Kaze only said to make Darcy believe and put her at ease. He knew that there was no going back between him and the Ryokanians. Reiko’s apology was only a temporary truce. “Oh, a villa?” Darcy furrowed her brows. “It explains why I’ve been hearing rumors about a villa where you keep your other women. I guess it’s true.” “Who said that?” Kaze said in resignation, “Where I keep other women? You know how things are between me and Snow. I let her stay there for her safety. I have assigned a bodyguard to her too. “Besides, Snow ran Perfect World Group back in Lilyrose. It’s only right that I give her a villa.” Darcy scoffed, but the tension along her facial features eased. Still, she said, “You’re off the hook for now, but you should give me a tour of the villa. I’m the boss’ wife. It makes sense for me to care about the employees.” Darcy’s penetrating gaze forced Kaze to nod along. “Alright. We can check the place out now.” Conan, behind the wheel, turned the car aroun
“See those police cars?” Kaze looked at the police vehicles outside Villa No. 13. “These cars aren’t from the local police department. They are with the state police.“Who would send the state police after me since I’m connected to the local police department?” Darcy quickly realized that judging by the cars and uniforms, the police presence was sent by the state. “Is there no justice in the world?” Darcy furrowed her brows. “I didn’t think Aiden would have the power to mobilize the state police to set you up. “If word gets out, the police will get a bad name.” Kaze grinned and replied, “That’s the reason why I got on Aiden’s nerves. “He let his emotions do the thinking for him. “Aiden lost ten billion dollars because of us, and all he got were a useless gem and humiliation.“The Krads and the Ryokanians will give him hell after what happened today.“He must be eager to get rid of me. He won’t be able to sleep at night until he does.“So he picks on me. Everybody kn
Conan nodded and started the car to head to Villa No. 9. Out of nowhere, three police cars sped over, their blaring sirens shattering the peace in the area. With one in the front and two in the back, the police cars surrounded Kaze’s ride. “Thud!” The doors opened, and armed police officers jumped out of their vehicles. The officers spread out and took their positions, aiming their weapons at Kaze’s car. Several officers in plain clothes emerged from the sedan in the back. The middle-aged leader looked inside Kaze’s car before gesturing to two armed officers. Two armed officers yanked the back door open and yelled at Kaze, “Get out now! “Keep your hands in the air.” Kaze got out of the car and looked at the middle-aged man. He asked in a daze, “Officer, we have a property in Rivername. We are law-abiding citizens. What’s the meaning of this?” Ignoring Kaze, the middle-aged man sized him up and asked without looking, “Is it him?” “Yes, he’s Kaze Lee,” another pol
Kaze pretended to be unfazed. Despite his dislike and disgust for Mika, Kaze was sad about the loss of her life. That was all there was to it. He had no idea how Mika’s death was linked to him. Since the police were on his case, something must have been going on. Aiden’s revenge, despite the reckless elements, was carefully laid out. The middle-aged man scoffed and replied, “We have learned that Ms. Suka has been seen in Villa No. 9 on the night of the Yemens’ house party. “Ms. Suka left in tears and a handprint on her face. “Her social media account was canceled, and her talent agency dropped her. She had to pay an exorbitant price due to the breach of contract. “Ms. Suka had been under a lot of stress these few couple of days and attempted suicide several times. She must harbor a lot of resentment toward you. “You, on the other hand, are a shareholder of TikTok and the son-in-law of the Ridgesouth Quints. You command power in Riverbank. She’s just a girl without a
It was as though the man did not expect Kaze to remain calm under the pressure of so many guns pointed at him. The man frowned and then raised his hand, saying, “Move the car and let them go.” “You guys go ahead,” Kaze said to Conan and Darcy. Conan nodded. He quickly turned the car away and left the encirclement. “Which car am I getting into?” Kaze asked as he scanned over the cars. He pointed at the one the middle-aged man was sitting and said, “Can I take this? It seems more comfortable.” The annoyance on the man’s face grew distinctive but he remained silent and nodded. Kaze went over to the shiny new car and got into the back. Armed officers got into the car as well, occupying the other side of the rear seat and the passenger’s seat. Kaze smiled and did not mind the extra security. “Whrrrrr.” The siren went blaring as the motorcade brought Kaze away. Back at Rivername’s residential area, both Villa No.11 and Villa No.9 were sealed by police lines and there
“Mika could not handle the stress and embarrassment, so she tried to fight back. Kaze must have physically beaten her and also canceled her on every social media platform. “If it’s the truth, then Kaze is a horrible person. Not only did he try to rape her, but he also ruin her career and future. What a monster. “He used to be a quiet person when he was at our house, not like this…” Cyan explained. Ryna then scoffed. “That’s why a villain like him must be executed! I was smart enough to never show him any hospitality and stopped him from coming to our house. “Otherwise, if he had his eyes on Cyan, he would ravage her and even kill us all!” Ryna did not hold back in criticizing Kaze. She even chose to ignore the fact that she tried to curry favors with Kaze at the dinner. Lock could not bear listening to this wife and daughter criticizing Kaze. He frowned and bellowed, “You two, mind your words. “The officers said Kaze is just a suspect. The investigation is still going on
Snow helplessly said, “But as Chairman Lee’s assistant, my words do not have credibility and they aren’t accepted by the police. “More importantly, everything happens too fast and the coincidence is uncanny. Villa No.9 should be a private property, how did Mika sneak inside so easily? “According to the butler, Mika told him that she was Chairman Lee’s guest. As servants to the wealthy and powerful, the butler and the others had gotten used to extra company, especially from a female, so they allowed her in. “However, such speculation won’t work with the police. Mika is dead, so they said it was Chairman Lee who called her to the villa. “I was the one who slapped Mika and canceled her, but as his assistant, it could be said that I was instructed to do so by Chairman Lee. “That’s why the whole thing feels off, especially when all the coincidences overlap. Everything is against Chairman Lee.” Listening to Snow’s explanation, Darcy’s expression darkened. According to what she
“Mr. Krad! What brings you here…” “Young Master Krad!” The guests of the Yemens, who had been invited to the station to provide testimony, arrived excitedly and greeted Aiden warmly. Aiden made headlines on the first day he arrived in Riverbank, hence many people were already familiar with the young master from the Krads. However, when they came closer to greet him and saw his face, they sensed something strange. Aiden looked rather battered. His face was swollen and red, with a glisten on his cheeks as if he had applied cream or balm to ease the pain. Yet no one dared to ask what happened. Aiden smiled at Cyan and the others before he dragged himself over to Darcy. He forced a smile on his face and said, “Ms. Quint, we meet again so soon.” “What are you doing here?” Darcy asked, her tone frosty and her expression stiff. Aiden stroked his cheek and said without a bit of embarrassment, “I heard Kaze got arrested because he is suspected of murder. I heard of the news, s
“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
“Worried about the mercenaries? I’ve taken all of them out and anyone with a sane mind would know by now not to come after me. Why would they make the same mistake again?” Kaze killed all the mercenaries. There was no one else the mastermind could send after him anymore. Even if there were, they would have to reconsider it after what had happened. Taking out the mercenaries in silence was a strong showcase of his strength. Once the mastermind found out, he or she would definitely stay away. Besides, Kaze had decided to continue his journey to Westeros without telling anyone. He could board a random flight to his destination, and no one would ever know. “Take me to the airport,” Kaze said to the driver. He and Snow were in the rear seat. “When you go back to Butterworth, don’t rush things. Now that Katie has made a mistake and is forced to step down, you can take over Northborn Group,” Kaze said. “Speaking of Katie, after I locked her up, her daughter, Leah, came to me
Miguel stated his strength so that Kaze and Snow would look at him differently. “That doesn’t mean we have to choose you.” Snow saw nothing stellar in him. Snow’s harsh words surprised Miguel and left him deeply displeased. Yet when he looked at Kaze, he dared not say a word. “I can work hard. Even if I am not qualified now, I can work toward that goal.” “Of course, you are not qualified now. You need to improve yourself to meet the basic requirements. Then we’ll talk about you joining us.” Snow just wanted to get this matter over and done with, so she handed Miguel her name card. “When you think you are qualified, you can give me a call.” Since she would eventually take over the largest force in Butterworth, she needed to build a team of her own—one she could truly trust. Miguel might just be an ordinary man who looked fierce but he was courageous and had the potential to be better. “Can I follow him instead?” Miguel took the name card and learned Snow’s name. He
“You did well,” Kaze praised Miguel. It was not easy for someone to fire a gun and take a life, even when he had basic training. Though without the proper technique and training, the shot was nothing stellar. “Really?” Miguel was thrilled by the praise. He might be tall and fit and have arms full of tattoos, but he had never gotten into a fight before. He was happy that someone he admired praised him. It made his day even more than escaping alive. Kaze wanted to continue but the cars had arrived. He walked forward and revealed himself in front of the headlights. The hostages were scared. They stepped back, some of them entered the hangar once more and tried to shut the door. Miguel stood in their way and stopped them from closing it up. “What are you doing? Kaze is still here and help has arrived. Stop hiding,” he said. He detested their selfish behavior. Kaze saved them but they did not even thank him. They even continued to suspect Kaze’s identity. Their be
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening