Jaime had his thoughts on this.In the Schulz family’s opinion, Machi had two advantages compared to Yahiko. Firstly, he was willing to destroy and get rid of the Ito family, and secondly, he was willing to reduce his shared profit margin to twenty-five percent.Hence, when facing Yahiko, Jaime felt that Yahiko would have to be on par with Machi on the first point, and he would have to offer an even better proposal than Machi on the second point. The first point was to get rid of the Ito family. This was already a very extreme request.No matter whether they were asking the Takahashi family to get rid of the Ito family, or vice versa, as long as one of those families was gotten rid of, then it would simply be perfect.Therefore, even if Yahiko were also willing to join forces with him to get rid of the Takahashi family, he would only be on equal footing with Machi based on this point.This way, unless Yahiko would give them a few more favorable terms than Machi on the second poi
The negotiation and discussion between Jaime, Sophie, and Yahiko ended in a very abrupt and unhappy manner.After the pair of siblings left Ito Holdings, Yahiko could only start cursing angrily on the spot.On the way back to the hotel, Jaime asked Sophie, “Sophie, I was planning to sway Yahiko so that I could convince him to agree to my proposal of agreeing to only a twenty percent stake in the shared profit-margin. Why were you so hostile to him?”The tip of Sophie’s lips curled into a sneer as she replied, “A twenty percent stake in the profit margin is lower than what he was willing to accept. So, no matter how much you try to talk to him and convince him today, he would certainly not be able to agree to this ratio. If you really want to force him, then you will have to put enough pressure on him.”Jaime asked, “Any good ideas?”Sophie replied, “Maybe you can call Machi and tell him that you plan to sign the collaboration and partnership contract with him tomorrow. You would h
Jaime replied excitedly, “He said that he is willing to consider our proposal and conditions. However, he hopes that we will still meet him in person to discuss this matter further. What do you think?”Sophie smiled in contentment.“I think that will not be an issue. You can return his call and tell him to come to our hotel to discuss early tomorrow morning. If our discussion goes well, then we will collaborate with him; if the discussion does not proceed smoothly, then we will just finalize the terms and conditions with Machi before signing the contract with him then.”“Alright!” Jaime replied enthusiastically, “I’ll give him a call now.”As soon as Jaime finished speaking, four ninjas dressed in black suddenly jumped down from the hotel corridor’s ceiling!Before Sophie and Jaime could even react, both of them had already been subdued by the other party.Sophie exclaimed in horror, “Who are you?!”One of the masked ninjas replied coldly, “Miss Schulz, I am Mr. Ito’s subordinat
The hotel management quickly discovered the anomaly.In fact, it was the guests staying on the floors beneath them who were the first to discover this problem. They noticed that two thick ropes were hanging outside the window, and they quickly informed the hotel’s front desk about this matter.The front desk employees trailed the two ropes’ source and found them hanging out of Sophie’s room.Upon realizing that her room was empty and turned upside down, the person in charge of the hotel immediately panicked.The Schulz siblings were not just their most distinguished guests, but the entire Schulz family was also one of Aman Hotel Group’s shareholders. Therefore, they could not afford to take this matter lightly.Immediately, they rushed to the Schulz entourage rooms, keen to find out the truth to get to the bottom of this matter.Unexpectedly, and much to their horror, all that they could find in each room were one corpse after the other.All of the subordinates and assistants wo
An hour later, two private jets took off from Eastcliff International Airport. Over a hundred Schulz family’s top combat masters were dispatched to Tokyo.A storm was already brewing beneath the tranquil city.When the police officers in Tokyo found out about the entire matter, they were shaken to their core, and it caused a considerable commotion. They knew that an incident, where more than a dozen were murdered and two kidnapped, was not only vicious but also would most likely be internationally newsworthy.The Tokyo police officers immediately cordoned off Aman Hotel Tokyo. The officers from the Criminal Investigation Department began combing through every inch of the hotel to search for any valuable clues or evidence that they could find.They first found the cell phone that Jaime had left behind in Sophie’s room and Jaime and Yahiko’s call history. It wasn’t long after that they stumbled upon the exclusive shuriken belonging to the Fujibayashi family’s ninja in one of the Sc
Charlie was out walking on the streets of Osaka.He did not allow Isaac and the others to follow him out this time.Charlie wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to directly eliminate the remaining three ninjas who were still tailing him.This was because Osaka was their last stop for their business itinerary, and he wanted to get rid of these three men tailing him as soon as possible so he could quickly visit Kyoto.He deliberately led Masatetsu and his juniors out of the downtown area as he prepared to look for a suitable place to begin the attack.However, he really did not expect the three men who had been tailing him quietly from about two to three hundred meters would suddenly turn around and retreat.Charlie could not help but wonder: ‘What is going on? Why aren’t they following me anymore? Are they aware of something?’‘That shouldn’t be right. I am all alone, and I showed no intention of attacking anyway. I have been acting as though I was completely ignorant o
He repeatedly nodded. “I will listen to everything you say. Please do not act so impulsively. This shuriken has been smeared with poison. I will be done for if the shuriken tears even just a little of my skin barrier…”…At the same time. Masatetsu and his second junior quickly packed all of their essential belongings before taking the elevator down to the hotel lobby.They could not even afford to waste a single second to check out of their hotel rooms. They could only think of getting into their car so that they could head back to Tokyo as soon as possible.However, after exiting the hotel, they realized that their car was not waiting for them here.Masatetsu cursed in frustration. “Damn it! Third junior, that bastard! Why is he still dilly-dallying? Call him now!!”Second junior took out his cell phone immediately to call third junior, cursing, “Third junior, what are you doing?! Why aren’t you out here yet?”Third junior acted under Charlie’s order as he said, “Second s
“I…I…cough…cough…cough…”Second junior’s face was turning a ghastly blue as he was being strangled.He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything at all, aside from the word, ‘I.’He looked at Charlie with frightened, pleading eyes as he was hoping that Charlie would leave him a way out.However, Charlie simply said indifferently, “I will not attack anyone unless they attack me first. The few of you have been tailing me all the way from Tokyo. You guys intend to kill me before I leave Japan. So, you think I’m going to just let you go?”When Masatetsu’s second junior heard this, he was filled with despair.Charlie continued nonchalantly, “Alright then, I’ll make your life short; it’ll be an easy and painless death.”His grip tightened. An eerie crackling sound could be heard from the other party’s neck, and within seconds, he lost his vitality completely.Charlie then stuffed the bodies of both the second and third juniors into the trunk to make it se
Charlie chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Hart. There are plenty of business folk who got so used to their comfort zone that they became caught in the illusion that they can be successful in anything they do. It's a mindset that leads to them blindly developing new projects and new competition, and then they end up losing big."If memory serves, there have been real estate businesses that started mineral water brands, search engines that tried the car industry, e-commerce sites attempting social media, and vice-versa. All of them are multi-billion-dollar companies venturing into new frontiers, but all to unimpressive outcomes."Pausing, Charlie then continued, "You've mentioned rising above the competition amidst the development of the new energy industry. That would get anyone's attention, and it is why I believe that you definitely will make a strong impression with your strategizing and knowledge of the basic principles."Yolden found it hard to refuse, seeing that Charli
Having lost it all, Jacob really looked like he wouldn't be getting back up.But fortunately, he had a pillar in the form of Elaine.In fact, Elaine would serve to be a container, whipping Jacob into shape if he got too full of himself.But on the other hand, now that Jacob was utterly despondent, she would be forcing him to smile and function in general.Elaine's attitude to the entire issue was clear as well. Even though Jacob had just lost his job, she would make him go shopping with her in Dubai even if he fell into a coma. Even if he was dead, she'd just cremate him and bring his ashes along.Hence, with Elaine's firm grip around Jacob's leash, he went on strolls, going shopping and taking selfies with Elaine everyday, eventually easing the toll on his mood and spirit.-Back at Aurous Hill, Charlie was preparing for Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall's wedding as it approached.Yolden was a schoolmate of his mother, Ashley Layna Acker, as well as Charlie's elder.And while Cha
"See you." As soon as Charlie hung up on Matilda, Don Albert's call came right after.He sounded nervous as Charlie answered the phone, saying, "Master Wade, I think I might have gone too far…""Wait, what's this about?" Charlie asked."Your father-in-law, of course…" Don Albert sighed. "You asked me to leave him hanging for a while, so I did. I even refused when he asked to book a room in Heaven Springs.""Well, that's not a problem, is it?" Charlie shrugged. "He and Zachary ganged up for some real mischief. As you are Zachary's boss, it's right that you refused him because you didn't appreciate what he did.""That's just it. I thought that approach was just right as well," Don Albert quickly said. "I wasn't playing nice when Mr. Bay of the Calligraphy and Painting Association called me either. That's when he said he'd try to save Jacob's position as vice-president, but I told him it's none of my business."I then hung up on him without much thought, only for Zachary to tell m
Meanwhile, Charlie was downstairs in Claire's office, waiting to pick her up and head home.That was when Matilda called him, asking as soon as he answered, "Charlie, do you know how Jacob is doing? He never answered any of my texts—is he going to be alright?""I wouldn't know," Charlie replied. "Both he and Elaine are in Dubai on a trip… What's wrong?""He resigned," Matilda sighed. "I only saw the public statement that the Calligraphy and Painting Association posted this afternoon. It says that he tendered the resignation himself, but it doesn't really feel that way. I wonder if he's at odds with other members of the association…"Charlie was actually surprised to hear that Jacob had resigned.He had told Zachary to expose the truth of the bronze sculpture fraud case to teach Jacob a lesson so that Jacob would understand the meaning of true pain.However, he anticipated that Mr. Bay would at least keep Jacob around with an unimportant job even if Jacob did lose some money and e
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling… That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over… I have nothing left now…"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care… I want to go…"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about that…"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintances—many had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficient—soon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Association—just a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble either—as soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid