“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
“Kick!” The moment the security captain shouted, all the security guards launched a kick together. It was quite an amazing scene as a row of men launched their kicks at their opponents en masse. Swoosh! The kicks were so strong that they caused a strong whirr. The bodyguards who jumped into the air were kicked in their chests. “Aaagh!” Painful shouts sounded consecutively. All the bodyguards were kicked away and fell down the stairs. Bones were cracked as they fell onto the ground. Everyone in the Quint family gasped in fear as they stared at the security guards. “Where did Darcy find them? How much is she paying them annually?” With one kick from the security guards and all the experts the Quints recruited from the top three families were defeated. They were so shocked that they did not even realize how much it would cost them to replace or heal the heavily injured bodyguards. “Not much. We are paid 20 thousand each per month,” the security captain said.
“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