All eyes were on Darius, including those of Felix, who was still searching for an escape route. Just as Felix glanced at the former, his pupils constricted in fear. He then watched as Darius held the checkbook with both hands, each pulling in the opposite direction until a loud rip rang through the air. Felix paled like a ghost just then. His gaze trembled as shredded pieces of checks rained onto the floor. Even the sound of the checks ripping disintegrated his heart into a million pieces. That was only natural since that was a custom checkbook from the bank. Still, one should note it was not willingly given to him by the bank; he had paid a massive price, sacrificing much of his wealth to obtain this singular checkbook.Felix’s fists balled when he recalled all the trouble he went through to have the checkbook made. His bloodshot eyes stared straight at Darius, taking in the latter’s calm smile.“There’s no use glaring at me like that. The only outcome you’ll achieve in doing that
From the corner of his eye, Darius caught Felix sighing in relief at Erin’s arrival. He raised a brow and shared the same suspicions Edward had earlier; his grandfather would not have selected a fool like Felix to serve by his side. Yet, that was what had happened, and Darius had no clue why. His doubts only multiplied in his gut when he saw Erin and Felix’s slight but significant interaction.“There’s no questioning it—Erin is 100 percent loyal to me. If so, what’s the problem here? Why does she seem to know Felix?” Darius thought while tapping his knuckles against the table. Seconds passed, but he still could not figure things out, so he spoke calmly. “Erin, take out one of my checkbooks—the one where each check is worth ten thousand dollars.”Erin’s eyes grew larger with shock, thinking, “Mr. Reid has never asked me to prepare that much money throughout the time I’ve served him!”Nevertheless, her startled look soon vanished as she snapped to her senses, reached into her pocket,
“He told me that you needed help but there weren’t many people in Almiron City that you could trust. Moreover, the Reid family hasn’t looked into the people in Almiron City for many years, which means that there’s no way to prove their loyalties still remained. However, one of them underwent and passed the test, so he could definitely be trusted—I’m referring to Felix. The man told me that Felix would appear before you at 1.00 am tonight and give you the help you needed.” Erin stopped here and glanced at Darius, trying to discern his feelings about this. Then, she cleared her throat and continued, “I didn’t think anything was wrong with that, so I agreed to it. Then, he told me that nobody knew you here and that he wanted to see how alert you were, so he decided to approach you as a stranger first. He needed my help for this, which is why he came to me.”She looked at him again, cautiously this time, wanting to read the emotions in his eyes. To her dismay, Darius had shut his eyes.
The words were on the tip of Erin’s tongue, but she held them back at the very last second. As she shut her mouth, she locked her thoughts into her heart. There was no concealing her reddened eyes, though. She could only lower her head and hurry away.Edward watched her with his arms crossed, eventually letting out a long sigh. He couldn’t deny that Erin had made a mistake this time, but he knew that it had nothing to do with her original intentions. If he were to look at this matter objectively, all he could say was that she was also a victim. So, just before she was out of his sight, he said loudly, “At the very least, I hope you don’t show up here while I’m around.”He saw her falter, but it only lasted a second before she was gone. As a martial artist, he still clearly heard her say, “Thank you.” Edward relaxed. He stood guard by the door, looking everywhere except inside the room because he could sense Darius’ eyes on him. There was something in Darius’ eyes that he couldn’t dis
Felix lay on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. He was positive that Darius was standing before him, and there was no way he could’ve physically touched the stool. His eyes suddenly bulged, and he scrambled backward, shouting, “You’re an enlightened martial artist!” His face turned ashen from his horror, and his voice became sharp and shrill. It was the complete opposite of his usual self, but this just showed that he knew what he was dealing with.Darius straightened up and leaned forward. “Do you still think we’d be good friends?”Edward laughed. It was funny to hear Darius saying that. At this moment, he suddenly recalled why he’d felt Erin’s pleas were so familiar—he’d heard another woman say the exact same thing to her earlier. In that instant, his pity for her lessened by half.His laughter attracted Darius’ attention, making him turn to glance at Edward. Darius said, “Put the checks away and make sure Erin’s safe.”Edward looked lost. He didn’t expect Darius to give h
Felix turned to look at the door as well. When he saw Maurice, his expression immediately morphed into one of joy and hope. He subconsciously opened his mouth but didn’t say a word when he heard Darius’ sneer. He couldn’t be sure that Maurice would save him because Maurice would never be able to accept the things he’d done. Moreover, he couldn’t even deny that he’d done them because of all the evidence Darius had. Darius could easily prove his guilt.Maurice still had a sliver of camaraderie for him because they used to be friends, but things between them had changed. He’d known very well how bad things had been for Maurice when he hit rock bottom, but he’d chosen to ignore this to continue living his cushy life.And when Maurice was being framed, he hadn’t helped him out despite having the evidence to prove his innocence because he didn’t want to lose his current lifestyle. If he’d helped Maurice, it would’ve upset the people backing him up, and he would definitely have to live in
When Darius saw that her eyes were red, he sighed and said, “Look, you don’t need to be too worried. You really moved me when you protected me on the plane.” His words made Kate stiffen.At the same time, the fear in Felix’s eyes disappeared. He stared at Darius, suddenly feeling like he’d stumbled upon something—Darius had to be faking his wealth! Wealthy people would never fly a commercial flight, so there was no way they’d meet new people on planes. So, if Darius and Kate had met on a plane, Darius had to be pretending to be a wealthy person. Felix’s gaze turned ferocious at this thought.Maurice saw this and frowned. After a few seconds, he walked toward Felix while Darius and Kate watched him. Felix’s attention was fully focused on Darius when he suddenly felt a shadow looming over him. He frowned and looked up to meet Maurice’s eyes, then said impatiently, “Maurice, seeing as we used to be friends, allow me to remind you of something—if your goal is to work for a wealthy man,
He seemed to feel like he made a lot of sense, and he nodded vigorously with his hands on his hips. “Yes, that has to be it. I have to say, you’re very smart—at least, you were smart enough to trick all the people that wanted to harm Darius. But I don’t understand why you’re doing this. Is it because of something ridiculous like him saving your life? Or is it because he’s grooming you for something?” Felix scrutinized Darius as he spoke, trying to get an answer from his expression.Darius saw his probing look and felt bored. He shrugged and said, “I couldn’t care less about the things you just said. Whether you believe it or not, I have nothing to do with any of this. There’s really no need for you to dig deep into these matters because those people who approached you won’t get an answer from you anymore.”Felix paled. He’d witnessed Darius’ attitude toward Austin and what had happened after that, and he didn’t think he’d be an exception to the rule. It was only at this point that h