Charlie smiled and said, “If I had the same knowledge as you, I would have learned your method and let Antonio kill you.”As he said that, Charlie looked at Antonio and asked him, “Antonio, I have a proposal for you. If you are willing to kill Aman, I will let you stay in New York and continue to manage the Zano family. What do you think?”When Antonio heard this, he didn't care whether what Charlie said was true or not. He blurted out without hesitation, “Mr. Wade! As long as you give me a gun, I will beat Aman's head into a pile of flesh now!”Aman's face turned pale.He didn't know whether Charlie really meant this. After all, he had thought of using Antonio to kill Charlie just a few hours ago. If Charlie also used his own method to treat him, he would definitely die in Antonio's hands.When Charlie saw that Aman's face was full of fear, he smiled and said, “You don't have to be so scared. I've already said that I won't argue with you.”Aman was relieved immediately. At this
Aman knew that Charlie sparing his life was already repaying kindness with enmity. In this situation, his best choice was to take what he could get and not attempt to plead further. Otherwise, if Charlie changed his mind, he might end up with an even worse offer.He could only say to Charlie helplessly, “Mr. Wade, rest assured, when I get to Syria, I will do my best to collaborate deeply with Commander Hamed, and contribute as much as I can…”Charlie nodded approvingly and said with a smile, “Good, good. Mr. Ramovic, you are a righteous man. There aren't many truly righteous people left in this society.”After saying that, Charlie checked the time and said to Porter, “Porter, it's dawn, and almost everyone has arrived. Arrange for the ship and then go upstairs to administer a strong dose to those upstairs. You can then set sail with them to leave the United States.”Porter nodded respectfully and asked Charlie, “Mr. Wade, how exactly should I administer the strong dose? Do you have
The crowd wondered what Antonio was up to as they watched his bizarre movements in confusion.It wasn’t until Antonio hopped and revealed the lower half of his body that everyone realized one of his legs was gone. What was even more startling was the dreadful state of his injury. He hadn’t seemed to have dealt with the wound of his severed leg. The blood in the wound was still fresh, and it looked shocking to the eye.Antonio had long since lost his aura as a mafia leader.To minimize these people's hatred toward him, Antonio took off his hat after laboriously jumping up to the second floor.The view made the crowd even more speechless. Both of Antonio's ears had been cut off, leaving only bloody scars.Antonio's horrific injuries showed that he must have been subjected to inhumane torture. At this point, it went without saying that someone else had tricked them into coming here today and bound them together. Right at this moment, Charlie and Porter walked up the stairs one af
These leaders would not submit to Charlie even if Charlie killed Antonio right in front of them today. They might pretend to be submissive just to stay alive. However, once they escaped this hell hole, the first thing they would do was to come back—loaded up on guns and guys—and kill Charlie. Moreover, Charlie had told them to submit to the Oskian Gang and give their income to the gang. It meant that they would be able to leave here alive, didn't it? They weren't intimidated knowing they would be alive at the end of the day. All they had to do now was to be patient and wait for the chance to retaliate. Therefore, they secretly scoffed at Charlie's offer, but since their mouths were stuffed and they were bound together, they put on indifferent expressions. On the other hand, Charlie couldn't care less about their response. He smirked and continued, "Also, guys, listen carefully. From tomorrow onwards, each of you must have a full-time financial advisor. This person will keep d
These gangsters were full of rage earlier, but after Porter finished talking, they huddled together and shivered violently in fear. Charlie sneered in amusement as he looked at their frightened expressions. These gangsters were always so nasty and arrogant. Today was finally the day where they were scared out of their wits. The best way to deal with these evil forces in the United States was to double-cross them. You had to fight knives with guns and be more fearsome than they were. Moreover, morality did not exist in the people in this line of work. Morality was a more stringent code of conduct than the law. All illegal things violated morality, but not all things that violated morality were illegal. Every penny earned by these gangsters was obtained by violating the law. To them, morality meant nothing as they didn't even take the law seriously. Hence, the best way to deal with them was to be more ruthless than them. Charlie also knew that his deterrent power was far from
Porter nodded promptly and said, "Roger that!"Charlie then pointed to Angus and said to Porter, "Also, from now on, if anything happens to him, be it natural or man-made, kill all these people immediately!"Gasps echoed in the room as soon as the crowd heard Charlie's statement. They continuously emitted grunts, as if they had great objections to this decision.Charlie sneered and continued, "Since we are discussing this together, we can't stop them from talking." Porter turned to Porter and instructed, "Remove their gags. Let's hear what they have to say."With a nod, Porter waved his hand at his men, marched forward, and took out the things stuffed in the gangsters' mouths."I-It's not fair!" As soon as the gag was removed, one man roared in fury, "What if he died because of some stupid accident? Why do you have to kill us because of that?!""He's right!" Everyone else nodded hastily as the person spoke out their thoughts. "It's not fair!"With a smirk, Charlie mocked, "Oh! D
"What?" Charlie retorted. "You want me to be fair, don't you? In that case, I need to be fair too! I need to ask you to be fair to those whom you have been treated unfairly. Why don't you accept it?"He then turned to Porter and added, "Oh, by the way, Porter, while you're investigating Tody's history, find out if he has hurt the innocent family of his enemies and competitors. We'll let him have a taste of his own medicine. If he has killed someone's wife, we'll kill his. If he has killed someone's son, we'll kill his. Fair enough, right? That's what he asked for, after all.""Yes, sir!" Porter affirmed, "Don't worry, Mr. Wade. I'll investigate thoroughly."Tody's face turned ashen when hearing this, and the muscles on his face and limbs were throbbing violently.Among the group of people tied up together, one man spoke up, "Sir, this son of a bitch kidnapped my friend's son many years ago just to steal his goods. My friend gave the things to him, but this bastard killed my friend
Charlie's firm and emotionless yet vicious words echoed through the room like a sharp blade, which gave everyone goosebumps. Tody was fearful even more. He didn't want to die, nor did he want his family to die like the people he had killed. At this moment, he was truly annoyed by his decision to ask Charlie for so-called fairness. It became the most regrettable and stupid thing he had done in his life.Kneeling on the ground with tears drenching his face, Tody begged and pleaded for Charlie's forgiveness, but Charlie ignored him.As Charlie didn't get any reply from Tody, he said, "Alright, since you don't choose, I'll decide for you."With that, he turned to Porter who was beside him. "Go for the first option. Investigate thoroughly before you do it, and take videos when you do it. I want to show it to him and let him know what his own medicine tastes like. We can't spare him either because he killed so many people. When you're done with his family, come back at him. He's last."
Raymond may have worked abroad for years and was a veteran in antiques, but he was still lacking when it came to reading between the lines.Taking Mick's words at face value, he promptly shook his head, "No, you really shouldn't. I wasn't planning to come back here to work, so you mustn't mention me to Ms. Moore either."And unlike Mick, he really meant what he said, while Mick was saying the complete opposite of what he was thinking.Naturally, Mick didn't believe Raymond, even presuming that Raymond was a liar like himself.The more Raymond said he didn't want to return to Vintage Deluxe, the more he thought he was.Hence, he asked despite knowing the answer, "Well, what are you planning to do now that you've returned to Aurous Hill?""It's been years of traveling for me, so I was just getting a little tired," Raymond admitted. "I'm planning to set up a small business in Aurous Hill, most likely here in Antique Street. That's why I'm visiting—do be neighborly when I set up shop
Meanwhile, Raymond had no idea that he was being targeted as soon as he returned to Antique Street.He had reached the middle where rows of three-floored buildings stood, the largest on the street, and where Vintage Deluxe was. It was not closed yet as tradition on Antique Street was for stalls to open in the morning and close in the afternoon. In comparison, shops opened later and closed later.With the difference of two to three hours, they could afford to have customers who had lower purchasing power or were just window shopping to stroll through the outdoor stalls. Then, when they were gone, customers with actual purchasing power would come on their own time.As Raymond arrived outside Vintage Deluxe, Mick just finished his meeting with his employees, summing up, "So, does anyone have anything to do tonight?"They all shook their heads, answering as one, "No!!!"Mick nodded. "If there's nothing else, stay back for overtime. Ask for some spicy crayfish and beer for dinner."
However, Raymond had accomplished the assignment Curtis had given him years ago, so he had no intention of staying at Aurous Hill and remained unrepentant despite Jasmine's pressure. That was why he could ask to resign without hesitation, even urging her to let him go despite the pain.That was why Mick was now worried that Raymond would return to reclaim his position as manager."Keep an eye on him for me," he told Trippy. "Tell me if anything comes up right away—I will make it worth your while.""Alright!" Trippy agreed to it. "Don't worry—I'll call right away if anything comes up."Once Trippy hung up, Mick gathered the handful of Vintage Deluxe employees.They were all his close allies he had groomed after he took over Vintage Deluxe. Even if Mick hadn't been succeeding in his business, he was succeeding in building his own forces. Anyone who didn't obey his orders had since been removed, and the remaining ones were basically his co-conspirators, embezzling a considerable am
As it turned out, the bean counters of the Moore Group had been suggesting that Jasmine axe Deluxe Vintage and other antique-related businesses.After all, Aurous Hill was hardly the heart of the nation's antique business—not even a hub, and Vintage Deluxe wouldn't grow on such soil.Moreover, their revenue wasn't optimistic.While the business wasn't exactly falling off after Mick took charge, the lack of experience amongst the management team meant they were struggling to break even.And for the bean counters, keeping Vintage Deluxe meant no profits—even net losses in the immediate future. Right now, they might still be able to package it nicely and sell it off, and selling a fixed asset coupled with brand value would more or less turn a profit. But once Vintage Deluxe started incurring losses and the brand value diminished in turn, it would be reduced to zero completely.In other words, the value of Vintage Deluxe was on a springboard—sell it anytime now, and the value would be
The Mr. Crane from the other end of the call was Mick Crane—the current manager of Vintage Deluxe, and a man whom all of Antique Street fawned over.Mick was the assistant manager to Raymond back then, and his skill in the antique trade was at best moderate. However, thanks to his friendly personality, he had managed to secure himself many decent connections down Antique Street.As such, once Jasmine had fired Raymond, Mick had taken over his position as caretaker manager. She was also aware that Mick didn't have the skills to do well as a manager, and her plan had always been to keep him as a caretaker before she found someone better.As her ties with Charlie had strengthened and he had started helping her, her position in her family had skyrocketed. However, that also meant she couldn't watch over most of Vintage Deluxe's operations.Now that she was the head of the Moore family and the leader of a dynasty worth billions, a small business like Vintage Deluxe was even less signifi
Moreover, Raymond's old identity had various occupations connected to antiques. So, his plan now was to head over to Antique Street, find a place to rest his legs, and then get a shop of moderate scale and cheap rent to start a business in Aurous Hill.He headed to the precinct at Antique Street to register his face and other details into the database, reinforcing his legal certification. The precinct then issued him a visa so that he would have clearance to stay at a hotel for a while.Most of Antique Street's stalls were closing shop by the time he left the precinct, but he picked up his backpack and went for a stroll.It was not that different from before, though he thought he would never come back at the time…Still, he hadn't been there for long when a vendor recognized him and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! Aren't you Mr. Cole? From Vintage Deluxe? When did you come back?"As things hadn't changed down the street for the businesses or the environment, Vintage Deluxe was stil
Jacob shrugged. "If Hannah's debt is cleared, then she's fine now, no?""Yeah," Elaine replied. "I heard from an old friend not two days ago, saying that the document of her non-arrest… non-prosecution or whatever was sent in. Once it's approved, she's free to go home.""Most likely non-prosecution," Charlie replied."Right, I think that's it!" Elaine nodded repeatedly and sighed unhappily. "She's really been let off easy. She should be arrested and jailed for at least ten years."Jacob couldn't help sighing. "Come on, dear—Mom and Chris were out of line, but things are terrible for them now as it is. There's no reason to hope for the worst for them since Harold and Chris are still too hurt to work. It's thanks to Wendy's income that they have a living, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to survive."Then, worried that Elaine would get upset that he might be siding with his brother and mother too much, he quickly added, "I'm not taking their side or trying to get their case reinvest
Charlie actually had to change his opinion of Elaine after seeing her ready to kill Jacob earlier but getting all clingy now.Despite her many flaws, Elaine was the one half of their marriage who was earnestly in love.As for Jacob, he didn't seem to have any genuine feelings for Elaine at all.The mere mention of his past with Elaine always left him grumbling and complaining, but now, it was clear that Elaine was his best choice. With his attitude and the way he did things, he and Matilda would have split up by now even if they had gone to the States together.In the end, Jacob simply had too many of the flaws common amongst men his age, but while others would have no more than five out of twenty of those flaws, he had eighteen.As such, from another perspective entirely, the only woman who could tolerate Jacob now was Elaine and only Elaine. Coincidentally, her straightforward personality and tendency to get violent was the perfect counter against all of Jacob's flaws, reducing
Elaine nodded, emotional as well. "Well, Claire's finally home after being in the States for so long. Let's stop being clowns already—let's go home!"Jacob nodded, utterly relieved and teary-eyed. "Yes! Let's go home!"Meanwhile, Claire was left dumbfounded even as she watched while Charlie was left wiping the sweat off his brow—they had really just snatched victory from the jaws of defeat there!And it looked like they had truly succeeded in clearing any suspicion Elaine had of Matilda, and she most likely would do her best to avoid running into Matilda as well.That way, all the nonsense he had said wouldn't be exposed.Still, as Claire came to her senses, she told Charlie, "Darling, that was amazing! You somehow managed to talk your way out of that!"Charlie chuckled in embarrassment. "I had no choice but to sacrifice my pride for the peace in the family."Claire hugged his arm and giggled happily, "There's no victory without sacrifice. You're the best, dear!"-Meanwhile,