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 asked with a smile, “Aren’t you going to ask me how I found out your identity?”Masatetsu’s eyes were wide opened in shock as he stared at Charlie. “You…you knew about it all along?!” he asked in return.Charlie nodded and smiled. “Of course, I know about it!”“That is impossible!”“Why is it impossible? Blame it on your weak Japanese ninjas.”Masatetsu was in great shock. “Were you the one who killed my fourth junior?”Charlie nodded casually, and he replied, “That’s right. It was me.”“I also killed your second and third juniors. Their dead bodies are lying inside your car trunk now.”“You bastard!!” Masatetsu roared. Immediately after, a dagger suddenly fell out of his left sleeve and dropped right into his left palm.Masatetsu channeled all the strength he had onto his left hand, as he tried to stab Charlie with all of his might. Charlie simply smiled in amusement when he saw Masatetsu’s attempt. Charlie continued gripping Masatetsu’s right arm with one hand, w
Hearing what Jacob had said, Elaine became anxious and pressed him as he hung up, "What's going on? You're leaving? But we just got here! My shoes have just caught Dubai dirt, so why are we leaving so soon—"However, Jacob was wiping the sweat off his brow as he mumbled quietly, "Well, at this point, I have to leave or I won't be vice president anymore."Elaine immediately fumed. "We've been married for half our lives, and this is supposed to be our honeymoon, yet we're just leaving? I've posted about this on social media too—there are plenty of people who're waiting for more posts on our trip!"And don't forget—we spent a lot on our flight tickets and our hotels! The hotel bookings can't be refunded either!"Jacob scowled dolefully. "Well, what can we do? Why don't you stay? I'll go home and get this sorted out first….""Well, how long would that take?" Elaine asked."How should I know?" Jacob sighed, uneasy and annoyed. "Don Albert is saying I have to go back and donate the 300
"But I spent 98 thousand on that bronze sculpture!" Jacob exclaimed in agitation before he knew it. "I made 300 thousand from it, and that means my profit was 200 thousand at best, but I'm supposed to return that to him as well?! That means I'd have lost my own capital too!""I can't help you if you can't bear to part with that money, Mr. Wilson," Don Albert said quietly. "In that case, you'll just have to handle it yourself.""Wait, wait, wait!" Jacob immediately became antsy and cried out right then, "Please, Don Albert! I'll return the money! I'll return it, alright?! The entirety of my profits—202 thousand, okay? At least let me keep the money I spent, okay?""By that reasoning, Mr. Wilson, when a phone scammer is told by the cops to return the money they've made from defrauding, should he be allowed to keep the money he spent on telco charges? ""Oh, I…" Jacob was left stumped and could not come up with an answer.Don Albert then pressed on, "Mr. Wilson, I've offered a prom
"Mr. Wilson, what you boys did was truly heinous!" Don Arnold growled. "I scolded Zachary myself when I found out, and I was the one who told him to post that statement!"Jacob was shocked. "But why, Don Arnold? Are you friends with Raymond Cole?""Never met the guy," Don Arnold replied.That left Jacob even more confused. "Then why are you taking his side?""I've been doing my best to clean up my image over the past couple of years," Don Albert replied coolly. "I rarely get involved in mob business or anything illicit, and everyone in Aurous Hill knows that Zachary is my right-hand man, yet he confessed to committing such a heinous crime behind my back. What is that if not sullying my reputation?"Jacob was left reeling as he didn't expect Don Albert to be so serious, but he quickly explained, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to affect you so terribly… It's all Zachary's fault! I wouldn't have been aware that Raymond had returned at all, but he just had to tell me and come up with
At this point, Don Albert could very well be Jacob's personal messiah.Even if he did threaten Zachary with calling Charlie persistently, he actually wouldn't dare call Charlie.After all, how would he start explaining that he was involved in a crime? And telling Charlie was basically telling his daughter—what would they think of him after this? Would he ever be able to hold his head high in the family again?As such, his only option now was to ask Don Albert and see if he would help.What he didn't know was that Don Albert was with Charlie, who had already anticipated Jacob's move.When Jacob realized he couldn't stop Zachary, Jacob would find someone who could, and Don Albert was the best man for the job!To no surprise, Don Albert's phone soon started ringing with a call from Jacob.Don Albert didn't answer right away, however, instead turning toward Charlie as he asked gingerly, "So, shall I stick to your script, Master Wade?"Seeing Charlie nod, he pressed on, "Should I
As soon as Jacob sent the voice message, Mr. Bay called.Jacob quickly answered, asking nervously, "How are things over there, Mr. Bay?""How, you ask…?" Mr. Bay sighed in exasperation. "The entire Calligraphy and Painting Association was demanding your dismissal as soon as Zachary Evans posted his statement, thinking that you have no business being the administrative vice president let alone have a place in the association."Even those officials came asking me questions, and you know how they are—gossipers, every last one of them, always finding out about the juicy stuff instantly even if it's really no big deal. The only excuse I have to stop them is that we don't have the facts, but this issue still needs to be taken care of."So, be straight with me. Were you a part of this? If you don't, do you have any definitive evidence that can refute Zachary's claims?""I… Uh…" Jacob stammered, unable to answer.He certainly wanted to say no, but he had no evidence to back himself up.
Jacob bellowed furiously, "Raymond Cole made over 19 million dollars! From my bronze sculpture! Yet you're telling me to refund that 300 thousand too?! You're just fucking with me, aren't you?!""Well, if you don't like it, just do what you like, then," Zachary replied calmly and quickly hung up before Jacob could answer.Jacob was left twitching and shaking endlessly, and there was no telling if it was from rage or fear.Beside him, Elaine quickly asked, "What did Zachary say, dear? Can he get that bronze sculpture back?"Caught by surprise at her question, Jacob flinched, and his phone slipped out of his grasp.As it seemed to hover in the air, he tried to catch it twice but failed, but Elaine managed to grab it.It was then that she noticed that he was sweating all over his face, and she promptly asked, "What's wrong, dear?"Coming to his senses, Jacob's eyes went wide with rage. "Zachary is trying to kill me! He leaked the whole thing to his Twitter page—it's like he's pulli
Jacob turned his phone's loudspeaker on before switching panels to Twitter.He was already shocked to find dozens of people directly messaging him, and he was naturally curious why so many of them were looking for him while he was on his trip to Dubai.However, he had no time to find out as he promptly tapped on his social feed, and it took much swiping to reach Zachary's apology post.He tapped on it, scanning through it just before he went dizzy, the world spinning around him while a dull hum rang in his ears.Never would he have expected Zachary to spill the beans, leaking every detail including Jacob's name and contact information. What was that if not mutual destruction?!Absolutely furious, he bellowed at Zachary again, "What the fuck is this?! Are you trying to kill me, posting this shit?!""I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but I've come to understand how grave of a mistake I've made," Zachary calmly replied. "I've actually visited Treasure Measure earlier to apologize to Mr. Cole
Within hours, Jacob and Elaine's flight had landed at Dubai International Airport, and the first thing he did was turn off his phone's flight mode.Then, staring at the upper right corner, he waited for the phone to find a network signal.He had connected to international data roaming, and within a few dozen seconds, he was connected to the internet.Once he did, a ton of notifications popped up on his phone, but he didn't care to check any of them and instead opened his contacts and called Zachary.Zachary was in his office, ready to do his usual rounds inspecting Don Albert's premises.While he had indeed completely lost his reputation at Aurous Hill's Antique Street after pinning that post on top of his social page and was given plenty of weird looks by people around him, he didn't care because he knew how to prioritize.Right now, the most important thing that he had to do was put all his body and spirit into his work and not get distracted by anything else.Only then could
The man who had called out to him shrugged. "Zachary posted it on his account. Check it out yourself!"Mick promptly tapped out of his message editor, refreshed his social feed, and immediately saw Zachary's apology post.Once he tapped on it and read it, he almost had a stroke and was cursing before he knew it, "Fuck technology! It's like a self-exploding truck! Fuck you, Zachary Evans, blowing yourself up before I could end you! What a bitch!" Naturally, the post also made Jacob infamous.The Calligraphy and Painting Association more or less had a stake in the antique trade, and the members were shocked that Jacob was involved in such a scandal.Within minutes, word reached Mr. Bay, leaving him pacing around in his office anxiously.Mr. Bay was eager to suck up to Jacob too, which was why he had intended to let Jacob inherit his position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association after he was promoted.But while he thought it was as good as done, he didn't expec