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.
The words were on the tip of Erin’s tongue, but she held them back at the very last second. As she shut her mouth, she locked her thoughts into her heart. There was no concealing her reddened eyes, though. She could only lower her head and hurry away.Edward watched her with his arms crossed, eventually letting out a long sigh. He couldn’t deny that Erin had made a mistake this time, but he knew that it had nothing to do with her original intentions. If he were to look at this matter objectively, all he could say was that she was also a victim. So, just before she was out of his sight, he said loudly, “At the very least, I hope you don’t show up here while I’m around.”He saw her falter, but it only lasted a second before she was gone. As a martial artist, he still clearly heard her say, “Thank you.” Edward relaxed. He stood guard by the door, looking everywhere except inside the room because he could sense Darius’ eyes on him. There was something in Darius’ eyes that he couldn’t dis
Felix lay on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. He was positive that Darius was standing before him, and there was no way he could’ve physically touched the stool. His eyes suddenly bulged, and he scrambled backward, shouting, “You’re an enlightened martial artist!” His face turned ashen from his horror, and his voice became sharp and shrill. It was the complete opposite of his usual self, but this just showed that he knew what he was dealing with.Darius straightened up and leaned forward. “Do you still think we’d be good friends?”Edward laughed. It was funny to hear Darius saying that. At this moment, he suddenly recalled why he’d felt Erin’s pleas were so familiar—he’d heard another woman say the exact same thing to her earlier. In that instant, his pity for her lessened by half.His laughter attracted Darius’ attention, making him turn to glance at Edward. Darius said, “Put the checks away and make sure Erin’s safe.”Edward looked lost. He didn’t expect Darius to give h
Felix turned to look at the door as well. When he saw Maurice, his expression immediately morphed into one of joy and hope. He subconsciously opened his mouth but didn’t say a word when he heard Darius’ sneer. He couldn’t be sure that Maurice would save him because Maurice would never be able to accept the things he’d done. Moreover, he couldn’t even deny that he’d done them because of all the evidence Darius had. Darius could easily prove his guilt.Maurice still had a sliver of camaraderie for him because they used to be friends, but things between them had changed. He’d known very well how bad things had been for Maurice when he hit rock bottom, but he’d chosen to ignore this to continue living his cushy life.And when Maurice was being framed, he hadn’t helped him out despite having the evidence to prove his innocence because he didn’t want to lose his current lifestyle. If he’d helped Maurice, it would’ve upset the people backing him up, and he would definitely have to live in
When Darius saw that her eyes were red, he sighed and said, “Look, you don’t need to be too worried. You really moved me when you protected me on the plane.” His words made Kate stiffen.At the same time, the fear in Felix’s eyes disappeared. He stared at Darius, suddenly feeling like he’d stumbled upon something—Darius had to be faking his wealth! Wealthy people would never fly a commercial flight, so there was no way they’d meet new people on planes. So, if Darius and Kate had met on a plane, Darius had to be pretending to be a wealthy person. Felix’s gaze turned ferocious at this thought.Maurice saw this and frowned. After a few seconds, he walked toward Felix while Darius and Kate watched him. Felix’s attention was fully focused on Darius when he suddenly felt a shadow looming over him. He frowned and looked up to meet Maurice’s eyes, then said impatiently, “Maurice, seeing as we used to be friends, allow me to remind you of something—if your goal is to work for a wealthy man,
He seemed to feel like he made a lot of sense, and he nodded vigorously with his hands on his hips. “Yes, that has to be it. I have to say, you’re very smart—at least, you were smart enough to trick all the people that wanted to harm Darius. But I don’t understand why you’re doing this. Is it because of something ridiculous like him saving your life? Or is it because he’s grooming you for something?” Felix scrutinized Darius as he spoke, trying to get an answer from his expression.Darius saw his probing look and felt bored. He shrugged and said, “I couldn’t care less about the things you just said. Whether you believe it or not, I have nothing to do with any of this. There’s really no need for you to dig deep into these matters because those people who approached you won’t get an answer from you anymore.”Felix paled. He’d witnessed Darius’ attitude toward Austin and what had happened after that, and he didn’t think he’d be an exception to the rule. It was only at this point that h
"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