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
“Don’t worry, Darcy. Those two families will pay very soon.” Kaze then told them about Loid going after the two families. The entire family was surprised. What happened? Kaze openly sent Loid a big surprise but Loid did not blame him or punish him. Instead, he agreed to help to deal with the two families? “Loid Farland’s men accused me for no reason, he owes me this much,” Kaze simply explained. He then called Snow. “Snow, how’s things now?” “Mr. Chairman, people are saying that the governor received your gifts and agreed to help you take down Blake Bowman. Now everyone tried to copy you and ask him for favors. Some diligent ones called the company and asked for verification on the matter.” Kaze nodded. “Then just let it be. Don’t clarify or deny anything, let them go. Anyone who copies me will be punished.” “Mr. Chairman, will it affect Governor Farland’s reputation?” Snow was worried that the governor might not be happy about this. “It’s fine. His men tried to h
The five companies’ combined assets were more than five hundred million, probably even more than five billion. Gregory was delighted. Since Loid accepted the gifts openly, he had no scruples about giving more. He ordered his men to send more gifts in the name of one of his companies. Meanwhile, Loid was visiting a steel factory for inspection with his men. Since Kaze did not want his identity to be revealed, it would be strange if Loid came to Lilyrose because of him. Therefore, he came to Lilyrose to inspect the local factories, nominally. After inspecting the factory, he went to the factory’s cafeteria for lunch. Then, a group of suited men came in and asked for a meeting. “What is it?” Loid asked as he chewed on his food. A middle-aged man went up to him with a flattering smile and said, “Governor, I am Alvin Springman, Jade Nova Ltd.’s CEO. I humbly thank you for your care over all Lilyrosean, so I prepared some gifts to show our gratitude. Please accept them.”
Bang! The slam on the table was so loud that the entire cafeteria heard it. Everyone was shocked. The governor was also the regional commander of the military, which explained his dignified demeanor and stern tone. When he was angry, no one could stand his wrath. Cosmo and Ivy were stunned. Loid had been taking gifts from the suited men, yet when the two of them did the same, he got mad and slammed on the table. Cosmo sweated nervously. He lowered himself and said timidly, “Governor, the gifts are just a token of gratitude, we didn’t mean anything. If you don’t want to investigate the five companies and Kaze Lee, then just forget about it!” “Yeah, just forget about it!” Ivy echoed in a trembling tone. The two of them stepped back and wanted to leave immediately. They were suffocated by the governor’s mighty aura. “Leave? This isn’t over yet!” Loid did not spare the two of them. He said angrily, “Not only did you try to bribe me openly, but you also wanted me to
“Contact the local police department and arrest those who tried to bribe me today! Investigate them thoroughly and punish them accordingly!” Loid said coldly as he waved his hand. The men who tried to bribe him cried in sorrow. “Governor! Please! We are so sorry! We were deceived by Kaze Lee!” “Yeah, he should be arrested, not us!” No matter how they clamored or cried, Loid was unfazed. Knowing that they would be arrested no matter what, Alvin and the others plunged into despair. They cursed Kaze for misleading them and cried because they were being arrested. They came here not to bribe the governor but to get themselves arrested. If they did not try to copy Kaze and bribe the governor, they would be fine. Now, they spent money on the gifts and even got themselves arrested. Ivy and Cosmo had it worse. They resented Kaze more than anyone and they thought with five hundred million, they could use Loid to crush Kaze. However, Kaze turned out to be fine and they got t
Aside from losing five hundred million, the two investment firms were also fined more than a hundred million, and got blacklisted. Meaning, the Vinland and Lee families’ plans to annex the five companies were foiled before they even started. Hudson and Gregory were furious. Kaze was fine when he gave the governor gifts, but they were arrested and fined when they did the same. What nonsense? Yet they had to swallow the grievance because they dared not argue with Loid. Even though the two families were wealthy and powerful, they could not afford to offend the governor of the state. “Kaze! That little bastard!” While Gregory was shouting to vent his grievance, he received a call from his brother, George. “Greg, you piece of useless trash! What did you do in Lilyrose? Your son’s legs were broken and you are trying to make it even by getting my son arrested?! “Get back here immediately! I don’t care what you do. You will go to the governor and beg him to release Cosmo, e
It was Hudson’s men’s first time seeing such a scary expression on his boss. He said with a shaking voice, “Master Hudson, they are here already. Do you want to see them?” “No. Tell them to go after Gold Tooth and Dan Niners.” Anger had distorted the features on Hudson’s face. He said wickedly, “Kaze will be the last. I will go after the people around him, one by one.” Although he could not get Kaze through legitimate means, he could still send his killers after the idiot. The news of Hudson Investment Firm and Lee Solutions being fined shocked the business world. No one thought it would turn out like this. Kaze sent gifts to the governor and he was fine; the others sent gifts to the governor and they were arrested. What a twist of events. Back in Horizon Mirror Mansion, the Quints were also surprised by the news. “The Lees and the Vinlands are expelled from the city just like that?” Darcy could not believe the news. She plunged into despair when the two familie
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