A thunderous growl left Mateo's lips. "Oh, I see how it is, Bridget! Are you breaking up with me and punching me because of that man beside you? I don't understand—what makes him better than me? Is it because he's taller? Or do you find him more attractive than me?""Good that you're at least aware of that. You're not as dim as I thought. Yes, Edward's looks are superior to yours in many ways, but that's not why I'm breaking up with you. Still, you realized your many inferiorities, how you're unworthy of me, and that I have many better options out there; that's a pretty decent improvement," Bridget sneered, tucking her hands into her pockets. Her face was devoid of emotion, but her eyes were full of agony.Mateo still hadn't got up. Only bitterness radiated from his gaze as he snarled through gritted teeth, "Well done, Bridget! You've got some nerve to insult me! Are you trying to destroy my pride just because you can't have me?"Bridget's brows drew close. As for Edward, who patient
He looked up at Darius as his breathing sped up, but he tried to keep his appearance and voice as calm as possible. "Darius, I know you're civilized—I can tell from your face. Based on that alone, I think we can properly discuss everything that's happening now." Craig thought he was being nice enough, but the only response he received was a mocking smile from Darius. It made his hair stand on end, and before he knew it, he blurted out, "I'm warning you, Darius—don't look at me like that! You have no idea how ugly you look right now!"Darius raised an eyebrow. "I hear you, but I also have to tell you that I couldn't care less about your opinion." He sighed, straightened up, and walked toward Craig. "You and I are obviously on opposing sides; there's no way you'd harbor any positive intentions toward me." Then, he stepped on Craig, making Craig cry out in pain and stare up at him in shock.Craig couldn't believe what was happening. He gulped and trembled all over as an ominous feeling
Craig had wasted so much time here just to get this piece of land. With this thought in mind, Darius sat down and crossed one leg over the other, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "It's not entirely impossible, but I need to know what it is that's underneath this land. Why are you so desperate to get to it?"Craig's head shot up, looking delighted. In the next second, he scowled and growled, "You're pulling my leg! I've been nice to you from the beginning, yet the same can't be said for you. You disappoint me, and I swear I'll make you pay for this!" His chest heaved with rage.Darius shrugged, looking unruffled. "Have you forgotten that you're still tied up? Don't you find yourself laughable when you say things like that?"Craig faltered and quickly rearranged his expression to force out a smile. "I was wrong to say those things. Please, release me from these bonds! I swear it won't happen again!"Darius raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'd believe that? Especially after every
He held his head high and let out a disparaging laugh. "I guess they weren't lying to me when they told me you were a force to be reckoned with, Darius. Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you what you want because I have no right to betray the Evans family. I'm sure you can tell that I'm on the lowest rung among everyone who's been mobilized to come after you. Naturally, I know the least about this master plan." Craig's eyes turned red, and he looked helpless. It was apparent that he had no way of winning against Darius—Darius was more intelligent and powerful than he'd imagined. Nothing good would come out of this if he were to insist on opposing Darius. Craig sighed and shut his eyes, knowing that he couldn't tell Darius what he knew. Since there was no way Darius would extend his kindness to him, he wouldn't be able to survive if he were to betray the people he was working for. Besides, there was no point in him telling Darius those things.Craig tried his best to comfort him
Soon, however, he widened his eyes in disbelief. "Wait, you're letting me go just like that? Aren't you gonna press me for more information?"Darius smirked at him. "No, I don't see the need for that. You've made many major mistakes, and all of them make me want to end you. However, your wrongdoings don't warrant death, and I'm sure plenty of others want to kill you. I have no need to dirty my hands." He shrugged, turned away, and left without a second glance.Craig was left lying on the floor alone, but this didn't last for long. Soon, some of Solaris Estate's employees walked into the room and stood before him, looking grim. "Sir, we don't know how you got in here, but you should know that Mr. Reid is the owner of this place. Now that he's given the order for you to leave, it's not appropriate for you to linger." Craig stared at them dazedly. He thought the security guards would lift him by the collar and throw him out of there, but none of them did so.Darius saw this from his per
Bridget's eyes were icy. She aimed her gun at Mateo and said, "Since you're an ordinary person, I'll solve this the way ordinary people do."Mateo had originally been on his knees. When he heard Bridget's words, he snorted and straightened up. "Alright, if that's what you want!" He didn't give Bridget the chance to react before darting toward her, but she looked calm and didn't even flinch. Mateo frowned at this. As someone who'd previously undergone the Reid family's rigorous training for its bodyguards, he knew very well that the silent ones were dangerous. Still, he didn't hesitate as he rushed at her, yelling, "Go to hell!"In that instant, Bridget sensed his unbridled intention to murder her. She was frozen and unable to believe that he would treat her like this. In the past, they'd been on extremely good terms. What had happened over the years to make him harbor such deep hatred for her? She remained rooted to the spot.Edward frowned at this. If Bridget didn't dodge this attac
Darius crossed his arms and legs and sighed, looking thoughtful. When he heard Bridget and Edward approaching, he trained his gaze on the door. And so, when Bridget opened the door, she immediately met Darius' gaze. She raised an eyebrow and greeted him. "Sir."He nodded. "Have you dealt with everything out there?"Bridget smiled. "Yes, sir. The person who betrayed the Reid family has ceased to exist."Darius nodded again and dropped his gaze to the floor. Everything that had happened was out of his expectations; it seemed something had changed for everyone. He shut his eyes and thought about it, realizing that this had all happened after he'd let Bennett go. Then, he straightened up and headed downstairs."Sir, where are we headed now?" Bridget asked as she followed him."There's someone still locked in the basement. I don't want my home to become a prison!"Bridget faltered, then regained her composure and hurried after him. This was her fault—she'd been the one to lock Winston and
"You mean there's a bomb here," Edward said bluntly. At this moment, Darius arrived at the top of the basement stairs and heard their conversation. He raised an eyebrow and walked down to join them.Ursula, who lay on the ground, cracked her eyes open by a slit and rasped out a breath. This attracted their attention, but when they turned to look at her, she'd shut her eyes again. "She's awake," Bridget frowned and said coldly. "And she's stronger than we thought. An ordinary person would've died from those injuries, but she hasn't."Edward nodded. "Should we search her and the rest of the basement?"Darius shook his head. "That's not necessary. You've hit the nail on the head with your suspicions—Ursula's the one who planted the bomb here." He pointed at a corner of the room, then moved his finger in a circle, indicating the other corners of the room before continuing mockingly, "There are five surveillance cameras here; I saw everything that happened here from my computer."Ursula's
"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