Even after going through his memories, Darius realized that he still had no clues. It didn’t go down well, and his expression darkened. He pressed a finger to his temple and tried to remember again. At this moment, Edward’s voice rang out from the door. “Mr. Reid, perhaps we should leave if you’re done finalizing the designs.” His voice was low because he was worried Darius was asleep. Of course, he wasn’t afraid of waking him up—that was exactly what he wanted to do.He was only worried that he would startle Darius if he were too loud. After all, an enlightened martial artist’s senses were much sharper than a normal individual’s. After saying this, he waited by the door and frowned as the two women approached him.At the same time, his ears perked up—he could hear someone’s footsteps in the room. Edward was worried that Darius would run into Ashley and Olivia when he stepped out of the room, so he quickly said, “Are you two coming over here because there aren’t any other customers?
Her voice became as shrill as the first time Darius saw her. “Stop right there! You truly are a loveless brat who grew up in an orphanage, and you grew up in squalor! You weren’t even educated properly, so what right do you have to act so high and mighty with me? Do you really think you’re no different from those people who grew up as part of the Reid family? No, you’re leagues behind them! Not a single shred of you makes one think you’re from a rich family. Otherwise, how could I have misread you? Why would we be in this situation?” Ashley put her hands on her hips, her chest heaving. She looked like she was in agony.Darius slowed and stopped when he heard her words, then turned to look at her. He raised an eyebrow and said, “I knew you were shameless, but I honestly didn’t expect you to say such unreasonable things, especially since you know who I am. I can’t even bring myself to find a reason to let you off the hook.” His voice was soft, but it was enough to make Ashley tremble.
“Luxury brands like us have our own cultural heritage, and no matter how hard the going gets, we can’t lose that heritage! So, there’s no way a loser like yourself can be allowed to own anything that belongs to our brand—it’ll only make us look bad. I’ll write a letter to our headquarters and explain the matter to the Reid family. I’m sure they’ll understand why I did this and back me up.” Ashley smiled, then put a hand on her chest and said dramatically, “Oh, you have no idea how bad you make me feel. You carry the surname of the Reid family, but you’re not considered one of them. I pity you, but I’m only just a normal employee—I can’t help you with this. Perhaps I’ll skip my steak dinner tonight to satisfy your desire to see me suffer.”She burst into hysterical laughter after saying this, but it only took a simple sentence from Olivia to turn her laughter into rage. “Ashley, I think you got something wrong. Since this customer has already paid the deposit, it can only be forfeite
Hansley thought once Darius knew that he and his wife had been good friends with his parents, Darius would immediately dash over to him to ask about his parents. When he’d investigated Darius, he found out that no one had told Darius about his parents. To his surprise, Darius was calm, but he looked doubtful.Hansley’s lips twitched. Then, he pulled a pocket watch out of his pocket and slowly approached Darius. Darius had seen the exact same pocket watch in his grandfather’s study, and even if it couldn’t stop him from suspecting the old man was up to something, it stopped him from attacking Hansley.Hansley sighed with relief when he saw this. At least Darius wasn’t so strongly opposed to him anymore, which was a good sign. He stopped about ten steps away from Darius, put the pocket watch on the floor, then held his hands up and backed away. “Perhaps you’ll believe I’m telling the truth once you look at the pocket watch.”Darius raised an eyebrow. He was about to walk toward the pock
Hansley fell silent. He bit his lip and looked at Darius helplessly. “I didn’t expect you to think that, but I can’t deny that you make sense.” He shrugged, then put a hand on the laptop on the table. Then, he stopped. Instead of turning the laptop on, he retracted his hand. “If that’s what you think, I can probably use another method to prove that I’m telling the truth. However, if you insist that you’re right, you can leave now.” He pointed at the door.Darius raised an eyebrow. He didn’t expect Hansley to act like this because of how anxious he’d seemed earlier and how much he wanted to prove he was telling the truth. Now, however, his attitude had changed completely. Darius found this odd, so instead of leaving, he settled down on his chair and crossed his legs at the knee.Hansley immediately understood what he wanted and felt his heart skip a beat. He stopped biting his lip, but he gnashed his teeth as he said, “You’re a lot more hateful than you used to be. You were so adorable
She looked at Hansley in disbelief. “Do you know what you’re saying? How dare you—both of you—treat me like I’m insignificant! I’m the only person with the right to sell luxury items here!”Darius looked at her in surprise because what she was saying was ridiculous. However, he didn’t expect to become the target of her rage. She glared daggers at him and said, “What’s with that look on your face? I can see it from here, you know!” She slammed a hand on the table.Then, she pointed at Darius and shrieked, “You’ll regret looking at me like that! As long as I’m in Almiron City, no one will allow you to buy any luxury items here! I’d like to see how you’re going to swagger your way into any banquet without accessories. Everyone will make fun of you because you can’t buy any jewelry or luxury items!”Darius couldn’t help raising an eyebrow at how pleased she looked. He turned to Hansley and said loudly, “There’s something I’ve been wondering about ever since I first laid eyes on her. Does
After saying this, she held her head high, looking pleased with herself. “However, as a friend, I’ll definitely respect your choice and give you my blessings. So, let’s not see each other from now on. I’m sure that you and your new employer will soon be driven out of Almiron City and back to where you came from. I hope you’ll still be as happy then as you are now.”As she spoke, her head oscillated between Hansley and Darius, and it made her look like she was deranged. When she was done, she focused on Darius and smiled delightedly, saying as she backed away, “You probably don’t know what the price of the property is like here, but I know very well. And so, I’d like to bet with you—what will you do if you can’t buy any of the property here?”“I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars,” Darius said calmly.Ashley merely gave him a mocking look and shrugged. “I was going to say that if you could buy this building, I’d give you two hundred thousand, but it looks like that won’t be necess
He paused for a second, then continued walking without a word. Ashley, however, returned to her senses. She whipped her head up and glared at Olivia, screeching, “Are you an idiot? What the hell were you thinking, standing there without saying a word on my and the brand’s behalf? How will you benefit from this if we get kicked out of here?”Darius, still seated in Hansley’s office, sighed. At the same time, he put a hand over his ear. Though Edward couldn’t see Darius’ actions from the corridor, he heard him sigh. Instantly, he knew what he had to do. He slapped a hand over Ashley’s mouth and then looked at Olivia. “I know you’re not exactly an angel, so you’d be better off taking the initiative to leave with me if you don’t want to offend Mr. Reid any further. Of course, if you don’t want to leave right now, I don’t mind coming back in a few moments to drag you out like this.”Olivia didn’t hesitate. She jogged after Edward, even speeding up to open the door and make things convenie
"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