Dane was not in a hurry to make Kaze return the money. He wanted to see Kaze on his knees first. He believed after Miru’s men were burnt to death, the Quints were frightened and they quickly gathered the money for Kaze to pay him back. “Hudson Vinland sent you?” Kaze did not kneel. He looked around to see if Hudson was around. If the man was around, he would deal with him altogether. “You can stop looking. Mr. Vinland isn’t here.” Dane smiled and added, “And, mind your words. Mr. Vinland isn’t powerful enough to order me around. We are just working together. He pointed out a bright idea for Dallas Moneylender, so I simply returned the favor by standing up for his daughter. That’s it.” Kaze was slightly disappointed that Hudson was not around. He asked, “A bright idea? So, Hudson gave you the idea of extorting money from the companies who got the funding?” It now seemed like Hudson was the mastermind. He was the one who instigated Dallas Moneylender to go after the Qui
“Hey punk, take off those glasses.” The young man went up to Draco with a ferocious grin and waved the knife in front of his face. “Why don’t you try taking it off me?” Draco said with a wide grin. The young man did not expect such a bold reply. Agitated, he shouted, “I’ll take it off you and dig your eyes out for the dogs!” He reached out to the glasses but before he could touch it, Draco seized his wrist. “Hey! Let go!” The strong grip hurt the young man. “Young man, you have one chance to let him go,” Dane said without a slight chance of expression but his tone sounded heavier. He was a man with an abundance of experience. Even when his own nephew was seized, he did not panic because they were in his territory. Kaze and his bodyguard could not possibly do anything to threaten them. “Old dog, quite calm I see.” Draco grinned wider and reached into his pocket with the other hand. Then, he pulled out his gun and pressed it against the young man’s head. “W-What
As though the soldiers came from the void, there was not a single sound before they barged into the room and seized the entire premise. Dane and his men were stunned and frightened. “Freeze!” “Drop your weapons and let me see your hands!” The ferocious thugs instantly turned quiet and timid as the soldiers shouted and pointed their guns at them. Dane realized the leader of the soldiers was a young brigadier general—it was Koga! He strode over to Draco and saluted formally. “Chief Commander, Sir! Garo Spec Ops Team reporting for duty!” “What?! Chief Commander? You are…” Dane widened his eyes in shock at Darco. “You said even if the Quints are my neighbor, you are going to kill all of them right? I'd like to see if you have the nerve to say that in my face again.” Draco took off his glasses. “Dra—” Dane cried when he saw Draco’s face. He sweated profusely and shook violently. The man with the glasses was the chief commander of Lilyrose Strategic Department!
A hard disk and the password was handed over to Kaze. Kaze then tossed the hard disk to Draco. He then smiled at Dane and asked, “Still feeling grateful for Hudson Vinland?” “I wish I could rip him apart with my own hands,” Dane said ferociously. If he did not listen to Hudson and fall into the trap, he would not cross paths with Kaze, let alone kneeling at him and begging for his life. His nephew would still be alive. “Then shouldn’t you inform your brother and tell him to avenge his son?” Kaze said with a subtle grin. “Yes, I will inform my brother and tell him to avenge me and his son!” Dane then immediately texted his brother. However, right after he tapped “send”, his expression froze. He looked at Kaze with a blank look. “Y-You are going to kill me?” Dane finally understood the meaning of Kaze’s words. Why would Kaze ask him to inform his brother to avenge him and his nephew? If Kaze had the thought of sparing him, then he would not have to go through al
“Get out of my face!” Miru glared at the weirdo who wore sunglasses at night. She saw the weirdo before. The man always hung out with Kaze and did not seem to have a proper job. “Woman, don’t you use that tone in my face. If not for Albert, I would have slapped you.” Draco then signaled Kaze. “Boss, get in.” “I think you are quite suitable for her, you can tame her.” “Come on, Boss. Aside from the temper, she’s arrogant and disrespectful.” The words that came out from the window as the car drove off left Miru infuriated. She almost told her men to chase after them and ram their car off the road. Meanwhile, at the hospital’s orthopedic department, Hudson visited Alfred for his broken leg at night. “Kaze, that little bastard! He slapped me and broke my leg in front of so many people. I’m not young anymore yet he did not hold back at all. Master Hudson, you have to do me justice!” Alfred started crying the moment he saw Hudson. Hudson’s expression turned grim. He
“Go to Chrysant Prison and get the Twin Ghosts,” Hudson said to his man emotionlessly. Both Alfred and the man were stunned by Hudson’s order. “What? Master Hudson, you are getting the Twin Ghosts involved? If yes, there will be a bloodbath,” Alfred said in shock. He looked scared as if he thought of something scary. “Lefteria Group has decided to oppose us by protecting Darcy and her family, so let there be blood.” Hudson stood with his hands behind his back and then dismissed his man with a wave. “Go.” “Yes, Sir.” The man nodded and left the ward for Chrysant City. Inside Chrysant Prison, there was an independent cell with two prisoners. The walls of the cell barely had any paint left. On its surface were many holes. The larger ones looked like they had been punched while the smaller ones, usually four to five in a cluster, looked like someone had poked their fingers into the concrete wall. There was also blood on the walls, both fresh and dried. The two pri
With the order from Hudson, invites were sent out. Soon, all the important figures of Lilyrose received the invites. “Hudson Vinland invites us to have tea at Wuthering Pavilion tomorrow. What is he planning?” At Bay Club, Gold Tooth and Dan Niner received the invites and they were not sure what to do with it. They worked for Kaze for a while and seized all the limelight for some time, but ever since they failed their missions, Kaze switched his attention to Miru. Since then, the two of them had been nothing but miserable. Gold Tooth was forced to retire because of one word from Kaze. He called Dan out to have a drink before they received the invites. “I don’t care what they wanted to do but we have to go to show respect,” Dan said bitterly. “The top three families are taken down already and Hudson Vinland is inviting us to tea? This is sketchy.” The three family heads also received the invitation and decided to talk about it at a cafe. They were still frightened
Hudson’s invitation was sent to Shangrila Group. This one was unlike the others because the content only had one sentence in it—Get over here, apologize! The person who delivered the invitation specifically said it was for Kaze. When the invitation was handed to Winnie, she was frightened. The conflict between Kaze and the Vinlands started because of her and Brenda. Hudson did all those things just because he wanted to get back to Kaze at the tea session. “Ms. Souffle, should we deliver this invitation to the chairman?” Sophie asked. “No need. I’ll take his place. We don’t need to let the chairman know about this.” Winnie bit her lip and made up her mind. Back at Horizon Mirror Mansion, after Darcy received a phone call, she went to Kaze with a concerned look. “Kaze, I got a call from my friend saying that the Vinlands sent invitations to many influential figures in Lilyrose, inviting them over for tea. I wonder if it’s about us.” From the moment Kaze beat up Yume
“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