Narian then walked away with arrogant cackles. Darcy became worried. She had a feeling that Narian would target her during the auction later. “Don’t worry, Darcy. He’s just a clown. He won’t be able to make fun of anyone soon,” Kaze said. Darcy simply hummed a reply. “My entrepreneur friends, let us begin the auction today!” The auctioneer’s voice came from the podium. The floor was silenced immediately. “The first property on our auction list today is Genting Limited, starting with twenty million with each increase no less than one hundred thousand…” The first on the list was the company that Quarter Group aimed for. Genting Limited was not a big company but its business would complement Quartet Group’s shortcomings. Darcy could merge the companies if she could get it. She did some research with her team about Genting Limited and believed they had a good chance to win the bidding. Many bidders were from big companies and they had their eyes on bigger or same sc
“Genting Limited, sold to Lee Corporation!” The mallet was slammed on the podium. The auction continued. Several smaller companies were put on auction, which were all Quartet Group’s targets, yet every single one of them was won by Narian with one extra dollar. With Lee Corporation on their back, Quartet Group could not even win a single bid! After the first round of auction, the attendees were given five minutes of break. Narian strode over with a condescending manner and grinned. “Darcy, I told you I’ll show you what a powerful man is so that you can make up your mind to leave this useless trash here. Now you see what I can do. Hahaha!” “Narian Lee, don’t get ahead of yourself!” Darcy was fuming, but helpless. She could not compete against the Lee family’s wealth. “It seems like you haven’t made up your mind, Darcy. I’ve decided.” Narian grinned widely and continued, “I will block every bid that you place and with that, I will make you remember what I am capable o
“We’re going home! I’m not staying to let Narian make a fool out of all of us!” Darcy said angrily. She attended the auction for nothing. Quartet Group was not able to win any bids. “Don’t worry. He won’t be talking for long. I said I will bid Sky Ocean Corporation for you.” Kaze tried to hold her back and bring her back to the seat. “Are you going or not? If not, I’m going.” Darcy shook his hand off and strode away. She was angry because she felt helpless in front of Narian. “Mr. Lee, are we leaving?” Riley asked carefully. She knew how powerful Kaze was. Kaze was the owner of Clover Center, where Quartet Group’s office was located. After observing Darcy for a while, Riley realized that she did not know how rich or powerful her husband was. “Leave? Not until I smack Narian in the face,” Kaze said angrily. “Now, let the bidding begin,” the auctioneer said. “Three billion.” Narian’s assistant made the first bid. “Three billion, going once.” Narian then lo
Narian’s brows twitched as his eyes widened. His assistant could even hear him grinding his teeth out of anger. Everyone else on the floor gasped. Kaze was messing with Narian the wrong way! All of them shot a sympathetic gaze at Kaze because getting Narian mad would result in nothing. With the Lee family’s wealth and influence in the capital, there was no way Kaze was his match. Instead, Narian would hold a grudge and it would not end well for Kaze. “3.1 billion!” Narian raised the sign and pushed the bidding price higher. He then shouted at Kaze, “Come on, trash! Go on!” “Go on.” Kaze waved at Riley without even looking at Narian. “3.1 billion and one dollar!” Riley said. “Four billion!” Narian was fuming already. Everyone on the floor was shocked. Due to Kaze’s annoying bidding strategy, Narian got so angry that he increased ten million in his bidding price. “Trash! I’ve put in another ten million but I will make Shangrila Group and Quartet Group pa
“Let’s talk about the other procedures when we go back. I have to go find my wife.” Kaze stood up as all eyes were on him. He stretched and wanted to leave the auction and what he said left everyone speechless. He spent five billion to purchase Sky Ocean Corporation and he looked like he had just bought a toy. “Oh, right.” At the exit, Kaze suddenly turned around and pointed at Narian. He had never taken Narian seriously throughout the entire auction except now. He said, “Useless.” He then walked away without turning back. He was not loud at all but he spoke clearly. Compared to Narian’s shouting earlier, Kaze’s nonchalant demeanor felt more powerful and indubitable. “HUH? What the fuck? He called me useless?! Why? Based on what?!” Narian was furious, even his expression turned ugly. The entire floor was filled with his furious shouts. He was called useless by Kaze, the one who everyone called a useless trash. Aggrieved, Narian almost teared up due to his
“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine. Just stay in the car.” Kaze tapped Darcy’s hand and then got out of the car. He then leaned against the car and waited. The four men were slightly surprised. They thought Kaze would lock the door and call for help, but he got out of the car instead. The men approached him. They dragged the baseball bats along the asphalt road, causing irritating screeches. “Who sent you?” Kaze asked. Even though his first thought was Narian, there were a number of people who got into a conflict with him in Mountain Dew Estate. “You should know who did you mess with,” said one of the men. “Someone wanted us to break your legs. You want to do it yourself, or we have to do it with our bats?” One of the men then handed Kaze the baseball bat, looking at him with a contemptuous grin. Kaze saw their bulging muscles. The men were obviously trained, which explained their boldness. “I’ll do it myself.” Kaze reached out to the baseball bat. Swoosh
Crack! Before the man could finish, Kaze stomped on his leg. “Aaaargh!” The man screamed in pain once more. Kill him and abduct Darcy. Kaze knew exactly what Narian was trying to achieve. “Narian, you bastard!” Back in the car, Darcy, who was mortified, shouted angrily, “Kaze, let’s call the police.” “I’m afraid he will be released after one day he’s arrested.” Kaze denied her suggestion. He looked at the man on the ground. “Call Narian and tell him the job is done. Tell him to come over.” The man was still suffering from a broken leg but he dared not defy Kaze anymore. He endured the pain and made a call to Narian. “Sir, it’s done.” “You got Darcy already? Great! Nicely done. I’m on my way.” Narian hung up the phone with an evil laugh. A while later, a motorcade consisting of expensive cars came down from the estate. Narian came out of his car and went over to the scene. He realized only one of his men remained conscious and everyone was injured. He
Narian was mortified when he heard Kaze’s frosty and merciless voice. He was frightened and his eyes were teary. The arrogant and rude young master of the Lees was gone and was replaced by a frightened boy. “Kaze, the Lee family will come after you! You have no idea how powerful we have become! No one can save you!” he shouted his lungs out. “Do you know why I didn’t push you over the cliff?” Kaze’s words stopped Narian’s crying immediately. Narian could tell from Kaze’s calm tone that it was not just a bluff. Kaze would really kill him if he continued to scream. “That’s because I want the Lee family to see what happened to you, and I want every one of them to know, including that old geezer, George. If all of you don’t come to Lilyrose and apologize to my wife within a month, they will end up just like you.” Kaze then turned around and went back to his car. The car then drove off from everyone’s frightened gaze. “Kaze, you are being too fierce just now,” Darcy said
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