He had a bad feeling about this. Lo and behold, he was right—as he looked around, he saw that Priscilla had almost reached Darius. As she lunged at him, she heard him lazily say, “Don’t move.”Bridget frowned and looked at Darius worriedly. This didn’t seem to have any effect on Darius, though. He merely looked like he was enjoying the show, and she suddenly realized that he was excited to see what would happen next. So, she crossed her arms, waiting to see how things would play out.Everyone thought Darius was Priscilla’s target, and this included Darius himself. However, they were wrong. Priscilla was aiming for the man standing behind him. Darius raised an eyebrow, looking at Uriah curiously. Once Priscilla discovered people were getting arrested, she hadn’t even spared Uriah a glance.Perhaps the pity in his eyes was too obvious—Uriah’s face darkened. Darius didn’t say anything else at this and turned to look at the people behind him. He had to admit that Uriah’s men weren’t half
“Why? Don’t you think you’re being unfair? Tell me—what exactly is the relationship between you and that freakishly barbaric man beside you? When did you guys start seeing each other? And how far have you guys gone behind my back?” With every question, Uriah took one step forward. As Uriah approached Priscilla, a look of relief flickered in her eyes. Seeing that, Darius smirked, knowing what Priscilla was about to do. Thus, when Uriah was about to leave the safe space behind Darius’ outstretched arms, Darius reached out to grab and pull Uriah back.Priscilla’s eyes widened in disbelief at Darius.Opposite her, Darius merely chuckled before turning around to look at Uriah. “If you go to her, you’ll fall right into her trap. That’s what Priscilla wants to happen—that way, she can hold you hostage. Her hands have been behind her back this entire time because she’s hiding a knife,” he calmly explained.Yet, after saying that, he raised his brows while turning to sneer at Priscilla. “I m
“If I were you, I’d be too humiliated to continue staying alive in this world!” Priscilla’s eyes glowed with malice at Darius. Despite being the focus of her attention, Darius did not seem at all bothered. He continued standing there with his eyes curved in amusement. It did not seem like Darius intended to speak as his hands remained behind his back. After some time, he glanced over, slightly jutting his chin while humming at Uriah.A sigh came from Uriah at that moment. “My thoughts haven’t changed since the beginning—let’s handle everything according to regulations.”His attention then shifted toward Priscilla as he stated, “If you continue to get in the way of what we’re doing, I’ll treat you like those other guys and arrest you alongside them for interrogation.”Priscilla’s eyes grew wide. She stumbled backward, ultimately losing her footing and falling on her butt. Because of that, she no longer held the man’s wrist.Darius pursed his lips before twisting them upward into a sn
“—His name’s Zack. I heard he got attacked by the enemy while operating alone, and he’s currently in a critical state at the hospital.”Upon hearing that, Edward shot up from his seat, yelling, “What? Zack’s in trouble?”That jolted Ansel, whose head shrank back as he nodded. “Yeah, Zack’s in big trouble. Not only is his life at risk, but even if he survives, there’s no promising his limbs will remain intact. It’s all because he sustained many severe injuries. Also, he needed to receive treatment immediately after getting wounded—however, no one was willing to pay the high medical expenses for him, so a lot of time got wasted, putting him in his current predicament.”“Is this the reason Mr. Reid tasked you with finding me?” Edward’s eyes narrowed like daggers at Ansel.The air turned cold at once, causing Ansel to shrink even more into his clothes. Even so, he made sure to nod at the former. “Mr. Reid never told me upfront why he’s summoning you back, but my guess is it has to do wit
Ansel could not discern what the two were saying at all. His brows furrowed, and his face began twitching. The men’s conversation only entailed several monosyllabic chirps, but it entertained him. He tried his hardest to hold back his laughter when Bridget abruptly shot him a sympathetic look. It made him freeze, stiffly turning to look at her in bewilderment. Bridget’s lips curved upward before she spoke in a low voice. “That expression of yours tells me you can understand the conversation between them.”The muscles on Ansel’s face stopped twitching when he heard those words. He had no clue whether Bridget was being serious; after all, while it was plain as day that the men were conversing, there was no way Ansel could discern the contents of their discussion.Edward and Darius met each other’s gazes; they had heard what Bridget said to Ansel. Although, they could not care less. “Things aren’t great,” Edward answered honestly. “When you left, many others did too. Those that remain
“I’m nothing more than a coward and a weakling,” Ansel thought, sinking deeper into the grief that consumed him. Darius, however, was calm as he turned to glance at Ansel before looking ahead at the burly man. He kept a steady tone while saying, “I understand you’re all upset with what happened and have already taken action to voice your dissatisfaction. You’ve harmed my subordinate despite him being unable to fight. What’s worse? He had just joined my company, West Atlantics Int’l, and he hasn’t even done anything to cross you.”Although Darius spoke calmly, the group before him had their hands on their waist. They jutted their chins and burst out into peals of arrogant laughter. One of them even leered at Darius while straightforwardly insulting him. “That’s funny of you to say. When your little subordinate joined West Atlantics Int’l has nothing to do with us. We’re here to get what we want, and we’ve made it more than clear to you. It seems you and your team aren’t mentally prep
“Thus, if you guys can stand before me like civilized humans and discuss the issue regarding your futures, perhaps you guys will end up in a different situation than that dead guy on the floor.”Grim silence befell the scene as the crowd looked at the floor.Darius kept his hands in his pockets, his eyes sweeping past everyone before settling on the man approaching him. “I’m impressed. You’re brave enough to come close even though I just killed your comrade. If your reason for approaching me isn’t to avenge your friend, then I can only assume you’re here to discuss a collaboration with me. Or perhaps you have other plans in mind. If so, feel free to tell me.”The man opposite Darius gulped. On his arm was a dark tattoo sleeve with an occult symbol in the center. Despite his terrifying appearance, he remained silent, not daring to utter a word while breathing heavily. His gaze was downcast, but his eyes darted everywhere in the room to search for an appropriate reason to answer Dariu
The man bravely lifted his head, casting a hopeful look at Darius.Following that, Darius lowered his head to stare at the man for some time before nodding. “I can allow it.”The man instantly relaxed, heaving a deep sigh of relief while his entire upper slumped forward. His forehead soon touched the floor, and he dared not speak beyond that point. However, his body was now blocking Darius’ path.That caused Darius to arch a brow before raising his foot above the man.Everyone held their breath at that instant. Shock even coated their eyes as the group wondered in unison, “Darius has already agreed to let that guy serve by his side, though. Is Darius going back on his word? Could it be that he’s going to kill that guy now?”To their disappointment, that did not happen; Darius just calmly stepped over the man, who only realized what had happened when Darius spoke up. “Next time, let’s hope that you can find a better spot to express your loyalty to me instead of blocking my way.”The ma
"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