among them.” He dared not believe that Kaze’s schedule was leaked from his side. “No one at my side knows about Chairman Lee’s schedule except me,” Snow said confidently. She started to feel more certain about t
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