Cory's presence when he got to the door intrigued the group of men who were about to march into the parlor. He stopped at the doorstep, looking from one person to the other. There were five of the men. Cory shut his eyes for a while as he tried to suppress all the combustion of emotions rippling in his body. He needed to figure out what the situation was before deciding how to eventually react to it. "Who is this?" One of the men asked with a tone of mockery. Cory still didn't react, yet he was at the door, staring at them. "Are you deaf or something?! Our boss just asked you a question, and you would just stand there and say nothing?!" One of the men barked at Cory. Cory took a glance at the person who had barked at him. Then he slowly looked away at the person who was referred to as the boss. His eyes lingered on the boss for a while. Suddenly, a screen appeared right in front of Cory. [Ping! Odds Clearer loading.][Ping! Cuprit details loaded.]>> Donald Richie >> 42 years

Cory was quite stunned by the reaction of Elaine. He didn't know how to place it. He just kept staring, trying to figure out the possibility of the events. Elaine was all over Mara now. She was sobbing as she held on to the face of the blind girl. Cory stood aloof quite gobsmacked, still struggling to understand. He was waiting for them to have a breathing space so that he could finally get the question out, but there didn't seem to be a loophole at all. Elaine looked like someone who had been waiting for this moment all her life. "Where have you been? What happened to you? Are you alright? Who did this to you?" Elaine was running from one sequence of question to the other. She didn't seem like she cared about the response to the question. Instead, she was just curious and jumpy. From her reactions, it was obvious that she was having trouble with her emotions. Initially, Cory had wanted to take Mara to the penthouse and get her cleaned up. At this moment, he thought that this wou

Cory had been beaten almost to a pulp, yet he didn't retaliate. He could feel pain in every corner of his face. At one point, it felt like his eyes would fly out of his head. The pain scaled altitudes and became even more excruciating. A flying kick came out of nowhere and finally unbalanced him. He fell away, landing on his back. He almost crushed his head against the hard floor, but somehow, his instinct helped him evade the chaos. He was breathing heavily and was hardly able to catch his breath. His body was positioned towarsd the sky, and he could see the dark lining of clouds idling in the well-lit sky. He heard approaching footsteps headed in his direction. He didn't need to be told to know whom it was. Of course it was the old man! The old man who has been beating him all along. He had allowed all these beatings. He had allowed the old man to exhaust his skills and power on him. No matter how hard Cory thought about it, he didn't see himself lifting his hand against such an

Anna had just finished answering a call. She looked a little bit stunned as she let the phone slide down her ear. It was quite obvious she was passing thoughts around quickly in her head. Without uttering a word, she turned around and headed out of the exotically furnished room. She headed through the hallway and into the elevator. The elevator led to another hallway, which led to a very spacious living room. There were several art of marital artists hung in several corners of the living room. Anna did not stop in her tracks until she walked into a group of people. A couple of the board members of the Eagleville mall were present in the mansion, discussing the aftermath of Cory's ridiculous purchase. "Sorry to interrupt." Anna stopped in the midst of the group. All the men lifted their heads at once. None of them seemed to hold contempt against her anymore. Just a couple of hours ago, Cory had announced her as the manager of the mall in the presence of everyone. Wasn't it only ri

"Did he agree to keep us?" The voice over the speaker asked. "I'll fill you in on the details by tomorrow. For now, let everyone go home and rest." Lord Theo responded. He was still over the phone when he heard a car approaching. He turned away from the door of the penthouse that he had been staring at all along. The Maybach pulled over, and Anna climbed out. At first, when she climbed out, her facial expression held no details. But as soon as she saw her father, her reaction changed. She increased her pace, walking briskly to him. "Where is he? Where is Cory?" She asked, looking quite jumpy and worried. Lord Theo gazed at her for a few seconds. It would seem as though he was thinking about something quickly. He sighed and then walked past her. Anna didn't approve of his reaction, yet she didn't want to leave. She was staring at the door of the house as though she would walk there and knock. She changed her mind and decided to go after her father. One of the henchmen was stand