Mia felt a heavy downcast as she returned home from the Banquet. She had hoped to secure an alliance with the Young family but ended up damning her family to the Salernos wrath.Immediately she walked through the door of the living room, Melissa snapped, marching furiously towards her,“What on earth came over you and made you offend the Salerno family?!” Melissa snarled, her hands resting on her hips as she demanded an explanation.Mia’s eyes widened in shock as she stuttered. It had barely been thirty minutes since the incident happened. How did the news reach her family already?Suddenly her eyes narrowed as she spotted Yona in the background, and even without asking, knew she somehow had something to do with it.“What are we going to do now? Of all people to cross, you offended Manu Salerno. We’re all dead. What have you done Mia?” Melissa paced around frantically, occasionally darting her gaze towards Mia, who stood silently, not sure what to say or do at this time.Her only hope
Mia instantly sobered up the moment she heard Manu’s words. She froze in fear, afraid to move, and gulped heavily.‘He wants me to do what?!’ The words replayed in her head, terrifying her even more.But just then, Manu leaned away, turned around, and stood beside her.His expression suddenly darkened, “Since you and Liam decided to my family’s lineage by causing my boy to become infertile, you’re going to sleep with everyone in my gang. That’s going to be your punishment Miss Stevens, and it’s the only way we can be even. But as for your friend, there’s no negotiating what I’ll do to him. He’s a dead man to me.”At that time, Mia slowly realized that coming here alone was a mistake. She hoped that Manu would be civil and take the money, but now she could see just how wrong she was.However, she tried to maintain her composure, suddenly realizing the danger she was in, and knew she had to leave in a coordinated way. She picked up her phone and pressed it to her ear, pretending to be o
Although a bit shaken, Manu could not show his fear. He knew Jack Gunter’s presence here was going to pose a challenge, but he couldn’t just let Liam slip away after what he’d done to his Will.Clenching his fist, Manu stepped forward, meeting Jack’s intense stare with a sharp and piercing one,“I don’t know why you’re here Jack, but I’ll advise you to step away. This is not your business.”Jack broke his stare and quickly scanned the room, “It very much is. You see, Liam is one of my acquaintances and I’m not walking out of here without him.”Manu became frustrated, and sneered, “You think I’m afraid of you? This is my house! You’re in my jurisdiction.”He turned away with his hands in his pockets, and then suddenly stopped, “You don’t want a war with me Jack, you’re just an outsider. And if you do anything reckless here today, I will get Peter Nelson and we will retaliate with everything we have.”“I’m sure you’ve heard of their reputations. They’re after all heads of the three bigg
Liam remained frozen, watching as Mia walked away. He wanted to stop her and tell her that he was responsible for everything that happened here today but figured there was no point.Mia and her family had made it clear that he was not trusted, but still, he decided to stay behind and make sure Manu did not retaliate.He was familiar with men like them, and though Jack Gunter had shown up and prevented a bloodbath today, sooner or later, Manu would retaliate. With that flowing in his mind, Liam decided he had to make sure Manu didn’t get that chance.He turned and walked back towards the Salerno mansion, and as the guards saw him approach, they tried to block, but he effortlessly knocked them out, heading straight to find Manu.However, at this time, one of the guards had quickly tripped the alarm system, notifying the other estate securities and just as Liam walked into the grand hall of the mansion, he was quickly surrounded by more than a dozen guards.“Where’s your boss?” Liam ask
Laura’s eyes widened in shock when Liam spoke. How was she going to lead an entire gang and handle the affairs of the grand estate? She wondered, staring at Liam wordlessly. She had only wanted to get revenge for herself and her mother and never imagined she’d be running the empire of the man who wrecked her life.Suddenly, at that point, something else occurred to her. Who was this man, and how could he just appoint her to run Manu’s gang and empire?“Who are you?” She asked with curiosity. However, Liam ignored her and reached into his pocket, retrieved the personal phone he used to communicate with Jack, and handed it to her, “Call this number. He’ll handle everything for you.”“You’re going to have to be careful Laura, Manu might be dead, but you’re still at much risk.”Laura’s face twisted with worry, “What do you mean?” She asked dreadfully.Liam heaved a deep sigh, hesitating for a while. He did not know whether involving the girl in any of this seemed right, however, the mo
Liam knew that with Jack’s help, Laura would become the master of the Salerno family, which would expand his control over the underground mafia and mobs.As he was about to leave, Manu’s phone suddenly rang causing him to stop midstrife.He turned slowly towards the direction, his curiosity rising. Laura stepped closer to Manu’s body, searched his pockets for the phone, and brought it out. “Answer it,” Liam said.Hesitantly, Laura raised the phone to her ear, her hand trembling, and answered,“Manu, it’s Peter Carpi. I know we agreed to meet much later, but I’m running out of time and need that $5 million loan. The market is even more cruel than I anticipated.”Immediately, Luara placed the call on hold, unsure of what to say, and turned towards Liam, “It’s Peter Carpi.”As soon as Liam heard the name, his eyes narrowed in curiosity. He stepped closer to her with a stern expression causing Laura to become uncomfortable,“What does he want?”“$5 million,” Laura answered.Liam’s eyes
The man stepped forward boldly, staring intimidatingly at Lord David,“Keenan, I’m from the Salerno family.”As soon as those words fell, a shockwave hit the room.Melissa and Yona shifted their gazes between each other, filled with panic.They thought this situation with the Salernos was over, so why were the thugs yet?Liam arched his brow in confusion, slightly irritated. He believed he’d taken care of this Salerno business when he put Luara in charge of their empire and affairs, so why were these men disrupting the atmosphere and of their dinner?He reached his hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone and call Laura. With Jack’s help, by now she should have become the master of that family, and be able to handle all their affairs easily.However, just before he could, Lord’s David interrupted,“Why are you here?” He asked, still trying to keep a bold demeanor.Keenan smirked and snapped his fingers. Immediately, one of his men hurried towards him and handed him a paper.He rais
As Keenan announced that he no longer wanted the money, the Steven family started rejoicing and praising Victor who shamelessly accepted despite not knowing what was happening.Liam sneered, shaking his head in disbelief. This time he didn’t bother to convince them that he was the one that helped them. However, the joyous atmosphere quickly faded as Lord David announced, “We’ll pay it back.”The celebration instantly stopped as those words fell and everyone shifted their gaze to him, frozen with shock and confusion.“We are an upright and esteemed family, if we owe anybody money, we are going to pay it back.” He added, glanced at Carl with a softer gaze.Even when he still condemned Carl for acting so erratically without letting anyone in the family know, he could not accept that he got away with this without having to pay.Lord David believed that every action and decision made held a deep weight, and it did not sit right with his conscience that they would just walk away without b
“This Chinese blade is a rare antique that is said to have belonged to the great Emperor Zhao Ling. It is said that it is the sole item that brought him great wealth and success in his empire. It was stolen from the great Emperor during the Renaissance war and later found along the European Gulf where it was transported to the Louvre museum and became its home for another hundred years.But finally, this great collectible will soon belong to one of you in this room, so ladies and gentlemen, do not relent in your bidding. Since this is just the first item for the day, we’re going to start bidding at a price that should be chicken change to most of you.Do we have $15 million?” The announcer yelled.Before his words even fell, a man in a navy blue suit and dark hair raised his bid paddle,“$15 million,”The auctioneer chuckled lightly, “Alright, we’re off to an early start. Do I hear $15.5 million?”Another voice echoed sharply, “$15.5million.”A frown appeared on the man in the navy b
Since having overheard Liam’s conversation, Mia felt on edge around Liam. However, she refused to confront him, knowing he was just going to dismiss her concerns, and if Liam felt that she was coming on to him, it might make it more difficult to find out what she needed to do.Deep in thought, she turned and walked away from his room, still trying to process what she had heard when she spotted Victor and her brows instantly creased in anger.“What is he doing here?” Mia stormed angrily down the stairs.Victor was standing with Yona and Carl when they saw her hastily approaching them,“Mia!” He said excitedly. “Glad you could join us, I was just talking to your sister about how we can clean up this whole mess. Your family’s reputation has been tarnished, but there could be an opportunity to redeem it. There’s an-“Slap!Mia swung her arm fiercely, hitting Victor hard in the face.Yona gasped in horror, a deep frown immediately settling on her face, “What the hell’s wrong with you?!” S
Lord David remained quiet for a while, a deep frown settling on his fist. Peter had tried to remain casual, but he could still sense the threatening tone in the man’s voice and so calmly asked, “Did anyone in my family do anything to offend you, Mr Nelson?”Peter smirked and picked a flower from the garden, “That’s the thing about families isn’t it? They can be compared to this flower,” he started, plucking the petals off, “If one of these is infected, then the entire flower can become rotten, left to rot on the ground.” Lord David became more confused as he spoke. He feared Peter was talking about Carl.He knew that Peter Nelson had some partnerships with the Salernos even though he did not know the terms of their arrangement, but after settling the Salerno debt, he couldn’t fathom why the Nelsons would still have an issue with his family.He opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat. Peter quickly interjected again, this time, the calm look on his face had compl
After returning from Victor’s party, Mia was even more confused than before. Victor’s little stunt at the party had embarrassed her further, but still there was a trace of concern in the things he said. At this point, she did not know what to think. Being married to Liam was proving to be more and more difficult by the day.She got up from the bed that morning, headed for her morning walks, but as she stepped outside the front entrance, she saw a package. Shifting her gaze curiously, she could not help but wonder who it was for, but on a closer look, she found Liam’s name on the package and her curiosity grew even more.Slowly, she reached for it, her heart pounding in her chest. She carried the box and hastily returned to her room. For a long while, she stared at the box, not knowing if to open it or not. A part of her felt that whatever was inside that box was the clue she had been looking for, something that could reveal a piece of Liam’s past, but another part of her hesitated,
Mia remained frozen as the thought gnawed at her, causing her stomach to churn in dread.At that time she spots Liam and filled with anger, she turns and starts approaching him, but just then, the microphone echoes loudly interrupting.The MC announces that the party is about to begin and calls Victor to the stage.As Victor took the stage, a warm smile stretched his lips as he stared directly at Mia, making her uneasy.He then began, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here tonight. My family just secured a new position in the Chamber of Commerce and we are very excited about this opportunity. It just means that we’ll be able to take better care of the people around us and support the growth and progress of this city.”The crowd erupted in loud cheer, but Victor waved his hand, silencing them. He took a sip of his drink and continued, “Now, I understand that there are some people, some not too far away from us who might not be able to achieve this kind of feat, but it is not t
The Stevens became even more skeptical after Liam’s card cleared. Even after Keenan had turned and walked away, they still couldn’t make any sense of it.Mia stood frozen in spot, shifting her gaze towards Liam in confusion.Meanwhile, Yona became more convinced that Lord David had secretly orchestrated the payment.“Your grandfather would not waste $100 million just to cover that loser. Something else must be going on.” Melissa persisted.“Then how would you explain what just happened? Do you really believe that that bumpkin could have a $100 million?” Yona interjected, expressing doubt.However, before anyone could say something, she quickly added, “I think there’s only one way to figure this out.”Carl leaned in curiously upon hearing this, eager to unravel Liam’s secrets. He could not stand the fact that the bumpkin loser that he’d looked down on and belittled this entire time could be someone greater than him.“I think we should hire a private investigator,” Yona whispered. “I ha
The tension in the hall became unbearable after Liam spoke. Lord David hesitated for a while, dreading what might happen if the card did not clear the payment.Mia shook her head in frustration. Just when she thought Liam had refrained from boasting, here he was, bragging about having a way out again.“Do you think this is some kind of joke?!” She snapped, her voice sharp and piercing.“You are a part of this family now and whatever happens to us affects you as well. So stop pretending you’ve got everything figured out and let us figure a way out of this.” Liam shifted his gaze towards her and was filled with disappointment. He didn’t care if everyone else refused to believe him, but Mia? He only wanted her confidence, but yet again he couldn’t even get that.“Use the card.” He repeated firmly, meeting Mia’s annoyed look with an intent gaze.Seeing the determined look on his face, Lord David reached into his pocket and brought out the card, his hand trembling. At that point, his mind
As Keenan announced that he no longer wanted the money, the Steven family started rejoicing and praising Victor who shamelessly accepted despite not knowing what was happening.Liam sneered, shaking his head in disbelief. This time he didn’t bother to convince them that he was the one that helped them. However, the joyous atmosphere quickly faded as Lord David announced, “We’ll pay it back.”The celebration instantly stopped as those words fell and everyone shifted their gaze to him, frozen with shock and confusion.“We are an upright and esteemed family, if we owe anybody money, we are going to pay it back.” He added, glanced at Carl with a softer gaze.Even when he still condemned Carl for acting so erratically without letting anyone in the family know, he could not accept that he got away with this without having to pay.Lord David believed that every action and decision made held a deep weight, and it did not sit right with his conscience that they would just walk away without b
The man stepped forward boldly, staring intimidatingly at Lord David,“Keenan, I’m from the Salerno family.”As soon as those words fell, a shockwave hit the room.Melissa and Yona shifted their gazes between each other, filled with panic.They thought this situation with the Salernos was over, so why were the thugs yet?Liam arched his brow in confusion, slightly irritated. He believed he’d taken care of this Salerno business when he put Luara in charge of their empire and affairs, so why were these men disrupting the atmosphere and of their dinner?He reached his hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone and call Laura. With Jack’s help, by now she should have become the master of that family, and be able to handle all their affairs easily.However, just before he could, Lord’s David interrupted,“Why are you here?” He asked, still trying to keep a bold demeanor.Keenan smirked and snapped his fingers. Immediately, one of his men hurried towards him and handed him a paper.He rais