The woman spread her hands and shrugged while looking at Darius haughtily. Darius sighed, feeling like this trip had been a huge mistake. He'd already decided to return home, yet something like this had to happen right before he left. He narrowed his eyes. Coincidences happened all the time, and he could just about bring himself to believe that two coincidences could happen at the same time. Still, if too many coincidences were to happen at the same time … no one would believe they were truly coincidental.Darius looked at the couple and said, "Can I take this to mean that your actions have been condoned by your employers? And that no one will be able to resolve this issue of you causing trouble for me?"The couple narrowed their eyes at him suspiciously. Ultimately, the woman said haughtily, "Of course! Everything we've done so far is what people expect and have been waiting to see!"With her words, Darius didn't think this was mere happenstance anymore. "Alright, then. Just so you k
Darius' expression became mocking at his words. "What makes you think I'll believe your lies? None of that sounds realistic. Why didn't you try to flee after being oppressed like that?"The employee paled and shook his head, looking defeated as tears streamed down his face. "You have no idea how many times I tried, but she sent people to trail me. There were people watching me 24/7; even now, everything that we say now will probably reach her ears in no time. She may show up here in a few minutes for all we know … "As an enlightened martial artist, Darius trusted his instincts unconditionally. They told him the employee wasn't lying, and he said, "You don't sound like you're lying, and I'm about eighty percent convinced. I'll get my people to investigate the remaining twenty percent. If you want to leave this place, I can protect you." He smiled at the employee.The employee's heart raced. "Do you mean that? Do you know who this hotel belongs to?" Darius shook his head, making a mask
They didn't even have the strength to lift their heads from the floor. This didn't stop them from making noise, though. "Why have you guys stopped? You're security guards, aren't you? Isn't it your job to attack and capture him? Do what you were hired for!"The security guards didn't look too pleased at their words. At this moment, a man in a black suit stepped forward. Unlike the other security guards, whose shirts were white, his was black. Darius watched him calmly, putting his hands behind his back. The security guard in the black suit looked impatient as he swaggered forward, spatting on the floor before growling, "Curse the fucker who dropped me here, forcing me to watch people argue over the dumbest things every day. One day, my anger is gonna reach its peak; when that happens, I'm gonna murder everyone here and blow this place to smithereens!"Darius raised an eyebrow at this man. He looked irritated and seemed like the type to have committed many crimes, but Darius' instinct
"In any case, I was punished and relegated here over something that didn't even happen!"Darius raised an eyebrow at Iago's complaint and mentally reviewed the information he'd revealed so far. Iago had been framed, leading to his parents cutting him off financially. He'd originally just been a rich kid living the cushy life but had been forced to work here as a security guard, surviving from paycheck to paycheck. Darius gave Iago an odd look—things didn't look as tough for him as he'd made them seem. He didn't look tortured or disheveled.Iago immediately understood what Darius was thinking. He forced out through gritted teeth, "See, that's what you think as well! You think my current life looks alright, don't you? But you don't know about that woman docking my pay when she feels like it! Going to work and doing my job is all I can do right now. You might think she's doing this out of the kindness of her heart, like maybe she's trying to train me so I can do a better job of managing
Darius had only known Iago for a short while, but he was confident that all sorts of weird thoughts were going through his mind now. These thoughts were probably along the lines of him complimenting himself on being intelligent enough to pick someone like Darius to be his friend. Darius shook his head at this and sighed. "Alright, alright. I know how kind and outstanding you are." He smiled and continued, "You're probably really happy that things turned out like this. I know your imagination's probably running wild now, but please rein it in for the time being. We need to focus on resolving this matter right now. Otherwise, we won't be able to move on."Iago's eyes lit up at his words, and he nodded vigorously. "You're right." He put his hands on his hips and turned to slam a hand on the front desk's counter. Darius thought he would say something profound and commanding, but … Iago held his head high and gestured at Darius with his other hand. "This is Darius Reid, the heir to the R
Darius took a deep breath and started driving. Iago watched him dazedly and asked, "What do I need to do now? And where are we going? I've never taken this way before; is there something fun where we're going?"Darius rolled his eyes. "No, there's nothing there except my home. I'm guessing you've been staying at the hotel's lodging all this while. Now that you've fallen out with them, you won't be able to continue working there, which also means you're out of a place to stay." He glanced at Iago. "So, I'm taking you to my place now. I'm sure you have no objection to that." Iago immediately nodded vigorously, making Darius' lips twitch. "Right, we can talk about everything else tomorrow. I believe Ursula will probably show up with those three people in tow."Iago crossed his arms and nodded. A few seconds later, he asked hesitantly, "What about that employee they were bullying? He wasn't lying about that. Throughout my time at the hotel, I've witnessed many people bullying him. Beside
Erin followed Darius out of the room. She looked even more confused by Darius' question but still nodded. "Yes, I do."Darius' grin widened. "The person who's locked in the car and screaming his head off now is the youngest son of the Evans family—Ursula Evans' youngest brother."Erin frowned. "Isn't Ursula Evans out to get you? Won't her brother … ""Her brother is out to get her." Darius finished her sentence. "My instincts as an enlightened martial artist tell me he's innocent enough, if only a little mischievous." He headed toward the car, where Iago looked terrified yet infuriated. Never in his life would he have expected to find himself locked in a car after waking up from a short nap. His breathing raced, and he jolted when he saw Darius appear before him. He stopped yelling and fixed an aggrieved, pitiful gaze on Darius.Instead of unlocking the car, Darius slowed to a stop and turned to look at Erin with a smile. "Look at him. He wouldn't hurt a fly."Erin bit her lip withou
This time, however, they didn't linger in the hall. Instead, they headed straight to the study. Darius sat down and placed a hand on the desk. He shut his eyes and slowly rapped his knuckles on the desk. "Alright, tell me what else has happened recently."Erin stood opposite him with her hands behind her back. "There have been some other incidents, but everything related to West Atlantics Int'l has either been good news or not too urgent. Zack's betrayal didn't cause any financial losses, and the issues he caused with the cash flow have already been rectified by cutting some costs internally … " At the thought of this, her eyes widened. "Sir, as you're aware, all our projects are fund-intensive, but we managed to resolve the cash flow issue solely by cutting costs. We didn't even need to cut the employees' salaries. This means we've been overspending in this aspect; I think this is something we can look into for further improvement."Darius continued to knock on the desk. Then, he wa
"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