“I’m sure you’ve already witnessed firsthand how dangerous it is to be by my side. You can stay with me and face the danger, but Zack can’t. He’s just a normal employee of West Atlantics Int’l.”Edward frowned. He already knew what Darius was getting at, but he didn’t want to accept it. He turned to look at Zack and saw that he was still asleep. His frustration grew, and he reached out, wanting to shake Zack awake. Ultimately, the remnants of his rationality stopped him from doing so.Darius sensed the shift in his emotions, but he’d already guessed what Edward would do. He smiled and shook his head silently.Soon, they arrived at the hotel. There were about sixty yards between the hotel’s main entrance and its gates, and it was filled with people. Darius sighed. He didn’t even need to ask to know what had happened here, and he watched them grimly.When Edward saw the look on Darius’ face, he immediately knew what Darius wanted to do. So, he got out of the car and hurried to the oppo
“If that’s the case, I guarantee things won’t end well for you.”Elton’s eyes widened as he glared daggers at Darius. His patience was wearing thin, so he didn’t bother suppressing his rage anymore. He’d never even heard of Darius before, so he couldn’t be sure he was wealthy, regardless of how powerful he looked. To make himself sound braver, he boomed, “Enough of your nonsense, Darius Reid! We’ve welcomed you with kindness and respect to make you look good, but that doesn’t mean you can take us for granted!” His expression was one of pity, but his eyes were filled with venom.Darius chuckled lightly. “It looks like you came here under the guise of apologizing, but that’s not your true goal. You don’t even know where your problem lies.” His gaze turned frosty as it landed on Ansel, still pressed on the ground behind them. “I think you should let Ansel go before we proceed. Otherwise, I doubt I’ll be able to be civil to you.”Elton’s face darkened. “Say that again if you dare!” His
He looked Darius in the eye as he lifted his hand into the air and balled it into a fist. This seemed to be a signal for the bodyguards—they dashed toward Darius and encircled him. To Darius’ surprise, they didn’t do anything else. He watched them mockingly, but all they did was slowly move around him in a circle.“This is a dumb move, and it won’t do much damage.” Darius was giving them his honest advice, but Elton obviously didn’t appreciate it. He put his hands in his pockets and said proudly, “This just shows how short-sighted you…” He wanted to say something scathing, but the rest of his sentence was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. It made the bodyguards shudder, and they whipped their heads around to see what had happened. They’d trained together, and none of them had ever let out such an ear-piercing sound.Darius remained rooted to the spot, shaking his wrists as if he hadn’t done a thing. The bodyguards quickly returned to their senses and asked, “Did you do something to
He gnashed his teeth and snarled, “You’re useless!”The bodyguard’s cries disappeared abruptly, and he shut his eyes.Darius frowned. He didn’t like hearing these things, but the bodyguard didn’t seem to be too bothered by it. As he pondered this, Elton looked at him sharply. “It’s surprising that someone as wealthy as yourself is such a powerful martial artist. I have to say, this is my first time seeing someone like you. At the same time, you’re ignorant and naive enough to reveal the extent of your abilities. There’s no way I’ll allow you to leave this place alive.” As he spoke, he pulled a long, sharp knife out of his pocket.Darius shook his head. “You’re really dumb if you think you can harm me with that knife. Then again, this makes things look better for me. Maybe that knife will end up being useful to me.”Elton’s face was blotchy with rage, and he swiftly held the knife aloft. When the bodyguard on the ground saw this, he staggered to his feet and stumbled toward Darius. Elt
“I’m just surprised these things still sadden you. It shows that you still harbor hope for them.”Ansel still looked lost. He parted his lips, but no words came out. Then, he buried his face in his arms.Darius looked at the two bodyguards, who exchanged glances before looking behind him. Though Darius’ aura made them tremble, they didn’t loosen their grip on Ansel. Darius raised an eyebrow, starting to feel interested in these bodyguards. It also hadn’t escaped his notice that the bodyguard from earlier had chosen to stand alongside him when Elton wanted to make his move. Of course, it could also be because the bodyguard was afraid he’d harm Elton, but Darius couldn’t deny their actions made his heart race. He wanted to turn them into his subordinates. However, before doing so, he had to deal with Elton. And so, he narrowed his eyes at Elton.Elton gulped, looking at Darius fearfully. He could clearly sense Darius’ intention, and he was sure that if he didn’t do something to change
He raised his head and saw Darius standing there with his hands behind his back. He was staring into the distance through the window but immediately sensed Ansel’s movements. “You can be frank and say anything you want to.”Ansel smiled, but it only made one feel bitter and sorrowful. He shook his head. “No, I don’t have any thoughts or opinions over my father’s death.”Darius raised an eyebrow. He’d imagined countless reactions Ansel would’ve had toward Elton’s death, but this wasn’t one of them. He bit his lip. After a moment of silence, he said, “If you need time to think things over and process the situation, I can leave. Once you’ve settled down, you can come and look for me. Whether in Ashweir City or Almiron City, my door will always open for you.”Ansel looked at Darius and tried his best to smile, but it looked terrible. Moreover, it only made one feel like something heavy was weighing their heart down. So, Darius averted his gaze. He opened his mouth to say something comfor
Darius held out a hand. “Welcome to the team. From today onward, you’ll be members of my workforce. We’ll be spending a lot of time together from now on.” He didn’t expect to find himself some new subordinates at such a critical time, and ones that were proficient in their respective fields too. This was a much better outcome than he’d expected.He put his hands in his pockets, straightened up, and looked at Ansel. Ansel was still on his knees beside Elton’s body, but he wasn’t crying anymore. His face was devoid of emotion, and he knelt there without moving. Darius quickly averted his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. He had nothing to say about the whole matter.Then, he turned toward one of the sofas and sat down, crossing his legs at the knees. “Donald, I’ve already told you everything I know. What do you have to say?” When he didn’t receive an answer, he sighed and looked at Donald. “Just spit it out.”Donald nodded while twisting his hands. Darius looked so calm that he couldn’t
Ansel fell silent here. He didn’t know what else to say.After a few seconds of silence, the person on the other end of the line burst into laughter. Ansel could sense the deep mockery in it. “Oh, my God! You’re hilarious! He raised me because of my mother—as his wife’s son, he had a duty to do so.” Bart sounded extremely proud of himself.Ansel shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths before saying, “You’re the ridiculous one. He wasn’t obligated to raise you. Your biological father’s the one who’s duty-bound to do so. He only treated you like his own because he loved your mother, and he’d be heartbroken to hear you say these things.” He trembled with rage.It hadn’t even been half an hour since Elton’s death, yet Bart was already calling him about this. How did he even know about this? “Look, I just want to know why you’re calling.” He didn’t want to say any more than necessary to his stepbrother because it was a waste of time.“I’m sure you already know the answer to that—I want h