"You two are equally kind; this fight must've started because of a misunderstanding, or someone sowed discord between you two. If you come to me right now, I promise I can act as if none of this ever happened." The man's tone was firm, but his eyes were filled with venom.Darius sat on the chair before the surveillance monitors and said lazily, "You're Stephen's father, right? That makes you my uncle. Well, dearest uncle, you should consider hiding your venomous expression before speaking. How do you expect me to believe you were telling the truth?" He sighed. "Anyway, your words make no sense to me, and you aren't emotionally stable. If you insist on having a heart-to-heart with me now, I can't guarantee your son's safety. Don't you think it's just like what happened to my father?"Darius watched as an ugly look crept onto the man's face, and he smiled. "The fact that you're feeling fearful now makes me want to laugh. There were countless times in the past when you should've been fe
##When Pearl opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Darius' feet, and she was looking at them at an odd angle. She stared at them dazedly and cried, "Darius, where are you?" Darius couldn't deny his heart twinged when she cried for him. He squatted down to look into her eyes and reached out to untie her. When he was almost done, he used one hand to lift her upright while the other continued to undo the ropes. Before Pearl passed out again, she seemed to see a trace of concern in his eyes. When Stephen made her chair tip over earlier, she'd landed on her head and was probably concussed.Darius frowned and placed a palm on her head, channeling his life force toward her. Her wounds healed rapidly, making him sigh in relief. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes. When she saw Darius squatting before her, she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't want to do this to someone who saved me, but I can't help it. I regained consciousness long ago and saw that you didn't bother helping me up
"If you bear any grudge against him for causing their deaths or are resentful that their deaths led to you going missing and leading a bad life, I don't think there's any way to resolve that." Byron smiled consolingly.However, as an enlightened martial artist, Darius could sense he didn't mean a single word. In fact, Byron seemed to be nervous—his heart was racing. He watched Darius carefully, and Darius felt his eyes would probably turn red if he were any angrier. And so, Darius decided to make him mad. He straightened up and walked toward Stephen, who had been lying on the ground for a long time. He hadn't budged or said anything even upon Byron's arrival, as if he knew his father couldn't save him. He was right, of course—Darius wouldn't let him off the hook.Darius ignored Stephen's trembling, placed a foot on his shoulder, and said frostily, "I think I've been patient enough up to this point." He smiled at Byron.Stephen shuddered violently and turned to look at Byron tearfully
"Yet you didn't mention it. I guess you either played a part in it or stood by, and watched it happen—that's why you didn't dare say anything. You knew people would point fingers at you if they were to find out. Then, you lost your cool when you were almost found out because a man who claimed to be my father's friend showed up as a witness. You didn't know how to deal with it. Eventually, you devised a plan—to kidnap that friend's son and keep him with you, pretending he was your son. This way, the only witness would be at your beck and call to protect his son." Darius stroked his jaw thoughtfully as he spoke. Stephen's eyes widened as he stared at Darius. He knew Darius was telling the truth, and everything made sense. Darius could tell Stephen had plenty to say, but he ignored him and looked Byron in the eye. "Am I right, my dear uncle?"Byron's expression was ugly. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself. When he opened his eyes, his expression had been replaced
He raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. Edward thought Darius would get angry when facing off against Byron, but things had ended so abruptly. He didn't say anything, though. He'd been by Darius' side long enough to know he wouldn't let Byron off the hook so easily.Byron was equally surprised. He didn't want to end things here but fell silent at Darius' words. He peered at Darius doubtfully and asked, "Do you really mean that? You wanted my head minutes ago."Darius raised an eyebrow. "Can I take that to mean you like me treating you with that attitude? I don't mind, of course."Byron took a few breaths as he weighed his options. Then, he stepped back. It wasn't because he'd suddenly developed a conscience but because he didn't want to get into a fight where Darius had the upper hand. Byron looked around the surveillance room and realized he had no chance of winning if they were to get into a fight there.Stephen was still lying on the floor silently. When he saw his father backing
Byron desperately wanted to see it, and his eyes practically burned holes in Darius. To his fury, none of the things he wanted to see happened. "Darius Reid! Your attitude has granted you a one-way ticket to hell!" He stepped back and waved a hand. "Kill them now!"Stephen's eyes widened at his command; he stared at Byron in disbelief. "Father, you can't treat me like this! I'm your son, aren't I? I've been loyal to you all these years! You can't do this to me!"Byron looked at him scornfully, then hurried over to him and stomped on his shoulder, making him let out a pained cry. He looked at Byron with a terrified gaze, but this didn't bother Byron. In fact, Byron smiled. "I've always hated how weak and powerless you were; you should be grateful I've kept you alive for so long. Despite that, I can see that not only are you ungrateful, but you even resent me."Darius sighed and stood up, ignoring the falling out between the father and son. He looked at the bodyguards that were approach
Edward was like a sharp blade. As Darius stepped back, he disappeared. At the same time, the bodyguards let out tortured screams, which was enough to show Edward hadn't truly disappeared. Byron's expression went from disdain to fear and anxiety at the sound of their screams. He even forgot to taunt Darius, turning instead to look at the black-robed person who'd been silent this whole time.Darius' gaze followed Byron's and landed on the black-robed person. He put his hands behind his back, no longer worried about dealing with these people. "You haven't spoken since coming here; I almost forgot about you. If all your comrades were as low-key as you, they'd still be alive."Byron stiffened at his words. However, his courage was boosted when he saw the black-robed person sitting there without moving. He couldn't see the black-robed person's face because it was hooded, but he figured the black-robed person probably wasn't bothered by Darius' words. He hurriedly said, "We can't handle Dar
Byron gnashed his teeth so loudly that even Edward could hear him amidst his battle. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Byron in surprise. Soon, however, he refocused his attention on beating the bodyguards up. The battle was basically over, but he still had some information to get out of them.Darius noticed Byron's reaction and smirked. Byron didn't notice Edward's surprise, but Darius' was in plain sight. His breathing hitched, and he paled. "What's that look on your face supposed to mean, Darius? I'm your uncle! Can't you see how hard I'm trying to get someone to teach you a lesson? How dare you give me this attitude!"Darius was sick of his spiel, and his annoyance grew every time Byron mentioned it. He'd never met anyone as dumb as Byron. He turned to the black-robed person and rolled his shoulders. "I'm sure you have a grasp on the current situation. Are you still resolutely on his side?"As expected, the black-robed person hesitated. He stood there silently for a while, after
"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