The prison guard led Charlie to the door of cell number 8.The prisoners inside were laughing and chatting. As soon as the prison guard shouted through the door, all the prisoners stood in a line in the middle of the cell.Two guards stood at the door and checked the number of prisoners through the iron bars. Then, they used the intercom to inform their colleague to open the door. Next, they went inside to check the cell. After confirming that everything was clear, the guards signaled to the prison guard behind Charlie. The guard nudged Charlie and gestured for him to go in.An awful stench hit Charlie's nose as soon as he entered the cell and made him frown in disgust. He could smell a sour and rusty odor, body odor, and foot odor mixed with the odor of bedding in addition to the smell of the toilet, which was disgusting.Charlie's wrinkled expression was a stark contrast to the other prisoners who didn't seem to care about the stench at all.Among them, a muscular and beard
The prison guard nodded and left the cell with the other two guards, ignoring Charlie.Then, the gate closed on its own.As soon as the guards left, the dozen men who were standing in line relaxed their shoulders and moved away casually. The muscular man named Dean glared at Charlie and sneered, "Hey, new guy! I'll walk you through the rules of the cell."Charlie ignored him and walked straight to his bed, number 16.Enraged by Charlie giving him the cold shoulder, Dean grabbed Charlie by the collar, clenched his fist, and gestured to Charlie. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you fucking deaf?!"With an annoyed frown, Charlie huffed, "Your mouth is foul, and so is your body. The whole cell smells awful. It seems like we’ll have to do something about the hygiene of the cell."Then, he brushed Dean off and started to make his bed. Dean was taken aback and confused by Charlie's audacity in talking to him in such an indifferent manner. He was concerned that Charlie had some background
With a perverted grin on his face, Dean snarled, "Enough with the chattering. Why don't we go to the bathroom now? I'll show you step by step so that you can have a taste right away!""Woah!" the crowd guffawed. One guy whistled and quipped, "Boss, are you going to do it in broad daylight? Can I have a taste of him once you're done?""Of course, but let me check him out first!" Dean snickered. "After I'm done, anyone interested can try him out!"Then, his expression darkened. He glared at Charlie and directed coldly, "Come on. To the bath."Charlie nodded, pointed to the footprints on his bed, and said monotonously, "Okay, I'll settle this with you later."With that, he spruced up his shirt and headed for the bathroom."He's got an attitude. I like that," Dean snorted and swept his glance over the excited crowd. "Wait outside and don't peek, or I'll kick your ass!"Everyone nodded with a perverted grin. Then, Dean went into the bathroom. He slammed the door shut as soon as he
Charlie sneered disdainfully as he looked at Dean's horrified expression. "I told you that your mouth stinks, but you got mad at me. Look at you! You've never liked brushing your teeth since you were a kid, huh? You're dirtier and lazier now. Come, let me teach you how to brush your stinky mouth!" Charlie grabbed the toilet brush at his side, pried Dean's mouth open with his other hand, and stuffed the dirty brush right into his mouth. Dean was muscular, and his chest muscles were as big as an adult's head, but his mouth was comparatively smaller. When Charlie forcefully stuffed the toilet brush into his mouth, the hard burrs cut his lips, and the corners of his mouth turned bloody. Dean was trembling in pain, but Charlie didn't give a damn. He exerted some strength and shoved the entire toilet brush into Dean's mouth. Then, he began to move the toilet brush up and down vigorously as if he were brushing Dean's teeth. In an instant, Dean's mouth was filled with blood. Dean
Dean knew these words were not a threat. Charlie would walk the talk. When he heard Charlie say that he would torture him to death, he felt an utmost sense of desperation and agony. He and his fellow prisoners were no match for Charlie, so he was certain he could not get away from Charlie. Even if the fellow inmates realized that something wasn't right and rushed in, Charlie would immediately subdue them, and they couldn't save him either. It was at least four hours before dinner. Getting revenge and preserving his reputation was the last thing he had in mind. All he could think of was for Charlie to stop the inhumane torment and humiliation. He would never have thought that the glory and self-respect he had defended for so long would be completely destroyed today by having the dirty and smelly toilet brush stuck in his mouth. Kneeling on the ground in desperation, he bowed desperately with his hands above his head in the most humble way like a tamed pet dog, asking for C
The skinny man soon realized that it was Charlie, who wore a cold expression, who was standing in front of him. He was taken aback but didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. He grinned obscenely, "Hey, cutie. You can't wait for a second round, huh?" With a flat smile, Charlie grabbed Dean up from the inside of the door with one hand, brought him to the front, and scoffed, "It seems that you want to be the second one." The skinny man opened his mouth wide in terror as if he had seen a ghost but couldn't say a word or make a sound. He couldn't believe that the man in front of him, who was so miserable and distorted, was Dean, whom he had admired all along. When Dean saw him, he subconsciously wanted to call for help, but the toilet brush was still stuffed in his mouth. As he opened his mouth, the blood and saliva immediately gushed out, causing goosebumps to rise on the skinny man. The other inmates couldn't see what was currently happening. They knew Dean had a bad temper
As soon as Charlie finished speaking, Dean struggled and stood behind the red line made of his own blood. Charlie then raised another finger and shouted, "Two!" The others were still shocked, but when they saw Dean follow Charlie's order despite his miserable state, they knew that Charlie was serious and quickly lined up behind the red line. Charlie nodded and said lightly, "Three." At this moment, everyone had lined up except the skinny man whom Charlie had kicked and subsequently fainted. Charlie stood up, walked past the line, went to the back, and glared at the skinny man who was still unconscious. He leaned down a little, grabbed the man's curly hair, and dragged him to the front of the line. He tossed the man to the ground, leaving him lying motionless like a corpse, and turned toward the line. "I said everyone must stand in line when I count to three, didn't I?! But this gentleman lay there like a log and disregarded my order. How can I gain your respect as a leader?
Charlie nodded, pointed at Dean on the ground, and asked, "In that case, you must have seen him torturing many of your fellow inmates, right? Tell me, did you protect the victims when he tortured them?" "I-I..." the priest tittered nervously. The priest did not intend to speak for the skinny man nor did he want to help him. When Charlie came out of the bathroom with the toilet brush in Dean's mouth, he realized that Charlie had ascended the throne and become the new leader here, and it had opened a new era in this cell. It was merely a ploy of his to appear righteous and justified to gain Charlie's trust and emphasize that he and Dean were not in the same league. Moreover, he highly believed that by introducing himself as a priest, he would not be targeted and retaliated against by Charlie. As a result, he could be well protected and gain the favor of the new leader. In spite of that, his carefully crafted gimmick was ruined by Charlie single-handedly. Previously, when Dean
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,