Leron thought he had guessed the truth, but it was understandable since it was the most reasonable explanation for the situation. Hannah teamed up with Collier to control Golden Scale Corporation and fought Jude for the branch chief position. Casius wanted Jude for the position, so he naturally stood against Hannah and Collier. If Hannah was helping Kaze from the dark to oppose the Gwake family and Casius, then it would all make sense. Leron scoffed, “Hannah Delmore, I have to give it to you. You are a good one at scheming. You possess all the necessary criteria to make it big. “But you should know that tactics aren’t useful against brute force. No schemes and plans will work against absolute power as they would be crushed. “If you think using Kaze Lee alone can get you Casius and Jude Gwake, then you are too naive. You coming out of the shadow today might be the worst choice you’ve made. You won’t be able to save Kaze Lee and you will get yourself killed.” Hannah had a g
Modern days required modern weapons. In this case, guns. Whenever a fight was evenly matched, the side with the gun would always seize the advantage. Hannah realized it as well, so she did her very best to shorten the power gap. When she deflected the bullets, she did not stop moving, she continued rushing forward for more follow-up attacks. However, Leron was also an experienced fighter and he would not give her the chance. As he collected the shrapnels of his bullets, he moved backward swiftly, successfully drawing distance from Hannah. Although it was just a mere seven to eight meters, the distance became an absolute advantage to Leron since he was the one with the gun. “Hannah Delmore, if this is the best you can do, you are dead meat today!” Leron scoffed. At the same time, he pointed his gun forward and pulled the trigger repeatedly, firing a barrage of bullets at her. Bang! Bang! Bang! Consecutive shots were fired, bullets flew across the air and as he deli
“Damn it!” Hannah’s expression turned grim. The chafe would not disable her but it would decrease her speed. She knew perfectly well that when fighting a foe of Leron’s level, speed was crucial and any slower would cost her her life. On top of that, Leron was a pirate for a long time and he was no stranger to fighting with his life. His background granted him more battle experience than her. Additionally, he was unscathed and if the battle continued, she would either be killed when Leron seized her by her weak spot or she would die of exhaustion as she dragged it out. “Woman, you are going to die here today!” Leron did not follow up with another shot. He stood still and proud, gazing upon Hannah like she was the prey and he was the hunter. As a matter of fact, it was time for him to reload his gun, which forced him to pause the pursuit. However, Hannah could not do anything to stop him. She felt helpless and aggrieved. She hoped to show off in front of Kaze but to
Just as the thought flashed in Leron’s mind, he surprisingly found out that the bullet that he fired flew past Kaze by millimeters. He was millimeters away from hitting his target but at such a high-level fight as this, the slightest mistake would cause a dire result. His shot missed! He failed at the brink of success! He was furious! He adjusted his aim again, but before he could lock onto his target, Kaze appeared before him like a ghost. “Leron, you are considered one of the best out there since you can fire two shots while facing me, but do you think I will let you fire a third shot?” Before his voice even subsided, Kaze dished out a powerful kick. Bang! Leron was still shocked by Kaze’s ghastly speed and could not react in time. The kick landed directly on his stomach. His face twisted in pain, his body crooked by the kick, and he was sent flying with blood gushing from his mouth. He crashed on the floor, causing a slight tremble upon impact. Kaze stood still a
Slap! A powerful slap suddenly landed on Leron’s face, shoving the words back into his throat. He was sent hurtling toward the wall, crashing and embedding himself into it, leaving a massive crater in the process. “That’s it for today. He’s a guy with a gun, not someone who trained physically. If I continue the demonstration, he’ll be slapped to death. “Besides, I promised to spare his life since he gave me face,” Kaze said with a sigh and slight regret. Hannah was a talented person and he wanted to raise her properly. After all, he also had a heart for sharing and teaching, and if he could raise a powerful disciple, he would feel accomplished too. However, it felt more like an insult to Leron. Kaze spared him because Kaze did not want to slap him to death? Splat! Leron spat a mouthful of blood and then struggled to push himself out of the massive hole. He clenched his bloody teeth and bellowed, “Kaze Lee, do you think I’ll thank you because you let me live? You can
Leron yelled through gritted teeth, “Kill me if you have the balls. You can forget extracting any information from me, Lee!” “Crack!” Kaze stomped on Leron’s left hand. Despite breaking out in a cold sweat, Leron would not relent. With both arms broken, Leron was incapacitated, so Kaze waved at Hannah. “Get him transported to the hospital. Treat his hands. “Incapacitate these people on the floor and deliver them to Casius. Tell him that you admire Leron, so here he is. “But he better take good care of Leron’s family. “If anything happens to Leron’s family, Casius will be the one to pay.” Lying on the floor, Leron paused and shouted angrily, “You’re vile, Lee! How dare you drive a wedge between me and Casius!” “Call me vile.” Kaze smiled offhandedly. “Your friendship should be a two-way street. “Aren’t you loyal and devoted to Casius?“Why don’t you take this chance to see if Casius is worth your commitment? “Don’t worry about your family. I’ll make sure Hannah h
“Go on then.” Kaze waved his arm and looked at Dayton with a pretentious smile. “Are you ordering takeout with us, or are you going for your favorite lavish dinner?” Dayton had a bad feeling. His blood ran cold as Kaze’s ruthless method of setting Leron straight came to mind. “Takeout, it is.“No lavish dinner is better than your takeout, Kaze. “I didn’t get it before, but it’s clear to me now. Buffy knows what’s best for herself. She made the best decision by going with you.“I’m trash compared to you.“No, I mean. I can’t compare to you at all.” With Dayton backing down, Buffy and his sidekicks made strange faces. Dayton was not the arrogant and badass man they knew. He was not the proud student of the Viper’s Den chief branch at all. Dayton seemed to have lost his spine. He was afraid of Kaze, scared of his ways. Just moments ago, Dayton acted high and mighty in front of Kaze. Now that Dayton thought about it, he wished he could have done better then. It
Seeing through Dayton, Kaze said with a fake smile, “You aren’t much of a fighter, but your mentor is Alfonso, the ex-branch chief of the Viper’s Den Butterworth branch.“His reputation can be intimidating.” Dayton chuckled dryly. Kaze was rather blunt.His words were nowhere hurtful, but the insult was clear. Kaze said, “I can forget about the past if you stay by Buffy’s side for a while.” As the conflict over the South River State branch escalated, Jude and Casius would only go to greater extremes. Kaze understood that Buffy would only be in danger until he got rid of them both for good. However, Kaze had other things to worry about. Hannah and Collier had to be kept on their toes for any attack. Hence, Dayton would have to protect Buffy. Dayton’s heart sank. So there was a reason why Kaze had not taken any action against him. Gritting his teeth, Dayton replied, “I will do everything in my power to keep Buffy from harm.“Rest assured, Kaze. They have to go throug
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