The explosive voice shook the entire floor. Many walked out of the offices in shock. “Who said that? Come out now!” Eli cried angrily. Eli carried a lot of authority as a senior hospital administrator. He had always been aware of his position in the hierarchy and that insult did not sit well with him. “I’m talking about you.” A grizzled-haired yet ruddy old man emerged from the crowd. The old man, flushed in the face, glared at Eli. He was still furious. The old man was Sam, who hurried to the hospital with Kaze. “Who are you, old man? How dare you talk to me like that!” Eli flipped out. Dr. Ziegler, taken aback at first, blurted, “P-Professor Whiteman!” The name stirred a commotion on the whole floor. “Wow! That’s Professor Whiteman, the leading expert in orthopedics.” “Professor Whiteman’s successful return with his squad from the battlefield was reported on the national news too.” “Mr. Wood sure is arrogant to yell at Professor Whiteman. The hospital
Sam’s words stirred an uproar. The crowd stared at Hector’s family in disbelief. Sam came all the way to Lilyrose to treat Hector. Just moments earlier, the family was denied entry and treatment. Sitting on the ground, Eli was stunned. He looked at Hector’s family, unable to believe what he had just heard. Eli was filled with resentment. Hector’s family must have connections to seek help from Sam. “Thank you, Professor Whiteman! Thank you!” Darcy’s family was overjoyed and expressed their gratitude to Sam. However, they were puzzled. Seeing that Hector was in pain, Rowan said, “Dr. Ziegler, administer Mr. Quint some painkillers and get him ready for a physical examination. Rowan took a long look at the Quints. Kaze emerged from the crowd and wheeled Hector to the treatment room with Darcy. Sam pointed at Eli on the ground. “Is he one of yours, Rowan? He’s a disgrace to the administration. “He refused treatment to the patient in public.“That’s no way for
“Of course there is. I have seen worse cases.” Sam chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, Ms, Quint. Even if Hector can’t make a full recovery, he should have no problem recovering mobility in his legs.” The family was overjoyed. Hector gripped the arms of his wheelchair emotionally. “Uh, Mr. Quint’s case is a little complicated, so I’ll invite a few of my colleagues in the same field for an exchange. We’ll set up a treatment plan to get things rolling. “I’ll be here in Lilyrose for a while unless I have to perform surgeries elsewhere or attend medical forums. I will be Mr. Quint’s surgeon for the operation.” Rowan stared at Darcy’s family in surprise. Despite his busy schedule, Sam planned to stay in Lilyrose just to treat Hector. Sam would be operating on Hector too. In fact, Sam could just prepare the treatment plan and leave a fellow doctor to carry out the medical care. Even Darcy’s family recognized Sam’s attention on them. “If I could be rude to say, Professor
“What’s going on?” Darcy’s family had a bad feeling. Rudy tricked them into coming to the family residence under the pretense of visiting Logan. By the looks of things, Darcy’s family knew it was for no good reason. “Hector, Agnes, you old fools probably have no idea what your daughter and son-in-law did. A malicious voice was heard. Samus and Deborah walked into the living room. The pair glared viciously at Darcy’s family. “We are your uncle and aunt, Deborah,” Hector said angrily. “I don’t have an uncle and aunt like you.” Samus uttered, “I was entertaining the experts on the reviewing panel to get support funds for the family the night before the last. “Your daughter and son-in-law were jealous and reported me. That bastard, Don, took me into custody, and I was beaten up while in detention. “I had to dig deep into my connections and spend lots of money for my release.” Hector and Agnes glanced at Darcy in shock. They had no idea. “You’re one to talk for
“Well, someone has to make a sacrifice for the betterment of the family.” Darcy’s family looked up at Rudy in disbelief. It never occurred to them that Rudy could say something so shameless, making such a high-sounding statement in a rather matter-of-fact way. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Rudy? Does your daughter’s reputation mean more than mine?” Agnes shouted, outraged.“Hmph! Darcy lost her honor the moment she married that loser, Kaze.” “No other eligible bachelors would look in Darcy’s direction even if she divorces Kaze. Deborah is a different story. She had only dated Vincent. Despite the issue with the Hansers, we could say that Deborah had no idea.”“Darcy should sacrifice for the sake of the family,” other family members expressed their opinions. These words cut like a knife. Darcy felt pain like never before. She had witnessed her family’s impudence one too many times. It never crossed her mind that there was no limit to their shamelessness.
The security officer froze, his raised hand paused in the air. “Kaze!” Darcy exclaimed with joy. Color returned to her pale face. The sight of Kaze gave her assurance. “Come to me.” Kaze walked over, ignoring the encircling security detail. He reached his hand out and pulled Darcy behind him. He narrowed his eyes at the Quints, his gaze finally falling on Rudy. “When will you ever learn, Rudy? You and your family are out to get my wife again. No wonder you wouldn’t let me tag along.” Rudy’s face flushed with rage. “Kaze, do you think we are the family we once were? We are now considered elites, and I am the head of the household. We won’t tolerate your brazen attitude,” he yelled. “Ha! Elites? I just took down the three top families.” Kaze scowled. “I will let today slide, and you owe this to my wife’s family. If you take this any further, I will put you back in your place, and you can forget living that dream of yours.” “Who do you think you are, loser!” The
Darcy froze. Color washed off her face. “Rudy, she’s your niece!” Hector turned his wheelchair around and stared at his brother in disbelief. Darcy would be disowned and stripped of the family name. It was the worst punishment to any individual in Arcadia where family mattered most. Even when Kaze was disowned, his family name was not taken away from him. “If she can’t make the necessary sacrifice for the family, then I don’t have a niece like her.” Rudy scoffed. “You better think it through, Hector. If Darcy doesn’t file the report, you, including Darcy and Sky, will no longer carry the family name.” “What about family, Rudy? We are supposed to be a family. That’s ruthless of you!” As tears rolled down his cheeks, Hector yelled desperately, “Dad, come out and say something. I’m your son too!” It was quiet inside the house. “Don’t bother. Grandfather can’t hear you. Even if he can, he will support us!” “If you still want to be a part of the family, you should
Rumor had it that Darcy did not want Mathias to find out and move on from her. Hence, she pushed Deborah out as the scapegoat. The explanation made perfect sense. Now, everybody believed Darcy was the victim of an assault case. However, nobody was sympathetic. They believe she deserved it. “Argh! Rudy and the others are so vile!” Hector spat out blood once more and fell off his wheelchair. He rolled on the ground, feeling the pain in his leg. Nevertheless, the emotional turmoil far outweighed the physical pain. With Agnes passing out, everybody carried her to her room for a rest. All that hubbub worked up to a sweat. Darcy then received a call from Ash. “Ms. Quint, you must have seen the Quints’ statement by now. We have a large number of senior officers and employees handing in their resignations at Sky Ocean Corporation as we speak.” The Quints’ statement rocked the community. Unrest was stirring within Sky Ocean Corporation as well. The company had be
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