“It’s understood that your concert is held on the same day as the death anniversary of Mr. James White, the former chairman of Shangrila Group.“We received word that Shangrila Group will organize a remembrance for James to celebrate him. “Are you holding the concert as part of the event, Taylor?” The interview went on. Taylor responded, “My concert is unrelated to that event. It’s just a coincidence.” It was far too much of a coincidence to be written off as chance.“Can I be blunt and ask you about the alleged abuse James committed on you that rocked the community two years ago?” “I have nothing to say about that. I want to leave the past behind. It’s time I move on.” Taylor added with grace, “I have come back to the city where my nightmare first began because I have put the incident behind me.” “Shangrila Group faced public criticism two years ago and finally bankrupted, but the company has been restructured recently.” The journalist asked, “Do you have anything
“The ungrateful girl never picked us up from the airport when we were back from business trips.” Agatha criticized her daughter. Taylor? Talk about a coincidence. Kaze said, “I saw on the news that Taylor has checked into the hotel in the city.” “Rose must be off somewhere then. Just call and ask her. She can’t go missing,” Agatha responded in annoyance. She then carried on chatting with Agnes. Kaze had to go out again. He gave Rose a call when driving out of Skylar View District. “K-Kaze?” Rose mumbled over the phone. She had no qualms about addressing Kaze confidently when they met for the first time. Kaze made a favorable first impression on her family as he came across as competent. However, the incident involving Alan ensued. Although Kaze was later proven to be framed, Rose’s family looked down on Kaze because he was a good-for-nothing. Rose believed Kaze was not good enough for her outstanding cousin, Darcy. On the contrary, Kiev and Darcy were a pe
“I have my ways,” Kaze replied. He sniffed the air and frowned. The air was thick with the stench of alcohol and tobacco in the private lounge. The fan club members were young, but they were working adults with potty mouths. Coming from a strict household, Rose was a Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. She had no experience interacting with the group. Rose was oblivious to the lewd stares from the boys. “It’s time to go home, Rose. Your mom told me to pick you up,” Kaze said. The surprise quickly wore off. Rose figured Kaze found her by asking an employee where she was. She shook her head and replied, “I have something going on later. You should go back. I’ll catch my own ride. I’ll let my mom know.” By the looks of her red face, Kaze was sure that Rose had a lot to drink. She might get herself in a situation if he were to leave without her tonight. “No. You’re coming home with me now.” Kaze made a beeline to Rose and reached his hand out to pull her up. Smack! An arm cut a
Kaze remained unfazed even when the group ridiculed him, and a young woman insulted him. Terry did not think Kaze was a threat at all. “I was wondering why it was getting musty here. It must be the unwelcome visitor.” Terry pointed at the door and said with a fake smile, “Please leave us in peace. You are not welcome here.” Kaze did not want to remain in a smoky room anyway. He turned to Rose. “Are you really not leaving, Rose?” “Why are you so annoying? I told you to leave. Just stay out of my business!” Rose shouted angrily at Kaze. She blamed Kaze for embarrassing her. “Alright then.” Without another word, Kaze turned to leave. Since she had made herself clear, Kaze did not intend to interfere with her personal affairs anymore. Rose was eighteen. She was an adult. She should take responsibility for her own actions. Bang! The door to the private lounge opened with a thud. A guy backed into the lounge and fell on his bottoms with a cry. “Are you alright,
“Do you know Lightning Tiger?” the thug asked Terry. “I do.” Terry smiled with relief. The thug gazed solemnly at Terry. Terry appeared rather relaxed in the presence of a gang. Plus, he said he knew Lightning Tiger. The thug suspected Terry was someone important. “Here comes Boss.” The thug in the back shouted. The gang gave way to their leader. A burly man with a fierce look swaggered his way over. “I heard an idiot wants to fight my brothers. Where is he? Step forward and show yourself now,” Lightning Tiger said menacingly. Lightning Tiger fell victim to Kaze today. All his assets had been surrendered, and he had to pay his respects to James three days later on his death anniversary. Sure, he was lucky to be alive but he was upset. So he took his men to enjoy some drinks at Bay Club. Upon learning that one of his brothers got into a fight with a man, Lightning Tiger saw his opportunity to let out steam. The presence of Lightning Tiger sucked the life out
Terry was dumbfounded. He could not understand why Lightning Tiger would suddenly hit him. The other young men and women were shocked by Lightning Tiger’s stunt. “Why should I do you a favor?”Lightning Tiger said menacingly, “Even if your dad is here, I’m his boss. Who do you think you are?” His voice echoed across the lounge. Lightning Tiger was bummed out today. Yet, a young man acted like he was all that in front of him. Of course, Lightning Tiger had to put him in his place. Terry scrambled to his feet. “I-I was wrong, Lighting Tiger. I won’t do it again.” A strange smell lingered in the room. Everybody sniffed and quickly fixated on Terry. Terry, who gave Kaze an attitude moments ago, had just peed his pants. The looks Terry got were hurtful. He wanted to sink into the ground and disappear from the face of the earth. “Spineless prick. Get lost.” Lightning Tiger kicked Terry to the ground. He stared menacingly at the young men and women in the lounge. Th
“Kaze should have just kept his mouth shut. I must get Darcy to divorce him.” Rose was grateful that Kaze stood up for her. However, Kaze offered her to sit with Lightning Tiger for 100 million dollars per drink. He was trying to make money off her. Rose was disappointed and furious. Only Lightning Tiger frowned. The voice sounded familiar. Before Lightning Tiger said anything, his men went after Kaze. “Fuck! I see an idiot hiding in the corner. Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear when we told all the men to get out?” The man, who had been fooling around with a butterfly knife, yelled while moving toward the dark corner. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. Something happened. Before anybody knew it, the thug cried out loud as he was knocked off his feet. He crashed onto the LCD screen on the wall before sliding to the ground. The thug had a lot of cuts all over his body. “That’s not how you use a butterfly knife.” A flat tone ensued. Plop. The butterfly knife, that was su
“Never mind. What’s the point of taking your life? I expect you to pay respects on my buddy’s death anniversary.” Lightning Tiger was relieved. Kaze said, “I have a rule, though. The price of upsetting me is never waived.“Like you, Gold Tooth has surrendered his assets, but he annoyed me again, so I told him to pull out his two front teeth.” Kaze added indifferently, “Leave something behind before you go.” Lightning Tiger thought about it before crawling to grab the butterfly knife Kaze threw on the ground. Gritting his teeth, he stabbed his hand. “Argh!” Lightning Tiger yelled in distress as two bloodied fingers dropped on the floor. “I sliced two of my fingers, Mr. Lee. I keep my arms intact so that I can give Mr. White a proper burial on his death anniversary,” Lightning Tiger said through the pain. Screams echoed in the private lounge. Kaze waved his arm with a blank face. “Beat it.” Lightning Tiger took his men and scrambled with their tails tucked between t
Morris was in his study, wiping a plaque of commandments that was covered in dust. Due to his commitment to the Viper’s Den, he had neglected his family for years and left his son in his wife’s care. Morris regretted doing so. Unaware of the impending danger, Clemont enjoyed drinks with his friends. They were having fun, playing drinking games. Losing the game, Clemont downed a glass of liquor. Things could get far and exciting in a game. It was then that the door swung open. Clemont’s driver entered the room. “Young Master Siegfried, the master is waiting for you at home,” the driver said, noting the complexity of the situation. The only thing on his mind was to take Clemont away. Tipsy from the drinks, Clemont waved his arm. “Let him wait. What’s the rush to get home?” Clemont’s friends were shocked. Nothing scared Clemont like his father. However, Clemont toughened up for once. “Young Master Siegfried, why don’t you call it a night?” “Yeah. I’m sur
“What’s that supposed to mean? When have I ever made a mistake?” Morris heard nothing of that sort. It could only mean that his people had done nothing wrong. However, Edmund could not possibly get aggressive on the phone. Something must have happened, and he simply had no idea. Morris felt unsettled like something big was about to happen. “You seem to be lax when managing your people. You don’t seem to know what goes on around your house.“Is your age getting to you? Is that why you can’t handle most of the work? If you can’t get your own house in order, how will you ever manage the Viper’s Den Westeros Branch?” Edmund called to say his piece. It was his way to make Morris step down. Though it was likely that Morris would resign, Edmund could at least make things unpleasant for him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Morris was completely in the dark, but Edmund must hold some secret to act so cocky. Despite his troubled feelings, Morris kept his cool and calmly aske
Since it was a rare opportunity, Edmund had to settle the score with them properly. He knew opportunities like this were hard to come by so he had to seize them well. “I understand. I will take care of the guest,” Rosie said. She was glad that her information was useful to her boss. After Edmund hung up the phone, Rosie then looked at the unconscious Kaze. “You are indeed more useful than I thought. Hardly anyone has ever managed to impress Edmund.” She did not feel sorry for Kaze, believing that everything happened as it was meant to. She knew that to climb higher, she had to please her superior. With the Wittersons on the rise, now was the perfect time for her to pledge her loyalty to Edmund. When the Wittersons truly took over the Westeros Branch, she would become one of the most powerful people in the city, second only to them. She was looking forward to that day. Since Kaze was fast asleep and no arrangements could be made, Rosie went out to call her men and
“If you are not here to have fun, then why did you come to Westeros?” Rosie asked. Kaze looked like he had one glass too many and could barely keep himself awake. When he looked up at Rosie, he felt lightheaded and could not keep his balance. “I am here to c-complete my mission.” Kaze could not even speak clearly, seemingly already drunk. Rosie let out a breath of relief. She then took his glass away. Kaze fell onto the couch lazily and adjusted himself into a comfortable position. He even had a hiccup. Rosie did not mind Kaze passing out in front of her. She got up and then squatted in front of him. “What is your mission here in Westeros?” She did not expect to fish out useful information from Kaze, but now she could bring this information to Edmund and exchange it for a reward. “I am here to solve the problem. Something happened here in the Viper’s Den and I am here to find out more. After that, someone else will take over,” Kaze muttered as he closed his eyes.
Rosie’s charm and beauty were reasons why she was able to run the club smoothly. No matter what happened, she possessed the capabilities to solve it without exacerbating it. All those aspects made Edmund choose her. A qualified employee trusted to run a business did not need to be a genius. One only needed to carefully operate the business and not cause trouble for the employer. That alone would be enough. “There’s indeed someone powerful who gave me a chance but I want to use my own strength to win their recognition.” Rosie was well aware that due to her beauty, many often looked down and underestimated her. She had to stay sharp and clear-headed to avoid unnecessary trouble. “That might be a little difficult but I believe you got what it takes,” Kaze said with a serious tone as if he knew Rosie well. “Thank you for your kind words. I hope everything turns out as expected.” She did not have to worry about that because Edmund fully trusted her and put her in charge of m
Clemont let out a breath of relief when he saw that his friends were not saying anything more. He brought them somewhere else to party. He spent a lot in a single night but he finally gained the respect that he longed for. Back at the club, after Clemont and his friends left, the corridor to the VIP section finally quieted down. The waiters cleaned up the place and then returned to their work. Kaze stayed back and looked at Rosie, waiting for her response. “Thank you for today. I would be hurt if not for you,” she said, expressing her gratitude. She was surprised that Kaze intervened but she was truly grateful for his help. “It’s nothing.” Kaze waved his hand nonchalantly and then wanted to return to his own room. “Why don’t I take care of the bill for you tonight? Consider it as a token of gratitude since you saved me from getting hurt,” Rosie said. Her interest in Kaze was piqued, wondering who he really was. She knew he was from Butterworth and had heard that
Clemont was born with a silver spoon and raised like a prince as he was the youngest in the family. He knew his father’s current situation, which explained why he behaved arrogantly. He thought his actions could help his father but little did he know, they were causing a huge trouble. Kaze made it verbal but the spoiled brat did not appreciate the warning and simply felt annoyed. “What do I mean? I guess you have to ask your father about it.” Kaze looked at Clemont coldly. There was no way a useless trust-fund baby could achieve anything great under the protection of his family. Every action that Clemont took was causing damage to his family. Kaze initially intended to use the Siegfrieds to his advantage, which explained why he did not act immediately. Now that Clemont had come under his radar, Kaze ought to use the chance. He managed to showcase his strength to Rosie earlier and what he said to Clemont would surely raise more suspicion in her. Kaze must come up wit
Rosie was shocked. She almost got kicked by some spoiled brat. She was not happy about it. She revered Clemont’s background and had been tolerant with the brat but he stepped over the line when he decided to be physical. Rosie looked up to Kaze who was hugging her. He was just outside the crowd and decided to step in when he heard the commotion. She did not expect him to save her. It was a surprise but it allowed her to see his capabilities. The man from Butterworth had been hiding his abilities from everyone all along. Rosie smiled at him before getting back up on her feet. “Thank you for your help,” she said softly. “It’s nothing. It’s the right thing to do,” Kaze said. Kaze was the type of person who could never stand seeing the weak being bullied. “Who the hell are you? What do you think you are doing?” Clemont bellowed. He was outraged and needed to vent his emotions. Since Kaze had intervened, it gave Clemont a chance to lash out at him. “Stop causing a
“I told you this is my club! They have to listen to me! Now open the damn door!” Clemont was furious after being questioned. He started to kick the door like a madman. The waiters were worried but they dared not do anything. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside! VIP guests!” the waiter added. He dared not reveal the identity of the guest inside. Zidane informed all employees earlier that no one shall reveal the VIP guest’s identity or even mention that the suite was booked by Edmund. It was to keep things low. Therefore, the waiter dared not speak any of it even to Clemont. Unfortunately, Clemont stubbornly believed the waiter was lying to him. “What guests?! You’re lying to me! You said there were guests inside but even after I kicked the door, there was no answer! Open it up. Don’t be stupid!” he shouted. He cared not about the others when he shouted. He was impulsive at nature. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside. You can’t do this,” the