“Ms. Quint, we at the Federal Trade Commission received a tip-off that Quartet Group is suspected of engaging in unfair competitive practices and market disruption. Please come with us for further investigation. “A report was filed with the Department of Public Works that there is a severe safety hazard with the unauthorized construction of a helipad on the roof of Clover Center. We will begin demolition now, and the building will be sealed off for one to three months while we carry out work.” Different authorities stepped out from behind Aaron, announcing the decision of their departments. Any of these decisions could spell doom for Quartet Group. Not to mention, these agencies were ganging up on the group. The authorities’ power abuse could threaten the survival of any company. In other words, Quartet Group was facing its biggest crisis ever. Click! Aaron lit another cigarette. He took a long drag and said nonchalantly, “Are you happy with that, Ms. Quint? If you’re
“The Federal Trade Commission mentioned our engagement in malicious competitive practices and market disruptions. Where is the proof? I can sue you for defamation without one.“As for the helipad on the roof, the Department of Public Works should know that the local military set it up for drills. Should I call Koga, the commander of the Garo Special Operation Team, over so you can question him?” Darcy had nothing to lose at that point. She challenged the agencies’ decisions. Most importantly, her reasoning was well justified, and the angry authorities had no leg to stand on. Lilyrose Bank was not due its repayment from Quartet Group yet, and the government-funded project had just begun. The claim of malicious competitive practices was unfounded. For her safety, Kaze instructed Lilyrose Strategic Department to construct the helipad on the roof for drill purposes. None of the allegations could be put on Quartet Group. Clap, clap, clap. Aaron clapped his hands and ros
“Enjoy, Mr. Bowman. We’ll wait for you outside.” The others snickered and headed out. “Let go of me, you animal!” With Aaron’s firm grip on Darcy’s wrist, she could not break free from him. She bit Aaron on the hand in a panic. “Argh!” Aaron screamed in pain and slapped Darcy in the face. Smack! Darcy tumbled back, her hair unkempt hanging loose from the blow. She bumped heavily onto the edge of the desk and hurt her waist. “Bitch! I own you!” Aaron approached her angrily. Filled with despair, Darcy grabbed the stationery on the desk and threw it in his face. While Aaron was busy dodging, Darcy sprinted to the window and cocked her head back to yell, “Don’t push me, Aaron, or I’ll jump off the window. You will go to jail for this.” “Go to jail. Why are you so naïve?” Aaron was calm. “I didn’t push you out of the window. Who can prove that I made you jump to your death? Besides, my dad is the mayor. No one will risk their lives to testify.” “You’re an animal
“You can’t do this, Kaze. You’ll go to jail!” Aaron screamed and cried. “Go to jail? Why are you so naïve?” Kaze said emotionlessly, “Don’t you know I have psychotic episodes? I’m having one now.” He looked down at the street from the window. It was hot outside, so no one was out and about on the street. “We’re on the third floor, not high in the building. It’s down to your luck whether you survive this fall, but I hope you will.” Scared stiff, Aaron wailed and shouted. He could barely string together a full sentence. The female secretary shrieked from the ground, “No! You can’t do this! His father is the ma—” Kaze released his grip without giving her the chance to finish. Thud! It sounded like something heavy hit the ground. “Psycho! You’re a psycho!” The secretary and the others screamed before getting to their feet to run downstairs. It was a mess on the ground floor. Soon, sirens were heard. The paramedics and police had arrived. Kaze watched the scene u
“I think it will be incredibly satisfying to see Kaze locked up helplessly behind bars as his wife loses the companies, and his family tears apart. It’s not like he can do anything to stop it.” Gregory laughed out loud. His bloodshot eyes looked manic. Gregory’s son was confined to the bed, and he hated Kaze for it. “Haha! I can’t wait!” Like Gregory, Hudson was eager to witness Kaze’s downfall. Meanwhile, the police had Kaze in custody for throwing Aaron out of the third floor’s window.The word traveled to Lilyrose’s upper crust. The sighting of the ambulance and police cars made it unlikely to cover up the truth. “Kaze is a loser. He knew Blake would have his head for hurting Aaron. Still, he did it anyway. He could be self-sabotaging.” “It is a pity that Aaron survived. He was taken to the ER. Blake will surely take out his anger on Kaze and his family. Some gloated, while others expressed sympathy. However, no one believed Kaze would be able to walk away a
“Kaze, I will show you and your wife’s family what it feels like to lose hope,” Blake pointed at Kaze and said menacingly right outside the mayor’s office. Kaze replied chillingly, “I could say the same to you too.” Blake’s words had gotten to him. Aaron was heartless to nearly leave Darcy with no choice but to take her own life. Still, Blake believed that Darcy deserved to die. Apparently, Kaze was not supposed to retaliate or throw Aaron out of the third-floor window. He could not make sense of the logic. “Hahaha! I own your ass now, Kaze, so you have the nerve to challenge me.” Blake guffawed and scoffed at Kaze’s statement. “I am the mayor. I have the support of the two most prominent families. What do you have? Soon, you will learn that I have the power to destroy you and your family.” The nerve of Kaze to talk back when he was in handcuffs. Resentful, Blake made up his mind to give Darcy’s family hell. He shouted, “Come here, Kevin.”“You summoned me, M
Without a word, Kaze looked at Blake like he was a dead man. Blake was infuriated by the brush-off from Kaze. He wanted to say something about it. That was when Trafford, the administration minister at the governor’s office, entered the room with several stern-looking individuals. “Why waste your breath on a prisoner, Blake? Just begin the interrogation. I need to get back to Sunrise after this.”Trafford glanced at Kaze indifferently, his voice reflecting contempt. Kaze was insignificant in his books. “Alright. Let’s just interrogate him.” Blake waved at his men. “Take him into the room.” The men restrained Kaze. Since Kaze had no idea what they wanted to grill him about, he planned to see what they were up to. Kaze let them force him into a makeshift interrogation room. There was an existing interview room next to the makeshift one, and two police officers stood guard at the door. When Kaze was brought in, a staff member in a suit walked out of the room. The st
The interrogation room was filled with Kaze’s laughter. His chuckles were annoying. His offhand remark stung more, though. Blake, Trafford, and Felix grimaced. “What are you laughing about?” Felix was furious because he could sense Kaze’s disdain. “I find you amusing,” Kaze replied indifferently. To think someone would try to extract a confession out of him through trickery. The individual attempted to break him and make him confess something that never happened. Besides, counter-reconnaissance and counter-interrogation were part of the core military program. The God of War Palace acquired talents to perfect these skills. Before joining the army, Kaze had used these techniques to his advantage countless times. When he was banished to Lilyrose and faced death threats, he had to play it smart by playing dumb. The best experts in interrogation and psychology were invited to confirm if he was just acting crazy. All were unsuccessful in proving he was faking it.
Dwight approached with a smile. He looked at Edmund earnestly. “I am Dwight McCorney. I have heard good things about you. I finally got to meet the man of the hour. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Witterson.” Dwight was starstruck. Edmund was embarrassed by Dwight’s behavior. He could not believe that Dwight was a member of the Viper’s Den. Nevertheless, Dwight seemed genuine in expressing his thrill. Edmund became curious about him. He turned around to look at Kaze, who was the polar opposite of Dwight. Kaze stood there, holding his ground. He stood up to greet Edmund and nothing else. He appeared to be refined, unlike Dwight, who was brash. Dwight had no idea that his behavior had upset Edmund. Edmund looked at Dwight in disdain. However, Dwight was a member of the Viper’s Den. It was best for Edmund to keep his comments to himself. Without a word, Edmund stared at the pair. Ryan stepped in to smooth things over. “What are you doing? We have a guest here.
Since Kaze would not change these people’s minds, he was better off doing what he wanted to do. “This vase must be valuable. I got to give it to Mr. Witterson. A display in the living room is worth so much.” Dwight had never seen so much luxury in one room. He had been to the museum, but the displays were nothing like he had ever seen before. The rich had the means to splurge. “Do you think this is pure gold?” Dwight turned to a gold statue. The design was to die for. The purity of color made it hard to doubt its authenticity. “I’m not too sure, but I guess most of the ornaments here are real.”Kaze watched as Dwight gasped in awe. Nevertheless, his behavior would clear any suspicion on Kaze. It could be a good thing. “I knew Mr. Witterson was rich. His businesses are doing well. “But I didn’t expect this sort of lifestyle. The gold must be worth a million dollars. “If I were this wealthy, I would not spend it on decoration.” Dwight rambled on, his eyes stuck t
“I’m not familiar with the area. We’ll have to look around,” Dwight said behind the wheel. He looked for restaurants while driving. It was early, and many restaurants were not open for business. They circled the block and finally uncovered a small breakfast bar. They ordered some food, filled their bellies, and got back into the car. “Mr. Witterson said that he wouldn’t meet you. Why does he want to see you now?” Dwight was curious. Something must have happened last night. Otherwise, Edmund would not suddenly grant an audience to Kaze. “I don’t know. I had some drinks last night, and now he probably made time.” Kaze felt better after breakfast. He did not think much of the situation. Things would carry on as planned regardless of what the Wittersons or the Siegfrieds had to say.This was exactly what Kaze hoped for. Dwight remained in the dark. He drove to the city’s most exclusive area for the rich. It was all greenery in this part of town. The road was wider, an
After a brief hesitation, Kaze followed Rosie. The room turned out to be Rosie’s. Though not a big room, it was crammed with all kinds of junk. The place looked cluttered. Rosie approached the vanity table and grabbed the comb to comb her hair. She turned to look at Kaze. “You said a lot of stuff last night. Do you remember any of it?” Rosie spoke like they had been friends for years. It was just small talk. “What did I say? I don’t really remember. You made a lovely drink, but man, it really kicked in.” Kaze put a cigarette to his lips, but he did not light it. Instead, he spotted a chair to sit down on. “Well, it’s pointless to talk about it if you can’t remember.” Rosie was pleased to hear that. At least, Kaze had no idea that she had gotten him drunk. “Don’t leave me hanging.” Kaze looked peeved. “Are you off the clock?” Kaze asked. “Yes. I work odd hours. It’s time for me to sleep now.” Rosie stared at Kaze. “I shouldn’t keep you from resting.”
“Can you give me something for the pain?” Clemont had a low tolerance for pain. Standing on the stairway, Morris heard his voice and sighed. Clemont could do no good in his eyes. “Keep an eye on him. He’s not allowed to leave the house for the time being.” Morris believed the incident was more than meets the eye. Yet, Clemont was tricked into going to Absolute Zero and starting shit. There was no telling whether the Wittersons or someone else was behind it. Morris let out a sigh and returned to the study. He sent the butler to the storage room to fetch a few valuable antiques. These items were collected years ago, and they cost a fortune. Morris’ intention was to be on good terms with the Wittersons. There was no need to be at war with them. He had to do it for the interest of the Viper’s Den and his family. Morris was all about looking at the bigger picture. Otherwise, he would not have put up with all the bullshit before. Edmund would not let him off the ho
“Are you trying to kill your son?” Clara intervened. “You’re ruining him by spoiling him. If you want things to continue as they were, you can kiss him goodbye forever,” Morris said. Clara was lost for words. She knew better, but she just could not stop herself. Clemont had her heart. Clara could not stand to see him hurt. She was distressed. However, she knew that Morris would not get over the matter without beating Clemont up. She had to step in. “Hit him!” Morris was too old to do anything laborious. However, the kid would not go anywhere in life without a good beating. Despite starting trouble, he sure was arrogant to admit that he was wrong. “I see the errors of my ways.” Clemont apologized in time to avoid the punishment. He managed to escape all repercussions by doing so. Plus, his mother would plead on his behalf. The whole thing would usually get brushed aside. Though it was more serious in this instance, Clemont still believed that Morris would not hur
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