It was almost sundown in the city, Richard had numerous thoughts in his head, causing him to space out for a moment.Today was his wife's birthday and thinking back, it'd been almost 3 years since they got married.Before then, he was the heir of the Smith family but after a terrible mistake that left him close to bankruptcy, he ended up entering a contract marriage with the Martinez family to save his company and ensure his family wouldn't have to pay for his mistakes.Unfortunately he was betrayed by his siblings and he ended up losing managerial rights of the company, leaving him penniless.Due to his… predicament, very few treated him with respect with most of his in-laws treating him with contempt and utter disdain.He could only let out a sigh as he recalled these memories.If only…. TapA hand grabbed his shoulders, jolting him from his thoughts.Taking a moment to regain his composure, he reached out to grab the hand, quickly identifying the owner. "Anna, are you done with the
Richard was in a whole lot of pain when he regained consciousness. His head throbbed painfully and his wrists seemed to be bound, with whatever was used rubbing harshly against his skin. He opened his eyes to find that he was at the edge of a cliff. Gritting his teeth, he called out. "Anyone there?" Surprisingly, a response was heard. "Shut your mouth." "Who's that?... Where am I?" "I said…" a man quickly emerged from the shrubbery close by and then… Wham "Shut your mouth hole." Richard sucked in cold air as he received a kick to his torso, his breath quickening as he realized what was happening. I've been kidnapped? What terrified him even more was that Anna was meant to be with him so if he was taken… "Where's Anna?" "Didn't you hear me the second time?" "Where is she?" "This…" "What's going on here?" A familiar voice was heard at that moment. Richard's expression brightened as he turned toward the origin. "Mirabel. Is that you?" Expecting a response, his joy receiv
Richard could barely believe his eyes as he stared at the amount on the screen.[Amount: 1,000,000,000]Even as the previous heir to the Smith family fortune, he knew his family weren't billionaires.Maybe multi-millionaires but this… this was beyond him.Snapping out of his reverie, he sought to find out if this was real.If the phone was showing him his account balance, but first… first he had to get out of this forest.He had no idea how he managed to survive but knowing the dangers that lurked caused him to quickly rise to his feet, dust up, and flee.It was the first time in more than 5 years since Richard felt like he was truly free.At a certain point, he began to laugh out loud until he finally could see a road ahead.He couldn't stop now and so continued, full speed ahead.Finally, he got to the street but apart from a few cars, the street was mostly abandoned.Taking some time to watch his breath, he hailed a car and managed to get a lift to the periphery of Intercity.***H
Richard had been insulted several times today and even more so in the past, so naturally what the guard said didn't offend him that much.Looking down at his clothes, he quickly realized that he was indeed quite dirty.If he saw himself, he'd think he were a tramp.Letting out a sigh, he decided to get some new clothes before coming back.Just as he turned to leave, the guard reached out and grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from taking another step.Frowning yet again, Richard turned to face the other party.Judging from the strength the guard applied, it was clear he wanted to hurt him, unfortunately, Richard was a trained athlete and his body was durable enough to withstand the force.He casually batted away the guard's arm before sizing him up. "Is there a problem?""You think you can just come here and go as you please after making a scene?... What do you think we are... Fools?... I bet you want to go round back to sneak into the premises.""What?" Richard was flabbergasted at
Silence reigned in the parking lot after Richard spoke, his voice echoing from the phone Roland was holding. Roland turned wide-eyed but just to ensure he heard correctly, he muttered. "Hello?" As expected, his voice echoed from the phone Richard was holding. Roland's lips quivered as he stuttered. "... Who are you?" "Your new owner, it would seem." Richard casually replied. "Impossible!" One of the guards that kept Richard under custody exploded as he tried to grab the black flip phone. "There's no way you are the owner, just what sort of prank are you…" Wham He didn't even get the chance to finish the rest of his sentence as he got slapped across the cheek by Roland. The guard spun and fell on his face, knocked out cold by the hot slap. Despite being a mature person, Richard felt quite satisfied seeing the guard unconscious, even more so, since the person that hit him was yet another person that disrespected him. "Shut your mouth!" Roland bellowed despite knowing that the
Maria blinked in confusion. "... Hide your identity?" Most rich men would want to take advantage of such situations to show off to the media but Richard wasn't planning on doing so. It got her intrigued and also curious. Meanwhile, only Richard understood why he said what he said. First of all, he hadn't understood the mechanics of the black phone properly to make himself known to the world just yet. For example, who was the one who called him to let him know that he had bought the shares of Serenity? What if it turned out to be a scam?... He would never be able to withstand the shame. So he had to be sure it was legit and till then, he had to keep a low profile. Another issue was his family… no, it was better to say the Smith Family. Alongside the Martinez family, he didn't want to show himself just yet. Those two families had colluded to kill him and he wasn't about to let them go just yet and his revenge wasn't going to be simple. Just thinking about how much he would sha
"You need me to find someone, sir?" Maria inquired, clearly confused by the sudden request.Richard nodded. "Yeah. A close friend of mine.""But sir, the company…""I don't need you to do it by yourself. Just use your contacts to find out if any of them has seen the person.""As you wish sir." Maria finally relented as she gave a curt bow.Then, she asked. "Do you have a picture of this person or maybe a name perhaps?"Richard paused, quickly realizing that he didn't have a photo of Anna.It was somewhat embarrassing considering she was supposed to be his best friend.He did have some on his cellphone but it didn't survive the fall from the cliff so that was gone."Sir?" Maria's voice jolted him from his thoughts.Rubbing his temple, Richard replied. "I don't have a picture, but her name is Anna Velazquez. Will it be difficult to find her without a photo?""I will look into it for the time being," Maria replied."That's good.""About the company, sir. We are currently carrying out the
"Uhmm…" Richard furrowed his brows, unsure of what to say since he didn't know how to cure the old man.But then, considering the system said he was being poisoned constantly, he guessed the reason no expert had cured him was because once they did, he'd just get poisoned again.If anything, he pitied the man for the amount of pain he had to go through though he was quite curious about the story behind this."Did you come and try your luck because of the competition my father put out?" The blond lady suddenly asked.Richard raised a brow. "Competition?"What was she talking about?... Richard couldn't help but wonder.Just then, the black phone in his hand vibrated, drawing his attention to it.He glanced at it to find that a message had entered.[The Dawson family, under the name of Lawrence Dawson, issued a competition that offers 10% of the company shares as well as an estate and a portion of their profits for the next 10 years.]Richard's eyes widened as he saw this, clearly astound