“I also called Victor Little, the police department’s second-in-command. He’s already on the way.“I told him that if he plays his cards right, he will be the next police chief. “I hope you can keep up with your tough act once he gets here later,” Jackson said grimly. Kaze smiled faintly. “Victor Little?“Sorry to let you down, but his rank isn’t quite there yet.” “His rank doesn’t matter. He has enough to kill you.” Jackson could not take Kaze’s offhanded attitude. “Mr. Quint.” A voice resounded. A tall and beefy armed man in uniform swaggered into the place. Several intimidating-looking uniformed officers followed him in the back. The stout man was Victor Little, the police department’s second-in-command. “Victor.” “Vic.” The heads of governing bodies greeted Victor. Victor was a real tough guy. He made a name for himself during his younger days, fighting against drug dealers. Rumor had it that he busted a drug cartel on his own, wiping out the drug dealers.
The crowd, including Victor and the heads of government agencies, was mostly locals.They turned a deaf ear to Jackson’s country bumpkin comment. Victor nodded. “The guy sure is cocky. What punishment are you thinking, Mr. Quint?” He would need to know Jackson’s request to grant it. Jackson let out a menacing smile. “I want to break his limbs and make him plead on his knees. I don’t mind killing him if he refuses to follow through.” “Kill him? Um…” Victor was hesitant. He could explain the limb fractures as accidental while enforcing the law. However, no excuse was good enough to cover up the loss of a life. “What are you worried about, Victor?” Jackson said indifferently, “I don’t know how things work with your former mayor, but my dad doesn’t tolerate nonsense. “He won’t stand for criminals threatening abuse and violence on his turf. He doesn’t mind enforcing the death penalty in this case. “My dad doesn’t care for the criminals. His focus will be Lilyrose’s ec
“Captain, the bastard has no respect for the law. I think you should just shoot him.” Victor’s men were livid. As Victor was their superior, the insult to Victor reflected on them too. They advised Victor against leniency. After a nod, Victor cocked his head to Kaze and said coldly, “Who are you to defy me…” He finally had a good look at Kaze’s face. “Uh…” Victor’s mind went blank. The sight of Kaze scared the arrogance out of Victor. Unlike the leaders of governing bodies, Victor was familiar with Kaze. There was no way Victor could forget Kaze’s face. Working closely with his superior, Don, Victor had met Kaze many times. When Don first introduced Victor to Kaze, Kaze paid him a compliment.Later, Don would take him along when handling tasks from Kaze. Don would do the talking while Victor stayed back as it was not his place or right to interfere. “Mr. Lee…” Feeling weak behind the knees, Victor nearly sank to the ground. Victor had never been so fearful eve
“Argh!” Jackson’s head snapped back from impact, and blood leaked out of his nostrils. The swelling on his face, which subsided from medication, returned. Jackson’s cries filled the otherwise quiet office. The crowd stared at Victor in shock. Instead of going after Kaze, Victor attacked Jackson. What was going on? Jackson found it the hardest to accept reality. With a hand over his face, he looked at Victor in disbelief. “What has gotten into you, Victor?” “Smack!” Victor’s response was another slap in the face. Jackson was about to lose it. Victor was supposed to be on Jackson’s side. Yet, he said nothing in Kaze’s presence and even turned around to hit Jackson. Jackson could not swallow the humiliation. It had to be a joke. Shaking in rage, Jackson narrowed his eyes menacingly and shouted angrily, “Are you asking for trouble, Victor?” “Smack!” Victor gave him another slap. This time, Jackson landed hard on his bottom and spat out blood and two tee
Forgetting the pain on his face, Jackson stared blankly at the pair. That was one thing Jackson could not wrap his head around. Miranda and Vance were dumbfounded. The police department’s second-in-command offered his face for a beating. No one could believe their eyes. “Smack!” Another slapping sound echoed through the room. Kaze gave Victor another slap, knocking the latter back. Victor had to steady himself before taking his place in front of Kaze. Grabbing a napkin from Snow, Kaze wiped his fingers down and asked nonchalantly, “You have not replied. Was I wrong?” “You’re absolutely right, Mr. Lee.“I could be a good man. Instead, I became a lapdog.“I was wrong, Mr. Lee,” Victor said humbly. Discipline was deserved and accepted.He understood that fact. “Mr. Lee?” The heads of governing bodies shivered, and some even broke out in a cold sweat. Talking about Mr. Lee, they heard through the grapevine that the former mayor preferred not to be addressed as
Jackson was arrogant, but he was no fool. He picked up on Victor’s subservience toward Kaze and the apprehensive looks from the heads of the governing bodies.Jackson would be silly if he still thought Kaze was just the chairman of a corporation with a bit of money in his pockets. There was clearly something more to Kaze. The government servants seemed wary of Kaze. Jackson looked at the heads of the governing bodies. Unable to read Kaze’s mind, the leaders averted Jackson’s gaze and remained quiet. Victor would not even look at Jackson. Kaze crossed his legs and said with a pretentious smile, “Don’t you have extensive connections? Why don’t you ask around?” Since Kaze had nothing better to do, he did not mind teasing Jackson further. Without another word, Jackson whipped out his phone. However, his mobile screen was smashed after Victor slapped him to the ground. “Get on it, Evan!” Jackson looked at his sidekick. Evan’s face turned ashen, having been thrown into
Jackson was not the only one dumbfounded. His sidekicks were shocked. They understood the significance of Kaze’s identity to Jackson.“So he was the mayor of Lilyrose, Mr. Quint, but that’s ancient history. The guy stepped down, so you have nothing to worry about.” Amid the shock, Vance approached ingratiatingly and helped Jackson up. “Pow!” Jackson blew up and kicked Vance in the belly. “Ugh!” Vance collapsed to the ground with a scream and stared at Jackson, looking hurt. “Mr. Quint, you—” “Thud!” Jackson gave him another kick. “What do you know? “Don’t you know my dad needs his approval to become the mayor?“What do you mean by ancient history? I’ll make you ancient history.” Jackson kicked and punched Vance without holding back. Vance rolled around with his hands over his head while crying. Before Miranda could jump in to protect her son, she cocked her head back and looked at Kaze in disbelief following the revelation from Jackson. Jackson’s dad nee
The scene of Jackson holding his arm while rolling on the ground in agony sent a powerful message to everybody. It was wise not to upset Kaze. Kaze had not been in the next-door office for long when Snow entered. Sipping on tea, Kaze looked up at Snow and asked, “What’s the progress on shifting Perfect World Group’s core business to Riverbank City, Snow?” “We are moving along as planned, Chairman Lee. We are keen to rent one of the selected few office buildings in Riverbank as our branch there.” Kaze waved his arm. “Just purchase the building if possible. Nothing beats having your own property. Besides, owning a Riverbank City’s office building is a good investment.” “Alright.” Snow nodded and said, “But there’s one more thing to note before our move to Riverbank City.”“Oh?” Kaze lifted his head curiously. Snow approached and spread some sheets in front of Kaze. She said, “Rove is going public, Chairman Lee. “Perfect World Group owns most of Rove shares, so we’
The incident did not sit well with Kaze, so he left them out to dry. After much searching, Kaze came across a café. Kaze bought a cup of coffee. Cupping the drink between his hands, Kaze sipped slowly. Many passengers swarmed the arrival hall in the airport, dragging along their luggage or pulling out their phones to get a pick-up. They all had a destination, a place they had to be in a rush. Intrigued, Kaze followed the crowd out. Kaze turned on his phone, and a text message from his airport pick-up came in. He glanced at the message, curious about who the person was. Nevertheless, Kaze trusted that the Westeros Branch members would not set him up out in the open. At most, they would pull little stunts to mess with him. Kaze was not the type to sweat the small stuff. However, he would not tolerate any extreme behavior. He had been keeping a low profile back in Butterworth, keeping the limelight off him. The purpose was to handle Jet without unnecessary complicati
“Alright. I will work hard to be the manager of the Northborn Group. You need to show me the ropes and teach me about management.” Leah looked at Katie with a smile. She believed Katie had not lost her mind. Katie simply had her memory mixed up. “You need to keep your people in line and reward those who deserve it. It all boils down to profits. “You need to work toward managing your people and working with rivals. You’ve got to keep the balance, and nobody loses out. “You need to build your own system when it comes to working together. Don’t be led around by the nose.” Hearing that Leah would start work soon, Katie imparted her knowledge. “Don’t worry too much about things. Joey is nice. You can go to her for help,” Katie said earnestly. Katie seemed to be herself at the moment. Leah wondered if Katie faked her insanity to escape the punishment. “What have become of you? Did they do something to you? “Did you really betray Kaze?” Leah whispered while leaning close
Leah kept working on her knowledge until late into the night. Just as she was about to hit the sack, she got a message from Snow. Learning was a hard enough process. The text message came out of the blue. Leah did not expect Snow to contact her at night. The message was strange as well. Leah could not understand why Snow would give her the address of a nursing home. Leah was determined to turn things around. She strived to become stronger instead of being a burden. She was grateful for Kaze’s help. At least, she had a job now. However, her gratitude was not extended to Snow. She believed Snow had gone too far. Snow left her feeling powerless. Leah did not think much about the message. She assumed that the text was not meant for her. Since Leah did not respond to the text, Snow put the matter aside and went to bed. Leah called Snow the next day. “Why did you send me an address?” Leah went straight to the question. She had been equipping herself with knowledge before
Snow could not believe her eyes. Katie suddenly went quiet and behaved like the CEO she was.However, Katie did not look like she was right in the mind earlier. “What’s going on? She seems to have gone insane.” Snow turned to the warden, still digesting the change. Katie had lost touch with reality before the Viper’s Den did anything to her. “How did this happen? She has been taking her meals. Just days earlier, she nagged about getting out because she was worried about her daughter. As usual, we didn’t respond to her requests.” The warden found the whole thing peculiar too. Just a few days ago, Katie demanded her release. Now, she kept to herself and abided by the rules. Out of the blue, Katie went nuts. Things had gotten complicated. Snow wanted to keep Katie behind bars due to her betrayal. However, Kaze decided against pursuing the matter for Leah’s sake. Katie would be let go soon enough, but she would lose her job at the Northborn Group. Katie’s presence woul
It was quiet in the office. Snow sorted the last bit of paperwork before picking her head up in exhaustion. Her initial plan was to delegate the tasks. However, Katie was controlling. Previously, she personally oversaw many matters. Snow could not distribute the responsibilities because the employees had no experience in handling them. They came to Snow for every tiny, little thing, and Snow really got her hands full. Despite her frustration, Snow could let things go as Katie was locked up. “I should pay her visit.” Snow decided to see Katie. Some things should not be left unsaid. Leah would be working for the Northborn Group soon, and the mother and daughter should meet to tie up loose ends. The truth would put Leah to shame, and her guilt would stop her from ever betraying Kaze. After a quick bite, Snow drove to the prison. Katie was furious when she was imprisoned. She was one step away from victory. She was so close to leaving Butterworth to head to Westeros
“Why do you want to sell the properties? Do you need money? Don’t you have some saved?” Joey had a good understanding of Leah’s finances since she ran all the paperwork. “My mother is being held, and I need money to ask favors. Maybe I can get her out.” Leah was not thinking much. Money could always be replaced, but not her mother’s freedom. “Don’t be silly. This is not the way to go.” Though Joey did not have the details, she observed that things were not as simple as Leah thought. Kaze was safe now, but the fact that Katie had betrayed Kaze and revealed his whereabouts remained unchanged. Katie had broken the Viper’s Den’s rules. Even if she got out, she would be a wreck. With Snow running the Northborn Group, Katie would remain a failure. Either way, Katie would not get away with it. Even if Leah offered all her assets, Katie’s situation would not change. It was a waste of money and resources for Leah to save her mother. Nothing would come out of it. “But I
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a