The general manager of Lilyrose Logistics, Howard was the son-in-law of the Goldings. He was an uncle to Frank. Howard would not neglect a call from his nephew, Frank. So, he immediately rolled out Frank’s instructions. Lilyrose Logistics dominated the distribution chain in Lilyrose. No other shipping companies would dare retaliate against it. These companies heeded Lilyrose Logistics’ orders right away. Soon, the main roads into the city were closed. All freight vehicles entering Lilyrose would be stopped and searched. The power and reach of the top three families permeated the complex network.The local government turned a blind eye to Lilyrose Logistics’ illegal road closures. Some authorities in uniform even volunteered to cover for them. It explained why the public considered Johnson a figurehead mayor. The real people running the city were the three family heads. Large trucks snaked along the roadside, queueing on the other side of the toll booth at around t
Greed was visible on Leath’s face. He had thoughts about hijacking the freight and logistics domain in Melrose. Leath had attempted to dip his fingers there before, but he suffered a massive loss instead. Now that he had a chance for a do-over, he was not going to let the opportunity slip through his fingers. All he needed to do was destroy dozens of cargo vans. The destruction would cost a heavy loss to the logistics company in Melrose. Even if the company did not go bankrupt, the loss would be hard to recover from. “Stop!” “Stop and pull over to the side!” Leath’s men had set up a roadblock. As the men clamored, the fleet of cargo vans pulled over. “Where are the goods heading?” Leath’s subordinate aggressively pulled the driver from his seat. “Shangrila Group.” “Open the door now.” “Alright.” The strange thing was the drivers appeared rather calm. They opened the doors to the cargo beds, no questions asked, nor did they consider retaliation. Leath’
Under the command of the commander, Leath and his men were arrested. Soldiers were not only found in one cargo van. The remaining last vehicle in the fleet contained military personnel too. Heeding the order of their superior, they jumped out of the cargo beds. Leath’s other dozens of men were caught before they knew it. Lilyrose Strategic Department’s defense technology laboratory assigned a team of soldiers to escort the equipment to its destination. The commander gave Kaze a call. “The gang who tried to hijack the military resources at the toll booth has been arrested, Sir.” “Got it. Leave them to the police for conviction.” “Yes, Sir!” Soon, Leath and his gang were handed over to Don, who rushed over with his team. While on the way to the police station, Leath, shaken by fear, spilled the beans and called Howard out. Half an hour later, Howard, the notorious general manager of Lilyrose Logistics, had been apprehended too. Now that the big fish was caught, t
Thud!Frank kicked Zach in the face. “You have the morning to make Ryan hand over the technology by any means possible.” With the establishment of its own laboratory, Shangrila Group would now leverage Ryan’s skills and technology to enter the pharmaceutical market.Frank had to stop Shangrila Group from growing. …Other things were happening at Shangrila Group. The chairman had sorted out the boycott order from the Four Ocean Commence Guild. A laboratory had been set up overnight. The employees of the group were filled with motivation and drive. Winnie could finally rest after working through the night. Then came the call from Key High Tech. “Ms. Souffle, we are ready to dispatch the shipment your company has acquired. When will you be making the final payment?” once the call was connected, the representative said merrily. His attitude was a complete 180 from the day before. Winnie replied curtly, “Sorry, but we have set up the laboratory. We no longer need th
Kaze went to the chairman’s office to take a shower. He had spent the night in the office building. Darcy had called him, asking why he was not home. Kaze explained that he was busy with matters concerning Shangrila Group and would not be expected home that night. Darcy supported Kaze to stay and help out at the company, thinking it was about the previous press conference. “Key High Tech wants to take us to court.” Winnie recounted the earlier phone conversation furiously. Kaze smirked. He gave Albert a call right away. In less than half an hour, the representative of Key High Tech called back. “I’m sorry, Ms. Souffle. I will pay back the deposit. We are all businesses trying to survive in this climate. Why must you take things so far?” Winnie was shocked to hear the wails on the other end of the line. “What happened? I didn’t do anything.” Baffled, Winnie had no idea what was going on. “Don’t be silly, Ms. Souffle. I just talked about suing you, and the n
“Are you deaf? I called him babe.” Rei glared at Kaze before turning to Ryan. She lashed out, “You’re a loser, Ryan. Why do you need your figurehead chairman to speak on your behalf? “I should let you know that he’s my babe, and we get along like a married couple. “Am I right, babe?” She turned around and looked at Zach coyly. “You’re right, my wife.” Zach chuckled. “Oh, boy, do we get along in bed. Rei and I were in the hotel last night, doing things you couldn’t and hadn’t done with her. Tsk, imagine the pleasure.” Ryan clenched his fists, tempted to take Zach’s eyeballs out. Still, he kept it together. He knew that Zach was manipulative. For all he knew, Zach could be trying to get a rise out of him. Ryan could only be giving Zach something against him if he turned to violence. “Did you spend the night at a hotel together?” Kaze said curtly, “Rei, you are still married to Ryan.” “What? Are you trying to stick up for your good-for-nothing employee, Mr. Cha
A few burly men tagged along behind Frank. They looked scary and savage. They were the Goldings’ security detail. “Just give it to him, Mr. Golding. Ryan will never learn until you get rough with him.” Frank’s presence gave Zach confidence. Zach pointed at Kaze and uttered resentfully, “That Jesse White, the chairman of Shangrila Group. He can fight. Aster and I can’t beat him even though we are trained in boxing.” He was wary of Kaze. Hence, Zach requested Frank to bring along his family bodyguards. Otherwise, Zach could have just hired a few thugs to rattle Ryan. “So, he’s Jesse?” Frank was stunned when his eyes met Kaze’s. He grinned with intrigue and laughed out loud. In the end, he was in stitches. “Haha! That’s the dimwit son-in-law of the Quints.” Once Frank enjoyed a hearty chuckle, he fixated on Kaze and sneered. “So, you’re Jesse White who never shows his face?” “What? He’s the dimwit man who took the Quint family name?” Zach’s and Rei’s jaws droppe
“It’s too late to change your mind now, Ryan. No one can save you now that you got on Mr. Golding’s nerves,” Rei said gloatingly. Ryan uttered angrily, “I don’t believe I have ever done anything to you during our marriage, Rei. Why do you hate me?” “You did not give me a life of luxury because you refused to give up the patents to the top three families, and that’s the worst thing you could ever do to me,” Rei shouted in rage. Ryan clenched his jaw without a word. There went his last hope to ever rekindle their relationship. “Do you regret it now, Mr. White?” Not forgetting the slap yesterday, Zach looked at Kaze and mocked. “Kneel before me and slap yourself a hundred times. I might just plead with Mr. Golding to make it less miserable for you.” Kaze gave him a sympathetic look. Without a peep, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “You can make the arrest now.” Kaze then ended the call. “Why are you still keeping up with the act, loser? I hope you don’t think
“What do you want?” The call quickly connected, and Everett’s annoyed voice came on. Everett never had the patience for his airhead of a son. Due to Duncan’s recent involvement with Kaze, Everett was humiliated, and he still had not let things go. Duncan looked at Kaze, and the latter took the phone and said indifferently, “How are you, Mr. Techman?” “Who are you? Wait, Kaze?” On the other end of the line, Everett was flustered. However, his experience dealing with challenges anchored him down, and he said curtly, “Why do you have Duncan’s phone, Kaze?” “You should ask your son what he did.” Kaze took the phone away from his ear and gestured for Duncan to talk. “Dad, this is on me…” Duncan sobbingly recounted the whole thing. “Bastard!” Everett blew up. “Why did you get involved? Didn’t you learn your lesson?” Everett came down hard on Duncan. However, Kaze frustratedly interrupted them. “That’s enough, Mr. Techman. Don’t play dumb.“I don’t care if you kne
“What are you doing?” Marilyn rose to her feet and shouted in a panic. “Are you trying to get yourself killed, boy?” Duncan’s security team charged ahead. They were newly hired, so they had not met Kaze before. Kaze had crippled the prior security team. “Stay away!” Duncan shouted to stop his bodyguards. Lying on the floor, he looked at Kaze and said with a sad face, “What are you doing, Kaze? I didn’t upset you today.” “Thud!” Kaze kicked him. “Did you not? Is that why you set Sasha up? “You have some nerve.” Darcy witnessed Kaze’s violence without a word. She believed Duncan deserved it after what he did. Duncan shivered. He knew that Kaze had seen through his plans, and there was nothing he could do or say to get himself out of the mess. Kaze drew close and put his foot on Duncan’s chest. He asked curtly, “Am I doubting your integrity?”“N-No.” Duncan stammered, “I have no integrity. I’m a scumbag. I’m a nobody in your presence.” “Can I call Marlboro
Despite Duncan’s sad state, no one dared to look down on him. Duncan’s family owned Marlboro after all. However, the crowd was curious as to how Duncan got himself all beat up. Who would lay a finger on Duncan in all of Riverbank anyway? “How are you feeling, Mr. Techman?” Marilyn greeted Duncan with a smile and sucked up to him. “Cut the crap!” Duncan waved his hand annoyedly. “Where’s Sasha?” “She’s there.” Following the direction of Marilyn’s pointed finger, Duncan quickly saw Darcy standing with Sasha. Darcy’s beauty took Duncan’s breath away. However, the only thing on his mind was revenge now. Duncan immediately turned to Sasha. “Do you still remember me, Ms. Spoon?” Sasha looked at Duncan in surprise. “Oh, it’s you, Mr. Techman.” “Heh. That’s right.”Sasha was all Duncan focused on. He laughed cryptically. “I’m only in this state because of you, Ms. Spoon. “Who’s the guy who has your back? Get his ass here!” Duncan was eager to ruin Sasha and get
“Mr. Techman’s family runs Marlboro. He’s only helping Ms. Spoon because he took pity on her. “Besides, it won’t reflect well on the business if we don’t sort things out. “Mr. Techman doesn’t mind the money, so Ms. Spoon can take her time in paying him back. “Ms. Spoon has the look and attitude to work in sales at Marlboro after she finishes school too. “Of course, we offer a good salary too.” Marilyn turned to Sasha. “Ms. Spoon, you can write the IOU now. You’re lucky that Mr. Techman took notice of the situation. “Mr. Techman doesn’t usually have time to care about these matters.” Sasha looked at Marilyn and said shyly, “I’ll only follow Kaze’s lead.” Marilyn grimaced, and her gaze fell on Kaze. “What do you want to do about this, Mr. Lee? “Normally, Mr. Techman won’t bother with these trivial matters.” Kaze looked hesitant. “Why don’t you call Mr. Techman here, so we can talk face-to-face?“I just don’t feel comfortable unless that happens.” Marilyn put on a s
“I’m sure a big man like Mr. Techman won’t expect us to cover our losses.” Marilyn took out her phone to make a call. She then said, “I’ve asked Mr. Techman. He said that though Ms. Spoon caused the vase to fall, you are partly responsible for not taking safety precautions. “The responsibility should be shared, and Ms. Spoon only has to pay a million and five hundred thousand dollars.“How does that sound?” Chloe looked reluctant. “Huh? Just a million and a half? We’re taking half the loss.” “What? Doesn’t Mr. Techman’s words mean anything to you?” Marilyn pulled a long face. Chloe shuddered and said with a nod, “Of course. A million and a half, it is. I expect cash.” Marilyn turned to Kaze. “You heard it, Mr. Lee. They have dropped the price to half because of Mr. Techman.” “Huh? It’s still a million and a half. I don’t think we can afford it.” Kaze looked distressed. “Can’t Mr. Techman be so kind and let us off the hook from paying? I’ll be eternally grateful.” D
“No.” Kaze’s reply threw Darcy for a loop. She said in shock, “So the vase is real?” “It’s a counterfeit.” Kaze murmured, “I lied about the modern markings to scare them, but it doesn’t mean that the vase is authentic. “I’m pretty sure this is a scam. “The manager of Marlboro is in on it with the couple too.” Darcy’s eyes widened. “Ms. Angus is in on it too? This can’t be right. Sasha doesn’t appear wealthy. Why would they target Sasha?” “That’s right.” Kaze fell into contemplation. “They pulled off a big one, only to pick a girl who can’t afford the money.“I’m curious about who is behind this. What is this person after? “Babe, get Pamela on the case. Who owns Marlboro?” Darcy texted Pamela right away. Marilyn approached and said, “You are friends with Ms. Spoon, right, Mr. Lee?” “That’s right.” Kaze said with a pretentious smile, “So how much do we have to pay?” “I’m sorry.” Marilyn said with a wry smile, “I’ve tried my best to persuade Chloe and Ron
“Please trust our professionalism, Mr. Lee. “Given our reputation as the biggest antiques trader in Riverbank and the South River State, we cannot allow any sort of mistake.” Kaze chuckled as Marilyn dropped the pretense. “Even if a mistake does happen in Marlboro, you will sweep it under the rug to protect the mall’s reputation.”Kaze smiled pretentiously. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”Raising a brow, Marilyn took a step forward and said solemnly, “Let me make this clear to you again, Mr. Lee. This sort of mistake will never happen in Marlboro.”“Fine. I’ll take your word for it.”Kaze grinned and said, “Even if the vase is worth three million dollars, we should check the surveillance tape. “Did Sasha really cause the vase to fall, or was this fall pinned on her? “Can we do that?” Marilyn stared at Kaze with a straight face before beaming. “You have made a reasonable request. “Go and retrieve the surveillance footage.” She waved her arm at one of her people
Marilyn looked at the clamoring crowd who suspected that the couple were scammers. She raised her voice and said, “Don’t worry. As a business, Marlboro is committed to impartiality.“We will handle the matter fairly.” The chatter faded as the crowd was curious about the approach Marilyn would take for a fair resolution. Marilyn called upon all the witnessing staff members and asked solemnly, “What happened?” The staff members recounted the event. Marilyn then turned to the plump woman and said coldly, “Your husband started the fight, and the man here simply retaliated with a slap. “Fred and his team jumped to conclusions. They deserved the beating. “You shouldn’t be hung up about your husband being slapped. The question is whether the man would like to pursue legal action.” “I…” The plump woman grimaced, reluctant to let things go. However, she appeared terrified of Marilyn. Her lips quivered in a moment of silence. Marilyn turned her attention to Kaze and grinned.
The crowd nodded in agreement. “That’s right. The couple must be scammers, picking on the girl because she doesn’t know her stuff.” “Security! Where’s security?” “Why isn’t someone from the mall taking care of this?” The crowd believed the couple were scammers. “Please give way.” Soon, several security officers arrived on the scene, and the leader glanced at the plump woman. Getting the message from the woman, the security leader approached Kaze and said menacingly, “Boy, are you up to something? Ron and his wife are long-time customers here. I have never seen you around before, though.“You’re something else to assault a customer here. Do you know who owns the place?” The security leader pointed at the door. “Get out, or I’ll make you!” Kaze asked, “Are you in on it too?” The security leader narrowed his eyes. “What did you say? I dare you to say it again.” “I said that you’re in on it too.” Kaze pointed at the middle-aged couple while eyeing the security lead