Mortimer glanced at Darius before turning back to James. He started to frown when he saw they were smiling—they were definitely making fun of him! His nostrils flared as his breathing sped up, but he didn’t dare reveal much more of his emotions than that. Mortimer tried to ignore Darius’ presence as he said to James, “Granduncle James, I’m surprised to have the chance to see you. I…I…” He was confused to see James waiting patiently for him to get the words out, and he continued in a small voice, “I did things that are going to cause plenty of trouble for you. Aren’t you mad at me for that?”James shrugged nonchalantly. “We haven’t gotten to the bottom of this yet, but we know you’re not completely at fault here. You’ve always been a kind soul.”This made Mortimer’s jaw drop. He sensed that his wrongdoings had been forgiven, which he hadn’t expected. He turned to look at Darius and noticed that the latter was already seated at his desk, which meant he couldn’t care less about what was
Darius knew Mortimer wanted to know what was happening. Unfortunately for him, Darius didn’t have any answers. At Darius’ silence, his knees went weak. “Please, stop the video. I can’t bear to listen to it anymore.”Darius sighed. “As you wish.” He closed the laptop, then said calmly, “Mortimer, I know you only did all those things because of a simple misunderstanding; that’s why an explanation is all I ask. I’m sure you can understand this.”Mortimer looked hesitant. After a while, he inhaled deeply and mumbled, “I don’t know whether that video’s genuine yet.” At the end of the sentence, his head was practically buried against his chest.Darius smiled and sat down. “That’s fair. Look, you don’t need to be so nervous.”Mortimer’s head shot up, and his eyes were bright with hope. “Does that mean you’ll let me investigate this?”“I have no reason to object.” Darius crossed his legs at the knee. “Anyway, even if I were to object, I’m sure you’d secretly investigate this.”Mortimer falter
“Alright, I’ve got it.” After Darius said that, he looked outside. “You can leave now. If you want to take care of the people who moved against you before, you can go to Edward.”Mortimer Reid smiled widely. He turned sharply and said, “Alright, I understand. I’ll go now.”Darius watched him leave, smiling as he shook his head. However, his expression turned grim very quickly after. That was because Mortimer had been young—only about three years old, when the events of the video had happened.Darius stood up. Placing both hands on his hips, he took in a few deep breaths. Just as he was about to continue going through his documents, he heard the sound of footsteps from outside.The footsteps sounded familiar. Darius’ eyebrows shot up, and he went to take a seat on the couch again.Mortimer hadn’t shut the door when he left. Thus, Darius could easily see the woman who came to the door. He put on a shocked expression and said, “I never thought that you would find your way here.”Pearl s
Darius reached up to rub at his temple, exerting more strength as time passed. After a while, he looked up at Pearl and said, “If you ask me, I don’t think you need to feel so anxious. We’re on the same side here. At the same time, I know that you care about me. No matter what happens, you’ll be on my side.”Pearl’s face went red. She had never imagined that Darius would say such a thing to her. She looked down at the ground as she contemplated how to answer Darius’ question. Just then, she heard Darius speak up again.“Even if you don’t care for me, you only offended those people because you wanted to help me. That’s why you’re facing an issue with your academics now. I definitely won’t pretend that I know nothing and ignore the problem.”Pearl’s head whipped up to look at Darius. Her mouth opened and closed, but in the end, she looked back down. She couldn’t say anything in response to that. Nevertheless, she still looked worried.Seeing Pearl’s expression, Darius breathed in deeply
Darius put his phone back into his pocket and went back to his work. Edward interrupted, saying, “Mr. Reid, I think you should settle the matter with Kingston University right now. To save time, I mean.”Darius’ fingers left the keyboard of his laptop as he leaned back. He looked straight ahead, his gaze empty. It was as though he was in a daze. However, his mind was working in a frenzy.Edward bit his lip and went silent, quietly standing behind Darius.Time passed in the blink of an eye. Just as Edward thought he wouldn’t be getting any response from Darius, the latter got up.“You’re right. You’ve given me an excellent suggestion, so I’m asking you to locate Pearl this instant. I’ll take her to Kingston University.” With that, Darius turned to leave quickly with a smile on his face. A few minutes later, Pearl was at the gates of the Reid manor, ready to leave. Abruptly, a strong gust of wind blew against her. Pearl instinctively closed her eyes against the onslaught. When she ope
However, Darius didn’t say a thing. Meanwhile, the security guards had already started shouting.“Stop the vehicle this instant! Can you not read the sign? No cars are allowed in front of the university gates!”In the passenger seat, Pearl frowned. “I find this weird. How could the wealthy students of Kingston University allow them to do such a thing?”Darius nodded in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing.”Pearl let out a breath. She looked at Darius and said, “Then should we go down and have a look?” She thought that Darius would agree with her on this too, but Darius shook his head. “No, of course not. I’m sure we’re richer than all of them combined. In any case, even without the Reid family’s assets, even West Atlantics Int’l could buy over the whole of Kingston University. In that case, why should we give them any leeway?”With that, Darius hit the gas pedal, and the car moved forward at a normal pace. However, Pearl and Edward both gripped their seats. This was because t
When it came down to it, Darius was an educated individual. The security guard thought that he would want to preserve his reputation. Unexpectedly, Darius smirked before letting out a burst of laughter.This confused the guards, causing them to frown. They watched in worry as Darius moved his hands back to the front of his body. For some reason, they felt as though some huge disaster was about to happen. The next second, they understood why; that feeling had not been in vain. Darius widened his stance. Though this movement was not out of the ordinary, he had moved to stand before them in the blink of an eye. At the moment, Darius was mere feet away from them.Their breathing nearly stopped as they looked at Darius. Their legs started to shake violently. “W-What are you planning to do!” As they spoke, they reached their hands back for their batons to protect themselves. The second their hands touched their weapons, they sighed in relief. They gripped their weapons and raised them h
Edward looked surprised. Then, he turned to walk toward Darius. He found there to be something odd about the two security guards and felt he had to report this to Darius immediately. So, he channeled his life force to his legs and dashed toward Darius.Darius was walking ahead at normal speed, and he’d already heard the conversation between Edward and the security guards. So, he was calm when Edward appeared beside him. “You don’t need to be too suspicious of those two security guards. Learn to trust your instinct—as an enlightened martial artist, your instinct is likely more accurate than your analytical skills. I’m positive they’re kind souls.” He fell silent after saying this, not expecting to be stopped by Kingston University’s security guards for the second time. These security guards were patrolling the grounds. Darius swept his gaze over them, then frowned—they gave him bad vibes. He said coldly, “Get out of my way!”They didn’t budge, merely looking at him and Pearl. Then, the
"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