Jay was a former soldier, after all, so one glance from him was enough to make anybody's legs turn weak, and Steven was no exception. The four elders approached, scowling, and pointed at Steven. "Steven! What are you waiting for? Let them go right now!""You have no right to capture Connor and Keith! No one is allowed to bring Connor and Keith out of here. The only way you can do so is over our dead bodies!""Let them go right now, Steven!""Assistant, keep your eye on them both! No one is allowed to take them away without our permission, and if anyone dares to sneak them out of here, I will not hesitate to shoot!""I couldn't believe this was happening until I got here. What on earth is happening to this city? How dare a mere first lieutenant like you even dare to capture the Saunders brothers?"Jay's soldiers pointed their guns straight at Steven and pulled the safety. In a split second, the air seemed to turn several degrees colder as Steven's men stared down the barrels of t
"He's right. I think Malcolm was the one behind this. He's been trying to bring us down for a while now, and I'm certain that this is his plan to capture us all…"Connor and Keith were practically scrambling over themselves to get their father to take them seriously. They even kept eyeing Liam and Steven with looks of scorn and contempt, convinced that Liam was nothing more than an actor whom Steven had hired to trick them under Malcolm's orders to arrest them.Jay, however, whipped around and slapped them both across their faces without hesitation. "You idiots! Shut your mouths. Have you forgotten where you are? How can you speak about General Lynch like this? Show him some respect, you good-for-nothing a*ses!"Connor and Keith clamped their mouths shut regretfully and did not dare to say anything further. Instead, they kept their heads bowed, occasionally shooting Liam and Steven another one of their murderous glares.Jay finally turned to Liam, a smug expression on his face. "Yo
Malcolm had brought a thousand of his best soldiers with him. As soon as they heard his command, they sealed off the entire area, including the adjacent streets. The citizens who were still loitering around the area were evacuated, and all the streets were cleared away so that no cars or people were allowed to enter or leave. Jay's expression darkened when he saw that it was Malcolm. "Malcolm, how dare you even order to have me captured?"Malcolm, however, did not acknowledge him and instead strode over to Liam. He adjusted his cap, then saluted Liam and declared, "Malcolm Lynch, general and commander of the garrison, reporting for duty, King Pendragon, sir!"Everyone was so stunned by this that they felt as though they had been struck by lightning. The Saunders and the elders, including the soldiers they had brought with them, all stared in horror at this. All sorts of emotions crossed their faces—initial shock, then excitement, then admiration and finally fear. Jay and his two so
Liam's gaze landed on Malcolm, but he did not respond, and instead, continued to stare coolly at him. After about half a minute, just as Malcolm was starting to get uneasy and was about to say something to break the silence, Liam finally replied, "Malcolm, you're not serving in my troop, so I have no right to punish you."Malcolm's heart leaped into his throat, but he bowed and said as respectfully as he could, "Sir…"Liam tore his gaze away. Instead, he turned to stare out at the distance and continued, "Remember that this is not to happen ever again! If something like this happens again in the future, I will have no choice but to assume that you have failed to protect the citizens of Drunham City, and I will let Cisco know about this so that he may elect another representative to run this city instead."With that, he picked up Jovie from where she was sitting, grabbed their bags, and left. Malcolm finally straightened up long after Liam had left, with beads of cold sweat coverin
Celena finally let out a sigh of relief and reached out to pinch Jovie's nose teasingly. "You're not allowed to say things like that in the future, do you understand? I was terrified for a moment there!"Jovie was a little upset at the fact that her mother did not believe her and instead thought she was just telling tall tales. She pouted, nibbling on her straw rather despondently, and muttered, "There were so many people there… Fine! I still think Dad's the bravest man in the whole wide world!"Celena smiled at this. "Okay, Jovie, I believe you. Your father is indeed the bravest man in the whole world!"Celena scarfed down the rest of her breakfast, then disappeared into the bedroom to get changed. By the time Liam and Jovie finished their breakfast, she had already gotten changed and was halfway out the door. Celena had only just gotten discharged from the hospital a few days ago. Liam recalled that the doctors had requested Celena to get some rest while she was at home, so he s
Liam and Jovie played together on the couch for a while, but since Jovie was still a child, it did not take her long to start to feel tired. When he noticed this, Liam brought Jovie into the bedroom for her nap, and he tiptoed out of the room after she had fallen asleep, closing the door behind him. Then, he sat down on the couch and started considering everything that had happened recently. Although he did not need to worry about money, he still needed to find a job soon. He could not go on like this, sitting around waiting for Celena to come home every day. Eventually, people would start to get suspicious, and he did not want people to discover his true identity soon. Besides, Celena was always getting taunted about the fact that she had a jobless husband, and he was determined to change that.He needed to find a job to keep his identity under wraps. Liam glanced at the room. Seeing that Jovie was still fast asleep, he decided to make a quick trip out of the house to the nearest
Even the ones who had looked confident about their muscular build all eventually came out of the interview room, looking despondent. One of these men even muttered under his breath, "Are they hiring a bodyguard or a punching bag? This is crazy… Absolutely atrocious! I'm never coming back to this h*llhole again…"Liam finally opened his eyes. At that moment, a woman wearing a tailored suit, a blue name tag, and black-rimmed glasses stepped out, clutching a stack of documents. She stopped at the door and shouted, "Next, Liam Cole! Is there a Mr. Liam Cole here?"Liam leaped to his feet and followed the woman into the room. The moment he stepped in, he realized that this was not an office he had previously expected. If anything, this looked more like a dojo!There was a giant arena in the middle of the room, not unlike those reserved for boxing matches, and a woman with a high ponytail, dressed in a white boxing uniform, stood within it. Although she had her back to Liam, he could te
Liam raised his brows in surprise. He had not expected to find someone with such clout in that sleepy little town.Ignoring Liam, the young man strode in and fixed his gaze on the woman onstage. He chuckled. "Hey, you've been at this the whole day and still no luck finding a bodyguard?"He sauntered over to a plush sofa, pulled out a cigar, and a bodyguard promptly lit it for him.Inhaling deeply, the young man blew a cloud of smoke and peered at the woman through it. "Really, why be so headstrong? Why not make it easy on yourself and take the bodyguard I've picked out for you?"The woman on the stage, Sunniva Bristow, looked icy as she shot back, "Yankel, cut the act. Do you think I'm clueless? You just want someone to spy on me. Well, I won't accept any bodyguard you shove at me. I can find my own."Mid-sentence, her eyes caught Liam, still lingering in the room. A spark of inspiration flashed, and she pointed at him. "You can keep your so-called kindness. I've found the perfect
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
The moment Clifford left, Kastor turned to Liam with a wide grin, all hint of his hostility now gone. "Mr. Cole, thank God I arrived just in time."He raised his brows as he said this, and Liam took this to mean he was trying to claim credit. Truth be told, he would have been able to handle things on his own even without Kastor's help, but he decided this was a detail Kastor did not need to know. Instead, he returned Kastor's smile graciously. Kastor, like a child, burst into laughter at this. No further words were exchanged, but they understood the message nonetheless.Jeffrey also grinned. "Kastor, what brings you here all of a sudden?"Kastor replied, "Ah, you might not know this, Mr. Stein, but I actually own this very restaurant that you're sitting in right now. One of my employees called me for help, citing that a brawl was about to break out, so I rushed over immediately. I had no idea it would turn out to be you and Mr. Cole!""Ah, what a pleasant surprise, then!" Jeffrey
Clifford scowled upon hearing this. He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he stared at Kastor through narrowed eyes.Kastor did not seem at all intimidated by this. Instead, he brushed past him and approached Liam, smiling. "Mr. Cole, I apologize for the delay. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news, but I was late anyway. I'm so sorry for the wait."Liam's expression eased up slightly. He tugged the corners of his mouth into a strained smile but did not reply. Clifford's expression turned even more sour when he sensed Kastor's tone. He asked sharply, "What is the meaning of this, Kastor? Are you intent on making me your enemy?"Clifford's reputation was known far and wide, and many feared him, but Kastor was not one of them. He shot Clifford a look of utmost disdain and replied, smirking, "Yes, Clifford, that's exactly what I'm going to do. So what if we will be enemies from now on? What are you going to do about it?"He was confident that Clifford would not dare to retaliate
One of the muscle-bound goons stowed his submachine gun and drew a hefty machete, nearly a foot long, from his side. He advanced on Liam with deliberate steps.Calum and Cirocco were poised for a fight, ready to jump in at Liam's command and wipe out the roomful of petty thugs.However, Liam had other plans. He remained seated, an unfazed smirk playing on his lips, watching the approaching thug with the machete.The thug, mistaking Liam's calm for fear, grinned viciously and raised his machete, aiming for Liam's arm.However, in a flash, the scene changed.A figure hurtled through the air, and with a resounding crash, the thug was sent flying into the wine rack. The rack toppled, bottles shattering, their contents spilling and perfuming the air with the scent of alcohol.The thug hit the ground, blood spurting from his mouth, his eyes wide with shock. He lay there, lifeless, staring at Liam, dead before he hit the floor.The room plunged into a deathly hush.Corie clapped a h
Corie was also shaken, her fists clenched tight under the table as she watched Liam with wide, fearful eyes, barely managing to whisper, "Liam!"Liam stood there, steady as ice, without a trace of fear. "Don't worry, I've got this," he assured.Corie, seeing Liam's calm dismissal of the threat and recalling his proven strength, felt her fear ebb away.She could not explain it, but she had an unwavering faith in Liam.Across from them, Clifford lounged back, his legs thrown carelessly over the table, his gaze dripping with disdain. "You don't know who you're messing with, do you?" he sneered. "Karpos works for me, Clifford. And yet, you've got the gall to attack my men in broad daylight? You're in over your head!"Jeffrey was about to chime in, but one look at Liam's icy demeanor and he thought better of it, choosing instead to watch the scene unfold in silence.He was curious to see just how Liam would handle that.Liam chuckled, a sound as cold as the winter wind, and fixed Cli