“River North Corporation and other companies are out as well. I heard they messed with the wrong person from Mountain Dew Estate. I believe it is the new owner. They are all thrown out already.” “Who is the new owner of the estate? Is he that powerful?” “Who cares, it’s none of our business. The auction is more important now.” The tumultuous crowd was silenced all of a sudden as several people walked inside. Narian was in the lead, followed by his assistant and others. “Mr. Narian Lee, you’re finally here! The Sunrise Lees had a harvest this time!” A group of people went up to Narian, flattering him with sugar-coated words. “Nonsense. We are the Lee family from the capital and we are rich! Lilyrose is just a small city! Who is capable of fighting us here? Who has the nerve to compete against us?” Narian spewed nothing but arrogance the moment his lips moved. He looked down on the people who surrounded them, showing no respect for them. Despite being looked down on,
Narian then walked away with arrogant cackles. Darcy became worried. She had a feeling that Narian would target her during the auction later. “Don’t worry, Darcy. He’s just a clown. He won’t be able to make fun of anyone soon,” Kaze said. Darcy simply hummed a reply. “My entrepreneur friends, let us begin the auction today!” The auctioneer’s voice came from the podium. The floor was silenced immediately. “The first property on our auction list today is Genting Limited, starting with twenty million with each increase no less than one hundred thousand…” The first on the list was the company that Quarter Group aimed for. Genting Limited was not a big company but its business would complement Quartet Group’s shortcomings. Darcy could merge the companies if she could get it. She did some research with her team about Genting Limited and believed they had a good chance to win the bidding. Many bidders were from big companies and they had their eyes on bigger or same sc
“Genting Limited, sold to Lee Corporation!” The mallet was slammed on the podium. The auction continued. Several smaller companies were put on auction, which were all Quartet Group’s targets, yet every single one of them was won by Narian with one extra dollar. With Lee Corporation on their back, Quartet Group could not even win a single bid! After the first round of auction, the attendees were given five minutes of break. Narian strode over with a condescending manner and grinned. “Darcy, I told you I’ll show you what a powerful man is so that you can make up your mind to leave this useless trash here. Now you see what I can do. Hahaha!” “Narian Lee, don’t get ahead of yourself!” Darcy was fuming, but helpless. She could not compete against the Lee family’s wealth. “It seems like you haven’t made up your mind, Darcy. I’ve decided.” Narian grinned widely and continued, “I will block every bid that you place and with that, I will make you remember what I am capable o
“We’re going home! I’m not staying to let Narian make a fool out of all of us!” Darcy said angrily. She attended the auction for nothing. Quartet Group was not able to win any bids. “Don’t worry. He won’t be talking for long. I said I will bid Sky Ocean Corporation for you.” Kaze tried to hold her back and bring her back to the seat. “Are you going or not? If not, I’m going.” Darcy shook his hand off and strode away. She was angry because she felt helpless in front of Narian. “Mr. Lee, are we leaving?” Riley asked carefully. She knew how powerful Kaze was. Kaze was the owner of Clover Center, where Quartet Group’s office was located. After observing Darcy for a while, Riley realized that she did not know how rich or powerful her husband was. “Leave? Not until I smack Narian in the face,” Kaze said angrily. “Now, let the bidding begin,” the auctioneer said. “Three billion.” Narian’s assistant made the first bid. “Three billion, going once.” Narian then lo
Narian’s brows twitched as his eyes widened. His assistant could even hear him grinding his teeth out of anger. Everyone else on the floor gasped. Kaze was messing with Narian the wrong way! All of them shot a sympathetic gaze at Kaze because getting Narian mad would result in nothing. With the Lee family’s wealth and influence in the capital, there was no way Kaze was his match. Instead, Narian would hold a grudge and it would not end well for Kaze. “3.1 billion!” Narian raised the sign and pushed the bidding price higher. He then shouted at Kaze, “Come on, trash! Go on!” “Go on.” Kaze waved at Riley without even looking at Narian. “3.1 billion and one dollar!” Riley said. “Four billion!” Narian was fuming already. Everyone on the floor was shocked. Due to Kaze’s annoying bidding strategy, Narian got so angry that he increased ten million in his bidding price. “Trash! I’ve put in another ten million but I will make Shangrila Group and Quartet Group pa
“Let’s talk about the other procedures when we go back. I have to go find my wife.” Kaze stood up as all eyes were on him. He stretched and wanted to leave the auction and what he said left everyone speechless. He spent five billion to purchase Sky Ocean Corporation and he looked like he had just bought a toy. “Oh, right.” At the exit, Kaze suddenly turned around and pointed at Narian. He had never taken Narian seriously throughout the entire auction except now. He said, “Useless.” He then walked away without turning back. He was not loud at all but he spoke clearly. Compared to Narian’s shouting earlier, Kaze’s nonchalant demeanor felt more powerful and indubitable. “HUH? What the fuck? He called me useless?! Why? Based on what?!” Narian was furious, even his expression turned ugly. The entire floor was filled with his furious shouts. He was called useless by Kaze, the one who everyone called a useless trash. Aggrieved, Narian almost teared up due to his
“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine. Just stay in the car.” Kaze tapped Darcy’s hand and then got out of the car. He then leaned against the car and waited. The four men were slightly surprised. They thought Kaze would lock the door and call for help, but he got out of the car instead. The men approached him. They dragged the baseball bats along the asphalt road, causing irritating screeches. “Who sent you?” Kaze asked. Even though his first thought was Narian, there were a number of people who got into a conflict with him in Mountain Dew Estate. “You should know who did you mess with,” said one of the men. “Someone wanted us to break your legs. You want to do it yourself, or we have to do it with our bats?” One of the men then handed Kaze the baseball bat, looking at him with a contemptuous grin. Kaze saw their bulging muscles. The men were obviously trained, which explained their boldness. “I’ll do it myself.” Kaze reached out to the baseball bat. Swoosh
Crack! Before the man could finish, Kaze stomped on his leg. “Aaaargh!” The man screamed in pain once more. Kill him and abduct Darcy. Kaze knew exactly what Narian was trying to achieve. “Narian, you bastard!” Back in the car, Darcy, who was mortified, shouted angrily, “Kaze, let’s call the police.” “I’m afraid he will be released after one day he’s arrested.” Kaze denied her suggestion. He looked at the man on the ground. “Call Narian and tell him the job is done. Tell him to come over.” The man was still suffering from a broken leg but he dared not defy Kaze anymore. He endured the pain and made a call to Narian. “Sir, it’s done.” “You got Darcy already? Great! Nicely done. I’m on my way.” Narian hung up the phone with an evil laugh. A while later, a motorcade consisting of expensive cars came down from the estate. Narian came out of his car and went over to the scene. He realized only one of his men remained conscious and everyone was injured. He
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