Richard relaxed. He took a deep breath, and the things he said surprised Darius. “I know a few things about the person in the black robe, and I think you’d be interested to know more about this compared to what Patricia told you.”Darius raised an eyebrow and subconsciously straightened up. Tonight was a night of surprises. The first surprise was Richard—Darius didn’t know how old he was, but he’d been forced to act like a fool just to survive. The second surprise was that Richard had managed to educate himself under such difficult circumstances and had even gotten information on the black-robed person. He didn’t bother concealing his surprise, which made Richard relax even more. He felt slightly more confident about meeting his objective because Darius was obviously interested in what he had to say. He smiled and said, “Patricia knew about this, but I don’t know what kept her from revealing this information. Also, before we delve deeper, you should know there’s something you’ve mis
Darius looked at Richard, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the sofa’s backrest. As an enlightened martial artist, his senses were telling him that there was something wrong with the body of the boy standing before him. Alarmingly, his keen sense also told him the boy was kind. Those conflicting messages intrigued Darius, who reached up to massage his temples. He then looked ahead at Richard, asking, “How can I prove what you’re saying is true?”Richard’s features stiffened, and his slightly tan skin darkened with a reddish-brown shade.Darius knew that meant the former was furious. He leaned backward comfortably, flashing an amused grin while waving dismissively. Then, he said, “All right, there’s no need to get your panties in a twist. I trust that you’ve told me the truth. Likewise, I’m grateful you’ve willingly relayed that information to me. Now, I’d like to know what you guys’ plans are after this?”Eyes widening in shock at the former, Richard froze on the spot, and ev
“Yes, Sir! I’m ready to fulfill your every order!” Donald replied.Darius’ lips twitched but soon returned to normal as he instructed, “I need you to subdue Bart Brezinski and ensure he’s unable to attack. Then, get him in this car so that we can leave.”Donald’s gaze tremored with vigor at Darius. He balled his fists, feeling excited and determined to complete the task as it was the first one Darius had assigned him. Raising his voice, he enthusiastically said, “Rest assured, Mr. Reid! I’ll get it done to the best of my abilities!”Darius raised his hand, waving in dismissal while responding, “That would be ideal. First things first, get a thick enough rope to keep Bart under control. You’ll walk behind us once you get the rope.”He then leaned into the sofa and turned to look at Richard, adding, “You must be nervous about what’s to come from the way your eyelids keep twitching. It’s a sign of unease.” “You’re right,” said a nodding Richard, his lips thinning into a line. “I’m nervo
“If I believe those pointless words of Richard’s, I’ll grow soft and start to trust him. He might use me as a tool in the future.” Donald sighed and did not want to harbor such negative opinions toward a 10-year-old. Still, he could not suppress the concerned thoughts from brewing in his head, so he gradually lost his calm.Darius kept both hands behind his back but smiled just then. He found the way things developed to be more interesting than before. He had already left the door at that point. Earlier, when Donald was heading over, many other subordinates wanted to join but got rejected by Darius for having weak combat skills. There was no telling what would happen if the group followed along; after all, Darius was unfamiliar with the territory around him. Thus, the group of subordinates, excluding Donald, would be in danger if the Brezinski family had many skilled fighters at their disposal. That was why only three people were here today—Bridget, Darius, and Donald.Bridget had
“I believe we can call this a medical miracle,” Darius said while shrugging and raising both palms in the air. He then turned to look beside him.That was where Bart sat. His eyes were closed the entire time, but he sighed just then, stiffly turning to look at Darius and speaking like a robot. “How bright of you. I’ve been trying hard to disguise my conscious state. Alas, you still caught me.” He no longer concealed his awakened state at that point. After saying that, he made the hatred in his eyes more obvious toward Darius and Donald.“How funny of you to say that.” Darius chuckled while shaking his head. Subsequently, he locked eyes with Bart, casting a focused look as he announced, “Even if you’ve immersed yourself in the role and acted to the best of your abilities, I can only say one thing—your little act never fooled me once. Your rage practically oozed from your every pore. It was pretty hard to miss.”He cocked a brow, then flared his nostrils into a more obvious sneer than
Bart gulped. While his hands were bound behind him by a rope, he still managed to coil his fists. Disdain filled his eyes as he focused on Darius and barked, “Not only have you hit me, but you’ve also shamelessly admitted to it! Do you seriously think that nothing—not even any law—in this world can restrain you?”Darius’ eyes narrowed to slits while he thought, “I know what Bart’s doing; he’s exerting authority over me and subtly hinting that he’s not someone I can afford to cross. Pfft. Only, he has no idea how funny his actions are to me.”Not bothering to hide his emotions, Darius scoffed before smirking mischievously. His lips curved deeper with every second as he gradually spoke. “I’ve faced the wrath of many, and they often behave the same way you do—in a pathetic and almost childish way.”Seeing the former’s grin made Bart’s heart drop. He could barely maintain a steady breathing while he raised a trembling finger, pointing at Darius. Even so, he could not think of a better re
Donald did not give it any thought before leaning forward to assume a brace position. At the same time, he looked behind him and yelled, “Mr. Reid, please get out of the car now! It’s dangerous in here!”He then bent forward with his legs crouching as he dodged Bart’s attack range. The entire thing seemed comedic to Darius, who guffawed approvingly. “Pfft! Hahaha! D-Donald, I didn’t think you’d react this quickly—”“Enough! Stop laughing! You’re annoying me, and I swear to attack you next if you continue laughing!” Bart bellowed at the top of his lungs. Following that, he reached out and swiped his fingers as if they had deadly claws at Darius. However, that all happened in slow motion in Darius’ eyes, giving him a full view of Bart’s every move. His lips twitched while he commented, “Your fighting skills aren’t that great. Literally, your attack is so messy and complicated—it’s like you’ve copied the moves of various other fighters.”Bart’s voice grew louder at that moment. “That’s
Not to mention, Bart even attacked with ease. Although Donald was his target instead of Darius, the entire situation almost endangered Darius’ life. Considering that much, Donald leaped out of the car and rushed to Darius, who had disembarked from the backseat. “Mr. Reid, how do I tie a strong enough knot to hold someone down?”Darius’ eyes nearly popped out when he heard that. Nevertheless, he patiently explained the correct method while advancing toward the hotel.Seeing the two walk further away, Bart glowered. He remained in the backseat with both fists tightly balled on his knees. Rage consumed his very being as he thought, “Too much happened last night. I was still a wealthy family’s son before, but now, I’ve become a prisoner! That’s what the Gillette family suffered from—and I laughed at them for it! Who’d have known I’d end up in the same situation so soon? I’m Darius’ prisoner too.”Pursing his lips, he did not say a single word; Bart merely followed behind the two men in
"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