Chapter 7

At the Quinton Pharmaceuticals branch office, Yvette rushed into the office, dragging Noel along with her.

"I seriously don't know what Grandpa was thinking," she said, shooting him a frustrated look.

"It's already a mess, and now you show up to make things worse!"

Noel had passed up a perfectly good department manager position to work at her struggling branch. And to make things crazier, Dylan had actually agreed to it.

"Honey, I'm not here to cause trouble," Noel said, grinning. "It's just ten million dollars. I'll get it back for you, no problem."

Yvette rolled her eyes at his confidence.

"Don't call me that when no one's around. And listen, Skyline Corp is way more complicated than you think. You're not allowed to go chasing after that money on your own."

One of their salespeople was still in the hospital because of them. Yvette definitely didn't want Noel rushing off to Skyline Corp just to get himself hurt.

Then there was a knock at the door, and a woman in professional attire hurried in. It was Yvette's assistant, Jasmine Smith.

"Ms. Quinton, there's an urgent message from headquarters. They're demanding we submit this quarter's branch profit report immediately."

"What?"

Yvette's brow furrowed.

"It's not even the end of the month. Why would they suddenly want the profit report now?"

She wasn't stupid. She immediately suspected it was another scheme from Lulu's side of the family. After all, Jacob was the general manager of Quinton Pharmaceuticals. He was the only one with that kind of authority.

Originally, this wouldn't have been a big deal. But with ten million still unpaid to the branch, submitting this profit report would definitely disappoint headquarters. Furthermore, Yvette could even face punishment because of it.

She knew her uncle's family had been trying to push her out of the branch for a while now. This time, it looked like they might actually succeed.

"What should we do?" Jasmine asked, looking to Yvette for direction.

"I'll figure something out," Yvette said with a sigh. "For now, send someone to the hospital to take care of our injured employee."

Just as Jasmine was about to leave, Yvette suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, are there any open positions in the company?"

"Open positions?" Jasmine paused and thought for a moment.

"There aren't any openings in the branch right now, except the security department, which needs a new head of security. The pay's three thousand a month."

"Head of security?" Yvette blinked in surprise.

"Alright, you can go now." She waved Jasmine off, then turned to Noel with a smirk.

"Did you hear that? If you want, you still have time to go back and tell Grandpa you changed your mind."

Yvette figured there was no way Noel would accept a job as head of security. If he were willing to ask Dylan, he could probably snag a better position at headquarters.

Noel met Yvette's teasing look and slammed his hand on the table. "No big deal. I'll take the head of security job."

"You're really not going to headquarters?"

Yvette's eyes went wide in surprise. Passing up a department manager position at headquarters to be the head of security? What was this guy thinking? Was it really because of her?

She couldn't help but say coldly, "It's pointless. What happened that night was just a misunderstanding. I don't need you to make it up to me. Besides, we're just married on paper. When the time comes, we're getting a divorce. Even if you do all this, I'm not going to fall for you."

Even though her dislike for Noel had lessened a bit, she wanted to make it clear that there was no future for them.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I owe Grandpa a debt, and I'm only helping you because you're his granddaughter."

With that, Noel turned and headed for the door.

Watching his retreating back, Yvette felt a strange pang of loss she wasn't expecting.

Just as he was halfway out the door, Noel suddenly turned back and shot Yvette a grin. "And of course, I'll take care of you. You're my woman, after all."

"What?!"

Yvette's face flushed bright red. She wanted nothing more than to throw the papers in her hand right at his face.

"Get out of here!"

Before she could really lose her temper, Noel slipped out of the office like a flash.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Once Noel was gone, Yvette finally took a big sip of her coffee to calm down.

"Wait a minute. Did he just say he's going to help me? Is he really planning to go to Skyline Corp and collect that debt?"

-

Not long after, Noel stepped out of the building and pulled out his phone.

"Tyler, I want all the info on Skyline Corp within ten minutes."

He dropped the command and hung up.

-

Meanwhile, somewhere inside an ultra-luxurious skyscraper in Hibiscus City, Tyler frowned after he had sent the files on Skyline Corp to Noel.

"Skyline Corp is just a property management company, and the gang behind it is nothing worth mentioning. What's Lord Campbell planning? Did someone cross him?"

Tyler's expression flickered, unable to sit still. No one knew Noel's temperament better than he did.

If someone crossed the Arcane Guild's heir, forget a small-time gang like the Skyline Syndicate—even a major conglomerate like the Lewis Group could be wiped out overnight!

"Get the car ready. I'm going there myself."

He didn't want to waste any time. This was his turf, after all. If someone crossed his lord here, it would be bad news for him too.

At the same time, a taxi pulled up slowly in front of Skyline Corp's gates.

The cab driver glanced back at Noel with a warning. "Kid, Skyline Corp isn't a place you want to mess with. I suggest you turn around and get out of here."

Skyline Corp was notorious. Beneath the surface, it was nothing more than a gangster den disguised as a property firm. The locals resented them but kept their heads down. No one had the guts to pick a fight with the Skyline Syndicate.

"It's fine, sir," Noel said with a smile to the cab driver. "I'm a civilized guy. I only throw punches when absolutely necessary."

He tossed the driver a ten-dollar bill and stepped out of the car.

The driver sighed, shaking his head. "Some people just won't listen."

He hit the gas and sped off.

Right outside the gates of Skyline Corp, two security guards in uniforms blocked Noel's path.

"Stop right there!" one barked. "What are you doing here? You know this is Skyline Syndicate territory, right?"

"I'm here to collect a debt."

"A debt?"

At that, the guards exchanged looks and burst out laughing.

"We just beat up some punk this morning who didn't know his place. Didn't expect another fool to come knocking so soon."

"Who the hell do you think you are? Coming to Skyline Corp to collect money?"

They sneered at Noel, eyes full of contempt.

"I'm Noel Campbell, the new head of security at Quinton Pharmaceutical's branch office," he said calmly, a harmless smile on his face.

"Tell your boss David Gold that if he doesn't show up in ten minutes, I'll make sure Skyline Corp shuts down for good."

Noel looked perfectly serious as he spoke, though that harmless smile of his made it hard to tell what he was really thinking.

He was Arcane Guild's heir, not some street thug. Of course he had to lead with dignity, not threats and violence.

"You're just a lowly security guard, and you dare call our boss by name?"

"You're really asking for it, kid."

The guards' faces darkened with anger.

One of them spoke into his radio. Suddenly, a dozen more uniformed thugs poured out from behind the gate.

At the front of the group was a bald guy with tattoos covering both arms. Evan Mercer glared at Noel like he wanted to tear him apart.

"So you're the Quinton family's live-in son-in-law?"

Hearing that, Noel immediately knew what was going on. Lulu must've been scheming behind the scenes, and probably tipped them off that he was coming to collect.

"You little punk, you messed with the wrong people. Our boss gave the word. He said it's time someone taught you a lesson, on behalf of a friend."

With a wave of his hand, Evan sent a dozen thugs charging at Noel like rabid dogs.

"Why can't people just talk it out?" Noel sighed quietly to himself.

He hoped to resolve things with words instead of fists, but these guys weren't giving him a chance.

Bang!

After smoothly sidestepping the punch, Noel kicked out his leg.

The thug in front of him was sent flying through the air.

Before anyone could react, Noel moved. He tore through the crowd easily, unleashing absolute mayhem!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Noel unleashed punch after punch, moving so fast he left afterimages in his wake. No one could escape his attacks, and it all happened in the blink of an eye.

In no time, all the thugs were lying on the ground and groaning in pain.

The sight left Evan frozen in place. Instinctively, he turned to run. But before he could even take a step, Noel was already standing right in front of him.

Smack!

A loud slap sent Evan crashing to the ground.

"You little punk! If you lay a finger on me, the Skyline Syndicate won't let you off."

"Won't let me off?" Noel smiled slightly. "All right, I'm curious to see what David is really made of."

Noel lifted his foot and slammed it down hard.

Crack!

A sickening sound of bones breaking came from Evan's right arm.

Evan shuddered violently and let out a painful scream. "Ahh!"

-

Meanwhile, David was in the middle of drinking heavily with his crew inside the Skyline Corp lobby.

A security guard, face bruised and swollen, stumbled into the room. "Boss, there's trouble! Someone's tearing the place up!"

"What's all the ruckus about? You're ruining my mood!"

David was lounging in his chair with an arm around a scantily dressed woman, and he scowled at the interruption.

"Spit it out. How many of them are there? How bold of them to cause trouble on my turf!"

David flashed the two big gold teeth in his mouth and stared coldly at the guard.

"Just one guy, boss."

"One guy?"

David's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Who the hell does this guy think he is, coming here alone to stir up trouble?"

The guard shook as he replied, "He said his name's Noel. He's the head of security at Quinton Pharmaceuticals' branch office—"

"Head of security?!"