William turned to his secretary and excitedly exclaimed, "Candy, did you hear that? I'm not dreaming, am I? I never expected this rundown factory to become so valuable. It's one thing to have someone want to buy it, but now Bristow Group wants to buy the factory, and they're offering 16 million dollars!"Candy shuddered with disbelief and gasped, "What?! Are you serious? Sixteen million dollars?"William, bursting with excitement, replied, "It's true. They said they'd send the contract over soon.""Oh my god!" Candy exclaimed, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "But Mr. Vincenzo, didn't you just sell the factory to Mr. Chanter for ten million dollars?"William slapped his thigh and groaned, "Oh no, I forgot about that! Candy, what should we do now? Mr. Chanter's offer is only ten million dollars while Bristow Group is offering 16 million dollars. That's a difference of six million dollars!"Candy's face also grew serious. Previously, the factory's sale price was only si
William immediately smiled and said, "Quick, please bring them in."Not long after, Liam entered William's office with Calum. With the factory in high demand, William was in high spirits. When Liam and Calum entered the office, they saw William lounging on the sofa, smoking a cigar, showing no intention of getting up.Upon seeing Liam, William sized him up and asked, "So you're the boss of LJC Group?"Liam frowned, glanced at William's somewhat arrogant posture, and replied calmly, "Yes, I am. Now let's proceed with the signing."William smiled and did not say anything. Instead, he handed over the contract, which was altered by his secretary, and said, "Alright, let's sign. Here's the contract."As Liam took the contract and glanced over it. He was prepared to sign when he noticed that the purchase price on the contract was changed from ten million dollars to 20 million dollars!Liam's expression darkened instantly. He asked with a frown, "What's going on? Didn't we agree on ten
Calum could not hold back his anger any longer. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Mr. Vincenzo, do you realize that hiking up the price like this at the last minute is something I can sue you for?"William's antics pushed Calum to his limit. He detested people who disregarded their word. He would have torn the factory apart, beaten William, and locked him up if it were not for Liam being there.However, William was not intimidated by Calum’s outburst. He leaned back in his chair, chuckling, "Mr. Chanter, you must be joking with me, right? Do you want to sue me? On what grounds? We didn’t sign a contract, so how can you claim we agreed on ten million dollars?"I’ll let you in on something, our factory was indeed valued at ten million dollars before. But things have changed. Just a while ago, someone offered 24 million dollars for our factory. If it weren't for the prior discussions with Mr. Chanter, I wouldn’t be offering it to you for 20 million dollars. If you’
William slapped the table and shouted, "Men, show them out!"Immediately, several employees walked in, ready to escort Liam and Calum out.Liam raised his hand and said, "Hold on!"Seeing this, William smirked with satisfaction, thinking he won. "It seems Mr. Cole has come to his senses. That’s more like it. Twenty million dollars for our factory is a fair price. If you’ve made up your mind, stop wasting time and sign the contract."Liam let out a cold laugh, his eyes glinting with frost. "No, no, no, Mr. Vincenzo. I think you misunderstood. I’m not agreeing to sign for 20 million dollars. I’ve also changed my mind. Your factory’s original asking price was six million dollars, correct? Then I’ll offer four million dollars to buy it. How does that sound?"William was momentarily stunned.'What?! Four million dollars?'Realizing what Liam said, William's expression darkened. He pushed his secretary off his lap and stood up from his chair, glaring at Liam with eyes full of fury.P
William laughed maliciously, his eyes full of menace. "That's right! I'm forcing this deal. The only way for you to walk out of this office is to sign the contract!"Liam scoffed. "And what if I refuse to sign?""What?! Refuse to sign? Looks like you need to be taught a lesson. Boys, break his legs and then pin him down to sign the contract!"William's face contorted with rage as he barked his orders, his eyes gleaming with a murderous intent.At his command, four thugs armed with batons advanced toward Liam with a sinister grin on their faces. To them, Liam appeared weak and easy to overpower. He was not their match at all. They were confident it would only take two punches at most to take him down.At that moment, Calum, standing by Liam's side, narrowed his eyes and swiftly drew a gun from his waist. In a quick motion, he positioned himself behind William, twisting his arms behind his back and pressing the cold, menacing barrel of the gun against William's temple."You've got
"Mr. Cole, sorry for coming late, but you can rest assured everything outside has been taken care of," Eaden said respectfully.Liam nodded in acknowledgment.As soon as William recognized who walked in, his face went pale with fear, and his eyes filled with terror. His legs went weak, causing him to nearly collapse onto the ground."Mr. Wafer!" Eaden's voice trembled as he spoke, indicating just how terrified he was.'What on earth is going on? What's the mafia boss doing here? Who exactly is this Mr. Cole to make even Eaden Wafer behave so deferentially toward him?'William dared not imagine. At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind, 'This is it. It's all over for me.'Calum, who held onto William, released him. He watched as William knelt on the ground, then chuckled coldly and asked, "Well, Mr. Vincenzo, weren't you just being arrogant? Why are you kneeling now?"As Calum spoke, he kicked William, continuing, "Say something! Weren't you just saying you'd crippl
Trembling all over and ignoring the glass shards beneath him, William hastily crawled up from the ground. He knelt in despair, crying out, "Mr. Cole, I truly realize my mistake! Please spare me this time. Four million dollars for the acquisition is too little. The factory was originally priced at six million dollars! Mr. Cole, I beg of you, I'm also in a difficult situation. I have elderly parents and young children depending on me. Please, have mercy. I truly know I was wrong.""Shut up!" Eaden angrily interrupted William's plea, his face full of anger as he stared at him with cold eyes. "William, you have some nerve. You should feel honored that Mr. Cole wants to buy your factory. Yet, you dare to raise the price! You know very well the value of your factory. Four million dollars is already more than fair. What more do you want?!"Eaden naturally exuded an aura of authority, and his anger made him even more intimidating.William was trembling like a leaf in the wind from fear. He
Liam gave a cold glance at the new contract and said icily, "If you agree, then sign it.""Yes, yes, I'll sign it right away."Looking at the newly printed contract and the price of four million dollars, William felt extremely unwilling, but he was constrained by fear and had no choice but to sign it.As soon as he finished signing, William felt as if all his strength was drained from him. He slumped to the ground, his eyes filled with despair.He thought the matter would end there, but to his surprise, Liam's cold voice rang out again after signing the contract."It's not over yet. You mentioned someone competing with me earlier. Who is it?" Liam asked coldly.William's heart trembled. At that point, he had no choice but to answer honestly, "Mr. Cole, it's Bristow Group. They offered 16 million dollars to buy my factory."Liam chuckled coldly, his eyes filled with a chilling murderous intent. "Haha, Bristow Group? Very well, it seems they haven't learned their lesson!"Afterwa
The entire meeting room was in absolute chaos. The remaining three Elders were equally vexed, and they all scowled, cracking their knuckles in fury."These people are getting out of hand! How can they possibly frame Liam's poor wife for such an atrocious crime?""We must get to the bottom of this! We must find out who's behind this! He or she cannot go unpunished!"Timothy nodded in agreement and roared at his cowering assistant, "Go find out what truly happened! Find out which filthy scum ordered Celena's arrest and what could possibly delude them into thinking she is a spy against our country!"His assistant squeaked a reply, then sped out of the room as fast as his legs could take him. He did not stop until he reached the front door of the Grand Pendragon Department, where he stood, panting and trying to catch his breath. His expression was wild with fear. He had never seen the Four Elders so furious before. Clearly, whatever had happened to Celena was something very serious ind
Keyon could see right through Prince Faber's apprehension. He replied with a smile, "Prince Faber, why are you so scared of that Liam fellow? Have you somehow forgotten that you are the commander-in-chief now? You have hundreds of thousands of soldiers at your beck and call. Why does it matter what Liam thinks? He has been deposed and is no longer in power! Besides, you have the Yeager family backing you, and there is nothing he can do to harm you!"You don't have to worry about a thing; the Yeagers have this all taken care of. We are just doing this to lure Liam out of hiding. If he dares to touch so much as a hair on your head, he'll be falling right into your trap."Prince Faber furrowed his brows at this. He could not help but question the validity of Keyon's claims. Keyon, sensing this, added, "Prince Faber, you must remember that stripped of his powers, Liam Cole, is now nothing more than an ordinary civilian! If he dares to harm you, he will be sentenced to death for treason a
What would Liam do if he found out Prince Faber had captured his wife? Surely he would not hesitate to turn the entire city upside down to look for her?Prince Faber was more than familiar with Liam's fierce loyalty and could not help but begin to worry at the prospect of having to face his wrath. He stared at Keyon's leering face and asked with belated realization, "Mr. Yeager, you ordered me to capture all those people from the Drunham City Connoisseurs, but the truth is, your sole target has always been Liam's wife. Is that right?"Keyon nodded, smiling. "That's right. We could care less about those businessmen. All we wanted was to get our hands on Celena Stone!"I must admit I was very surprised when I found out that Celena Stone is the wife of the great King Pendragon. Not only that, but I made an even more shocking discovery—it turns out that Liam is none other than the lone survivor of the Cole family, the noble clan who were allegedly wiped out seven years ago!"The ment
After a few moments' hesitation, he finally decided to shoot his shot. "Mr. Yeager, there is something I don't understand. Why did the Yeagers order these businessmen's capture? I've looked into their backgrounds, and they are all honest businessmen who have not broken the law before. If the media catches wind of this, they will surely accuse me of abusing my power…"This was what Prince Faber had been worried about. He had already investigated the people whom the Yeagers ordered to be captured and did not understand why the Yeagers wanted them imprisoned. They were all civilians who had not committed any crime, and he dared not even imagine the consequences if the public found out he had ordered the incarceration of innocent citizens.Keyon understood immediately Prince Faber's concern. He smiled and replied in a reassuring tone, "Worry not, Prince Faber. We Yeagers have taken care of everything. We have made absolutely sure to cover up all your tracks, and no one will know you were
Meanwhile, Celena and the group were taken out of the hotel and shoved forcefully into a couple of jeeps waiting at the entrance. They were whisked away to a nearby military base. Before they could even get their bearings straight, they found themselves being tossed into holding cells. Celena, on the other hand, was taken separately to a small, dark room, illuminated only by the barest sliver of light that peeped in through a tiny window. The room was entirely empty, save for a metal bed frame. A sour stench hung in the air, and it was clear this room had been abandoned for a very long time. A soldier shoved Celena roughly into the room, and before she could realize what was happening, the soldier slammed the door shut.The soldier had pushed Celena so hard that she fell onto the ground, but upon seeing that her captor was about to leave, she leaped to her feet and sprinted over to the door. "Sir, can you tell me what I did wrong? Can you please have mercy on me? Can you at least
Tristan seemed just as baffled as they were. He returned their puzzled gazes with an equally perplexed one of his own. "I… I have no idea…"The general glanced sharply in their direction, then gestured to his soldiers and declared sternly, "Take them away!"His soldiers obliged and stepped forward to restrain the members of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, who all shrieked in alarm, "Why are you taking us away?""General, what did we do wrong? We didn't do anything illegal, so why are you arresting us?""Mr. Xander, save us! They've got this all wrong!""What's going on here? Why are they arresting only us?"Celena's entire body was shaking like a leaf. She eyed the soldiers around her and asked, stammering, "General, what did we do wrong? Why are we being captured? Where are you taking us?"Tristan, stricken with panic, shoved a soldier aside and shouted at the general, "General, I'm the president of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, and I want to know why we're being taken away. Wh
Celena was utterly terrified by the sudden turn of events. She stared pale-faced at the soldiers around her, not daring to move even a muscle. What was going on?All of a sudden, a man in a uniform stepped into the room. The badge on his shoulder indicated to everyone that he was a general. The heavy thumping of his boots echoed through the silent room with every step he took. All eyes were on him as he stepped onto the stage.He carried himself with great authority, and clearly, this man was not one to be messed with. He scanned the room as if searching for someone. Finally, he announced in a deep, resounding voice, "Do not fear, ladies and gentlemen. We are here on a routine check after receiving a tip-off regarding your conference. We will release you all once we have carried out our investigation, and the process will be quicker and smoother if you all cooperate. "Now, I would kindly request you get your documentation ready so that my men may confirm your identity."Everyone
Derek nodded earnestly and replied, "Of course it's true. My sources have never failed me. I wouldn't have trusted you with this information if I didn't think you'd be interested."Celena stared at him for a moment, then turned to glance in the direction of the people he had pointed. She could not help but be tempted by the offer. She considered this for a few moments, then accepted his offer. "Alright then, Mr. Duncan. I'll go with you. Thank you for inviting me."The smile on Derek's face widened. He could hardly believe his luck—Celena had agreed to go with him! Taking that first step was always the hardest, but he had done it!Unbeknownst to Celena, Derek already knew her long before their first meeting at the conference. Her name was known far and wide in Drunham City, not least because of her beauty, but because of her—in the eyes of the public—tragic marriage. Celena had earned herself a reputation as one of the most beautiful women Drunham City had ever seen, and although
The attention they received, however, was large due to Celena and her young, handsome companion, who was a man named Derek Duncan. Their attractive looks, both individually and combined, were easily the topic of discussion that night. Everyone who laid eyes on them admired both their good looks and brains, for certainly only the cream of the crop were allowed to attend this prestigious event. What made this feat even more impressive was the fact that they were both so young!Aside from her beauty, Celena's name was already known far and wide in the business world, not just because of her strong leadership but due to her association with Liam and her company's connections with many international corporations. She had started her business from scratch, but within a few short months, she had single handedly built it up to become one of the top ten grossing companies in Drunham City.There were hundreds of people gathered there tonight, and their seats had been allocated according to t