Helen continued, "And Gene is buying all those land lots on a blank check. Is Lanecorp supposed to spend every last capital to outbid the richest man of the east coast? You might as well demand that we go bankrupt directly!"Every staff member of Lanecorp was nodding repeatedly. Helen was right—Gene had nothing but money, and it was suicidal to compete against him in that front."Hah! I don't care!" Nonetheless, Kallum rolled his eyes and laughed—he could not care less about anything and was even more radical after his son's death. "That still meant you failed to achieve the second task I asked, no?"Helen frowned. "It's true, but—""No buts." Kallum sneered. "All I care about is results. You failed, and that's it. Hell, I don't mind telling you how much money I've siphoned off this company now… It's twelve billion dollars!"The Lanecorp staff around them gasped right then.They were aware that Kallum had been embezzling company money… But twelve billion was still a dizzying nu
"Pfft…"Cindy was the first to break the silence, sneering at Frank as she asked sarcastically, "Are you alright, Frank? Do you need to get your brain checked? The richest man on the east coast would just hand over tracts of land to a nobody like you, just because you asked… What, are you his son, grandson, or perhaps… lover?"Frank did not bother responding to her insults. Instead, he calmly turned toward Helen and said, "Don't worry. The issue is settled—we just have to go to Drenam Limited tomorrow with the transfer agreement.""Really…?" Helen was caught off guard by the abrupt news and unsure how she should react.After all, she was despairing… only to feel hope now.It was certainly a rollercoaster of emotions, and she was certainly overwhelmed, pressing a hand over her chest."Of course." Frank grinned. "When have I ever lied to you?""Frank, y-you're so… so…" Helen could not find the words to describe how she felt.Beaming in delight right then, she threw herself into F
The next day, Frank and Helen were already prepared early in the morning and drove to Drenam Limited's office.Cindy had insisted on following, throwing a tantrum as she claimed she wanted to see what Frank could actually do to take those land lots from Gene.To no surprise, Drenam Limited was just a small local construction company that Gene had bought out to be an intermediary."Hello. Looking for someone?" Rob, a thuggish youth with a toothpick between his teeth, strode up to them, stopping them.He looked between them, not even stopping to take a second look at Cindy, as he soon gaped at Helen, dropping his toothpick."Shit!" He cursed even as he spaced out."What's going on here?" Bob, a pudgy man strode up to them as well, frowning. "If you're here to talk shop, I'm sorry, but we were just bought out and… Shit!"He reacted no different from Rob when he saw Helen and barked, "Quit gawking! Don't just let her stand there—go get a chair and some tea!""Oh, yeah, yeah," Rob t
Just as Bob finished, Rob, who had been staring at Helen for a while, exclaimed in surprise, "Hold on, didn't they already know that Mr. Pearce owns us now? Then what are they doing here?"Bob frowned at Frank in turn. "Oh, right? What are you doing here? Is it not about those land lots?""It is," Frank nodded in confirmation.Bob clicked his tongue right then and sighed exasperatedly. "Then what are you doing here if you know that? What, are you going to buy them off Mr. Pearce?""Exactly. Are you crazy?" Rob chimed in, sneering at Frank while twirling a finger over his temple."See, Helen?" Cindy exclaimed gleefully. "They don't even know about us—Frank was lying! And he'd even announce that Mr. Pearce willingly sold them… He must be crazy!"Rob did a double take and turned toward Frank. "That chick's no looker, but she's right. You'd have a better chance buying a pillow instead, so that you can get those pieces of lands in your dreams.""Frank…" Helen turned toward him worrie
On the other hand, Frank was scowling when he saw Zorn.His first thought was that Gene had betrayed him, but he soon realized that it was impossible. After all, Gene knew that Rory and Zorn were conspiring to kill him. He would never betray Frank unless he was stupid, and he did not become the richest man on the east coast by being stupid.On the other hand, Zorn was glowering in realization and barked, "I get it now! You're trying to take advantage of Mr. Pearce while he's sick, aren't you?!""What?"Helen frowned alongside Frank.She trusted Frank, but the fact that Gene's valet did not know about the deed transfer made Frank look like a liar, and now exposed. And now, Frank was even accused of taking advantage of Gene's illness…"Frank, why don't we leave for now? We can come back again later," she said, tugging on Frank's arm and offering him a way out.Frank had every intention to do so too, as he would like to ask Gene in person what the heck was going on.Or maybe Zor
"J-Just you wait!" Bob and Rob bellowed, but they quickly scrambled to flee the office building.On the other hand, Zorn felt a chill down his spine when Frank parried his blow."He's a martial artist too?" he murmured to himself. "Why didn't I sense his vigor?"Moreover, he could see that Frank was used to fighting as he dispatched Rob and Bob in no time at all. He was certainly convinced earlier that Frank was just an average Joe, but he now actually sensed a formless pressure that Frank projected around him.The pressure left Zorn wary, and he was suddenly unsure if he could beat Frank.Such might despite his youth certainly left him wondering where he was from.Narrowing his eyes, Zorn backed down and asked, "May I ask what clan or sect you're from?"Frank, however, shook his head and said quietly, "I'm just a nobody. So? Are we going to continue? I'm not going to hold back if you do, and you'll have to face the consequences of your own actions."Zorn stared at Frank warily
"Freeload off you for three years?"Frank was certainly amused by the idea, but he was not bothered to stoop to verbal fencing against Cindy.Instead, he turned to Helen with a serious look, intent on asking for her opinion.Helen was silent for a while, but she soon said quietly, "I don't know what happened to you that you'd think that, Frank… But I'm telling you in no uncertainty not to think like that ever again! I'll never leave you, and no one can stop me!"Then, shaking off Cindy's hand, she snapped coldly, "This is an order, Cindy. Go back to Riverton and tell my mom not to worry about me. As for you, I know you're upset about being dumped, but neither me nor Frank are your punching bag, and Lanecorp doesn't need garbage like you who doesn't know anything but struts around all high and mighty.""What?!" Cindy stumbled backward in shock. "What did you say, Helen…?""I called you garbage!" Helen snapped. "You don't get to criticize Frank, not when you lost the ruby his fathe
Since Zorn was Birthright rank, Gene naturally had to be careful and gather enough men to deal with him.In short, Frank had run straight into a metaphorical wall.He had come to Drenam Limited too early, before Gene could deal with Zorn, which was why Zorn had misunderstood and thought that Frank came to pull a scam."That's Gene Pearce," he said, pointing at the frail man who needed help walking."That's him? He looks… sickly," Helen murmured, though anyone could see that Gene was in bad shape."Yeah. Some people close to him poisoned him with a bug. I cured him yesterday, so he agreed to transfer those land deeds to me."Helen was surprised. "Are you saying that Gene has broken his promise?""No, he didn't—we came too early, before he could sort out his personal issues," Frank replied, watching as over a dozen men entered Drenam Limited with Gene."This might get dangerous," he murmured with a frown, as none of the men Gene brought were Ascendant rank. "What?" Helen asked,