"Good," Titus growled, his eyes narrowing. "In a week, our people stationed across the country can start their hostile takeover as every Turnbull and family executive returns to their base."Turning toward Sif, he said, "You'll be in charge of dealing with Frank. The success of our plans hinges on what happened next week… we'll just have to resort to violence if there's any deviation again."After all, everything was Titus' idea, be it assimilating the Turnbulls or the Jankos. Even if he was less talented than his younger brother Ehud in martial arts, his mind was far more formidable.In fact, there was no chance that anyone could tell that his seething reaction back at Turnbull House was faked. Not even Frank could hope to read just what sinister intentions he harbored."Titus…" Sif frowned at him just then, asking tentatively, "Are you sure you don't want to punish Frank once I capture him? I mean, the things he and Vicky were doing—that's an insult to you. Are you really not u
Frank walked up to greet Ned and thanked him, but he soon received a surprise call from Gavin Lane, Helen Lane's eldest uncle.Gavin was a lot more cordial than Glen, asking politely after Frank answered, "Mr. Lawrence, may I ask how are things progressing with the farm? The financial statement is due in a little over a month. If you're in a bind, I could ask my father to give you an extension—""An extension?! Why do you always have to side with outsiders, Gavin?!" Jade Zahn could be heard snapping from the other end."Shut up. It's boy's talk!" Gavin snapped at her before telling Frank softly, "You can sell the land if push comes to shove. I'm sure my father won't argue as long as we recoup some of the costs."On the other end, Jade was still not letting up. "It's Frank and Helen who were boasting about making money from the farm. Why should we help them—""Jade!" Gavin barked, promptly silencing Jade."Ahem." He then cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, Mr. Lawrence.""It's
Helen giggled. "We can meet up at Springhill Hotel if you're not busy. It's in South Morhen.""Sure." Frank hung up and hopped into the Maserati that Hux Darman gave him before speeding off.Arriving at Springhill Hotel soon enough, Frank found Helen dressed sharply in a business suit.Gina Zonda was seated beside her, while Luna Lane and a man Frank did not recognize sat opposite.His suit was branded, and his hair was greasy and his skin fair—obviously someone who came from money."Come on! Like I said, there won't be any issues if we gave Cato the subcontract. What are you worried about?!"Luna happened to be complaining loudly when Frank arrived, drawing much attention."Frank, over here." Helen beckoned enthusiastically.Gina pursed her lips when she saw Frank, but she could not say anything since they were in public.On the other hand, Luna was a lot less polite, pointing at Frank as she snapped, "What's he doing here? Who told him to come?""I did." Helen nodded calmly
Cato pursed his lips and shrugged. "Very well. Just come to me any time you feel overwhelmed. I could always get you a job—subcontractor companies like mine are always hiring.""That's unnecessary," Frank replied coolly.It was obvious Cato considered Frank to be beneath him, and his job offers were clearly his way of mocking Frank.Frank certainly would never fall for such a cheap trick."Enough small talk," Helen said as Frank took a seat. She then took out an agreement from her briefcase and pushed it to Frank. "Frank, the Southstream Lanes are building a mansion for Mark Lane as a gift for retirement. Everything about the subcontractor involved and various other finer details are included—take a look and see if there's anything missing."Frank took the agreement, but while he combed through it, Luna was scowling impatiently. "Are you going to sign it or not, Helen? I worked hard to get Cato's help, and he can give us a ten percent rebate while providing good work. Why would yo
"Hmph." Luna snorted unhappily. Obviously, things got complicated after Frank came, when it was supposed to be a matter of signing and stamping some papers!Gina forced a smile just then. "Then you should go, Helen. I've never been to Morhen, so I'd like to take a stroll around.""Hmm…?" Frank could see the look on Gina's face. She was trying to hide something, and it seemed that she must have her own reasons for coming to Morhen with Helen.It was not surprising that she kept a low profile, not straying out of line when it was not usually her style."Okay. Be careful, Mom." Helen told her and took her briefcase before leaving the hotel with Frank, Luna, and Cato.As soon as they were gone, Gina dialed a number she did not save in her contacts—and it was not a local number either, but an international one.Once it was picked up, Gina stammered, "I-I've arrived at Morhen as we agreed! Where are you? Where's Cindy? How is she?!""Aunt Gina! Help me!" Cindy Zonda could be hea
"Heh. I told you, didn't I?" Luna was smiling smugly, folding her arms before her chest. "There's no reason to come here at all. Cato's company is perfectly up to standards."She then dispensed with all pretense, turning to Cato and throwing her arms around his neck. "Come on, let's go hang out. It's rare for me to come to Morhen, and I'd rather not waste time on work. It's boring.""Okay. In that case…" Helen took out the agreement she kept in her briefcase, ready to stamp and sign it.That was when Frank caught her wrist."Eh?" Helen looked up at Frank, puzzled."What are you up to now?!" Luna was bristling since Frank was meddling again, standing akimbo as she snapped, "You just want to mess with us, don't you? Get out of here, if all you want to do is waste our time!""Mr. Lawrence," Cato growled coolly as he strode over. "This is my company, and these are my employees. We have all the proper legal certification and approvals, but here you are, questioning us. What is t
Helen snapped sternly right then, "Luna, I remember your grandfather leaving this matter in my hands before we came here, or have you forgotten?""I… I…"Luna was stumped, and started crying even as whipped out her phone, "I'll call Mommy! You're all bullying me—""Unbelievable." Helen sighed and locked her briefcase, before leveling a cool stare at Cato. "I'm afraid that our business talks have to be cut short here, since you refuse to be honest with me.""No, no, no… Please, Ms. Lane!"Cato cried out in short and quickly pleaded, "Please just give me a chance, Ms. Lane… I'll tell you everything, okay? This isn't my company—it's my friend's. So, how about this? I'll introduce you to him, and he just needs 150 million dollars to settle the whole thing. We can even split the cost for the minor stuff equally! What do you think?"Helen turned and left at his words, having even less intention to stay after his brazen request. However, before she and Helen could leave, Cato suddenly
Luna had met Cato online, and she thought him handsome from his photos.She was certainly hoping to hook up while building a business relationship, only for things to turn out like this."You?" Cato turned in disdain toward Luna right then, grinning. "Why don't you take a good look in the mirror, pig?! I wouldn't even have bothered with you if it wasn't for your money!"His venomous retort left Luna thunderstruck."Be careful who you meet online, I guess." Frank chuckled nonchalantly, perfectly calm enough to joke around even though he was up against a dozen thugs, as if it was just a walk in the park."What do we do, Frank?" Helen asked anxiously."Don't worry. No one will lay a finger on you as long as I'm around."Cato could hear him brag and snapped right then.He threw the wrench at Frank while bellowing furiously, "Go! Kill that bastard, but spare the chick. Whoever lays a finger on him will answer to him!"The goons all grinned in understanding.On the other hand, Fr
Frank was not only the smart guy out there in the whole right world. In other words, Mr. Creston had that in mind too!He was helping because he had felt insulted after Frank flexed on him earlier, and Dani was still useful to him—for now.When she handed over the company, however, he would not hesitate to kick her out! On top of that, he would make sure that she took the fall for all the dirty deeds they did together.In the end, she would not even be able to defend herself, while suffering lawsuits and public condemnation!Even so, she said, "I understand now. But it's never too late—I swear I'll change if you give me a chance!"Frank simply turned to Zein. "Actually, this man had the right idea—if he gave you a chance, who would give him one?"We're all adults here, so act your age. I'm sure you understand how a good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.""I get it!" Dani quickly said. "You don't have to keep me around, just—""No!" Frank snapped and crushed her left hand und
Dani was under the impression that even if the goons were not the best, they were on the cusp of reaching that level anyway.It turned out to be just her wishful thinking—when against the truly powerful, she was a lamb at the mercy of the butcher's knife, no matter how many people she brought! "To be honest, I'm curious as to what you're thinking." Frank snorted as he strode up to Dani. "Why dump a man who loves you dearly for some prick you don't even know? Being abused in that state and still thinking that you'd chosen wisely—do you actually have a brain?"Seeing her launching, he knew she was not listening, and he tore her ear off!The horrific pain jolted Dani to her senses, and she was left clutching what remained of her ear as she stared at the seemingly handsome man.She was under the impression that Frank would let her live even if she lost, but it was once again wishful thinking.He would kill her, and savagely at that!And she was certainly right, since Frank had ne
Drunken Moon quickly shook her head. "Don't worry about rewarding us. Nothing's better than getting you back on your feet. Did you know that you looked just like a zombie when I saw you again? You really gave me a scare there."Zein chuckled. "Can't help it—I really had no idea what I could do against them, so I could only flounder. But with this man recovering my mother's ashes, it's over for them."Turning to Frank, he nodded. "Don't worry, brother—I'm no ingrate. I'll definitely make this worth your while."Frank shook his head too.It was a simple thing for him to do, and he had volunteered in the first place. Why leverage grace for trinkets?Even as the thought crossed his mind, someone kicked open the door, and soon, a dozen goons stormed inside. With their black tank tops, machetes, and muscular figures, they were clearly not to be trifled with.And they were led by none other than Dani herself, striding inside like a queen, as if she had everything under control.Zein
"Argh!!! This place is haunted!!!"Horrified, Dani clung to Mr. Creston, eager to earn his comfort.Contrary to her expectations, Mr. Creston was much more knowledgeable and pushed her away, growling, "There's no such thing as haunting, only reckless brats. So tell me, who are you, boy?"Frank smirked. "I'm surprised you're that knowledgeable. But to be honest, who I am doesn't matter—what matters is that you're a subhuman piece of shit!"Then, as Mr. Creston and Dani looked on, the box of ashes vanished.While Dani screamed again, Mr. Creston was ready to call for help when he felt someone seizing his throat, and he could not make a sound."Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you—I'll just make sure your reputation would go up in smoke before you go to jail. That's the best either of you could hope for."As Frank's voice became distant, Mr. Creston could move again and promptly slapped Dani across the face.Amusingly, she did not get upset from that. In fact, she hung her head
It was superstition, as even fools knew that reincarnation was not real. But the richer they were, the more superstitious they got.Still, Drunken Moon said, "I'll get your mother's ashes back."Zein signed. "Thanks for the offer, but it's too dangerous. And she'd really do it if she's pushed too far."Drunken Moon would not want to bother Frank since this was her friend's problem and not hers, and he was not obliged to help. However, she honestly did not want to let people like Dani strut and leveled a pleading look at Frank.She simply did not know that Frank was always eager to help, and he had to agree that Dani was too sickening to be left at large.Putting a hand on his chest, he assured Zein, "Just tell me where the urn is. I'll definitely recover it for you."Zein was rubbing his brow as he said, "The people you're dealing with aren't as simple as they appear."Frank chuckled. "That applies to others too."And with those words, he disappeared.Zein—who had been lou
As Frank and Drunken Moon chatted, a thirtyish man opened the door. His tailored suit was draped lopsidedly, and stubble grew all over his chin.On top of that, there were wide dark circles under his eyes, both of which were bloodshot."Drunken Moon?" His eyes lit up when he realized who it was, but only for a second as his gaze soon dulled again.Drunken Moon turned to Frank. "Allow me to introduce you to a friend, Lugh Frankton. Lugh, this is my friend Zein Dunham. You can just call him Zein."After the men shook hands, Zein ushered them inside and made them tea.Then, he curled into himself as he sat on a couch, looking miserably insomniac."You don't look like yourself," Drunken Moon pointed out, puzzled. "Did you suffer some sort of trauma?"Zein smiled wryly. "You never know what could happen to you, I guess. Live and let live."Drunken Moon looked around and realized that all of Zein's wedding photos were gone.In fact, anything that had to do with Dani Farron, Zein's w
Damn their horrible luck! They would not be in this situation if Lanky Man was not eager to get himself a wife!Meanwhile, as Frank and Drunken Moon left, the latter giggled and asked, "Hey, could you come along while I visit a friend? It's rare that I can be out and about, so I'll just treat this as a holiday. That means I should properly unwind instead of going back right away."Frank nodded. He had nothing else to do anyway and followed Drunken Moon to a luxurious residential area.They could have entered directly, but since Drunken Moon did not know which house her friend lived in, she asked the security guard, "Do you know Zein Dunham? I'm a friend. Would you happen to know where he lives?"Though Drunken Moon was very polite, the security guard studied her from head to toe before scowling in contempt. "You can't go in without an appointment, lady, and I definitely can't give you any resident's address either—I'd get fired."Stepping out of the security shack, Drunken Moon ap
Lanky Man could not help flashing a thumb-up at Frank.However, the gesture changed just as Frank was not watching—with a flash of blue light, countless needles rained down on Frank!Nonetheless, Frank did not move.The needles continued toward him before clanging loudly as they came to a stop near him, as if striking a wall.Lanky Man could not help being stunned—that was his killing stroke, and he launched it at Frank when he let his guard down.However, the kid was somehow able to cast some barrier that nullified his attacks. What the hell was that even?!"Curious, aren't you?" Frank asked just then. "I'm sure the people you butchered would've been curious about your powers too. Now that the tables have turned, I must ask—has it ever crossed your mind that you're the same as them?"At those words, Lanky Man's knees buckled and he dropped to his knees.It was only natural that he imagined his defeat, but not one this pathetic.Frank never even broke a sweat, but nothing work
Despite Drunken Moon's agility, a needle struck her in the left shoulder after she dodged them multiple times.Gritting her teeth in pain, she smirked. "I'm surprised you're this strong."Lanky Man laughed. "It's not just you—I don't know why I'm this good either."Ever since I was a child, every person I've met, regardless of age or sect, could never win against me. It's really a pain being so strong—normal folk really wouldn't catch my eye, so I was hoping you'd change your mind, priestess."Drunken Moon sighed. "Then it's a shame that you've run into someone you shouldn't, or you might really have gotten your chance at showing off."And with those words, she chanted her incantation.Soon, blue light converged and formed a human silhouette.It was naturally Frank himself in the flesh!Even as Frank studied his own body, he actually found it interesting—in a way, he was able to teleport.In that case, would he not be making bank if he worked as a courier or pizza boy?"Who a