The plane touched down at Goldshire the next morning. A long row of cars waited at the exit ostentatiously, as if they were welcoming a diplomat."Liam!" A man in sunglasses and a floral shirt waved at Liam from afar. He even held a toothpick between his teeth, which was visible with his wide grin. His skin was tanned, and he was thin and tall. There were two dragons tattooed on his arms, and it was clear that he wasn't someone to be trifled with."Matt!" Liam waved back heartily, and whispered to Renee, "That's Mateo Harrison, the subordinate my master values the most. He's cruel and fierce, so everyone in this city is afraid of him. If you want to win my master's trust, you have to win Matt over first."While he was talking, Mateo walked over to Liam. Mateo hugged Liam enthusiastically, smacking the latter's back playfully. "Kiddo, you're back! Looks like you still have a heart, eh? Master always talks about you, so he's going to be so happy you're back.""Of course! Master is li
"I'm not nervous. It's just that... I think things are getting interesting now." Renee had left that circle for many years, so she rarely experienced risky situations like this. She suddenly felt like she had entered an adventure game, and adrenaline was pumping in her veins. Benjamin lived in the center of the fort. Although the large reception hall was not as luxurious as a five-star hotel, it was still magnificent, with plenty of armed guards around.Benjamin sat at the main seat in the reception hall, looking like an amiable old man in a casual floral shirt. He even had a white beard. When he saw Liam, he smiled happily. There were five men of different ages sitting beside him, and all of them looked intimidating and dangerous. They were Benjamin's foster children, just like Mateo. There was only one woman in the hall, and she was wearing a white traditional suit, looking charming and delicate. Renee felt curious just looking at her, and tugged on Liam's sleeve as she asked,
Benjamin ignored Renee's greeting, a prime example of male chauvinism. Renee was told to sit at a neighboring table with a group of strangers. She did not even get to speak to Benjamin.On the other hand, Liam was treated very well, and was asked to sit at Benjamin's left.While eating, Benjamin and Liam had a very happy chat.It was clear that he liked Liam very much, and wished he had a son like him. Liam behaved obediently the whole time, making Benjamin very happy.When it was almost time for the feast to end, he glanced at Renee, and pretended to ask Benjamin casually, "By the way, Master, where is Joanne? Why didn't I see her?" Both Joanne and Liam escaped from the red-light district together. They had become Benjamin's disciples at the same time, but Joanne chose to stay while Liam wanted to leave.Back then, Benjamin valued Joanne just as much as he valued Liam. She should have been promoted to a very high position, but Liam hadn't seen her around, which was strange.
Mateo nodded and glanced at Renee before he explained, "The people who dare to doubt Master will have their tongues cut off and lips sewn shut. After that, they will be locked up in dungeons until they die."Renee unconsciously swallowed, in disbelief at how cruel this old man was. Such a ruthless punishment was almost as bad as the punishments Quinton used."What are you waiting for? Hurry up and execute her!" Benjamin barked, unable to stand the sight of Renee. "Wait!" Liam immediately stood up and begged for mercy for Renee. "Master, it's my girlfriend's first time being here, so she doesn’t know the rules. Please let her off the hook this time. I promise that she won’t do it again. I spent quite a long time trying to win her heart. Besides, I respect you very much, so I brought her to you. Please do me a favor, okay?" "Fine, just this once." Benjamin sneered before he ordered, "Lock her up in the dungeon first. I'll release her after negotiating with Liam."Although Liam cou
Renee was held by armed guards and pushed into a remote place in the fort that was surrounded by a lot of guards. "How dare you offend Mr. Jenkins! If not for Mr. Osborne, your tongue would have been cut off by now! Stay in there and reflect on yourself." The guard fiercely pushed her into a small, dark room, which was the so-called dungeon. The door was closed again, and Renee felt her throat tighten in the tiny room, like she was being strangled. "Who’s there?" There was movement in the furthest corner, and Renee immediately realised there was someone else in the dungeon with her."You're new here?" The person leaned back against the wall and stared at Renee. Renee couldn't make her features out in the dark, but her voice was eerily toneless.Renee frowned and asked tentatively, "Could you be... Joanne?" She vaguely heard that Joanne was locked up in the dungeon too. Besides, there were practically no women around, so it was very likely that this person was Joanne. "You're ne
Joanne clenched her fists so tightly that her long fingernails dug deep into her palms. "It depends on who the angel meets. If an angel meets another angel, then it'll be heaven. But if the angel meets a demon, it'll go to hell... He was the one who sent me there!""Miss, you... Wait a minute..." Renee's mind was a mess. Feeling bewildered, she asked Joanne in confusion, "You betrayed him and stabbed him, but you also said that he was a demon who pulled you down to hell… Is that right?""Yes, that's right." Joanne nodded vigorously, unashamed of what she had done."Well, you're being unreasonable. How can you shift the blame to him?" Renee argued."What do you know? No one knows about my past with him, so none of you know how he dragged me to hell." "Do you mind telling me then? It seems like both of you are troubled by something… maybe I can help?" Renee felt that the woman she had heard about was not that unreasonable and ruthless. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding.
"Er... that..." When Renee noticed Joanne's intention of letting it all go to hell, she was in a dilemma. When a person had lost all hope, it would be near impossible to save them."If you don't leave, you'll meet a miserable end. Even if you manage to stay alive, the master will torture you. Have you ever thought about the consequences?" Renee patiently tried to persuade Joanne."Yeah, I'm aware of that but I don't care. If I was afraid of death, I wouldn't have betrayed him. I can't bear his lawless behaviour, so I hope that I can do something nice before I die to make up for the mistakes I made," Joanne said absently. She had long lost all hope to survive. When she recalled the things she did in the past, as well as the things she had experienced, she lost her desire to live. She no longer recognized herself. "You want to make up for your mistakes, so it proves that you haven't given up all hope. There's still something you can't let go of... So, don't just give up on yourself,
"Liam, don't worry. Dad won't do anything to that lady. He's just trying to scare you," Amber said softly, finally picking up the courage to speak as she walked beside Liam shyly."I know. He has a soft heart," Liam replied absent-mindedly. He couldn't stop worrying about Renee."I know that lady is very important to you. If you want to save her, you'll have to outsmart him. Don't take him head-on. If not, the consequences will be unimaginable...""Outsmart him?" Liam finally turned his attention to the young woman beside him. Under the moonlight, Amber's long hair, large eyes, and white outfit gave off a pure and gentle aura."Yes. I have a way to help you outsmart him." Amber looked up at him, her dark eyes shining like stars."Really? I'm all ears." Liam was a bit doubtful of this young woman who blushed the moment she saw him. He felt that she would not come up with any constructive ideas, but he couldn't deny his curiosity.Amber then glanced at the guards who were following
Renee was well aware of the situation and was calm in the face of death. "If Macsen wants to kill us, Benjamin will feign ignorance. I think we're doomed here today.""Whatever. I'm not afraid!" Leia didn't take it too seriously, grinning. "You and Liam are the most important people to me. Although we weren't born on the same day, it's great that we can die on the same day. I want us to be siblings in our next lives!""Silly, you're so optimistic. We're going to get killed, not attending a party! Why are you this happy?" Liam's gloominess and tenseness gradually relaxed because of Leia's optimistic and happy tone. "Yeah, it isn't a big deal. I have no regrets since I can die with you guys.""You guys have no regrets, but I'm unlucky!"Mateo kept sighing. "If I knew, I wouldn't have meddled in this or caught you guys. At most, I'd be suppressed by another guy. But now, I'm about to get killed. I regret it! You have big supporters, don't you? Is there any way to contact either of
When the fight reached an intense moment, Macsen's subordinates managed to surround Liam and Mateo. They were disappointing.Macsen's most loyal subordinate aimed a gun at Liam's head and screamed at Renee, who had gone mad. He tried to threaten her. "Let our boss go, or I'll make you pay a price!" Renee regained her wits and turned to look at Liam. Her mouth was bloody. A helpless sigh escaped her. "Why are you this useless? How could they get you?"Helpless, she slowly got up and let Macsen go temporarily. "Motherfucker! Go to hell!"When Macsen regained freedom, he was no longer a gentleman. He slapped Renee twice with one hand and held his neck with the other. Then, he ordered his subordinates, "Tie them up with the woman on that ship!""Okay!" Macsen's subordinates were obedient. They quickly grabbed a thick and heavy rope to tie up Renee, Liam, Leia, and Mateo together, tying the rope around them thrice."Liam, why are you caught too? You're so useless. We even wanted
Everyone looked at each other in dismay before raising their weapons to attack Renee.Liam ordered his subordinates to fight Macsen's men when he noticed the danger. "Don't hurt her, or I'll fight you!"There were more than ten people from both sides. When they started fighting, the whole jetty was filled with the sounds of weapons and bullets. It was a mess.That battle sacrificed a lot of Liam's subordinates. Gradually, he failed to hold on."Mateo, where are your men? Get them into the fight. If anything happens to Boss, you'll suffer too. That crazy Stefan will kill everyone!"While fighting Macsen's subordinates, Liam wanted to involve Mateo in the fight since the latter was merely watching. Besides, he knew what a man like Mateo, who was good at weighing the pros and cons, cared about the most.As expected, Mateo chose to side with Liam when he heard that this mess would affect his relationship with Stefan.After all, Macsen was the most powerful person in the fort. It wou
"What do you want? I'm warning you! Stay away from me, or I won't go easy on you!"For an unknown reason, a chill ran down Macsen's spine when he saw how fierce Renee looked. He wondered why she was that fierce. She could walk fast even when dragging a sandbag over 110 pounds—she wasn't ordinary.Holding a gun, Macsen flexed his fingers as his knuckles turned white. "I don't care about people's lives! I can kill them if I'm happy, including you!""Is that so?" Renee stubbornly faced the gun and walked forward. She glared at him coldly. "A demon like you should never live. I'll kill you, even if I have to die for it!"She swiftly pounced on and pushed him down despite the heavy sandbag.Everything happened so fast, Macsen was dumbstruck. Renee even managed to knock on his gun. The gun went off, firing a bullet at a nearby stone pillar. It nearly hurt one of Macsen's subordinates. "Oh, you don't care about people's lives, do you? You can just kill them, huh? I'll make you suffer t
Macsen clenched his fists, agitated. For many years, he was mainly responsible for the armed forces of the fort. On the other hand, Benjamin instructed his adopted sons to take care of his business. Previously, Hunt Enterprise promised the Jenkins family many profits under the condition that Renee and Joanne could leave the fort safely. Hence, Benjamin let them go at that critical point despite the humiliation he faced. Afterward, Stefan continued his close cooperation with the Jenkins family. While this happened, the relationship between Macsen and Benjamin grew tenser. Gradually, Macsen kept gathering power to surpass Benjamin one day and take revenge on Stefan.Renee and Leia's sudden arrival at the fort was beyond Macsen's expectations. Although he was getting stronger, he wasn't powerful enough to fight Benjamin and the Hunts. Despite this, he naturally wouldn't give up such a good chance easily. Macsen's revenge was the result of his impulsiveness. He had been reckless,
"Well, you're bold. A pity that…you fell in love with such a cruel man like Stefan!"Macsen took a deep breath and waved melancholicly. Then, he instructed someone to push Renee into the river.Renee neither resisted nor tried to stall for time. She just wanted to get it over with. Having seen through men and human nature, she suddenly became pessimistic.Macsen's subordinate grabbed Renee and dragged her to the river bank. Before he was about to push her into the river, a dazzling light ruined the darkness and oppresiveness of the jetty. "I knew it was you, Macsen!" a furious voice resonated in the air. Liam, holding a floodlight, shone it into Macsen's eyes. "You and I aren't enemies! Why did you target me? Do you know how important these two people are to me?" he growled fiercely. Mateo followed closely behind. At first, he watched everything in silence. Eventually, he said something to sow discord between them. "Macsen, why couldn't you talk it out with us? You secretly
Disgust overcame Renee. She found Macsen pathetic."You claimed that you love your girlfriend, but you married Luneth. You married her and got a kid. Now, you want to be intimate with the woman you've just met. Do men think that love is just a trivial thing?""How could you…" Macsen was stunned. He didn't expect her to say that so directly. Guilty, he retorted, "You don't know anything! Men's love is different from women's love.""What's the difference?" Renee snorted and shot him a disdainful stare. "Yeah, it's different. Women are superior human beings. Once they fall in love with someone, they'll never sleep with another man. But men are different. Men are simply animals. They can love many people and sleep with different women. Maybe men and women shouldn't exist at the same time. Then, there won't be so many heartbroken women.""I disagree!" Macsen rolled up his sleeves, turning competitive because of Renee's words. "You make it sound like only men will have a change of heart.
"What kind of condition? I'm listening," Renee said curiously."It's very simple. The best way to take revenge on a man is to humiliate his beloved in front of him, especially by making her a slut in front of him. So…"After a pause, Macsen sized Renee up and cracked a wicked smile. "Turn on your social media, go live, and show everyone how you and I fool around. Let them see how you enjoy my lovemaking. Then, I'll consider letting you guys live!""That's outrageous!" Leia snarled, unable to tolerate it any longer. "You're out of your mind! Your woman is humiliated, so you should find fault with the culprit! Why do you want to hurt another innocent woman? If you love live shows, you should go shoot that kind of video yourself and sell it worldwide. It'll satisfy your special tastes!"Her sarcasm angered Macsen, who turned to his subordinate beside him.The subordinate immediately walked forward. Without hesitation, he grabbed Leia to the large ship behind Macsen."It's finally qu
Renee interrupted Leia for fear that the latter's words might drive Macsen up the wall.Macsen's intense reaction proved that he wasn't lying. Stefan had probably done something outrageous to his girlfriend.However, there might be some hidden clues in that incident. Given Renee's understanding of Stefan, he wasn't so ruthless even though he was abominable."No, she's right." Macsen took a deep breath and sneered. "I should make myself clear. If not, you'd never know how wicked someone could be… When I found my girlfriend, she was naked and had all kinds of bruises. She cried and told me that Stefan had assaulted her for several days and nights. In the end, she jumped off a building and died in front of me because of the utter humiliation!""What?!" At that point, Leia expressed her disbelief. "That can't be! There must be some misunderstanding! Stefan's a scumbag, but he's not a skirt-chaser or a deviant. That kind of thing would never have happened. Given his identity and sta