Celena put down her cutlery, got up, and went to retrieve some pamphlets sitting on the coffee table. She then handed them to Liam and said, "Here. You should take a look, too. I have my eye on these schools, but I don't know which one to go with. You should have a look and tell me what you think."Liam scoured through these pamphlets, then replied, "They all look great, but which one do you think is the best out of all of them?"Celena pointed to one and said, "This one is called the Guiding Star School. It's the most prestigious kindergarten in Drunham City, and boasts the best learning facilities in the city, but most importantly, it's known for its exemplary teaching style. It's always been the most famous kindergarten here in Drunham City, but unfortunately…"Liam could tell that Celena was very pleased with the Guiding Star School; otherwise, she would not have gone into such detail about it, but he sensed her hesitation and caught onto it. "What's wrong with it?"Celena glan
The next day, Theodore was sitting in his office, perusing some documents in a rather good mood, when all of a sudden, his assistant barged into the room, panting. "Mr. Eaton, something bad has happened… Something terrible has happened!"After getting over his initial shock, Theodore shot the assistant a cold glare and snapped, "What happened to scare you so that you'd come into my office without even bothering to knock?"The assistant took in a deep breath, then sauntered toward Theodore, deliberately bending over to show off her voluptuous bosom in her low-cut top. "Come on, Mr. Eaton, I didn't mean to do it… I was just too nervous to get this news to you… I'm sorry…"A lecherous grin flashed across Theodore's face. "Never mind. Tell me what happened that sent you running to me in such a panic."His assistant replied, "Well, I did as you asked and went over to see Mr. Fabin this morning, but the moment I got there, his employees at the Quality Supervision Bureau told me that he'd
Felix felt like his head was about to burst. He had no idea how to even begin navigating this situation. On the one hand, he had Liam Cole, the mysterious all-powerful man whom even Malcolm seemed to fear. On the other hand, he had Theodore Eaton, the heir of a powerful and influential family from the capital. Although the Eatons were a family of B-listers, they hailed from the capital, which meant that their power and influence could easily surpass any of the elite families here in Drunham City. There was no way that he, a mere civil servant, could risk offending someone like Theodore Eaton!The assistant noticed how ashen-face Felix looked and knew better than to intrude, so she closed the door behind her and left. Felix picked up his documents about to resume his work, but after some consideration, he decided to call Liam instead. The moment the call went through, he said with a simpering smile, "Mr. Cole, I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Eaton, Mr. Theodore Eaton, came t
The smile froze on Theodore's face. He put down his mug, let out an awkward cough, then gestured for his assistant to bring out the present he had prepared and placed it on the table. "Since you brought it up, Mr. Lloyd, I shall cut right to the chase."He gestured at the present, smiling, and continued, "Mr. Lloyd, this is a little present I've brought for you all the way from the capital. These are some of the finest delicacies and supplements, and I'm sure you will enjoy having them."Felix tried his best not to show his excitement and instead remained composed. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Eaton, but we are not allowed to take any presents or gifts from any of our clients. I'm very sorry to have to turn you down, Mr. Eaton, but this is policy."Theodore froze at this, but a few moments later, he regained his composure, smiled, and instructed his assistant to take the present back. "Mr. Lloyd, I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble, but if you don't mind, perhaps I'll cut
His assistant appeared rather deflated to hear this. "What should we do now?"Theodore turned back to glance at the Quality Supervision Bureau with a cold look in his eyes. "Let's go back to the office and rethink our strategy!"The two of them returned to their office while Felix made a call to Liam to report everything that had just happened.At that moment, Liam had just arrived at the Bristow Group, and when he learned of what had happened, a glimmer of malice flashed through his eyes. He gave Felix some instructions, then hung up. He strode into the lobby, found the waiting area, and sat down to wait for someone from Human Resources to pick him up.After some time, he glanced at his watch. Twenty minutes had already passed, but there was no one to be seen!Liam was just about to ask the receptionist about this when suddenly, a sports car with its rumbling engine screeched to a halt in front of the building. Yankel stepped out of the car, dressed in a tailored suit, and saun
Everyone turned to stare at Liam when they heard this. What was wrong with this man? How could he blatantly disrespect the heir of the Bristow family like this? This was unacceptable!They knew better than to offend Yankel, who was not only the heir of the Bristow family fortune but also the manager of Bristow Group. Besides, there were rumors circulating around about Yankel and Sunniva's feud over the family inheritance. Apparently, the stakes were so high that all of the employees of Bristow Group had already started to take sides. The fact that Liam, who had been employed as Sunniva's bodyguard, was standing up to Yankel meant that things were about to turn very ugly soon!The color drained from Yankel's face, and his assistant was equally horrified. She snapped, "How dare you speak to me like this! Do you have any idea who you're dealing with here? Mr. Bristow here is the manager of Bristow Group, so how dare you treat him like this? Do you have any idea what you've gotten your
Linda was absolutely seething at this point, but as humiliated as she was, she did not dare to stand up to Sunniva, as convincing as her previous claims were. Everyone gasped at this. Was a war about to break out?Sunniva was a strong woman. Just one slap had Linda's cheek swollen as though she had been stung by a wasp. She clutched her cheek, returned to Yankel's side and cozied up to him, whimpering, "It hurts, Mr. Bristow, look! She hit me! How can she punish me when all I was trying to do was defend you?"Yankel's expression was dark, and he shot Sunniva a cold look. "What is the meaning of this, Sunniva? Linda is my assistant, and how can you slap her in front of everyone else? This is unacceptable! Besides, I'm the manager of this company, so who else would have the right to fire anyone in this company if not me?"Sunniva glared at Yankel and Linda, refusing to relent. "Consider this your last warning, Yankel. Keep an eye on your assistant. How dare she tell me what to do? S
Liam's words hung in the air as he turned on his heel and strode away, quickly catching up with Sunniva, who was already ahead.Yankel and Linda were left rooted to the spot, stunned by the commanding presence Liam had left in his wake. His gaze had been chilling, his aura so formidable that they found themselves holding their breath, a sheen of cold sweat coating their skin.Only after Liam's figure had disappeared did Yankel snap out of his daze. He spun around, his eyes narrowing as he watched Liam's retreating back, plotting his next move.Linda, clutching her reddened cheek, leaned into Yankel, her voice quivering, "Mr. Bristow, can you believe that? A lowly bodyguard, thinking he can get away with treating you like that just because Sunniva's taken a shine to him. It's outrageous! You're not just our company's general manager, you're the Bristow family's heir. He's got no respect!"Her eyes burned with spite as she watched Liam and Sunniva leave. Accustomed to adulation at th
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