The rest of the day passed quickly and it was soon evening. Since the auction was being held in Vane city, Darius finished his preparations by 6pm. Vane city was an hour drive away from Sky Golden Hotel, and since he was not going alone but with Janet, he couldn’t be late to the auction.The auction was a high class one, so Darius didn’t dare dress casually for the auction. He picked out the classy three piece suit he wore to the charity gala some months back, the quality shoes, and the limited edition wristwatch Bruce got for him.He looked incredibly dashing, and was way handsome than he was during the charity gala. After being the head of a company for some time, he now had a sophisticated look to him.He exited the presidential suite and walked to the car park, ignoring the intrigued stares he got from the staff and people present in the hotel. He entered his car and inputted the auction’s house location in his car’s GPS system, before driving out of the hotel.After driving for a
The inside of the auction house was bustling with activity, with many people walking about and discussing, eliciting an interested expression on Darius’ face. There were several people at the exchange center, a place where they could put up their items and goods for auction. The staff at the exchange center would then appraise their goods and determine how much it would be auctioned off for. Of course, the exchange center would not forget to take their 10% commission from the amount the items or goods were auctioned off for. The 10% commission was fixed, and would be deducted regardless of the amount the items or goods were auctioned off for. Janet noticed the interested expression on Darius’ face and smiled softly before speaking. “Are you interested in putting up any of your properties, items or goods for auction?” Janet asked nonchalantly, her eyes trained on the exchange center. Darius shook his head at her question, displaying his answer. With his current wealth and status, t
The item put up for auction was a brown leather book, and it looked ordinary, but Darius’ blood kept boiling at the sight of the book. He could feel an innate connection with the book, and he could barely keep himself from rushing over to the stage and grabbing the book. Janet noticed Darius’ keen attention on the book, but couldn’t understand why Darius was so interested in the book. After all, the book looked so ordinary and she couldn’t find anything special in as she looked at it. Just as she was about to question Darius about the book; the emcee’s voice echoed in the auction hall. “Next, we have the ‘Journals of Madra’ up for auction. As we all know, Madra was the fifth and most successful emperor. This leather books contain the journals of Madra, his exploits, and his insights from his reign.” As soon as the emcee completed her statement, majority of the people present eyes widened in shock. The “Journals of Madra’ was a book with great value attached to it. It was lost in t
During the rest of the days after relocating to his courtyard villa, he practiced his morning routines daily without missing any day of practice. He made sure to be disciplined in that aspect. After his morning routine each day, he would then go over the reports and documents that were faxed to him by Zack and Erin. These documents contained the projects and progress West Atlantics Int’l had made in Capital City. West Atlantics Int’l had been growing rapidly in Capital City after he toppled Sterling Corporations, and they were now acknowledged as part of the top 20 companies in Capital City. Capital City was a very competitive area as it had abundant resources, so there was little to no chance for new companies like West Atlantics Int’l to grow as it did, yet contrary to everyone’s expectations; West Atlantics Int’l grew to be part of the top 20 companies in less than three months! Darius founded West Atlantics Int’l less than two months ago, yet he had already led West Atlantics I
The drive to his university and smooth and unhindered, hence it took him only thirty minutes to arrive at his university from his villa.As this was the first day of a new semester and session, the environment was very rowdy. Pretty freshmen female students walked around the university with awe in their gazes. As Kingston University was one of the top universities in the country, its buildings and infrastructures were very impressive. It was no wonder the freshmen who were just seeing them for the first time were smitten.Of course, the sharks in second year and third year students did not let the new female students who were like a bunch of fishes in a river waiting to be fished by the fisherman go freely.“Hello, pretty. This building is the pride of the Engineering department. I can show you around if you want, that way you won’t get lost.” A second year student from the Engineering department said to a pretty female freshman.The female freshman student turned to the male student
[Anthony’s café] The interior of the café was quiet and serene. It was a bit empty, as not many people loved to have their dates in a café, but one could still see a significant amount of people scattered across different tables laughing and discussing in low voices at a single glance. Darius was alone in his table, and a cup of black coffee accompanied him on the table. As Darius was incredibly attractive, both males and females kept stealing glances at him, the men jealous and envious, while the females smitten. Some bold ladies even took pictures of him secretly. Darius of course noticed the stares he was getting, but he didn’t bother about it. Compared to the situation that occurred with the freshmen female students when he arrived in his Bugatti earlier, the current situation wasn’t worth mentioning at all. He took another sip from his cup of black coffee and let out a sigh. He glanced at the classy wristwatch strapped on his wrist and a frown crept unto his face. He had been
This time, the phone call rang for quite some time, but there was no response. Just when Darius thought that the person would not pick up the phone call, the line connected."Hello. I want the tech team of-" Darius started saying, but was rudely interrupted before he could complete his sentence."Who is this?" A man answered lazily. He sounded like he had been taking a nap, and had just been woken by the phone call.Darius frowned at the man's interruption and lazy tone, but answered anyway."This is Darius Reid." Darius answered flatly."Darius Reid?" The man asked mockingly before bursting out into laughter. "If you are Darius Reid, then I am Weiss Mosley!" the man said mockingly. Weiss Mosley was the founder and chairman of the Mosley Financial Group, so it was obvious that the caller didn't believe that he was truly Darius Reid, the well known head of the Reid Consortium."Here I was thinking this was an important call!" The man grumbled angrily and disconnected the phone call.D
Alice woke up in the black sedan with the four burly men who kidnapped her.She was squeezed in between them in the backseat of the sedan, and as the sedan drove at high speed, she was greatly affected when the driver drove right past some potholes. The potholes made her unbalanced, and she came into close contact with the two burly kidnappers beside her.She was very terrified of the burly men, so she dared not voice her discomfort at how uncomfortable she was.Alice remained as still as a quiet lake as the sedan drove, and it was unknown how long the sedan drove for, but just when her butt was beginning to get numb, the sedan came to a stop.The four burly men alighted from the black sedan in hurried steps and roughly pulled Alice out of the vehicle.Alice screamed from fright, but before she could scream even further, a crisp sound was heard, and a burning sensation spread in her cheeks.One of the burly kidnappers had slapped her.“Shut up! One more sound from you and it won’t en
"If you hadn't picked on me, I wouldn't have ended up like this. No matter how wealthy I've become, I'll never be able to take these black robes off!" The mysterious man's voice was shaky. He was extremely agitated.James frowned at that. He said curiously, "You keep saying I've done you wrong, but everything I did to you was what you did to others. I only gave you a taste of your own medicine."The mysterious man's breathing sped up when he heard that. He barked out a laugh and sneered, "I'll be honest with you. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet someone as dumb as you again."He shook his head. "I find it hard to imagine what your grandson will do when he sees you like this." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door was kicked open with a loud bang. The man was caught off guard. He looked at Darius as his body trembled violently.Darius frowned when he saw this. It was completely different from what he'd imagined. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious man, his
Gabriel smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll return to my workstation and prepare a proposal on what to do with Noah."Darius nodded and smiled. "Good. That's all I ever wanted." He turned to leave. "You need to get to work, and I need to return to my hotel to get some rest."Gabriel stopped. Darius' words made him hesitate. "I'm sorry to be asking this because I don't think it's my place, but it's probably better for me to ask anyway. I don't remember there being any hotels nearby."You should head home if you wanna get some rest. I don't understand why you're heading to a hotel to rest."Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. He turned with his hands behind his back to look at Gabriel helplessly. "I don't know how to feel about what you've just said. You're making me think you're a little silly. Wouldn't I know how to search for a hotel?"It won't take you long to prepare a proposal, but it'll take me ages to get home from here." Darius turned and left.Gabriel's lips twitc
"Because you realized the risk was far greater than what you were comfortable with," Darius said calmly.But Noah started trembling. He looked at Darius in terror. He didn't expect Darius to see right through him after some simple back-and-forth. His eyes widened in fear.Everything that was happening now made him feel like he was dreaming. Noah had only been a step away from success, yet Darius had ruined everything.Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at Darius. "I've said everything there is to say. I'm the lowest rung on this ladder, and I only have one purpose for being here. It's to make you come under the authorities' control. Once you're here, my mission's accomplished."Someone else from the authorities will be here to deal with you, but that has nothing to do with me. They wouldn't have told me about it, anyway."Darius put his hands behind his back without saying anything. He turned to leave. Noah's eyes widened as he stared in fear at Darius' back.Darius didn't see this, bu
When Darius straightened up, his face became devoid of emotion. He said calmly, "I've wasted too much time on you. Now, I only want frank answers. Otherwise, I'll punish you for every lie that you tell me. I don't see any hope in your eyes, but let's see whether you prove me wrong."Darius paused, then continued, "I've already said something similar once. That was a chance I gave you. From this moment onward, I want you to know that I won't repeat myself because I believe you've had enough time to prepare yourself."Gabriel stood beside him and put his hands behind his back as his lips twitched. He'd thought about the various reasons for Darius repeating himself. But the one thing that hadn't occurred to him was that Darius had done it to give Noah time to prepare.Gabriel felt like applauding Darius, but the rational side of him stopped him from doing so. His rationality told him he'd be in for trouble if he were to do that, so he only looked at Darius with a smile.Darius sensed Ga
Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled. Then, he said, "You're too nervous, Gabriel. It makes it seem like you don't trust me. In truth, there's nothing for you to worry about."He stretched his neck and continued, "I know very well how bad the consequences of destroying this building will be. Aside from those silly regulations, I'll also need to pay for it. I might be wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy forking out a huge sum of money as compensation."Darius spread his hands and shrugged. At the same time, he pointed at the window and turned to look at Gabriel. Then, he said, "Look. The windows are perfectly fine. They're not even scratched. That shows my life force is non-destructive."That's why you have nothing to worry about. You can put your heart back into your chest."Gabriel straightened up and sighed in relief. Then, he gave Darius an embarrassed smile.Darius grinned but didn't say anything in response. He put his hands behind his back and turned to look at Noah. He sai
"We're classmates from the same major, too! We were interns at Dream Investment Group, remember? And we got kicked out on our first day. You broke my legs because of a tiny argument we had outside the building! The surveillance cameras captured all of this!" Noah cried.Darius tucked his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes. Then, he said mockingly, "You're the biggest fool I've ever met. Do you think you're the only one who can tamper with the surveillance footage? Any footage that can be tampered with can also be restored."Noah's eyes widened in shock. He gulped and tried to think of a way to explain away the injuries Darius had inflicted on him. Still, he couldn't think of anything. Before he had the chance to think any further, Darius spoke.He said, "There's one thing you got right, though. Gabriel is on my side, so he'll stand up for me no matter what you say."Gabriel's lips twitched at that. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say something in return, but Darius bea
"And I don't think it's my job to make you see sense," Gabriel continued. He put his hands behind his back. He gave Noah a look that was an odd mixture of gentle iciness. "I've given you more than enough time and chances."Gabriel sighed. "It's obvious that you don't care for that, though. And so I think it's time for me to treat you as an officer should." He sat down on the other side of the desk again.Noah's face was white with fear. Gabriel acted like he didn't see this, though. He smiled. "As I mentioned, I gave you plenty of time and chances, but you didn't appreciate them."His gaze turned frosty. "If that's the case, I'm sure you won't object to me doing this per our guidelines."Noah cried, "No, wait! I don't know what Darius has promised you to make you side with him unconditionally, but there's no way I'll let you two get away with this. You have to make sure you do everything by the book. It's a reasonable request, and you have no right to turn me down!"He trembled viole
Gabriel put his hands behind his back as he looked at Noah with a smile. "Now, you've piqued my interest."Noah looked up at Gabriel. His voice was deep and hoarse as he said, "If you help me, I'll give you half of the Reid Consortium's assets once I get my hands on them. You should know that without me, there's no way you'll get a dime from the Reid Consortium."Gabriel snorted with laughter when he heard that. He straightened up and slowly circled Noah. He sounded mocking as he said, "You've lost me there. I tried to puzzle it out, but it doesn't make sense at all."Why would I want to get my hands on the Reid Consortium's fortune? Even without it, I'm perfectly independent. I don't need it to survive."Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at Noah mockingly. "Or maybe you're different from the rest of us. Maybe you'll die without the Reid Consortium's wealth." He smirked and gave Noah a sharp gaze.Noah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're the one making me laugh now. I don't know
Gabriel sounded gentle, but everyone knew that was far from the truth. This was especially true for Noah, who sat across from him. He felt incredibly nervous. He shut his eyes and breathed rapidly.Noah never would've expected to still be in danger after being taken in by the authorities. He frowned and looked up at Gabriel. "So, are you determined to help Darius now?" His voice was shaky, and his eyes were wide because of his nerves.His emotions were clear as he looked at Gabriel. Gabriel bit his lip, feeling like he was about to laugh. To stop Noah from noticing, he quickly exhaled and sat down with one leg over the other. At the same time, he leaned forward to place his hands on the desk.He tapped his fingers on the desk quickly but rhythmically. Gabriel's eyes were devoid of emotion as he looked at Noah. "Tell me, Noah. What happened between you and Darius? Earlier, you said he was the one who injured you. Do you have any proof?"Because we checked the surveillance footage, a