Maurice and Edward’s eyes locked on like magnets for the longest time. As Maurice was about to speak up, he suddenly heard a disdainful snort from the passenger seat ahead.Felix had remained silent the entire time but secretly thought, “Hah! That Edward is practically a dummy at this point. I doubt he’ll respond to Maurice.”Maurice’s heart almost fell out of his chest when he reached to touch Edward’s shoulder. As soon as he detected an abnormality with the latter, he retreated two steps away and withdrew his hand. “Y-You! W-What on earth are you? How did you possess Mr. Elliott? H-He was just sitting next to me a moment ago!” he muttered. His voice tremored so much that it took Edward a long while to understand what he was saying.As Edward thought about how to respond, new emotions and speculations arose in Maurice’s mind. When Edward finally composed himself, prepared an adequate response, and turned to look at the boy, he found the latter retreating while curling into a ball li
Edward’s tone did not fluctuate much. It felt like he was commenting on the weather on a bright, sunny day to his neighbors.On the other hand, Maurice stayed unmoving in the backseat and only raised his head, perplexity clouding his eyes. He did not understand what Edward was implying, so he looked around awkwardly and wanted to clarify with the latter. However, Edward did not allow the boy to ask any more questions. He opened the car door and took one step out before speaking in a gentler voice than before. “There’s no rush for you to learn anything, be it in formal classes for kids your age or other life aspects you should know. You don’t need to feel pressured into starting those things. What you currently need to do is connect with yourself and your environment instead of being detached.”He then exhaled lightly before strolling to the hotel’s front doors. When he entered, Erin was standing by the door, looking down to emphasize the annoyance on her face. Next to her was a gorg
Alicia noticed Erin’s actions but did not leave. Instead, she joined the latter in waiting by the door. However, that only lasted a few seconds before Erin could not help whipping her head in Alicia’s direction, annoyance flickering in her eyes. “I think you should improve your wits if you wish to stay in West Atlantics Int’l or serve by Mr. Reid’s side. For instance, you shouldn’t be standing here! Your continued presence beside me is getting on my nerves! Not only that, but you’ve also used plenty of my time and still insist on staying here even though you already got the answer you wanted!”Several guests, hotel staff, and security members stood in the lobby. When they heard Erin telling Alicia off, they collectively cast a confused look at the latter.Being the center of everyone’s attention made Alicia’s face turn as red as beets. It also dimmed the sparkle in her eyes as she took two steps back and bowed. “My sincerest apologies.” With that, she did not stick around; her feet
Darius’ eyes narrowed to slits just then. Although he did not know why Edward would behave so abnormally, his instinct told him to trust the latter.Edward sprinted forward into the room. Once he got there, he glared daggers at Kate and Felix. The two responded differently, with Kate’s features blanking while Felix’s darkened. Felix slowly held the spot behind his neck while abruptly craning his head from side to side. The crisp sound of bones cracking then reverberated around the space.It was so jarring that even Darius’ heart skipped a beat. What happened next shocked him even more; although it sounded like Felix’s neck was broken, Felix still managed to raise his head as if nothing had happened. Darius did not bother hiding his disappointment at that instant, hardening his gaze before everyone there.Felix noticed it almost instantly and frowned. “Among everyone I know, you’re quite the arrogant man—”“Stand guard at the door for now,” Darius interrupted, turning to face Edward
Not only did Darius continue to approach Felix, but the former’s icy sneer did not lessen one bit. At that point, the two had just begun confronting each other, but Felix felt he had already lost to Darius. Thus, Felix fell so deep in thought that anyone could have heard the gears grinding in his head. He gathered every last drop of his strength to slam the table with his hands.The noise thundered throughout the room so much so that it jolted Kate and Edward. It took the two a moment to gather themselves, but even after, fear continued to burn like wildfire in their eyes. Contrarily, Darius did not even bat an eyelash despite standing opposite Felix, where the noise was the loudest. That baffled Felix so much that all the color vanished from his face. Since he got into the driver’s seat earlier, he’d studied Darius’ every move, hoping to find Darius’ weakness. Sadly, he failed even until now, and it crumbled every inch of his confidence. He took a few seconds to ponder his next m
All eyes were on Darius, including those of Felix, who was still searching for an escape route. Just as Felix glanced at the former, his pupils constricted in fear. He then watched as Darius held the checkbook with both hands, each pulling in the opposite direction until a loud rip rang through the air. Felix paled like a ghost just then. His gaze trembled as shredded pieces of checks rained onto the floor. Even the sound of the checks ripping disintegrated his heart into a million pieces. That was only natural since that was a custom checkbook from the bank. Still, one should note it was not willingly given to him by the bank; he had paid a massive price, sacrificing much of his wealth to obtain this singular checkbook.Felix’s fists balled when he recalled all the trouble he went through to have the checkbook made. His bloodshot eyes stared straight at Darius, taking in the latter’s calm smile.“There’s no use glaring at me like that. The only outcome you’ll achieve in doing that
From the corner of his eye, Darius caught Felix sighing in relief at Erin’s arrival. He raised a brow and shared the same suspicions Edward had earlier; his grandfather would not have selected a fool like Felix to serve by his side. Yet, that was what had happened, and Darius had no clue why. His doubts only multiplied in his gut when he saw Erin and Felix’s slight but significant interaction.“There’s no questioning it—Erin is 100 percent loyal to me. If so, what’s the problem here? Why does she seem to know Felix?” Darius thought while tapping his knuckles against the table. Seconds passed, but he still could not figure things out, so he spoke calmly. “Erin, take out one of my checkbooks—the one where each check is worth ten thousand dollars.”Erin’s eyes grew larger with shock, thinking, “Mr. Reid has never asked me to prepare that much money throughout the time I’ve served him!”Nevertheless, her startled look soon vanished as she snapped to her senses, reached into her pocket,
“He told me that you needed help but there weren’t many people in Almiron City that you could trust. Moreover, the Reid family hasn’t looked into the people in Almiron City for many years, which means that there’s no way to prove their loyalties still remained. However, one of them underwent and passed the test, so he could definitely be trusted—I’m referring to Felix. The man told me that Felix would appear before you at 1.00 am tonight and give you the help you needed.” Erin stopped here and glanced at Darius, trying to discern his feelings about this. Then, she cleared her throat and continued, “I didn’t think anything was wrong with that, so I agreed to it. Then, he told me that nobody knew you here and that he wanted to see how alert you were, so he decided to approach you as a stranger first. He needed my help for this, which is why he came to me.”She looked at him again, cautiously this time, wanting to read the emotions in his eyes. To her dismay, Darius had shut his eyes.
"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