Darius' tone was calm, and he smiled. "I know my absence over the years has given everyone plenty of opportunities to show what they're made of. It's a good thing, and I don't want this sort of competition to stop. However, I hope everything we do is for the betterment of the Reid family." He paused, then continued, "I believe you all understand what I mean. I've already experienced a number of unpleasant battles since my return to the Reid family…" Darius swept a cold gaze over the crowd and eventually fixed it on Patrick. "I have yet to look into them because I know they're just results of internal strife." He cocked his head and smiled again. "I've tried my best to treat all members of the Reid family with friendliness and an open heart; I hope to build long-lasting relationships with all of you, if only because the same blood runs in our veins. However, if you have other thoughts or find wealth to be more important than blood, I don't mind changing my attitude." Besides James a
"Why aren't you leaving when everyone obviously doesn't want you here? I would've been absolutely humiliated if I were you!" Patrick's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear him, and it attracted everyone's attention. The crowd looked like they were itching to see them get into a fight.Darius raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Patrick suddenly appearing before him and trying to pick a fight. He stared at Patrick silently. Based on his experience, Patrick wasn't done. Sure enough, Patrick's anger seemed to grow when he didn't receive a response. He clenched his fists and started to tremble slightly. However, before he could speak, a woman beat him to it. "Darius, you're crossing the line. We're all relatives here, but you make it look like we're beneath you. Even if you're directly related to Grandpa James, you're still just another member of the Reid family! You'll need our support to have things go your way!"Darius snorted at her words. "That actually sounds sensible. I would
Darius sat down silently and started observing the people below. He smirked when he saw Patrick scanning the crowd and searching for someone. Then, he pulled out his phone and started typing out a message. The partygoers slowly lapsed into silence.Darius narrowed his eyes. Patrick's actions had suddenly reminded him of something. The members of the Reid family prided themselves on being wealthier than other wealthy families, but the consortium's accounts weren't as loaded as they thought. Despite that, the world still thought the Reid Consortium was filthy rich. This situation was similar to that of Almiron City, whereby outsiders had thought it was a well-to-do city when it was actually poor. It seemed like an easy illusion to create, but one only had to take a closer look to realize how tough it actually was. Darius slowly turned to focus on Patrick. He hadn't considered this before, but now that it was laid before him, he couldn't ignore the issue. The Reid family's bodyguards ha
When he was sure no one could see him, Patrick's gaze turned menacing as he glared at Stephen. He was sure Stephen could clearly sense his rage and displeasure.Stephen put his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath before saying, "You've made many mistakes. Seeing as we used to be great partners, here's a friendly reminder—try to avoid doing things that Darius hasn't expressly allowed. We can't afford to get in his bad books." Patrick's eyes widened at his words, and his head shot up. Stephen continued calmly, "There's no use looking at me like that. I can tell you that I've already lost to him. In fact, I'm extremely grateful to Darius now. If you think you can persuade me to work with you to harm Darius, think again."Patrick's breathing sped up. He had never expected Stephen to betray him! "How dare you play me like a fool!" He grabbed Stephen by the collar; Stephen subconsciously raised his arms to resist, then allowed them to fall to his side. He then lowered his head with
Patrick slowly retracted his hand. He was still trembling, but he pursed his lips, looking indignant. "Darius, I know you're powerful, but so what? You're nothing but a vile person who only knows how to eavesdrop on others!" His chest heaved with agitation.Darius shook his head. He moved to stand before Patrick, then grabbed him by the collar and lifted him to his feet. Suddenly, the realization dawned on him, and he whipped his head around to glare at Stephen. "Stephen, you've been lying to me this whole time! You're already on Darius' side, aren't you?"Stephen broke his silence. "Didn't you already figure that out long ago? That's what you accused me of earlier, didn't you? I don't think you need me to answer you."Patrick pointed a trembling finger at him, his chest heaving with rage. "You're too cheap!"Darius frowned, finally out of patience. He said, "Now that I'm here, whatever you've planned for tonight is going to fall through. You cannot defeat me, be it in terms of brains
Patrick's expression turned into a gleeful one when he saw who was calling him. He gave Darius and Stephen a smug look, making the latter uneasy. Stephen glanced at Darius and reached out to tug his sleeve, but Darius put his hands behind his back. At the same time, he smiled and said, "You look pretty happy. What have you done this time? I can't wait to hear you brag about it!"Patrick's breathing hitched at Darius' words, and he gritted his teeth, giving Darius a hate-filled glare. He didn't know why Darius had seen through his elaborately laid plans so easily; there wasn't a trace of surprise or shock on his face. Patrick felt like a fool in comparison. He clenched his fists and breathed deeply, deciding to proceed with his plan. If he were to fail in this, he wouldn't have any way out. All his other plans had fallen through thanks to Darius' interference—this was the last thing he could do. He continued breathing deeply, trying to ignore Darius' amused gaze.When he finally rega
Patrick lowered his head and pulled his phone from his pocket. When he saw the notification on his screen informing him the livestream was over, an ugly look crept onto his face. He immediately ran after Darius, stood in his way, and glared at him menacingly. "I've tried being patient with you, but you obviously don't appreciate it. Do you know the sort of predicament you're in right now? You've been foiling my plans every step of the way! It looks like I'm gonna have to show you how meaningless you are to the Reid family!" He held his head high, looking proud of himself.Darius stopped, wanting to see what else Patrick had up his sleeve. At the very least, he wanted to see why Patrick was confident he could act this way. Darius tucked his hands in his pockets and looked at Patrick calmly. Patrick's nerves were too frazzled to pay attention to his surroundings. When he saw Darius had stopped, he blurted out, "You may have been announced as the Reid family's heir, but did you notice h
"You may have blocked off the signal earlier, but that's not gonna do anything. My people are right outside, and they're telling me the signal will be back soon. The livestream will return, and everyone will have heard everything you just said. Do you want to wager a guess what they're saying about you right now?" Patrick looked pleased with himself.Darius only found his chatter annoying. He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we be more worried about the fact that there are bombs around the banquet hall?"Patrick snorted. "Of course not! I was the one who had those bombs laid, so there's no way I'll be hurt by them."Darius smiled mockingly. "You do realize you're standing before me, right? If you want the bombs to do what they're supposed to, you have to detonate them. Before that happens, you must leave this place and find a way to keep me and Stephen here. Do you think that's possible?" His tone was gentle and cajoling, but it echoed in the empty banquet hall, adding an eerie vibe to i
"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