The interrogation room was filled with Kaze’s laughter. His chuckles were annoying. His offhand remark stung more, though. Blake, Trafford, and Felix grimaced. “What are you laughing about?” Felix was furious because he could sense Kaze’s disdain. “I find you amusing,” Kaze replied indifferently. To think someone would try to extract a confession out of him through trickery. The individual attempted to break him and make him confess something that never happened. Besides, counter-reconnaissance and counter-interrogation were part of the core military program. The God of War Palace acquired talents to perfect these skills. Before joining the army, Kaze had used these techniques to his advantage countless times. When he was banished to Lilyrose and faced death threats, he had to play it smart by playing dumb. The best experts in interrogation and psychology were invited to confirm if he was just acting crazy. All were unsuccessful in proving he was faking it.
The room was hot and stuffy as if the heater was turned on. Johnson lay weakly on the ground, soaked all over. Yet, his lips were dry and cracked, a sign of severe dehydration. “I didn’t betray you, Mr. Lee,” Johnson said strugglingly. He could barely open his eyes but managed a sad smile for Kaze. “You’re playing with fire, Blake, Trafford!” Kaze shouted angrily. At this rate, Johnson would die of dehydration. Hiss! A staff member carried a bucket of water into the room and ladled some water onto the nearby coals. White steam filled the room. The room became a hot furnace. “Enjoy your sauna, Kaze. Take Johnson out. Don’t let him die,” Blake said with a sinister smile. He could not stop wiping his sweat the moment he stepped into the room. Sauna was beneficial to health when used in moderation. In moments of excess, it could be deadly. It was a form of torture to extract information. “Okay. I’ll enjoy the sauna before the person I’m expecting arrives. I coul
“The governor has a lot on his plate. Why would he pay extra attention to something so small?” Blake was confused. Trafford replied, “That’s not the only thing. The governor specifically asked about Kaze and sent his secretary-general to get a detailed report on Kaze’s case.” “Huh? Did Kaze get through to the governor to plead his case?” Blake was apprehensive. He had something to hide, to begin with. The case had not made any progress so far, and the governor’s involvement might push things in the wrong direction. “Kaze has some connections to get the governor’s attention, but the governor isn’t on his side.” Trafford chuckled. “How so?” Blake asked. “Do you know what Kaze did?” Trafford laughed out loud. “The idiot bribed the governor openly by giving him real estate, cars, and companies. The governor is livid, to say the least. Haha. Isn’t that funny?” His close associate in the governor’s office told him so. “Woah. I can’t believe the idiot did that. Hahaha
The governor had arrived in Lilyrose. Blake and Trafford were taken aback. They did not expect the matter to be so severe that the governor would come all the way to Lilyrose just to grill Kaze. “You’re finished, Kaze now that the governor’s involved. No one can save you and your wife now.” Blake was thrilled. “Don’t waste your breath on the loser. We should go and welcome the governor.” Trafford scoffed and pulled Blake out of the interrogation room. Two vehicles were parked outside the mayor’s office. Blake could not determine the governor’s ride because both cars were inconspicuous. “Hello there, Governor.” As Loid stepped out of the car, the pair went up to greet him. “Where is Kaze?” Loid asked with a wry look, not even pausing for a second as he headed inside the building. “Come with me, Governor Farland. Kaze refused to admit to his crimes and interfered with the interrogation. He’s in the interview room.” Blake took quick paces to the interrogation ro
Blake and Trafford were stunned. Loid somehow turned around and lashed out at them instead. Although they were suspicious of Loid’s attitude toward Kaze, reality had not kicked in yet. Trafford uttered, “Governor, Kaze tried to bribe you, but he refused to admit to it. Mayor Bowman merely went to extreme lengths to protect your pride.” He thought his remark would spark Loid’s fury. The governor came all the way to Lilyrose, clearly out to get Kaze. “Bribe me? He was insulting me because of what you both have done.” Loid glared at Trafford. “Tell me. What did Blake give you for your trip to Lilyrose?” Color washed off Trafford’s and Blake’s faces.By bringing the matter to light, Loid clearly intended for them to answer for their crimes.Pale-faced, Trafford tried to think of an excuse and said calmly, “I didn’t get anything out of it, Governor. The Vinlands and the Lees came to me to promote Blake. I agreed to it because I believe we need to be on good terms with the
Trafford kneeled next to Kaze’s feet and slammed his forehead on the ground repeatedly until his skin broke. He was a wise man, knowing words could not help him now. His fate lay in the hands of Kaze. “I was wrong, Kaze. The two prominent families wanted me to go after your family. If I knew you were the God of War, I wouldn’t do it.” Following suit, Blake kneeled before Kaze and clung to his leg in tears. The previously high and mighty mayor spinelessly begged Kaze. Thud! Disgusted, Kaze kicked him away. Blake sprung back on his feet and drew close to Kaze. “You must forgive me, Kaze. You threw my son out of the window. He’s still in the emergency room. I have paid the price.” Smack! Kaze gave him another kick and smirked. “Don’t speak to me like I owe you. If I were to arrive late, my wife would be the one in the hospital.” “I won’t be the mayor anymore. I’ll do anything you ask!” Blake whimpered and wanted to approach Kaze again. Loid said chillingly, “You h
Everybody outside the mayor’s office was stunned. It never occurred to anybody that Kaze, who was held captive for questioning, would walk out a free man. Blake the mayor was now under arrest. As the public watched, Blake was dejectedly escorted into the police car in handcuffs. More surprisingly, Kaze was sharing a pleasant talk with Loid, the governor. “What the hell is going on? The governor came all the way to Lilyrose to deal with the mayor instead of punishing Kaze.” “Maybe Kaze’s gifts worked. Seriously, Governor?” These people were disappointed, and they could not figure out why. They mocked Kaze for doing a foolish thing by bribing the governor openly. To their surprise, Kaze’s gift-giving was well received. Not only did the governor save him, but Blake was also ruined in the process. Loid saw Kaze off the building and even gave him a ride home. These people had no idea who Kaze was. They assumed that Loid was materialistic and did not carry shame for t
“Give me a chance, Mr. Lee. Sob, sob…” Kevin was dragged away. Don left with his men. Kaze took a stroll to the villa. “Just transfer the corporate shares to the Vinlands, Darcy. Don’t fight it anymore. Hudson is a vicious man. You can’t deal with him.” Master Quint was there to convince Darcy to hand over the shares. Samus and the others watched the drama with delight. Darcy sat on the couch with tears in her eyes. “I can give the shares to the Vinlands, but they have to promise to let Kaze go.” “Sigh. Do you think the ball is in your court to negotiate?” Master Quint sighed. “If the idiot hadn’t tricked you into going against Hudson, things would not have come to this. You should have surrendered the companies to them a long time ago. The Vinlands might have appreciated your talent and given you a job.“Hudson won’t be grateful even if you hand over the shares now.” Darcy was Master Quint’s granddaughter at the end of the day. He felt bad to see Darcy’s family
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