“100 million dollars is too much.” Miru frowned. Even Darcy was shocked. 100 million dollars for a piece of intelligence was daylight robbery. Shane shook his head and said with a smile, “I’m not asking for a lot. Mr. Cummingham is the underworld kingpin whose influence extended to the South River state. His passing is more than meets the eye. I’m putting my people at risk to investigate his death.” Miru was without a word. The key players of Lefteria Group stripped her of power, so she had no access to funds. “If you find the price expensive, you’re welcome to leave, Ms. Scarlet. I won’t charge you for the drinks. We are all friends. There’s no telling if we will have business deals in the future.” While talking, Shane showed them the door. The man may seem friendly and approachable, but he was a seasoned professional who knew what he was doing. “100 million dollars, it is, Mr. Blanc,” Darcy got up and said. She believed 100 million dollars was worth confirming w
Leo soon arrived in Melrose. He met Shane who had been waiting at the logistics park. “Business has been booming here in the past two days. I have met two successors of Lefteria Gang now.” Shane said with a smile, “I’m sure you’re here to see me about investigating a mole.” “Do you know who the mole of Lefteria Gang is?” Leo asked emotionlessly. “Yes, but you should follow my rules in business. My services don’t come free.” Shane carried a drink over. Leo held the drink in his hand without taking a sip. He asked, “How much did Miru spend?” “Her companion, Ms. Quint, spent 100 million dollars. She has paid half up front.” Shane revealed without holding back. Leo scoffed. “These women are sure willing to pay a lot.” He glanced at Shane. Shane was a classic businessman. If it were a regular transaction, Shane would not disclose as much as he did. For Shane to divulge the amount Miru spent, Shane must have discovered that Leo was the mole at Lefteria Group. Leo
“Let’s head back to Lilyrose now, Miru,” with her eyes welled up, Darcy said eagerly. Since Leo was the mole, it was clear that Kaze was framed. Darcy beat herself up. Nobody, including her of all people, believed Kaze at the Lily Garden Hotel. Driven by rage, she even slapped Kaze. Darcy wished she could teleport to Lilyrose and bail Kaze out now. She was desperate to apologize to Kaze. “Come on.” Miru nodded and walked off with Darcy. “Hang on, Ms. Quint. I have not received the final payment.” Shane’s friendly voice came from behind. If it were not for the remaining 50 million dollars, Shane would not be so patient to waste his breath with these two women. Despite her distraught, Darcy stopped and called Riley to wire the money. The remaining 50 million dollars was converted into Bitcoins before reaching Shane’s account. Darcy said, “You got the money, Mr. Blanc. We should leave now.” “You mean business, Ms. Quint.” Shane gave the thumbs up and said gl
Miru felt better because Darcy did not blame her. She started to figure out ways to address the issues. “Leo bought Shane off to make it seem like I’m the mole. He probably wants me to take the fall, so Jeremiah would come after me instead.” Miru analyzed the situation she was in. “You can clear the air with Jeremiah when he goes after you. At least, you can show him the evidence.” Darcy had no idea who Jeremiah was. Nevertheless, she could tell from Miru’s words that the person took a neutral stance. Miru shook her head. “Jeremiah’s loyalty lies with my godfather. I have never met him before. I don’t even know if I can trust him because he has been through thick and thin with my godfather and Leo’s late father. “Besides, my sources in Lilyrose told me that Jeremiah didn’t kill Kaze for some reason. “Jeremiah went to Azure Estate. Cronus would have died had he not fled in time. “I doubt Jeremiah will give me a chance to talk if he determines that I am the mole.” D
“Darcy, where are you? I went to Clover Center to pick you up earlier but you weren’t there.” Kiev was in Horizon Mirror with Agnes and the others when he received the call from Darcy. “I’m in Melrose…” Darcy briefly talked about what happened. Kiev frowned. He knew Darcy went to Melrose overnight because of Kaze. She had already announced her divorce with Kaze, yet she was still thinking about him. Kiev was overwhelmed by jealousy. Darcy was still obsessed with Kaze and even asked him for help. He understood that Darcy had lingering feelings for Kaze but what about in the future? What would happen after he helped Darcy this time or another time? Kiev told himself the feelings would die off soon, so he took a deep breath and said, “Darcy, just hold on. I’m coming to Melrose now. My family has some connections there. I assure you Shane Blanc won’t give you a hard time!” “Thank you, Kiev. I’ll make it up to you when this is over.” Darcy was delighted and embarrass
“It should be. It’s the first time I've seen a helicopter flying out from that place.” Agnes was not sure. Kiev said with a smile, “It should be Chief Commander Lang. Did you see the logo of a sword on the helicopter? That’s the mark of the God of War Palace, so that helicopter must belong to the God of War.” “God of War Palace’s helicopter has more authority than helicopters from Lilyrose Strategic Department. “Once it lifts off, the Air Control Department would lock down the airspace. No other aircraft are allowed in the air so that the God of War can fly in his helicopter without having to deal with air traffic. “Chief Commander Lang must have some urgent matter to attend to himself.” Everyone was enlightened by Kiev’s explanation and was also jealous. Agnes asked curiously, “Kiev, your father is the vice commander of Lilyrose Strategic Department, does he have a personal helicopter? Does the Air Control Department seize the air traffic for your father to attend offici
Kaze frowned. He looked at Reeve beside him. Reeve went up to the security guard and showed him the iron badge that he carried. “I am Reeve Carter, security captain of Chief Commander Draco Lang of Lilyrose Strategic Department. Inform your park manager and hand Ms. Darcy Quint to us!” “Chief Commander Draco Lang? You might as well say the God of War. Look at the kid behind you, does he look anything like the chief commander? You think you can scare me with some made-up names?” The guard scoffed at Kaze and took them as a fool. He waved impatiently and said, “Get out of here.” Reeve was furious when he was embarrassed by a mere security guard in front of Kaze. Kaze’s expression turned cold. He simply wanted to walk in. At the same time, inside the gate, two majors in uniform bearing angry looks on their faces headed out while being escorted by several burly men. As they walked, the two majors grumbled their grievance aloud. “Our superior is Trevor Rumhold, the comma
The two cars stopped in front of the logistics park. Hector, Agnes, Agatha and her family, plus Kiev, alighted the cars. Only Sky did not follow because he was still mad at his sister for divorcing Kaze. The two families were surprised to see Kaze at the entrance as well. They did not expect to see him here, let alone be earlier than them. “Kaze? What are you doing here? Did you break out of prison?!” Agnes said coldly with an obvious sense of disgust. She had no respect for him. “Mother, my name is cleared. I did not murder Alan Cumminghamn. I heard Darcy was apprehended by the owner here, so I came to bring her out…” Kaze explained. “Don’t call me your mother! I am no longer your mother-in-law!” Agnes shouted at him and warned him with a ferocious glare. “Kaze, how dare you come here for Darcy? She’s in this trouble because of you. If not because of you, why would she come all the way to Melrose?” “You are a menace!” Kaze chose silence as a reply to Agnes’ scold
“Do ask around,” Kaze said without being overly concerned. Since he was with Dwight, if they got any news, it would attract even more attention. However, if they did not ask around for more after causing a scene, it would also be strange. Therefore, Dwight’s little investigation was a great cover. “I have to use the toilet. Wait for me here,” Kaze said as he got up. Dwight nodded at Kaze as he was going to make a call. “Sure. If you want to leave, just give me a heads up.” He then sat down on the couch, took a sip of beer, and leisurely watched girls dancing on the dance floor. After seeing Dwight’s casual reaction, Kaze lowered his guard against him. He had been observing Dwight since the start and now he finally knew the man well enough. Dwight never saw Kaze as an outsider or some VIP guest. He was thoughtful and kind and never harbored any ill intentions. “He’s really a simple guy.” Kaze headed to the toilet as he muttered to himself. On the way there, he sa
“She’s quite capable but this will cost her.” Kaze thought Rosie was not being rational enough. If a customer crossed the line, she would have every reason to throw him out. There was no need to endure him or suck up for the sake of a little business. Rosie might seem to be the boss of the club but she often had to endure ridiculous requests for the sake of the well-being of the establishment. Dominic’s words made many uncomfortable, especially the waiter and the security guards. They were ready to throw him out. If he continued to be rude, they would not mind being physical with him. When Dominic calmed down, he would realize what he had done. After all, when one was drunk, one would not have total control over his or her actions, which would lead to making mistakes. Such mistakes would easily slip due to the person being drunk but it only worked when the person could not remember or was not conscious at all. If a person remained sane and could act logically, then be
“I’ll let this slip but you guys can’t always ruin my fun,” Dominic said with a frown. His plan of having fun was foiled before anything could happen. Rosie’s expression turned bitter. “That girl is just an innocent lady, our customer. You can’t just force yourself on her.” Dominic was not deterred. He believed that with his status and how much he had spent at the club, he could do anything he wanted. Yet the boss interrupted his plan and even let the girl go. It fueled his resentment. “Since when is Absolute Zero scared of anything? That girl is just some random girl, and even if I drag her to my bed, nothing bad will happen,” he said confidently. He even moved closer to Rosie, putting his chubby hand around her waist. Dwight was surprised as he had never encountered such a situation before. Dominic acted like he owned the club. He tried to force a girl against her will and now he put his dirty hand on the boss of the club. He was just the boss of a company who
“Stop causing problems!” The security guards gained on Kaze and Dwight, trying to get them out of the club. Dwight was also a hot-tempered person and he could not allow injustice to happen, especially to himself. “It’s that fat prick who started it! Why aren’t you guys throwing him out? The girl has made it clear that they don’t know each other! Why are you two gaining on us?!” He was not weak and could easily take down two security guards, but he remained resentful. They tried to help a girl but the situation turned on them. “You can’t be sure. Maybe the girl is playing hard to get. This is not Mr. Jarbosky’s first time here, and he will never break the rules here,” the security guard said. His words attracted even more attention, but they dared not speak up. Vivi’s face turned pale. She wanted to explain but nothing came out of her mouth. Her explanations seemed weak. Everyone seemed to believe that she seduced Dominic, but she was the victim. “No! It’s not like t
“Kaze, you might not know since you are new here but he’s the boss of Dominion Group, Dominic Jarbosky. We can’t offend him. His company works closely with the Viper’s Den.” Dwight came over and whispered into Kaze’s ears. He just wanted to inform Kaze to rethink his decision. The girl might be in danger but she had it coming. Coming to a club in a skimpy outfit was certainly a bad idea. Since Dominic had his eyes on her, and she did not want his company, then it was up to her to break free. Dwight thought that by explaining Dominic’s status to Kaze, the conflict would be resolved. “I said, it’s time for you to stop,” Kaze said once more, his tone colder than before. Dominic frowned after being interrupted once more. He finally got his eyes on a young girl who looked beautiful and innocent, thinking he could release his sexual desires on her for the entire night, yet someone poked his nose into his business. “What do you have to do with this? Are you into this girl as w
“Seems like there’s nothing to see here.” Kaze was slightly disappointed. He came here just to find out more about the club’s operations and the person running the place. Yet there was nothing he found, or maybe he did not get the right chance. Clubs were loud and messy, fights even broke out occasionally. Men would fight over a woman, and once the fight broke out, the person in charge of the club must step up to resolve the conflict. Kaze just needed to wait patiently for the chance to arrive. With alcohol involved, people tended to be impulsive and physical once the girls rejected them. Dwight continued to test his luck but got turned down every single time. A few minutes later, a void formed around him with no girls wanting to be close to him. He was annoyed. He was tall and handsome, yet no girls wanted to be with him. He saw other men, who were shorter and looked normal, surrounded by girls. The only difference was the watches and branded outfits they wore.
As they arrived, they saw a dozen expensive cars parked outside. The customer base was relatively stable as the establishment was targeted at the upper class. The people lining up at the club were young men and women of ordinary background. All were allowed inside Absolute Zero with an entrance fee. Since this would be a chance for ordinary people to meet and interact with the upper-class elites, they cherished it and tried their best to look good. Even movie producers and scriptwriters came to the club, seeking investments or a role in movie production. It was a shortcut to reach out to the upper crust after all. Yet they were just a bunch of fresh graduates with no resources and connections, so the club was their only chance at achieving something great. Dwight would never understand how rare the opportunity was, as he was narrow-sighted. He had never experienced power and wealth before, so he lacked the understanding of how things worked in society. “I never thought
With that in mind, Dwight checked his outfit. His black leather jacket brought out his height and wild side. He then observed Kaze. The latter was dressed casually. Dwight was worried that they would not be allowed into Absolute Zero because of their attire. Nevertheless, he could not let slip that he had never been to Absolute Zero. Without a word, Dwight led Kaze down the apartment building. Kaze could pick up on Dwight’s nerves. While in the elevator, Dwight could not stop straightening out his clothes. It was clear that he was nervous. Even so, Kaze said nothing and pretended not to notice. They got into the car and drove to an alley. The area was not huge, but there were stands selling street food. “The food is great here. Since it’s early, we can grab a bite.” Dwight was not being tight with money. As their destination was a bar, there was no need to get a proper meal. “I’ll get a skewer then.” Kaze did not have much of an appetite anyway. “Okay. I’ll or
“You’re the guest. I should be hosting you, but I don’t seem to be doing a good job.” Dwight knew he had to do better. “It’s okay. I don’t have much to do. It’s just a delivery anyway.” Kaze bought a lot of stuff online. All they had to do was wait for the delivery. Once the items arrived, they could head out. Dwight talked about taking him to a bar under the Viper’s Den’s umbrella. It was a great opportunity for Kaze to check out the scene. He had heard that the Wittersons were tied to all the Viper’s Den’s business operations.Kaze would not meet Edmund and Morris in person, but he would grasp all information related to them. Then, Kaze would stir things up between them and sit back while reaping the benefits. Kaze had it all planned out. He simply had to take his time in playing the long game. Nevertheless, it was important for him to remain discreet. At the very least, he should not show them what he was made of. It was easy to execute his plan when everybody