Nonetheless, seeing that Frank was silent, Nadia pressed, "Shall we?""Sure," Frank replied.He did not like Sayna, and they were sisters, but they were each different people, and Nadia could not be faulted for that.Moreover, Sayna had yet to actually do anything out of line, aside from running her mouth. Even if Frank was ruthless and determined, he did not kill on a whim."Great! I'm taking part in a dirt bike rally tour in the afternoon. Would you like to come and watch?"As she asked, Nadia moved closer to Frank, while Sayna tactfully made way for her.Despite her generosity, Sayna was actually a little jealous—if it was not for her father stubbornly insisting on her engagement with Uran before, she would be the one here flirting with Frank!There was no helping it in this case, as fate could be a cruel mistress… though if she could not marry Frank, they were all young and energetic. Chastity be damned—fooling around was acceptable too.Still, Frank shook his head. "I'm bu
Donnie suddenly showed up, asking, "What's got everyone so cheerful here? Anyone going to fill me in?""Oh, Mr. Ingram. There's a dirt bike rally to be held here in town. Would you like to join us?" Sayna asked, though it was a rhetorical question.After all, Donnie would definitely not waste his time on something so trivial, not to mention that his presence would just affect the Quills' plans to latch on to Frank."Oh, now that you mention it, I quite enjoy motorraces. And since you've so kindly offered, I definitely have to come!"Donnie, however, was clearly not having it—his daughter Alda could be dumb all she wanted, but he refused to be the same. And all his plans would go up in smoke if Nadia managed to claim Frank!"Shame." Sayna sighed. "The race isn't open, and I can't extend invitations. But don't worry, we can watch it together next time.""I see. You kids carry on." Donnie nodded. He was a local giant anyway, and he really did not need to pester Sayna just to get h
And with those words, Nadia put on her helmet and ignored anyone who tried to reason with her.With everyone ready, the siren that signaled the start of the race soon blared, and all the bikes shot forward."Nadia took the lead!" Alda exclaimed, at once surprised and thrilled.Indeed, Nadia pulled away despite the bumpy track, holding her Kawasaki steady between her legs like it was flat ground.On the other hand, Donnie was being the contrarian. "Better bikes wouldn't survive such a harsh track. She'd be falling behind soon.""Then why don't we make a bet, Mr. Ingram?" Sayna sneered. "If my sister wins, you will annul your daughter's engagement with Mr. Frankton.""Dream on!"Donnie's instinct was to refuse—even if he was dead sure Nadia would not win, his style was to go all out and make sure there was no chance of losing to Sayna."What a coward!" Sayna rolled her eyes.Alda suddenly said, "I'll take that bet!"Even if Donnie could endure Sayna's diss, Alda could not, desp
The last stretch was a road that cut through the middle of a forest. Not only were there collapsed trees, but it had just rained, and the ground was basically all mud.In fact, Nadia was soon covered in mud as soon as she rode down the track, but she was experienced enough and switched tires beforehand.Even so, she was barely able to cross the muddy track, and things were naturally a lot worse for the others.They would not have raced on a troublesome track like this one if Nadia did not suddenly decide on it. In fact, the riders right after Nadia were thrown from their own bikes just as they reached the mud!The ones further behind naturally slowed down, rightfully worried that the same would happen to them.Nonetheless, Nadia glanced at her speedometer just then, intent on going even faster.She revved her bike, which was a fatal mistake, as her tires hit a puddle and splattered mud all over her helmet.Losing all vision, her bike shot straight toward a towering tree.The au
After the race ended, Donnie approached Frank. "Mr. Frankton, now that the race is over, why don't you drop by at my humble abode? The place could use your cheer!"Frank smiled. "Thanks for the invite, but I have work to do back at the office. Next time, perhaps."Donnie did not press the issue despite Frank's refusal—if anything, his visit was inconsequential. As long as his daughter remained glued to Frank, there was always hope.-As Frank returned to his office half an hour later, Jada was calmly working while teasing him. "I really thought that the people keen to obtain the Shagan spiritron vein would try to challenge you like Rudy Himmel did. Imagine my surprise to see someone like Sayna Quill using strategic marriages to her advantage!"Frank smiled in wry amusement, but Jada's words actually made sense when he thought about it.Sayna was herself a businesswoman and would really not care for death battles—her priority was building win-win partnerships instead!"I'm sorry,
"Good afternoon, Mr. Caffee," Jada greeted him. "What are you up to at the moment?"Billy chuckled. "Oh, don't tease me, Ms. Turin. You don't have to get so formal with me."He was certainly glib as befit a businessman, and Jada would really not have contacted him if he was not useful right now. "Haven't you heard? Someone just sabotaged my projects!""Really? I swear it has nothing to do with me, Ms. Turin," Billy swore, quick to assert his loyalty. "Find the person responsible—don't throw away the entire basket now!"While Jada had yet to investigate, she could tell that Billy was at least innocent.After all, he was a shrewd businessman and your stereotypical fence sitter. Even if some offstate investors had expressed interest in expanding into this town, the situation was still opaque—a man like Billy would be standing aside to watch everything unfold without risking anyone's wrath.Still, Jada threatened him, "It had better not be you, or I'll tear you a new one!""Don't
Sally walked up to Frank, pointing at Callie. "You have to watch out for her. She's not all she seems—if anything, she must hold a grudge.""A grudge?" Frank was slightly confused—he had not done anything to deserve Callie's wrath, so why would there be enmity?Still, Sally was right about one thing—Callie was not all she seemed, which was why Frank kept her around, so that she would not cause him trouble like Sally did before."Don't try to drive a wedge between us!" Callie retorted indignantly just then. "I'll admit that my group covets the power of the Shagan spiritron vein, but we're not dumb. The man chosen by the Shagan spiritron vein is set, and it's not going to change easily."Even if you compartmentalize the power of the Shagan spiritron vein through science, you can't even harvest a tenth of its true power that its owner could wield. With that being the case, why challenge him, when an alliance suits everyone just fine?"Sally snorted and ignored her, then turned toward
Frank shrugged. "I know. Why else would she show up at Rudy's place? But she's right too—anyone good enough would understand that the Shagan spiritron vein has an attitude. They won't move against me recklessly."Sally smirked but said nothing—it was not surprising Frank was the man chosen by the Shagan spiritron vein, as his charisma really set him above the rest!She could be content with working for him too. Even if her ambition would be left unfulfilled, watching him crawl upward was just fine.-The next day, Aron Hampton was once again running into Frank's office frantically. "There's trouble, Ms. Turin! Many of our projects have been vandalized by some thugs overnight, and it looked like they'd planned it for a while! What should we do?"Jada did not even look his way and continued with her work as she said, "Got it. I'll sort it out myself—don't worry about it.""Are we going to war?" Aron asked, thrilled. He was certainly not satisfied after seeing Jada punching people