The employee’s update on the situation outside the building killed the joyous mood in the office. Darcy opened the window and was blasted by the loud clamors downstairs. “More than a hundred media outlets are here. This isn’t normal, someone must be fanning the flames.” “Vayne is talking nonsense. Professor Whiteman came of his own free will, yet Vayne made it sound like we abducted him! This is slander!” “Someone is targeting Sky Ocean Corporation!” Ash and the executives were both angry and panicking. Be it the person in the dark or Vayne, both of them were vicious and they aimed to push Sky Ocean Corporation over the edge. “Calm down!” Kaze said loudly. He explained, “This is a good thing. We just signed the contract with the professor and we are going to announce it anyway. Now that someone has more than a hundred media outlets here for us, we don’t even need to contact them ourselves.” Ash and the others were struck with sudden realization. The panic on their fac
“Professor Whiteman!?” “The professor is here!” When the vigorous aged voice echoed in the air, the reporters clamored once more. The reporters were so excited that they almost broke through the security guard’s human wall. Vayne was pushed away from the spotlight and was drowned by the stampede. “Professor, your student said you were abducted by Sky Ocean Corporation, is that true?” Professor Whiteman glared at the reporter and said, “If I was, how am I answering your stupid question here? Are you blind? Should I recommend you to my optometrist friends to get your eyes checked? “And you people! Where is your conscience? Are views and attention more important than the truth?” Professor Whiteman bellowed angrily at the reporters. Like Kaze, the professor did not care what the reporters would write in their articles. He simply disliked the reporters’ poor ethics and scolded them. The reporters were scolded by Kaze and then the professor. Many of them were aggrieved.
Samson shouted into the phone. He had friends working in the media, so he got a first-hand update on what happened at Sky Ocean Corporation. Not only did the professor announce his endorsement of Mountain Dew Estate, but he also exposed the dirty secrets between Vayne and Lee Solutions. Samson could already see the criticism flooding his company, so he quickly warned Vayne to take responsibility and free the company from unnecessary criticism. Vayne was forced to agree. He regretted his actions. If he directly signed the contract with Sky Ocean Corporation, things would not have been exacerbated to this extent. However, there was no turning back for him now. No one cared about Vayne anymore. All the reporters focused on the professor and Sky Ocean Corporation. The news of the professor endorsing Mountain Dew Estate reached the internet and made headlines. As the professor’s first endorsement, Mountain Dew Estate received overwhelming attention. “Darcy, we got grea
Darcy was happy that the tables had turned. She shot a glance at Kaze to warn his hand to behave. “Kaze, thank you. It was you who came up with the idea of getting the professor to endorse Mountain Dew Estate. Otherwise, I really have no idea what to do.” “That’s it? At least give me a kiss.” Kaze smiled and moved closer to her face. Darcy blushed and jokingly pushed him away. “I have to work… Mhmm!” Her resistance was silenced by a strong kiss. …Meanwhile at Lilyrose Prime Hospital, the atmosphere in Lil Dee’s ward felt heavy. The TV on the wall was showing Professor Whiteman being interviewed at Sky Ocean Corporation. Other than the noise from the TV, everyone in the ward was silent and they had a heavy look on their faces. After the news, Alyssa took a deep breath and said heavily, “What the hell? We spent all that money to get the media there and Sky Ocean Corporation used it to make their announcement?” “Sky Ocean Corporation is darn lucky! They got Profess
Without further ado, Lil Dee and Alyssa went to Sky Ocean Corporation. There was still a crowd outside the building. Professor Whiteman had left but the reporters wanted to get more interviews with the people in the company, especially Darcy and Kaze. Both of them were probably the most discussed people in the city. One of them was the chairwoman of two companies and was known for her beauty while the other impersonated the God of War who was known for being useless and the son-in-law of the Quint family. The reporters hoped they could get exclusive interviews with them, but Darcy and Kaze did not even come out. Then, Lil Dee and Alyssa arrived. The reporters were surprised for a moment before they swarmed over to the two of them. “Lil Dee, I heard you were beaten up by Kaze Lee and got hospitalized. Is that true?” Lil Dee was still in his hospital gown and had a patch on his face. His appearance somehow verified the reporter’s question. “Please make way. We are on
“Ms. Quint, uh…” Ash tried to stop Kaze. She believed it was inappropriate to be so disrespectful because they had to work together long-term. Darcy glanced at her but did not say a word. The stern look on her face silenced Ash. After Ash and the executives tried to abdicate her, Darcy still respected her for her experience and insights but she would no longer let Ash make all the decisions. “Kaze Lee! Don’t push it! I’ve apologized, what else do you want? You really think I can’t live without your contract?” Lil Dee was furious. Kneeling and apologizing to Kaze would be worse than killing him. Kaze curled his lips and said, “Then please leave. You are right, it’s not like we have to work with you anyway.” “You…” Lil Dee’s eyes were burning with flames of anger. He glared at Darcy and said, “Ms. Quint, is this how you treat your business partner?” Darcy said emotionlessly, “Lil Dee, we are not business partners to be exact. You’ve terminated the contract already.”
Kaze’s words left the room full of people dumbfounded. With red-rimmed eyes, Lil Dee pointed at Kaze and blurted angrily, “You went back on your word, bastard!” Lil Dee had kneeled and cleared the air. He assumed the humiliation would be enough for him to keep his position as the ambassador and piggyback on Sam’s popularity. Yet, Kaze wanted to back out of the contract. Kaze’s scornful eyes nearly drove Lil Dee to the edge. Ashen in the face, Alyssa said to Darcy curtly, “Ms. Quint, I guess integrity isn’t one of Sky Ocean Corporation’s business core values since you can’t keep your word.” Darcy furrowed her brows. Kaze said with a smirk, “What promise? I’ve never said that he would still be the ambassador if he apologized on his knees and came clean openly.” While talking, he turned to Lil Dee. “Besides, it was the least you could do. You made a fuss, demanding that I kneel before you to apologize. You should have seen it all coming when you hired trolls to slander m
“Winnie, you bitch! You can’t wait to divorce me so that you can be with a mooch like Kaze. “His wife is more beautiful than you and has more money than you. Do you think he’ll marry you once you boot me out? “You’ll get nothing, you whore!” Zenny’s vile comments boomed from the other end of the line. “You have lost it, Zenny.” Winnie tried to conceal the anger in her voice. “Kaze and I are just friends. I’m filing for divorce because you tried to hurt Brenda, and that is more than I can take. “It’s the end of the road for our marriage. Divorce will be good for all of us.” Zenny used Brenda to trick Winnie into the underground parking lot once. Winnie and Brenda were forcefully taken to Wuthering Pavilion and nearly died horribly at the hands of Chrysant Twin Ghost. Since that day, Winnie made up her mind to divorce Zenny. She had been looking for Zenny, but the latter had taken cover. “Zenny, just say the word, and we can meet to sign the papers—” Zenny interru
Phoenix nodded with a fake smile and said grimacingly, “But it looks like your employees hold you in high regard. “They didn’t budge even when their legs were broken.” “Bang!” Shadow kicked an executive to the wall. Darcy looked at the executives and said coldly, “Before I step down, I am instructing all of you to accept Joan as the new chairwoman.” “Ms. Quint!” Many executives grimaced while others cried out in tears. They knew that Darcy agreed to resign because she could not stand them to take the abuse.“I want to apologize for failing to protect you.” Darcy hung her head low in the presence of her management team as tears streamed down her face. She had never been so devastated. Sadly, Kaze would not be with her. Kaze started it too. “I approve of Joan as the chairwoman.” “Me too.” “I concur.” The executives spoke up. They could not change the situation. With Darcy giving in, they knew further resistance would only be met with brutality. As the
Shadow did not show any signs of stopping. She continued kicking the female executive. “Stop, bitch!” Two male executives tried to stop Shadow. Shadow had eyes on the back of her head. Without looking back, she swept a kick at the two big men and slammed them against the wall. She approached the two men and stomped on them. “Crack!” “Crack!”With two sickening cracks, the legs of the two male executives were brutally snapped. Their harrowing cries echoed through the ward. “Stop!” Darcy’s eyes turned bloodshot as her right-hand men endured the brutality. She got up right in Shadow’s face. “Smack!” Shadow slapped Darcy to the ground.She approached Darcy with a blank face and raised her foot. “No!” Hector and Agnes’ breath hitched in their throats. “Shadow.” Phoenix, who watched the violence callously, said, “You can stop now.” She unleashed Shadow on these executives to show them who the boss was. Phoenix had gotten what she wanted. The plan would
Agnes scowled in distress. Sky mumbled under his breath, “You have no right to anyone, though. Darcy doesn’t answer to anybody. The executives approve of her. You can’t run the company without Darcy anyway—” “Shut up!” Phoenix yelled furiously, “The executives approve of her? Well, I can make sure that doesn’t happen. “I doubt they would say anything if I wanted to fire her.” Phoenix said curtly, “Let them in.” Amid her confusion, Darcy watched as Sky Ocean Corporation’s high management entered the room. “Ms. Quint!” The executives greeted Darcy respectfully. They had a lot of respect for Darcy. Though they were a lot older than Darcy, these executives still held Darcy in high regard. Phoenix kept a straight face throughout. She slammed her cane to the ground and yelled at the executives, “I want to sack Darcy and make Joan the chairwoman. Show of hands if you’re on board with the idea.” Silence befell. Two dozen executives exchanged glances. It never occurr
What?Kaze was the cause of the assault, but Darcy was somehow relieved of her chairwoman duties. Hector was stunned. Agnes stepped forward and wailed with a pale face, “Madam Quint, you can’t do this!“Darcy expanded Sky Ocean Corporation and built a presence in Riverbank all on her own. The Quints never helped. Why should she be replaced by Joan?“Darcy has poured her heart and soul into the company. The executives and employees can bear witness to her dedication. “You are letting the employees down. “Besides, Kaze is the problem. He’s out of control. “I’ve been hoping Darcy would dump him, but Darcy is too kind. “I trust that Darcy will move on from him after this incident.“You should be punishing the right person. Don’t put this on Darcy!” Agnes understood that Sky Ocean Corporation was the very thing that provided her family with the lifestyle they had right now. If Darcy was stripped of power, the family would revert to their miserably impoverished days. De
Phoenix glared at Darcy’s family and said sternly, “Did you hear me?” Hector and Agnes shivered and felt obliged to comply with Phoenix’s request. Before Hector and Agnes said anything, Sky jumped in. “Kaze wouldn’t beat anyone up for no reason, Madam Quint. Besides, Joan has it out for our family. She hasn’t liked Kaze since day one.“For all we know, she could be spinning a tale.“You might want to get to the bottom of the truth—” “Shut up!” “Bang!” Phoenix cut Sky off by whacking him with her cane. “What do you know? It’s not your place to speak. Where are your manners? “One more word from you, and I’ll hit you again.” Sky’s repeated offense of challenging Phoenix’s authority drove her to the edge. Furious, Sky rubbed his aching arm and opened his mouth to refute. “Don’t be stubborn!” Agnes yanked Sky in fright and smiled apologetically at Phoenix. “I’m sorry, Madam Quint. Sky is young. He doesn’t know any better.“Don’t be mad, Madam Quint. We’ll contact Ka
“But Kaze doesn’t learn from his mistakes. He acts like he’s all that!“He broke my arm and stomped on my face, saying that I couldn’t be prettier than his wife. “I can accept the injuries on my face, Madam Quint. “But Kaze is disrespecting the family and you!“Please stand up for me, Madam Quint. Sob, sob…” Joan wailed. Her piercing bawling sparked the other family members to back her up. Phoenix was outraged. Hector, Agnes, Darcy, and Sky turned pale. They did not expect Kaze to assault Joan. Kaze went hard on her too. Most importantly, Joan’s boyfriend was the only son of Boris, one of Riverbank’s four underground kingpins, and the boyfriend seemed to be in a worse state. “Kaze brings us nothing but trouble!” Agnes scowled and hissed through clenched teeth, “I knew he shouldn’t be with Darcy. I knew he’d be the death of us.” Old habits sure died hard. Agnes had dropped the attitude after the slapping incident, but she was back to her overbearing self again.
The sneers and gloating looks made Darcy’s family’s hearts sink. Hector got a call half an hour ago and learned that Phoenix had walked free after Kaze called the cops on her. Phoenix wanted Darcy’s family to come to the hospital. Hector thought that Phoenix had fallen ill. Without another word, Hector took Agnes to the hospital. Darcy and Sky had to make time out of their work and school to be there for Phoenix too. The family forgot to bring Kaze along by choice. There was no telling whether Phoenix was ill or angry with Kaze. The last thing they would do was bring Kaze along to make things worse. Outside the ward, Darcy’s family learned through the chatter that Joan, instead of Phoenix, was admitted. Joan’s hospital admission seemed to garner a lot of attention from Phoenix. Oblivious to the situation, Darcy’s family was in a daze. “Has Hector’s family arrived? Tell them to get in here!” Before Darcy’s family could get to the bottom of the matter, Phoenix’s a
Besides, the execution hall enforced the law within the Viper’s Den, putting the division in a superior position within the Viper’s Den West State Branch. The division had the power to decide whether the Viper’s Den member would live or die. The leader of the execution hall, Robin, would oversee the South River State Branch’s new branch chief and branch deputy. Hannah and Collier could not afford to let their guard down. They braced themselves to meet the man. “Marcus? Robin?” Kaze said indifferently, “I keep note of these names. The South River State Branch can’t do anything to the pair, but I am the branch leader.” “You have the power to stop them!” Collier said. Yet, Collier remained hesitant. It was true that Kaze was the Viper’s Den West State Branch leader. The Nether Viper Sword proved it. However, Kaze never officially took office. In other words, the position of the branch leader remained vacant. Collier could not understand Kaze’s delay in declaring his
Conan could sense the calm before the storm over the phone. He stopped joking around and said solemnly, “Of course.” It did not take Conan and Collier long to get to Kaze. Collier took out a stack of Rhys’ photos and said, “I know this guy. He’s Rhys Road, the only son of Boris, Riverbank’s underground kingpin. “His father bankrolled him to start a business in entertainment. He doesn’t get involved in the company operations, but he loves scouting talents to trick women. He’s worse than the man I was.” At least, Collier was aware of the type of man he used to be. Still, Kaze was not amused. Collier kept it strictly business and said somberly, “He often hangs around schools and around the mall to scout beautiful women. He has slept with many women, promising them the world.“He would be forceful with those who didn’t fall for his scheme. He would isolate them or drag them to somewhere secluded and take compromising videos of them. “Dozens of women fell victim to him over t