They didn't need to look at Ursula to tell what she was thinking and how she felt. Darius looked scornful, as did Bridget. Edward's expression didn't change, but he clenched his fists tightly. He wanted so badly to give her a punch. Darius took in their reactions and sighed inaudibly. It looked like whatever Bruce had done to them while he'd been comatose had profound effects—there were obvious changes in their personalities. Still, he didn't allow his emotions to show. He hadn't forgotten that he needed to deal with Ursula.As Darius' gaze settled on her, Ursula felt her hair stand on end. This disrupted her train of thought, and she raised her head to meet his eyes. She frowned and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? I haven't done anything!"Darius smiled. "Indeed, you haven't." He slowly approached her, making her straighten up and put her hands behind her back. She broke into a cold sweat, feeling oppressed by his powerful aura.Her eyes were filled with terror as she m
"That pisses me off. I think the conversation can end here," said Darius calmly.Ursula shuddered. "I'll get the hell out of here and take them with me if that's what you want!" She was terrified but soon realized this wasn't the end.Almost as soon as her words fell, Darius said, "You can go, but those two have to stay here to apologize to me. One more thing—there was an employee that helped me at the hotel; I don't think they're in for anything good if they remain there, so I'm gonna hire them to work at West Atlantics Int'l."Ursula didn't expect him to humiliate her in front of so many people and even tell her what to do with her staff. He didn't even seem to care that the Evans family was involved in this! Her eyes were filled with rage, and she clenched her fists tightly. "Darius, you can't do this! How can you utterly disregard our feelings and come to a decision on your own?"Darius raised an eyebrow and smirked, but his gaze was cold. "Stop making me laugh." He turned to Bri
Ursula's breathing sped up, and her eyes widened. "Let them go!" she shrieked.Darius gnashed his teeth at the noise. He glanced at Edward without a word; Edward immediately understood what he meant. He clapped a hand over Ursula's mouth and dragged her away. She tried to break free but to no avail. As she disappeared into the basement, Darius felt like peace had been restored. Then, he turned his attention to the couple.They gazed at him in horror, wrapping their arms around each other in an attempt to feel safer. Darius sat on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, looking at them scornfully. "I'll admit that you two are braver than I thought, but you're also a disappointment. I thought you'd do everything you could to protect your precious Ursula, but I was wrong. You didn't do anything aside from shouting." He raised an eyebrow, making them turn pale.They exchanged a look and quickly came to a tacit understanding. They turned back to face Darius, let go of each other, a
The man's eyes widened at the sight of his wife fainting. His face was ashen as he tried and failed to wake her up. He knew he couldn't do anything else and stopped moving, his heaving chest the only sign that he hadn't also passed out. He turned to look at Darius blankly, not knowing what to do.Darius raised an eyebrow and glanced at Bridget, who grabbed the couple and dragged them toward the basement. At this moment, Iago walked toward him with a frown. He twisted his hands as he said, "Mr. Reid, I have something to ask you."Darius nodded and grabbed his phone from the coffee table. However, instead of looking at it, he focused on Iago. "What's wrong? You look like something's bothering you. I hate it when people look at me like that."Iago licked his lips and gulped nervously. "I know you don't like what I'm gonna ask, but I still wanna know—are you really gonna kill them?"Darius shook his head. "No, of course not. I was gonna have your father come over here to bail them out." H
Darius nodded silently, but Erin could tell he was in a better mood than before. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief. "Since everything here's been taken care of, I'll return to the company now."He frowned and checked the time. "It's really late now. I think you should head home to get some rest."Erin smiled and shook her head. "No, it's fine. I still have plenty of work to do; if I rest now, I'll only have more to do tomorrow."Darius sighed and leaned back. "I know things have been hectic at the company lately, but I've been busy with my admission status. Now that we've lost Zack, there isn't anyone to help you out. I'm sorry that you have to deal with West Atlantics Int'l on your own, but I have to ask you to stick it out for just a little longer. I'll hire someone to help you out as soon as possible."Erin smiled. "Sir, it's fine. I know you're worried, but I don't want this to become something that'll trouble you. Besides, being able to work for you makes me happy. In any case
"If the consequences are too severe, he'll disown Iago. In other words, the Evans family won't do anything to get Iago out of trouble." Erin looked contemptuous. "Bennett was very firm when he said these things; he was in such a rush that he forgot his manners and didn't even let me finish."Darius was surprised by her evident disgust. Throughout their time together, they'd met countless prospective clients. No matter how rude the clients had been or how overboard their requests, Erin hadn't been this contemptuous of them. He narrowed his eyes, looking interested, then regained his composure in the next second. With his eyes on Erin, he waved a hand and said, "Alright, I understand. You can head back to work now; remember to get paid for these extra hours. I'll try to get someone suitable to help lighten your load once this mess is settled. I doubt I'll participate in anything related to West Atlantics Int'l before my internship is over." He could tell Erin was exhausted from running
"Even if your family's on the wealthy side, you shouldn't have abducted my daughter. If she's done something to offend you, you should've had your elders come to me to resolve this," said Bennett irritably. Darius crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. This only angered Bennett more. He took a deep breath, his voice even more severe than before as he growled, "I'll give you one last chance. Release my daughter right now; I can pretend none of this ever happened. If you don't … Well, I'm sure you're aware of the Evans family's prominence and power in Ashweir City!" His eyes gleamed menacingly. "You should know I'm not the type to joke. I'm more than capable of getting rid of a brat like you."Darius shrugged, looking unruffled by his threat. "I know you're not joking, of course. I'd be blind to miss your true emotions—you have zero ability to conceal them. Still, I find it funny that you're bragging to me about how powerfu
"I guarantee it's the right decision," Darius said with a smile. "I suppose you've already heard about what happened between your daughter and me. After all, it happened in broad daylight and with so many spectators—it's easy enough for you to find out what happened."Bennett shut his eyes and sighed, balling his hands into fists. He said tiredly, "Yes, I'm aware of everything that happened." He felt exhausted at the thought of everything his daughter had said and done, so he didn't argue with Darius over that. "What exactly do you want? Just cut to the chase instead of wasting time pulling these unnecessary tricks."Darius laughed and clapped his hands, giving Bennett an approving look. The atmosphere was more relaxed than before, yet also odd. Darius crossed his arms and said, "It's simple. If you weren't involved in this, with your daughter's intelligence, I doubt she would've been able to devise such an elaborate plan against me. I don't care whether someone was guiding her or whe
"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