This also meant that the upcoming schedule would be met with obstacles. Regardless, Arthur felt he needed to be with Kaze to keep him safe. “Let’s go to the hotel first.” Kaze was not in the mood to think about anything else. The car drove into the parking lot. They went up using the executive elevator instead of going in from the lobby. When Northborn Hotel was built, it was accustomed to the guests’ privacy and confidentiality, so an executive elevator was installed for convenience and safety. Due to that, many tycoons in the business world or famous celebrities chose Northborn Hotel when they visited Butterworth, allowing them to conduct business in private and not worry about being exposed. People with certain needs would also choose the hotel for special occasions, such as having an affair. Arthur guided Kaze to the elevator. Kaze scanned around the elevator box and realized there was no surveillance camera. “They did this on purpose?” Kaze said as he pointed u
“Mr. Lee, since you’ve just arrived, do you want to get a shower or get something to eat first?” Arthur picked up the phone to call the front desk and was ready to ask for room service.“I’ll have a shower first. I’m travel-battered.” Kaze might not be a clean freak but he was tired from all the traveling. Taking a shower would be a good way to relax. Arthur then told the front desk to deliver some food. Meanwhile, at Northborn Emerald Residence, Leah was forcefully brought back home by her mother. She was displeased with her mother’s attitude, but she could not defy her and had no choice but to accept her fate. Still, regret and guilt lingered over what had happened. Kaze helped her a lot but her mother misunderstood him and insulted him. Leah was aggrieved but could not do anything. Her mother had absolute control over her life. “Stay at home and don’t wander outside anymore. I’ll call someone to make you some dresses for the upcoming birthday party.” Katie loved
Katie watched as tears streamed down Leah’s face. She reached out to dry her tears. Looking at Leah’s beautiful face, Katie could not be any prouder of her daughter. Her daughter was her pride and joy. Katie wanted only the best for Leah, providing her with the new seasonal fashion collection or the latest tech. She ensured that Leah had an abundance of material things, so she would never go without. Nothing in the world would stray Leah away. Katie’s confidence came from the love she had for Leah. “Trust me. I’m not wrong on the matter. I’d never hurt you. Anything I do is for your own good. “I’ll invite Kaze to your birthday party if I see him again.” Knowing Leah, Katie decided to assure her. “Really? Are you really going to invite him to my party?” Despite feeling uneasy, Leah tried to have faith in her mother. “If I do see him again, I will apologize to him. I came off rude because I was worried about you. You should understand where I was coming from.” Ka
Katie invested heavily in Leah’s upbringing, hoping to marry her up, which would boost her business while securing her daughter’s future. “I got it. I’ll follow whatever you have planned for me.” Leah gave in to Katie’s requests, despite feeling uneasy. Her mother had control issues. However, Katie’s controlling behavior had gone on for years, and Leah did not know how to retaliate. Even if Leah was defiant, she would quickly yield to her mother. Leah was back to her goodie-two-shoes self. Katie was pleased with Leah’s surrender. “I’ll wire you more money. Just buy whatever you see fit.” Katie had always been generous financially to make it up to her daughter. Leah had nothing on her shopping list. However, she would never refuse money from her mother. She accepted the money and saved it in her bank account. “Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior. I have work to do. There is a lot to do for your birthday party too.“That reminds me. You can invite your frie
Leah believed that Kaze must hate her. “I can’t do anything right. This has always been the case.” Feeling sorry for herself, Leah lay against the windowsill and looked out at the view. She did not have the courage to set foot outside. There was simply nowhere for her to seek refuge. She did not have friends whom she could pour her heart out to. Even if she got on with a few, there was always a level of reserve and caution. It was hard to find real friends. The thing with Perry hurt her, and Leah slowly withdrew from her friends. For once, she felt like she belonged when she was with Kaze. They were just strangers who happened to be on the same train carriage. That was the only point where their paths crossed. However, Kaze came to her rescue when Perry picked a fight. It was at that point of time when Leah’s perception of Kaze changed. She could not shake off the feeling that Kaze was a kind and amazing person. “There is still good in the world.” Leah murmured
“Mr. Henner, you are fresh out of a marriage. Are you interested in Madam Loren’s daughter?” “Who am I to say no to a pretty girl?” “But you might be too old for the girl, Mr. Henner. She might not consider you.” “Madam Loren’s daughter will follow her wishes. All I have to do is convince Madam Loren.” Jaime Henner stroked his beard, pleased with how well he had aged. Though he was older, older men were known to be loving and considerate. The group, saying nothing, shook their heads. Still, this had nothing to do with them anyway. It would be a disappointment if Katie accepted Jaime as her future son-in-law. The group had always believed that Katie doted on her daughter. Katie would always get her daughter the latest clothes on the racks. From this action alone, they could tell that her daughter was Katie’s whole world. However, no one was sure that Katie would not sacrifice her daughter for her career. It was anybody’s guess. At the end of the day, it was none
Katie sighed, thinking about her disobedient daughter. “Leah is young. She doesn’t understand what you do for her. She’ll understand with a bit of time. She will appreciate all that you’ve done.” The assistant knew the right words. Working closely with Katie, the assistant said what she needed to hear. “Alright. That’s it for now.“Since we’re here, I should inspect the place.” Katie was going to take a ride back to the office. However, since she was at the hotel, she would make sure the place was running smoothly. It was not every day that she had the chance as the CEO to be on site. “There’s one thing I need to tell you, Madam Loren. “The room at the Northborn Hotel that is reserved for the Viper’s Den is in use.” Joey was puzzled to get wind of the information. She was inclined to look into the person staying in the room. She had not been informed of anything beforehand. Katie did not get any notice either, so the person’s visit must have been abrupt. “When d
“We are uninformed about the situation. We have no means to let you know anything. Please don’t make things difficult for us, Madam Loren.” Out of options, the front desk manager tried to brush it off. “You should know that I’m part of the branch too. I just want to make sure I know enough to cater to the individual’s needs.” Katie could not let it go. “We will not hold anything back from you, Madam Loren, but we simply know nothing about the VIP.” “You could at least tell me if the person is a man or a woman.” Katie made concessions just to get her hands on anything. “I think he’s a man. He drove a red Ferrari. I’m guessing that he’s in his middle years. That’s all I know.” The front desk manager knew better than to reveal too much. Though he had some information at hand, saying too much would bring a lot of issues. Still, Katie was his superior. The front desk manager had to give Katie something to be in her good graces. “Is that so?” “That’s as far as we know
“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