“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
When Master Quint called Horizon Mirror Mansion, Darcy was also looking at the news on the Quint and Lee families being sought after by their debtors, demanding payment. “I knew that something was wrong when the Quint and Lee families bid blindly without assessing the value of the companies. I just did not expect things to get out of hand so badly. “Everything collapsed on them at once. This isn’t normal. Someone must be pulling the strings from the back.” Darcy was speechless as well. The Lee and Quint families spent a few hundred million to buy some garbage. “The one who pulled the strings from the back is me, your dear husband.” Kaze said as he chuckled, “I am doing this for you.” “You keep telling yourself that.” Darcy rolled her eyes at him. She was surprised that Kaze was able to deal with Deborah but she did not believe that he was so capable of dealing with the two families. “Other than the Sunrise Lees and Butterworth Queens, could there be another family who
“Disaster has befallen the Quint family and it’s all because of your stupid husband!” Master Quint shouted from the other side of the phone. Darcy moved the phone away and looked slightly irritated. “Grandfather, the Quint family is in this situation because you are greedy. I warned Samus but he didn’t listen. Don’t put all the blame on Kaze!” Master Quint did not expect Darcy to be so protective of Kaze, which infuriated him even more. “Not his fault? The Internet is filled with rumors he released and he’s fanning the flames! Otherwise, this wouldn’t collapse on us all at once!” Darcy was surprised to find out that Kaze was indeed the one pulling the strings. “Darcy, Deborah was arrested and the Quints have become the joke of the city. What else do you want from us? Your Uncle Rudy has crossed the line but I already scolded him. Do you want to see them jump off the building before you stop? Are you really going to go that far?” Master Quint said sentimentally. Far? If
“Darcy, don’t entertain scam calls anymore.” Kaze tossed the phone back to Darcy and continued, “These kinds of calls will lure you and scam your money. Worse, they might sell you away and you will be gone forever.” “Kaze, that’s Grandfather!” Darcy glared at him. Kaze continued with the same look, “I don’t want you to listen to him. If he recalls his announcement now, when you shoulder the debt, they will release another statement to throw you out of the family again. Besides, I said I will help you build another powerful family and none of the Quints will be able to leech on you.” “That’s not what I am talking about!” Darcy pinched him and glared at him. “You called yourself Daddy in front of Grandfather, what are you thinking?!” Darcy snapped out of it the moment Kaze snatched the phone away. She knew her grandfather was trying to trick her again. Like Kaze said, once she shouldered the debt, they would kick her out once more. She was mad at Kaze for being audacious.
Master Quint and his family were outside Sky Ocean Corporation, causing a scene. He wanted to see Darcy, but the security guards, who were veterans from the Garo Spec Ops Team, stopped them outside. “I am your chairwoman’s grandfather! I want to see her! How dare you stop me? I’ll get you fired!” Master Quint shouted. “Step aside! We are going to see Darcy! You won’t be able to handle the consequences of standing in our way!” “Move! How dare some security guards stop us outside!” The other family members echoed and shouted at the security guards. They looked down on the security guards and showed no respect for them. The veterans were no longer serving the Garo Spec Ops Team but they were trained to carry out difficult missions and tempered by the harshness of the battlefield. Some of them were decorated soldiers as well. The insults and disrespect infuriated them, but they could not do anything because they knew Master Quint and the others were the family of the chai
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“Jet sure is bold to ensure business. Isn’t he afraid of shooting himself in the foot?” Kaze had never met a man like Jet. “He has done a lot to get to the top. His ruthless methods got him a lot of money. A lot of people are happy to support him.” Arthur was impressed with Jet’s tactics. However, his approach was too cruel for his liking. “Let’s head to the residential building.” Kaze just wanted to check out the area. He was happy to help when needed. The flashy, red sports car was eye-catching. However, the flamboyant car was uncommon in these places. Most workers would express their amazement, but they would not ask questions. The car pulled up outside a soon-to-be abandoned building. It looked desolate. The power lines and infrastructure were not visible either. Kaze knew that was one of the Frosts’ methods. Sometimes, nothing, not even demolition, was required. The goal was to get the residents out. All Jet needed to do was cut the water and electricity.
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.