“Sure.” The three thugs immediately contacted Deborah. Kaze said indifferently, “Nothing to see here. The rest of you should go back to doing whatever you were doing.” The atmosphere at the bar resumed its liveliness. However, the patrons, fueled by curiosity, kept an eye on the dark corner. Soon, Deborah arrived at the bar. Nothing she saw in the bar struck her as odd.She approached the three thugs and handed over a check. “Hand me the phone.” “What’s the rush, darling?” The three thugs did not accept the check. “Take the money and hurry along. What else do you want?” Deborah’s eyes bulged. One of the thugs said cheekily, “We couldn’t forget you since that day.” “That’s right. We want to relive the moment with you, darling.” The other two thugs got up to grab her.“Get lost!” Deborah slapped away their hands and snapped an angry look at them. “Bastards! I can never forget how much you stink! I want to barf just thinking about it.” “Haha! I guess our
Deborah knew what was going on the minute she saw Kaze. She turned and glared at the three thugs. “He was the one who knocked you out the other night, losers. Why are you taking orders from him?” “If I hadn’t knocked them unconscious, they wouldn’t have had a nice time with you, Deborah.“You three should thank me, right?” Kaze said with a chuckle. The three thugs pulled ugly smiles. “Gold Tooth, hand me the phone.” Deborah pointed at Gold Tooth. “If you don’t do as I say, I will have my people eliminate you, old fool. The Quints are not people you can mess with.” Gold Tooth passed the phone to Kaze without hesitation. Deborah went ballistic. “You got a good angle of her.” Kaze tossed the phone back to Gold Tooth. “You have a job before your retirement. Send this video to your men. Tell them to share the video on their TikTok, in WhatsApp groups, other social media platforms, and whatnot.” “Don’t you dare, Kaze! I’ll make you regret it,” Deborah shrieked. “Take i
“Don’t mention it. You’re my wife.” Kaze hugged Darcy tight. He then got a call from Snow. “It has begun, Mr. Chairman.” “Alright. Take your time. There’s no rush. Give them one dose of harsh reality at a time to simmer tension.”Kaze smirked coldly. True to his words, it was just the beginning of hell for the Quints. It was dark and gloomy at the Quints’ residence. The police had stopped by the place. They had taken Deborah away in the presence of the family. As the three thugs had turned themselves in, the police re-opened the case. It was a strange case. Deborah was the main culprit and the victim. The police had no idea how to go about the trial. That was not the point, though. Most importantly, Deborah’s reputation was ruined.Her dream to marry into a wealthy and powerful family went poof, unless a member of the rich and powerful was blind and deaf to the truth. The Quints had learned about the incident at Elites from Deborah. They could not beli
The Quints learned that the newly acquired company had gone bust, and they were billions of dollars in debt. The least of the Quints’ troubles was to give Darcy hell at her company. The Quints rushed to Lilyrose Credits. Online lending platforms became a hit a while back, emerging as one of the biggest things to invest in. Seeing that such platforms were profitable, the top three families jumped on the bandwagon and created a lending platform called Lilyrose Credits. They collected billions from locals and pumped the money into the platform, waiting to bank in on the interest. It was difficult to recover the principal of the loan, much less the interest. Word somehow got out. The news did not sit well with the investors. Lilyrose Credits was barely surviving before the fall of the top three families. Nevertheless, their long-standing authority in the city managed to calm these investors down. Following the collapse of the families, the Quints blindly acquired compan
“We are the Quints, the top family in the city. Even Johnson takes cues from us. Maybe you don’t want to keep your job anymore, Don.” The Quints stopped Don. They questioned patronizingly about his refusal to make any arrests. Don smirked to himself. The Quint family was idiots to think they had the influence of the former top three families. “Why should the government arrest those you owe money to? What if the arrest causes a public outrage, and we get cases of suicide? Who’s going to take accountability then?” The Quints pulled wry faces at Don’s comment. It was not a situation they could handle. “So, the priority should be paying the investors back to stop the protest. Nothing speaks more volumes than money.” Don pushed away the people in front of him and took off. The Quints were infuriated. Don was a bastard for brushing them off. Well, they vowed to take his job from him. “Don has a point. The priority is shutting the investors up with money.” “That’s
“Fuck!” Rudy lost it. He felt like he had fallen into a trap. These circumstances never crossed his mind when he applied for government funding. The only thing on his mind was acquiring as many assets as possible. Now, they were stuck with a mess they could not get out of. “The God of War’s money doesn’t come easy, Rudy. You took the money, and now you must fix things. Do your bit and start making contributions to the locals.” Johnson ended the call. “I got word from Construction Bank that they won’t lend us money if Lilyrose Bank won’t, Rudy.” “The same goes for Lockhart Bank.” “Industrial and Commercial Bank too.” The other banks had given their response. No bank was willing to provide them with a loan. Instead, these banks hounded the Quints about repaying previous loans. Rudy scowled. The local council washed their hands off the matter.The banks refused to approve loans. However, the Quints could not just walk away from the issue. It finally dawn
The two sculptures on both sides of the gate to the Quints’ residence were knocked down and destroyed. The newly reinstalled main entrance was taken down and trampled under the group’s feet. The Quints’ home was demolished. The house was the Quints’ pride and joy, and they had been disrespected. “Who are you to start trouble here? Get out now!” The Quints approached with aggression. The family’s attitude rubbed the creditors the wrong way. “We are workers at the local paper mill. We have been owed our wages since last year.“We have been standing up for our rights, but the top three families stopped us from having a voice. “When your family bought over the factory, we were told that you would be resolving the wages issue. We thought we could finally see the money. “But your family had not sent a single person to talk to us and hear our problems, so we had to go to you. “Your security guards had their fingers up our noses and told us to leave. They called us lowlife
The Quints froze. It was only the beginning of the many debt collections to come. “You are kind people. Despite knowing the horrible situation left by the top three families, you bought the companies and cleaned up their messes.” The individual expressed his gratitude and left. Unbeknownst to him, his words cut the Quints like a knife. They were overwhelmed with emotions. Smack! Rudy turned around and slapped Samus in the face. He yelled furiously, “What the hell have you done, you bum?” Samus spent billions, and yet there was not a profit in sight. The family now owed hundreds of millions of dollars. The thought that many more would gang up on the family for money sent chills down Rudy’s spine. The Quints had no more money to offer. “It’s that bastard’s fault. Kaze put us in this situation. I want to kill him!” Samus covered his face and yelled.“No point in killing him. The most important thing now is to deal with these issues.” Ashen in the face, Rudy
“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