Darcy was the chairwoman of Quartet Group. Only the position of vice manager was appropriate for Kaze’s current status. Alan believed since he already agreed to Kaze's staying, why not do him a favor and give him the nominal title of vice manager? Kaze smiled and shook his head. “It’s fine. I like being the security manager. I kinda enjoy talking with the boys, it’s relaxing.” If he became a vice manager in Lefteria Group on his first day, he would not know how to explain it to Darcy. Darcy would never believe he got the position with his own capabilities and would assume Miru helped him. If so, it would put Kaze in a passive position before Miru. He did not want Darcy to think that she owed Miru a lot and could not be proud in front of that woman. “Alright. I’ll tell HR to make the necessary changes.” Alan called his assistant over to give the order. Suddenly, he thought of what he saw downstairs and remembered he owed Kaze an explanation. He said to his assistant
Alan Cummingham, the man who used to rule the underworld, sounded humble and polite on the phone. On the other end of the phone was the man known as the No. 1 Doctor in South River State, Charles Anemo. Even wealthy families of Sunrise City would have to humble themselves before the man, let alone Lilyrose’s ex-gangster. It was a trend for rich people to cherish their health. They might not live for five hundred years but they would spend a fortune to live as long as possible by staying as healthy as they can. Charles was famous because he saved a lot of people from dying and he was famous among wealthy families. Alan had a history with Charles, so he was able to ask the man to come to Lilyrose. Otherwise, no matter how rich or influential a person was, he would have to go meet Charles in person instead of the other way around. Charles was at Sunrise City at the moment so he agreed to visit on the same day. …After coming out of Alan’s office, Kaze returned to the se
“Yes, Brother Lee! We’ll go run after work!” As if Lester and the security guards were triggered by Kaze’s nonchalance, they replied strongly and promised to run after work. Kaze did not say anything and left the office. He was bored, so he thought of visiting Darcy at her company. He headed to Clover Center. The first floor was still in a mess as the trucks were moving office supplies into the building. “Mr. Lee!” Riley, who was in charge of coordinating the trucks and liaising with the moving company, saw Kaze. She came over with a bright smile, showing admiration and gratitude. “You are working already? Why didn’t you take two days off?” Kaze simply asked. Riley answered, “Ms. Quint rewarded me with two million dollars and she’s already working hard. As her assistant, I can’t just slack at home. Besides, I was no longer scared when you shoved the cigar into Dave Pamela’s mouth.” Kaze’s ferocity the other day left an impression on her. He was looking extremely coo
“I went, and I got the job,” Kaze smiled. Darcy breathed a sigh of relief before she glared at Kaze and continued lecturing him, “If you got the job, why aren’t you working? Why are you loitering here? That’s a company that you are working for, not your house!” Kaze looked at her affectionately. She went through so much just to protect his pride and chose to lie to him with her lousy acting. “That’s because I got promoted to security manager. I lead a team of security guards now and I have flexible working hours.” “Really? You got promoted on your first day?” Darcy was surprised. While Kaze excused himself to the washroom, she called Miru to verify. She thought Miru gave Kaze the position of manager because of her, which made her feel bad. She had only wanted a simple job for Kaze, like a common security guard. Yet Miru made him a manager, which made Darcy feel that she owed her friend big time. “Darcy, I just got the notice as well. Kaze beat up the security guards o
“What are you talking about, Miru?” Ruby screamed. Miru strode over to Ruby and slapped her in the face. “Mind your words. Who gave you the right to say my name?” Ruby covered her face as her body shuddered in anger and embarrassment. Leo’s expression turned grim. “Miru, Ruby is an executive of the company. How can you just slap her?” Slap! Miru slapped him before he could finish. “Executive? Don’t forget what Lefteria Group started as. Other company’s systems don't apply here. If she’s disrespectful, she’s going to get slapped!” Ruby looked at the palm mark on Leo’s face and suddenly felt that her slap did not hurt that much. “Miru, you crossed the line!” Leo covered his face and shouted back. Miru did not care. She turned around and walked to the exit. “Leo, I got Kaze into the company, so he’s under me. You embarrassed him in front of others means you embarrassed me. Why can’t I slap you for it? If there’s another time, I will slap you again!” Bang! She slamm
“Hehehe.” Angel laughed grimly. “Don’t be so resistant, Mr. Lionel. My king isn’t interested in Lefteria Group. There’s only room for one Godfather of Lilyrose in the underworld.“With your godfather gone, Lefteria Group enters a new era with you at the helm.“When that happens, no one would have the audacity to lay a hand on you.” Leo touched his face. Ruby’s words haunted him, slowly poisoning his mind. As malice flickered in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and asked, “When do we strike?” “Tomorrow. We will aid you whenever possible.” Angel went ahead and told the time, probably knowing Leo would eventually come around. “Aid me? I doubt I have the ability to kill Alan.” Leo scoffed. He did not want to do it himself. Leo was playing with fire by working together with Angel. The murder of his godfather could be linked back to him, and he would be forced to take the blame. Angel said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Mr. Lionel. We won’t sell you out. Otherwise, no one
“Was the other party badly injured?” Agnes turned pale at the mention of five hundred grand to settle out of court. Isaac nodded and urged, “Get the money and bail him out. It took a lot of persuasion to get the price down to half a million. The family initially asked for a million dollars. Otherwise, your son would get a jail sentence for the assault.” Unlike Agnes, Darcy was not easily fooled. Isaac acted like he had their best interest at heart, but his words carried intimidation. Something did not sit right with her. Furrowing her brows, Darcy said, “Captain Oceanid, how did the whole thing happen? Can you give us the recount?“We need to know who started it, and who was at fault before we talk about a settlement.” Isaac pulled a long face and stared coldly at Darcy. He said irritably, “I hope you don’t think I’m lying to you. The victim’s family is demanding compensation, or they will file charges against your son, and they have the means to do so. You can’t afford
“That’s right.” Kaze nodded. Derrick lowered his head. “Let me welcome you to the Southend precinct.” Isaac felt chills down his spine. Color washed off his face. Isaac wondered who the young man was for his boss to personally greet him. Agnes’ eyes widened. It appeared she had never known her son-in-law. “You’re too kind, Captain Maverick.” Kaze added indifferently, “My brother-in-law is in your custody at the moment. He might have done something, but I don’t know the full story yet. Vice Captain Oceanid here believes we aren’t rich and powerful enough to even step into the precinct. He told us to come here, but he wouldn’t allow visitations. He said we need to cough up half a million dollars to make a supposed assault go away. “My question for you is, are civilians without wealth and influence second-class citizens? Apparently, we don’t even have the right to know the truth.” Kaze did not raise his voice. Yet, his words yielded power. Derrick broke out in a
“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
Even though Katie was the CEO of the Northborn Group, many eyed her position. There were too many vying to replace her. Without dedicating herself to her work, Katie risked falling from grace. Katie had been too eager to find success to give her daughter the best life. Leah could not understand the pain Katie had to go through. “I understand it now. I explained the nature of my relationship with Kaze to you, but you just wouldn’t get it.” Leah stubbornly expressed herself in hopes her mother would understand. “I just couldn’t get it through my head that you have grown up. You make an easy target since you just graduated and have not stepped into the real world.” Katie would not always be there for Leah. Hence, Katie did her best to get rid of potential danger. Her overprotectiveness triggered Leah’s defiance. It was Katie’s fault for not realizing it sooner. “I’m not angry with you. I didn’t understand a mother’s good intentions, but I understand now. I will listen to
Leah’s face beamed, but her mother’s words threw her into a daze. In the end, she tried to squeeze a smile to assure her mother. However, Leah could not muster a smile. Those days lingered with her like a recurring bad dream. Whenever she recalled the incident, she felt trapped in that nightmare again. Leah wanted to let those memories fade away, but she just could not do it. She would get startled awake late at night and trace the scars across her skin. During moments like this, she resented Perry. Leah was rather cheerful during the day as if the past was behind her. However, it was simply a way for her to escape the pain. By the way Leah was behaving, Katie instantly regretted the question. She should not have probed. Even if they avoided the elephant in the room, they could pretend like nothing ever happened. Nevertheless, the act of asking brought up unsettling times for Leah. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked.” Katie gently held Leah, hoping to cast
When the ambulance door closed shut, Leah wailed once more. The reality of her rescue finally sank in, and she grasped that it was not just a dream. It was a pity that she did not have much time with Kaze. She longed to spend more time with him. “Don’t cry, young lady. You’ll get better soon enough. Don’t worry about the scars on your face. I can administer medicine to help you,” the doctor said while wiping her tears. “Thank you. I’m finally out of the hell hole.” Leah’s worst nightmare would be to be trapped in there forever. Kaze watched as the ambulance disappeared into the night. He then turned to face the villa. “Apprehend everybody in there. Perry should be punished for his crimes.” Kaze had not intended to go after the Duncans, but the family had crossed the line this time. Leah was an adorable and vulnerable woman. She was abused beyond recognition. It never occurred to Kaze that the Duncans could be so cruel. “Perry has passed out in there. Where should
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