Darius looked at Liam, suddenly curious to know how he would handle this. To his surprise, Liam’s face turned frosty at the elderly man’s words. “My father’s treated you equally well—no, better than you’ve treated me—since you were a child, yet you had no qualms about harming him when you found you had something to gain from doing so. How do you have the nerve to demand I repay your kindness?”Darius raised a brow and exhaled. “Alright, I’m not interested in getting involved in your internal strife, and I want answers. If you can’t tell me where that man learned those words, at least let me know how he found you guys or anything you know about him.” He put his hands into his pockets and walked to the window. At the same time, his gaze swept around as he took in the Chamberlain family’s villa.For some reason, the elderly man couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Still, he gritted his teeth and said, “Darius, you have many questions. I must admit they make sense, but you’re wasting your time
“Now, however, it seems my kindness didn’t have the intended effect. If so, you should pay the price for wasting my mercy.” Darius looked at the elderly man with disdain.The elderly man returned his look with one of horror, not knowing what to say. “You know everything! How is that possible?”Darius smirked. “Of course. Why else would I have wasted so much time on you?” He reached for the elderly man as he spoke, making the elderly man’s knees go weak and fall to the floor. The elderly man’s lips trembled as he shut his eyes in despair. “You’re right—I do know more than I let on. However, I have to apologize because I can’t tell you anything. You may not believe this, but the Chamberlain woman I married isn’t my only wife. I have another secret wife.”Darius raised an eyebrow. He looked at the elderly man mockingly but didn’t say a word. On the other hand, Liam couldn’t accept this. He exclaimed, “How can you call her a secret wife? At most, she’s a mistress. Besides, how could you
Darius raised an eyebrow as he looked the old man in the eye. “You’re lying. All of the formidable black-robed people are dead.”The old man looked at him dazedly. However, when he spoke, his tone was agitated. “When did that happen?” He looked at Darius desperately, but it soon faded into doubt and suspicion. “You’d better be telling the truth, Darius Reid. Otherwise, there’ll be hell for you to pay. I know you grew up in squalor, so you might’ve picked up some bad habits. However, you should know that certain nifty tricks that seem to work like magic may not exactly give you the same results when used on a wealthy person.” He looked Darius in the eye as he spoke, trying to determine whether Darius was lying.Darius looked at him scornfully. “You people constantly use the environment I grew up in to attack me, but you’re the ones who end up dead.”The old man stared at him for a few moments before slowly chuckling. Then, the chuckles turned into a hysterical laugh. “Their deaths must
Liam didn't say anything else and followed Darius into the backyard, only stopping when they were at a deserted corner. His eyes widened as he pointed a trembling finger at the corner, saying, "This place looks completely different. It used to be covered in flowers, but it's bare now."Darius raised an eyebrow, then nodded and smiled. "Yes, you're right. While you were away, many people saw a lot of soil and earth being moved out of the Chamberlain family's villa, which means they've built a new secret chamber somewhere."Liam's breathing sped up. He couldn't believe his father and daughter had been locked up here all this while. How were they doing in there? Had they had a bite of food or a drop of water since his return to the villa?Darius patted him on the shoulder when he sensed his anxiety and guilt. "You don't need to be so nervous. I can sense things haven't been too bad for them there." As he spoke, he stepped forward and stomped on the ground, sending soil flying to reveal t
“He’s been worried sick about you two.” Darius strode out of the secret chamber and into the tunnel. When he got to the hole he’d entered the tunnel from, he saw Liam slowly lowering himself to the ground—one foot was already on the ground while the other was still in mid-air. Darius raised an eyebrow at this and said, “Congratulations for making it down here, but I’m sorry to say you’ll probably have to get back up there soon enough.” After that, he channeled his life force to his legs and flew upward.Liam gaped at him, never having seen someone fly without assistance before. A moment later, a joyful and surprised voice rang behind him, crying, “Dad!” Nothing else mattered to him at the moment. He turned to see his daughter and father walking toward him.When Darius landed on the ground, he poked his head over the hole to see what was happening there. He cleared his throat to attract their attention and said, “I hate to break up this touching reunion, but you guys should probably c
Darius smiled at their anxious looks and rapped his knuckles on the table. “Alright, I’m just pulling your legs. I’m the one who still has things to do—I haven’t had time to bother about the company lately. Look at all the documents piled up here.” His subordinates cheered at his words, and he shook his head in amusement. He watched as Erin skipped out of the room, then noticed Pearl standing at the door. He asked, “Has something happened?”Her eyes were red and tear-filled before she spoke, making Darius frown. Despite being reluctant to put aside work, he got up. However, Pearl shook her head to stop him and said hoarsely, “It’s nothing. W-We’ve just been expelled…” She couldn’t bring herself to continue.Darius’ brows furrowed. “What happened for us to deserve expulsion?” He clenched his fists tightly. Now, he knew how tough it’d be for him to be accepted as a genuine member of the Reid family, let alone head it in the future. Though he didn’t think being unable to graduate from
Pearl stood right before Darius’ desk, but he treated her as if she were invisible. She frowned and balled her hands into fists, parting her lips before pursing them again. She’d never felt this awkward, and Darius didn’t show any signs of wanting to speak to her. As she slowly backed away to sneak out of the room, Darius looked at her. “Sorry, I was too engrossed in this contract and forgot about your existence. You can sit over there; Erin will return with something soon.”He looked at her thoughtfully, making her blush as her mind stopped working. Her eyes subconsciously trailed over his hand, and she floated to the spot he’d pointed at, sitting down dazedly. Darius ignored this, merely turning back to his computer. At this moment, his phone rang. His hands were still on his keyboard as he glanced at his phone; his eyes lit up a second later as he smiled and straightened up. Darius was surprised to suddenly receive a call from his grandfather. After all, it’d been a while since
Pearl couldn’t understand this. Her eyes turned red at the thought of Kingston University’s existence being wiped clean. Darius had already calmed down; he looked thoughtful as he tapped his fingers on the desk. His mind was obviously on something, so no one said anything to disrupt his train of thought. They watched him silently, waiting for him to reach a conclusion. To their surprise, he looked at them with a smile instead of declaring anything and said, “You guys don’t need to stand there and stare at me. Go and do your own thing.” Erin hurried off at his words.He turned to Pearl. “Especially you. Don’t rush into anything; you won’t be able to change anything.” After that, he fell silent and focused on his work once again.Pearl’s lips twitched. Eventually, she turned and slowly walked out of Darius’ room. On her way out, she kept turning back, hoping to hear him call out her name and stop her. To her dismay, nothing of the sort happened.Darius looked up with a frown when she w
"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