When Darius heard that Brandon had disappeared in his manor, he immediately turned to look at Bruce. "Okay, then. Bruce, when Mr. Brandon returns, please send whatever he's damaged to Mr. Nixon."After saying that, he no longer looked at Bruce; he waved dismissively and said, "That's all, Bruce. I don't need your help now. You may resume your tasks. I'll phone you when myself and Mr. Nixon finish our chat.Bruce nodded and left without hesitation.There was one less person in the study, but it didn't mean the space had fallen silent; Nixon sat on the couch beside Darius. He also scanned the entire room in one glance before exclaiming, "Wow, the furnishings in your study look great! I should design my office like this when I return home—"A genuine smile flashed on his face as he spoke.At first, Darius was unwilling to believe it, but his sharp senses as an enlightened martial artist told him it was true. He gazed at Nixon and raised his hand to interrupt the latter's excited babbling
Nixon cleared his throat, continuing, "This blackout is merely an accident, and although the damage is tremendous, I doubt that's all on my brother's agenda; he tends to create these 'accidents' just so he gets more time to wreak havoc. I fear his antics can sometimes lead to bigger problems." His gaze moved slowly and cautiously toward Darius.Lips twitching, Darius couldn't deny it; he regretted working with Nixon's family. However, he didn't have enough time to dwell on his emotions because Bruce came back into the study.There was unspeakable pain on Bruce's face as he looked back at the door, where Brandon tensely stepped in. Brandon moved with his head hung low as though he didn't have the guts to face the others in the room. Eyes locked on the floor, he took small steps forward. He was so painstakingly slow that he needed twice as long as a regular person to enter the room.A sense of foreboding tingled in Darius' chest when he saw that. He sighed, mentally preparing himself
Nixon finally understood what was happening. He slammed a hand on the desk. Then, he shot to his feet, lunged at Brandon, and grabbed him by the collar. He forced out through gritted teeth, "What did you do with the diamonds?"Brandon stared at him with trembling lips, seemingly too stunned to speak. At this moment, Bruce said plainly, "Nothing much, to be honest. He merely wanted to eat the diamonds. He also asked our staff to grind them into powder and mix them with water so he could drink them up. Our staff tried to stop him, but he beat them up. Many of them have been injured in the process of stopping him from eating the diamonds."Darius was lost for words. He supposed there was one thing for him to be glad about—that Brandon had tried to eat the diamonds himself instead of forcing them down the throats of his subordinates. Brandon grinned when he saw that he hadn't been punished despite Bruce announcing his wrongdoings to the world. "I didn't expect the Reid family to be that r
Nixon had no idea what was happening, but he still keyed his email address into Darius' computer. Darius turned it back around to face him, sighing as he glanced at Nixon and sent the email. Nixon's phone pinged, and he pulled it out with a frown. After reading Darius' email, his expression turned steely. "Where'd you get this from?"Darius massaged his temples. "I took the photos on the scene." His email to Nixon consisted of images, videos, and descriptions of the black-robed people's organization. It also included information on their experiments, medical research, mission, and origination. Nixon sat on the couch opposite Darius; a heavy silence descended upon the room.Brandon had been watching them silently this whole time. He wisely chose not to say anything—mostly because he didn't dare make a sound at the grim looks on their faces. He didn't want to offend them and make them take their bad moods out on him. On the other hand, Bruce cocked his head, looking confused. Ultimatel
"I'm waiting for you in my office." Henry shut his eyes after sending Darius this message. He seemed exhausted.On the other hand, Darius merely raised an eyebrow when he saw the message. Then, he headed toward the dean's office. Unfortunately, someone stood in his way once again. He looked at the young man opposite him with narrowed eyes—he had his hands on his hips and looked pleased with himself. "I heard you've been acting like a big shot while I've been away, Darius!" He gave Darius a mocking look.Darius frowned and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about. In fact, I don't think I know you. Also, it's been a while since I was last on campus." He sounded calm, but he knew this matter wouldn't be so easily resolved. The young man's presence proved that. Darius put his hands behind his back and waited for something to happen.At his silence, the young man snorted. "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you afraid? I've heard a lot about you—you're nothing but an ignor
"You're a bad person who deserves to be flushed down the drain…" The rest of the young man's sentence was muffled by a hand being slapped over his mouth—the figure in black did it. Then, his gaze traveled between Darius and the young man before sighing. His attitude surprised Darius, but Darius didn't want to waste any more time there. He headed toward the dean's office.When he arrived, he saw Henry standing there, his hands behind his back, sighing with every step he took. When he saw Darius, he said, "I wanted to apologize to you about some of the things we've done—they're not good, but you should know that we didn't intend for things to turn out like this." He looked at Darius nervously.Darius raised an eyebrow and sat on the couch, crossing his legs at the knee. Then, he said, "It looks like Kingston University has no choice but to merge with another university."Henry turned to face him. "Yes, that's right. You should know that Kingston University has its own board of directors
There were many emotions in their eyes, but none were positive. Darius softened his expression at the sight of them, and he smiled before nodding respectfully at them. "Professors, I'm Darius Reid, and I'm here to cancel the rest of my time off. Also, I'm here to pick a new advisor because my previous one, Professor Plinsky, is indisposed." With that, he stood up straight and gazed at the professors. Unexpectedly, most of them no longer looked hostile. His smile widened—this was a good sign. Then, he noticed that whichever professor his gaze landed on would avert their gaze and avoid meeting his eyes.Darius' smile turned mocking, and he glanced at Henry, who instantly felt a chill run down his spine. Henry cleared his throat and said to the professors menacingly, "What's with your attitude? Darius has already proved his innocence in the previous incident, hasn't he? Are you afraid of him because you're worried he'll dig up whatever wrongdoings you've committed in the past?"The profe
Now, Darius could sense the kindness in Owen beneath his tough exterior, which was the complete opposite of before. As he pondered this, the office door swung open again to reveal many people crowded at the entrance, all eavesdropping on their conversation. They wanted to know how Owen would've treated Darius—he was known for having a fiery temper. Moreover, he was strict and serious when it came to academics. No one could get off easily under his watchful eye.Darius, on the other hand, wasn't a good student in the traditional sense of the word. Yes, he had always been diligent in class and completed his assignments, but that was when he was poor. Now, he was wealthy, and he'd disappeared from campus for a long while shortly after that. So, everyone was curious to know what would happen between him and Owen. As someone who'd been colleagues with these people for many years, Owen immediately understood why the other professors were crowded around the door. An ugly look crept onto hi
"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