“Don’t worry, Mr.Reid. I’ll settle this.”Darius nodded,then closed his eyes and fell silent.Viktor wasterrified. He cried, “Darius, let me go this once, please! I didn’t doanything—I didn’t even speak to the woman! I merely agreed with what Lyonsaid.”Lyon’s eyesbulged. He spat on the ground and growled, “If you had the least bit of shame,you wouldn’t have said that. When we came across situations like this in thepast, it’s not like you didn’t get anything out of them. Now that the shit hashit the fan, you’re pushing all the blame on me so that this dude will vent hisanger on me. I’m not going to take this lying down, and you’ll pay the pricefor what you’ve done!”His tone wasresolute and firm. It made Viktor’s face turn ghostly pale.Darius’ gazetraveled between the two of them. Then, he narrowed his eyes, seemingly havingunderstood something. He took a deep breath before putting his hands behind hisback and walking into the hotel.Edward followedhim while dragging
Edward looked into his eyes and found that Lyon meant what he said. He believed that he had the ability to turn his words into reality. So, he narrowed his eyes. He could not understand this, but he didn’t say anything. He merely looked at Darius.Only when Darius nodded did he turn his cold gaze onto Lyon. Before anyone realized what was going on, he flicked his wrist and snapped Lyon’s bone, making him let out an anguished cry.Darius stretched his neck and looked at Viktor. “I know that everything that’s happened today will make your life difficult. If you need me to break your arm as well, I’ll be glad to be of service.”The blood drained from Viktor’s face. He had yet to recover from his last bout of terror, so he remained rooted to the spot, trembling uncontrollably. His jaw went slack, but he didn’t say a word.When Darius saw him like this, he chuckled and said mockingly, “This guy’s essentially the same as Lyon. In fact, he’s worse. At the very least, Lyon has the guts to own
“Now, I want you to change these four rooms into a presidential suite.”The receptionist bowed at Darius politely again before reaching out to take the key cards. Before she could, an unpleasant voice rang out.“If my memory serves me right, anyone who wants to upgrade from a normal suite to the presidential suite has to fork out an additional thousand dollars. Since you’re upgrading from four normal suites, you’ll need to pay four thousand dollars. I doubt you’ll be able to afford it, judging by the rags you’re wearing.”No one would be happy to suddenly be criticized or insulted by a random passerby. Darius narrowed his eyes and turned to look at the person who’d spoken. However, a hand caught him by the arm. He subconsciously looked at it and followed it upward to see that it belonged to the receptionist. He exhaled and said, “I don’t think we’re well acquainted enough for you to be doing this. It’s not very appropriate.”The receptionist’s face turned crimson. She let go of him and
To her, Dariuswas basically her lifebuoy. He was the only thing she could hold on to as shedrowned.When Darius sawthis, he wanted to help her relax. He nodded and smiled, saying, “I think thatanyone with the money and power to go up against the Gillette family wouldn’tthink of this as an issue. The reason you couldn’t resolve this before was thatyou had neither. Now, with me around, you have both. I need someone to help metake care of some things in Almiron City. So, this is the time for you toshine. I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself by resolving the issue thatwe’re facing now.”Alicia’s eyeswidened again. She never would’ve expected to come across such an opportunity.Her eyes reddened, and she nodded vigorously. “I’ll definitely prove that youmade the right decision by trusting me, regardless of my age.”She wiped hertears away, then strode toward the entrance. She wanted to make things clear tothe security guards, but she was surprised by the fact that there we
With that said, he turned to Erin. “It’s been a while now. I think we’ve been standing here for at least half an hour. It’s probably time for you to give me an update.”Erin’s fingers paused on the keyboard. She turned to look at Darius, then smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir. We can see some results now.” As she spoke, she turned the laptop to face him. “Mr. Reid, as you can see, we already have 10 percent of Umbrite Hotel’s shares. Our business partners provide 8 percent, and the remaining 2 percent is from the share market. Now, we’re the fifth largest shareholder. I’ve already contacted the third and fourth largest, and as long as they hand over their shares totaling 35 percent, we’ll own 45 percent of this hotel. That will make us the largest shareholder.” When she got to the end of her report, her gaze went from Darius to the lobby manager, and she smiled.Darius nodded. “That’s about as good as we can get. Continue working on it.”Erin nodded, but she didn’t do as he said. Instead of tu
Darius’ ears perked up, and he realized he could hear several cars coming from a distance. His expression immediately turned icy. “I think I know why she’s doing this.”Erin looked at him blankly.He sucked in a deep breath, then said, “Because the Gillette family will be here in ten minutes, at most.”Erin and Alicia both frowned. They quickly got to their feet and hurried to stand before him, wanting to shield him with their bodies. They ended up standing shoulder to shoulder.Darius lowered his head and looked at them with a smile on his face. “There’s no need for you two to be so nervous. It won’t solve the problem. If anything, it’s just going to increase the time I need to spend on resolving this.”The two women shared a look, but neither of them said anything since this was only their first meeting. Then, they averted their gazes and breathed deeply. As they fell deep into their thoughts, Darius stretched his neck. “Honestly, there’s nothing to worry about. The person behind th
As she spoke, shepointed at a guy lying on the ground.Darius looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “You’re worried about the Gillettefamily coming here.”Alicia nodded.“Yes, sir. They’re extremely unreasonable and act based on their whims andfancies. There’s no way we can predict what they’ll do.” She looked at Darius.“If we stay here, we’ll put ourselves in grave danger. Also, the factthat Samantha did a one-eighty worries me. It proves that she knows they’realmost here. We’ve kept an eye on her all this time, so I have no idea how shefound out about that.”Darius took inher frustrated expression, then walked into the courtyard. He put his handsbehind his back and looked in the direction that the Gillette family’s carswere coming from. “You’re worried that because the Gillettes know we’re here,they’ll be able to swiftly come up with a counterattack against us.”Alicia didn’texpect him to understand her so well. She widened her eyes in surprise. Dariusdidn’t turn to loo
“After all,you’re Darius Reed. I’ll do anything I can to help you.”Darius looked athis watch. “I don’t have much time left for you. The Gillette family’s going tobe here soon.”Shelvin’s eyeswidened as he looked at Darius in disbelief. “How’s that possible? Shouldn’tthey have their hands full right now? Why would they show up here?”Darius glanced atSamantha. “I think the answer to that probably has something to do with thiswoman, but I don’t know exactly what it is. You can look into the matteryourself and tell me the answer once you have it.” He stretched his neck.Erin hurried overto him. She sized Shelvin up, then frowned. “Mr. Reid, what’s he doing here?”Shelvin was alittle hurt by her question. He raised his voice in dissatisfaction and said,“Hey, you may be beautiful, but you can’t be so contemptuous of me! I’m a greatguy, and plenty of women were interested in me even before I became anenlightened martial artist. They were practically dying for me to marry them,
"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