She got to herfeet in a rage, making her chair screech against the floor. She stormed over tothe sofa and plopped down on it before looking at her phone. Instantly, heranger disappeared—Darius was the one calling her. Her breathing sped up, butshe calmed down in a few seconds. She knew he hadto be calling because something had happened. There was no other reason for himto call her. She exhaled, feeling disappointed. Still, she answered the phoneand said sweetly, “Mr. Reid, this is Erin.”Darius asked, “IsZack still working on something at the company?”Erin didn’t knowwhat had happened, but she had an ominous feeling. “No, he left for AlmironCity two days ago.” Suddenly, she realized what was wrong. She shot to her feetand cried, “I think I know what’s happened, but I need some time to thinkthings over. I’ll need to hang up.” Instead ofreceiving a reply from Darius, all she got was the sound of the dial tone.She lowered herarm to her side, keeping a tight grip on her
He got a callfrom Ansel, who sounded infuriated. Before Darius could say anything, Anselsnarled, “Mr. Reid, it’s as you expected—none of them want to come with me! Infact, they’re unbelievably contemptuous.”Darius smiled.“Check your inbox in two minutes, then forward my email to them.” After hangingup, his fingers flew over the keyboard. A few seconds later, information on FTTV’s board of directors appeared on his desktop. He sighed, thencopied all the dirt he could find on them into a word document before sendingit to Ansel.Ansel forwardedit to the board members without looking at it. Then, they turned to him with anodd mixture of angry looks and sycophantic smiles. How could there be suchpeople in this world? He felt weirdedout and didn’t really know how to respond, so he put his hands behind his back.It was a goodthing he’d grown up in a challenging environment. He’d heard plenty aboutpeople like this in the past, but this was his first time seeing them inperson
This was thefirst time he felt like someone trusted him wholly. He was desperate to dosomething for Darius, so he pulled his phone out again. Darius raised aneyebrow, not knowing what he was up to. Then, he saw Ansel frown again. “Mr. Reid, Ithink I’ve failed you once again. The board members aren’t coming here.” He wasnervous to say this, but he didn’t expect to see Darius smile again.Ansel clenchedhis fists and trembled with a mixture of nervousness and anger. He didn’t knowwhy Darius was smiling. Even if he could tell that there was no malice behindit, it still made him uncomfortable. The anger on hisface was obvious, and Darius could sense his negative emotions. He immediatelydropped the smile, straightened up, and put a hand on Ansel’s shoulder. “I can guesswhat’s on your mind, but there’s no need for that. You’re justinexperienced—perhaps it’s because you’ve never learned these things before, orperhaps it’s because someone stopped you from learning about them. W
Darius alreadyheld the board members accountable for his wasted time here. He smirked andturned his computer on again to scrutinize the information he’d gotten on them.The more he read, the wider his eyes became. There werethirteen board members in total, and aside from Ansel, none of the remainingtwelve were kind souls. Not only had they not done a single act of kindness intheir lives, but they were also continuously doing bad things.Darius narrowedhis eyes, practically spitting fire. It was hard to believe that he hadn’tnoticed these things before. He took a deep breath, stood up, and put his handsbehind his back. Ansel frowned at this, sensing that Darius wasn’t in a goodmood. He put his phoneon speaker, noticing that it made Darius look slightly appeased, and herelaxed. However, it didn’t last long because the person on the other end ofthe line hung up after a few seconds.Ansel’sexpression darkened, and he looked at Darius. No matter how dense he was, hecould te
He handed Dariusthe phone without hesitation and watched him curiously.Darius held thephone up and said without preamble, “I’m sure you’ve already seen the news—oneof your owner’s not-so-loyal dogs, Felix, died after jumping from my window.Yet I haven’t been punished in any way. In fact, I’m free to roam every cornerof Almiron City, whether it’s your company or home. I’m ten minutes away fromreaching the peak of my anger.” After that, he hung up.Ansel gaped athim. He was shocked by Darius’ words but more so by the board members’ actions.He’d noticed that the second Darius started speaking, the booming music on theother end of the line had disappeared. It made him wonder where they reallywere.“They’re at thecorner-most bar on 18th Avenue,” Darius said. Even if Ansel hadn’t asked, heknew what he was wondering.Ansel gaped evenmore. “How’d you know, Mr. Reid? They didn’t tell us anything.”Darius smiled. Heput the phone down and pushed it toward Ansel. At the same time,
Any job thatwould match his education level would require him to have a stable family thatcould support him, not one that constantly wanted to exploit him. Darius felldeep into thought.If this were anyother time, Ansel would definitely notice something was up with Darius.Unfortunately, he was too focused on finishing the document that he didn’trealize this. He sighed with relief when he was finally done and patted himselfon the chest. Then, he lookedup at Darius. The joy on his face immediately disappeared and was replaced byanxiety. His eyes widened, and he didn’t even dare to blink. He said shakily,“Mr. Reid, no one’s looked at me like that before, so I’m really nervous now.”He didn’t hide his true emotions.Darius was theone whose eyes widened this time. He was surprised, but he smiled at Ansel’schange. He could now be frank about his thoughts and wasn’t shy to share them.Darius nodded and said, “I’m surprised that you can express your emotions andthoughts before m
“We don’t know whether his arm would still be the same even if he’d been operated on in a timely manner.”“Is that all? A broken arm?” Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. “Well, have him discharged from that hospital and admitted into another one. I’ll foot the bill but ensure the doctors do their best to keep his arm. Money isn’t an issue.”Ansel nodded and tapped on his phone vigorously. When he was done, he stiffened, not knowing how to answer Darius’ question. To him, the probable loss of an arm was a serious injury, but it didn’t seem to mean much to Darius. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, not knowing what to say. In the end, he shook his head and said truthfully, “That’s not his only injury. He has many broken bones, other injuries, and even organ damage. Someone—likely several people—beat him up violently.” He shuddered at the sudden drop in temperature.The atmosphere in the room was suddenly frosty, and he gulped. He clasped his hands nervously, not darin
Darius smiled at them mockingly. “What a bunch of idiots,” he thought. Then, he said, “That is—if the authorities don’t come after you.” The atmosphere in the room tensed again, and no one said anything. He shrugged. “Now, let me tell you what’s going to happen from now on. I’m sure you’ve noticed that someone’s absent despite this being a board meeting—the manager Ansel hired, the one with a controlling stake, isn’t here. All of you are experienced and successful businessmen, so I don’t think I need to tell you what that means. Now, let me make it clear that I wouldn’t mind if all the board members were to be bankrupt. In fact, I’d be happy to see you lose your wealth, status, and control over your respective companies. There’s a chance that you know nothing about my family because you’re just not wealthy enough to have earned the right to know.”He crossed his legs, looking carefree, but his aura kept the board members silent. They couldn’t refute him at all, and Darius was pleased
"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