“Aiden? You are back already?” Reiko sipped wine as she asked without turning around, “Have you brought Kaze Lee’s body back? That bastard ruined our plan one time after another. If I don’t see his dead body with my own eyes, I might not be able to sleep at night.” Killing Kaze was a suggestion made by Aiden after his release from the state police department. However, Aiden did not carry out the plan by himself. Instead, he informed Reiko and so the plan was formed. To Reiko, Kaze’s death was not a necessity, but he had repeatedly disrupted their plans. If eliminating Kaze could help Aiden vent his grievances, then it would be worth the effort. Aiden stared at Reiko’s bare back but he no longer had any feelings for her. After what happened the other day, he started to see Reiko as a woman of power, someone that he could not afford to mess with. He ought to steer away from her or he would not even notice it when she devoured him alive. He took a deep breath and said, “I
“He then told Conan Queen to bring Anzu to Bronze Sparrow. Snow and her new mysterious bodyguard also went into the place. “Kaze Lee has been inside there since then, and I am certain. Most importantly, Bronze Sparrow is the home base for the new kingpin in Riverbank, Miru Scarlet. She’s the best friend of Kaze Lee’s wife since they were in Lilyrose. “When the other members of the dojo got into a conflict with Kaze Lee at Bronze Sparrow, it was Miru who stepped up and defended him. “After Kaze Lee went inside, all of Miru’s men went off. I thought he asked Miru to send her men after us, so I increased the security at the Dojo. “I also believed it was a good chance to take out Kaze for good, so I requested you to send Senji and his men. “I saw them storm in but no one came out. Half an hour later, a few dumpster trucks arrived.” Reiko could not help but frown when she heard Aiden. “Dumpster trucks?” Aiden’s expression turned pale. “Yeah. I saw the dumpster trucks enter the
“W-Why?” Aiden lost his confidence in front of Reiko. He was shocked when he heard Reiko mention targeting Snow. He asked, “My brother is into her.” “That’s right. It’s because your brother is into her that she has to die.” Reiko opened her palm, watching as the broken glass slipped through the seams of her fingers. She explained coldly, “The woman whom the young master of the Krad family, the chief commander of the South River Strategic Department, likes, has lowered herself to serve a live-in husband as a nameless follower. “If the news got out, not only the Krad family would be embarrassed, but I also believe Chief Commander Krad would feel insulted. There are things he wanted to do but could not. “Aiden, your brother is your senior and as the younger sibling, you should know how to share the burden.” She spoke with an alluring tone, providing Aiden with a reason to execute her plan. She made it sound like Aiden would be betraying his brother if he did not agree or e
Reiko curled her lips as she explained. Even Aiden had to admit that her proposal was extremely tempting. As a core member of the Refined Blade Clan and having the full support of Sanwell Finances, her words held massive weight. If the Krad family could strengthen their relationship with Ryokan, then it would mean having extremely powerful foreign support. As for patriotism, that was not within Aiden’s consideration from the start. However, Aiden dared not simply agree to let Reiko matchmake Anzu with Aaron, his brother. “Reiko, if Anzu held such a prestigious position, why would she be under Siberian’s command in the first place, serving as a secret killer?” A quick thought later, he further explained, “I am not judging or suspecting Anzu, but I just have to get this clear. You know my brother has a high standard for women. Many women from different powerful families tried to ask him out, but he never showed any interest. “Snow was the only one good enough to capture h
Reiko nodded at the humble Aiden, showing her approval. Aiden asked, “But Anzu is captured. How are we going to rescue her from Kaze Lee?” Senji and his men, almost fifty of them, were wiped out. It was impossible to ask Kaze to hand over Anzu without a fight. In fact, Aiden could only hope that Kaze had not killed Anze in a fit of rage. Reiko said, “We need to use Snow Frost to make it happen. Both their men and Anzu are in Bronze Sparrow, along with a formidable figure guarding Snow. If I’m not mistaken, he’s the same man who recently started as her bodyguard. “That’s why we have to lure her out.” She narrowed her eyes and nonchalantly continued, “We have to find a reason for Snow to leave Bronze Sparrow alone. And then, we will lure Kaze Lee over. “Given his cautious personality, he would surely bring the powerful bodyguard along. Then, Bronze Sparrow would be guardless and we could send our men there to rescue Anzu. “When Kaze arrives, Snow would already be dead a
When Kaze first arrived at Riverbank and visited Lock at his family gathering, Wesley presented the family with a few boxes of blood bird’s nest, which the family cherished and appreciated. Now, Ryna swept the boxes to the ground and bellowed, “Get out! No one wants your stupid gift! We can afford it ourselves! Compensate the value loss of our house? How are you going to do that? “Are you going to give us your villa at Wyomspring?” She shouted at the top of her lungs as she was irritated by Kaze’s words. Kaze crouched down to pick up the presents and calmly said, “The villa was given to me by the mayor, I can’t just simply give it away. But, if you want, I can rent it to you for a long-term stay.” “Long-term stay?” Ryna got even more furious. “Kaze Lee, so this is the compensation you are talking about? Are you looking down on us? Who wants your stupid villa? Get out! Don’t let me see you again!” She slammed the gate in his face and went off. Cyan was not as angry as he
“Snow? Emerald Bull Palace?” Cyan only recovered after Kaze got into the car. Her expression shifted a few times before she ran over to stop him from closing the car. “Something happened to Snow?” “Yeah. Take your hand off, I’m heading there now.” Kaze already started the car. Bump! Cyan quickly opened the back door and got into the rear seat. “I am going with you!” Kaze did not have time to ponder what Cyan had in mind. He simply said, “Sit tight.” Vroom! The Ferrari that Sky treated like a baby sped off with a loud roar. Cyan was shocked by the sudden acceleration. She screamed, “Slow down! You really think speeding can save Snow in time? Who do you think you are?!” Kaze did not reply and he did not slow down either. If anything happened to Snow, going after the killers would no longer be meaningful. His priority was to stop the worst from happening. Cyan was shocked at first but when she realized Kaze was a really good driver and the car sped off smoothly,
Cyan blurted out strings of words, but Kaze barely reacted, not even a frown. His eyes were fixated on the road as he continued to speed through the traffic. His mind was calculating the fastest route to get to Emerald Bull Palace. As for Cyan’s words, he did not even listen to them. Cyan was annoyed that Kaze ignored her. She grunted coldly and said, “Kaze, stop wasting your energy. When you get to Emerald Bull Palace, it’s already too late. I have already texted Draig and he already replied. He’s been training there for the past two days. “You should know that Draig is the best candidate to save Snow because he can do it with just one call. If I were you, I wouldn’t go there and ruin things for them. They are made for each other. “Besides, when you offended that Ryokanian back at our place, Draig was beaten and he didn't hold you responsible. You should know that if not for me, convincing Draig not to hurt you because it would leave a bad impression on Snow, he would neve
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