Cosmo was George’s youngest son. He was arrested when he tried to bribe Loid, the governor. To repay the favor, Loid helped Kaze punish the Lees, but he did not plan to offend them completely. Therefore, Cosmo was not put in prison, only detained. However, George could not bear watching his favorite son detained for a day, let alone a while. He contacted Johnson and demanded he release Cosmo, in a condescending manner. Johnson knew of the conflicts between Kaze and the Lees, so he contacted Snow and inquired about Kaze’s opinion. Kaze scoffed. “The Vinlands failed to enter Lilyrose and the Lees still haven't learned a lesson from it? He really thinks the Lees are that powerful?” The Lees were involved in the Vinlands’ attempt to annex the five companies related to Kaze. Kaze wanted to hold Gregory responsible but since the old geezer went back to Sunrise City, he did not give chase. “Tell Johnson not to release Cosmo. I also want him to teach Cosmo a lesson. If he can
Bang! George slammed on the table and bolted up furiously. “It has only been a few years since we left Lilyrose and they are already taking advantage of our absence? How dare they beat up my son! They must be having a death wish!” His eyes were burning with the flames of anger. The butler wiped his sweaty forehead and said, “Master, Young Master Cosmo did not just get beaten up, they even…” “What else?” George’s face turned gloomy. “They even forced him to scrub the toilet until it was cleaned! He cried as he cleaned the toilet and they didn’t even give him food!” Cosmo was born with a silver spoon and had lived like a prince for all his life. He had never done any chores, let alone being forced to wash the toilet. George was heartbroken to know that his son was being bullied by the gangsters. “Master, you have to bring Young Master Cosmo back and avenge him! If this gets out, it will ruin the family’s reputation!” said the butler with bloodshot eyes. He had been
“But people are saying the governor favored Johnson a lot and even wanted to send him to some training for his career advancement. “Since he’s under the spotlight now, and if we are to go after him, we will be indirectly disrespecting the governor and it will only put us in a tight situation in the future,” George said. The Lee family was on the passive side because they almost got Johnson killed. It was completely understandable that Johnson wanted to get revenge. Moreover, Cosmo was caught red-handed trying to bribe the governor. “George, why don’t we make Kaze bring Cosmo back? Johnson pushed the responsibility to him, so we’ll make him bring Cosmo out of the detention center. There’s no reason for Johnson to keep Cosmo detained then,” Gregory voiced his suggestion. “Yeah, you are right. We might not be able to go after Johnson but we can still go after Kaze.” George grinned and said to the butler, “Tell Samson Hobbs to deliver the message to Kaze. He has three days to
In the executive director’s office of Lee Solutions, Samson sat on his leather couch in his handsome suit, smoking a cigar casually. Suddenly, the door opened. His twenty-year-old son, Taz, strutted in with an arrogant look on his face. “Dad, Kaze Lee is just trash, why did you give him three days?” Taz sat opposite his father and took out a freshly cut cigar from the box. Samson’s secretary went over to Taz and lit the cigar. “I think you don’t even need to give him time. Let me bring a few men over to his house and if he refuses to cooperate, I’ll tell the men to fuck his wife.” Samson’s expression turned serious. “Don’t you cause any trouble for me.” “Did I say something wrong?” Taz argued, “The Lee family gave him three days. Since we are working for the Lee family, it’s better to complete the task as soon as possible.” For as long as he could remember, his father had been serving the Lee family. He himself was also Cosmo’s follower. “You know nothing!” Sa
“No!” Kaze was not happy with Agatha’s tone, so he declined instantly. Agatha was the one staying in his house but she acted like she was the owner. She always ordered him around as if he were a servant. “What is with that attitude?” Agatha widened her eyes and continued, “You are not even the CEO yet and you are talking to me like that? Look at you, what do you think you are capable of? Nothing! If not for Darcy’s BFF, making you a nominal CEO, you are still a driver at Shangrila Group.” Kaze was speechless. He declined her request and she came up with a ton of reasons to make fun of him. He looked at Agatha and forced a smile on his face. “Aunt Agatha, I am paid to be a driver at Shangrila but I am driving for free now. So, I get to say no.” He did not reveal his identity as chairman. Even if he did, the truth would not be able to overcome the prejudice in Agatha’s heart. Agatha was fuming. She pointed at Kaze and said, “You want money for driving your own famil
“An experienced driver with that much mileage?” Agatha was curious. She tried looking around but no one in the family matched the criteria. Then it must be a driver Kaze got externally. She got angry and said, “Kaze, you good-for-nothing trash! You can’t even afford to eat the other day and now you are wasting money to hire a driver?” She simply assumed Kaze was trying to save face by hiring a driver instead of driving Rose around. “I hired a driver? If you say so,” Kaze said with a smile. Agatha then went to Agnes and said, “Look at your son-in-law! He’s useless and a big spender!” She was annoyed and insisted that he drove today. “Kaze, don’t you dare hire another person to drive!” Agnes poked him in the arm. Kaze smiled and said, “I didn’t spend any money. It’s free.” “Free? Who are you kidding?” Agatha said. Then, she heard heavy breathing from the door and saw her husband running into the house. Surprised, she asked, “Nelson? What are you doing here? I
Nelson decided to put his grievance aside and bring the car around. Then, Darcy came back from work and saw Kaze and Rose with luggage, seemingly going out for a trip. “Where are you guys going?” “Rose had some friends organizing a camp or gathering at Mountain Dew.” Kaze did not find interest in accompanying some kids, so he invited his wife over. “Why don’t you join us, Darcy? We can continue where we left off the other day at Mountain Dew Estate.” Darcy saw Kaze’s wink and understood immediately. She instantly blushed. The last time she was at Mountain Dew Estate, she was drugged by Deborah and slept the entire night. She left in a hurry the next day due to work, so she did not get to enjoy the place with Kaze. “I’m not going.” Darcy looked at Kaze and said meaningfully, “I want to rest well at night. I have an important meeting tomorrow.” Kaze rubbed his nose and smiled awkwardly. The last time he was at Mountain Dew Estate, he made love to Darcy. Since it h
“Hi, Kaze.” Rose’s friends greeted him, with a casual attitude, somewhat perfunctory, and even sized him up curiously. Before Rose came to Lilyrose, her friends heard about her complaining about Kaze. Even though Rose had completely changed her mind about Kaze after spending some time with him, her friends remained prejudiced. They even looked down on Kaze. Mei said with a smile, “Kaze, you must be here to drive us around. Appreciate it.” “Yeah, we’ll pay you for the service,” Welt added. They knew Kaze married Darcy and he was never taken seriously. They also knew that his mother-in-law always scolded and beat him. There was once when they video-called Rose and they heard Agnes scolding Kaze in the back and threatening to throw him out of the house. Bronya spread the news in her circle and it sparked a heated discussion. Having no position in the family was terrible. Welt offered to pay Kaze for his service out of goodwill. He felt bad and pitied Kaze, and so did
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.