“It’s the diamond! “The diamond is in Kaze’s glass.” Someone shouted while pointing at the wine glass. Kaze had been holding the wine glass all the while. The crowd assumed Kaze was holding the glass to fit in as the latter was unaccustomed to the social circles of the elites.It never occurred to anyone that the diamond had been lying in Kaze’s wine glass. The jaws of Luis and the others dropped. Holy shit. They did not expect the wine glass to contain the diamond. Even Buffy parted her lips in shock. She did not think Kaze would hide the diamond in the glass right under everybody’s noses.“And you said you weren’t a thief, Kaze.“Hand over the diamond now!” Zenika turned cocky, acting like she had won the battle. She commanded Kaze to turn over the diamond. Kaze said with a smile, “You can’t find the diamond after turning the place upside down. Now that you see a marble, you claim that it’s yours.“Who do you think you are? “What if I said that your clot
“Fine, Kaze. I underestimated you. You dodged a bullet today. “But you won’t be so lucky next time. “Just you wait.” Luis cocked his head back to leave. He was too humiliated to stay. Wesley and Zenika kept close behind him. “Hang on. Did I say you could leave?” Kaze said indifferently. They tried to escape after failing to set Kaze up. Well, they would not get off easily. Luis had the nerve to threaten Kaze too. Kaze wanted to straighten them out tonight. “What do you mean, Lee? Why do we need your consent to leave?” “Who do you think you are?”Luis, Wesley, and Zenika snapped angry looks at Kaze. They had been humiliated enough. Paying them no heed, Kaze glanced at Eunice and said, “Shouldn’t you answer to me now, Ms. Lapel?” Eunice stopped on her way out and said curtly, “Why?” Kaze pointed at Zenika and the others. “This woman admitted to slipping the marble into my pocket to frame me. According to your rules, she gets her arm broken. “Besides, th
Buffy frowned. Though she did not agree with Eunice, Luis, and the others’ approach, Kaze was in over his head to challenge Bronze Sparrow. Eunice smiled pretentiously. “Watch your mouth, Mr. Lee.“I’m only following the rules. You weren’t supposed to enter the venue anyway.“You can leave now before I throw you out. “Take your pick.” Kaze shook his head. “None.”“Fine. You want to do this the hard way.” Eunice waved her arm. “Take him out. “He can fight, so get him altogether!”The dozens of burly men pounced on Kaze intimidatingly. “Kaze, you!” Rose shrieked in fear, her face stained with tears. Buffy stepped forward to say something. She had to put a stop to all this. Both women’s jaws quickly dropped. Kaze sent the first man flying with a kick. The man shot away like a bullet, knocking the other men off their feet. They cried in agony. Kaze took down more than half the group with just a kick. He ran into the crowd. “Pow! Smack! Bang!”Following
“Thud!” “You must be the mastermind behind the frame job. You have the nerve to show your face.” “Thud!” “Your family isn’t even that powerful, but you act like you own the world.” “Thud!” “You expect me to kneel and apologize to you.”“Thud!” Kaze saved the slap attack for kicks. Luis rolled and tumbled across the floor from the multiple kicks, barely able to catch his breath from grunting in pain. Even when Luis bumped into the furniture, Kaze showed no mercy. Luis was kicked around like a ball as the socialites trembled with a pale face. Wesley’s lips quivered, his complexion ashen. He was going to give Kaze a piece of his mind, but the horror that happened to Luis stopped him. That was not the only thing. Wesley retreated into the crowd and scooted toward the exit. Wesley was on his way out. All eyes were on Kaze attacking Luis, so no one paid Wesley any attention. “That’s enough, Kaze!” With Luis nearing death, Buffy pulled a sour face and said, “T
Kaze smirked. “You would’ve cut off my finger if you had found the supposed diamond on me.” “You’re being unreasonable, Mr. Lee.” Eunice argued, “I said I needed to investigate just to be sure. Even cops need time to get on a case.” “That’s not what you said earlier.” Kaze said indifferently, “Didn’t you say that Bronze Sparrow’s rules were the law? “You didn’t need time to investigate when you and your men barged in and demanded that I handed over the diamond. “You were sure that I stole the diamond. I thought you were a detective with some amazing skills. “Since you have no ground to stand on, you start talking to me about the law and evidence.“You sure have double standards when it comes to serving guests.” Eunice replied curtly, “I know what you mean, but not all guests are equal. Mr. Presley is a man of great standing and privilege. It’s hard to believe that he’d engage in such an act—” “Smack!” Kaze raised his hand and whipped her across the face. He belie
Kaze was aware of one thing. Given Bronze Sparrow’s long-standing presence in Riverbank City, the establishment surely had a more robust security system than the dozens of untrained security officers. Eunice took out a walkie-talkie in a daze and shouted hysterically, “Get here, Scarface! Some out-of-town bastard just smashed my head with a bottle. He claimed he was going to tear down Bronze Sparrow.“Bring backup! “Kill him! You got to kill him!” Eunice went limp and passed out soon after. Two minutes later, the door to the venue burst open with a kick. A dozen men in suits barged into the place. These men were not particularly strong or muscular. Heck, they paled in comparison to the dozens of burly security officers they replaced. Still, Kaze could tell that they were trained fighters from the bulging veins along their temples. The emergence of this new group gave Kaze insights into why Bronze Sparrow was able to stand tall in Riverbank City for years. With a sk
“They say he committed a massacre, killing a family of 36 in one night. He fled overseas and became an international fugitive, landing him on Arcadia’s most wanted list.“I didn’t think he’d be hiding out in Bronze Sparrow and living the high life right under the police’s nose.”Even those who did not know Gillian before turned pale. The massacre years ago was well known in Riverbank. Gillian’s name struck terror in the hearts of the people of Riverbank City and even the most elite. Instead of taking cover overseas, the ruthless killer unexpectedly remained in Bronze Sparrow. Even Buffy grimaced. While she was not naïve enough to believe Bronze Sparrow was squeaky clean, she did not expect it to be so brazen as to harbor a fugitive.It was the Viper’s Den’s job to arrest a fugitive like Gillian. As far as Buffy knew, Gillian was high up on the most-wanted list. “It’s been years. I didn’t expect anyone to remember me.” Gillian nodded at the crowd and turned to Kaze wi
“Tell you what…” Gillian took large strides ahead and flipped over a long table. The wine bottles on the table slammed onto the floor and broke into pieces. The stench of alcohol filled the air. The glass shards on the ground were a terrifying sight. Gillian narrowed his eyes at Kaze and said with a fake smile, “Get down on your knees and crawl across these shards to me. I’ll call it a day when you bow to me. “I can forget you ever claimed to tear down Bronze Sparrow.“How about it?” Gasps echoed across the room. Kaze was expected to crawl across the floor of broken glass. The thought sent shivers down everybody’s spines. Without looking at the shards, Kaze shook his head and replied, “Not for me.” “So you won’t do it?” Gillian scowled and said menacingly, “Help the guy out and make him crawl here, boys.” “Yes, sir!” The dozen trained fighters behind Gillian pounced on Kaze. The light had been dimmed to find the diamond just now, so no one could get a goo
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