Darius cast a side-eyed stare at a man in the crowd. He soon clenched his jaw upon realizing how young the latter seemed; Darius could tell the man was roughly 30, younger than Liam Chamberlain, who looked at least 45. Keeping that thought to himself, Darius entered the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch. “We should discuss the Chamberlain family’s attitude and how I expect you guys to treat me from now onward.”He leaned into the couch, crossed his legs, and placed his hands on the armrest. Pride and arrogance exuded from Darius, making all the Chamberlain family members frown. Even so, Darius did not seem fazed and continued to stare calmly at Liam, adding, “I don’t know whether you still have any say over the Chamberlain family.”Liam shrugged, not appearing bothered by the comment. Darius could tell Liam was pleased from how he sat next to Darius and poured himself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Liam parted his lips to speak. Darius remained patient this e
Darius turned to look at the door where Bridget stood and beckoned her over with a wave. She appeared beside him so swiftly that no one even saw her move. Darius smiled and looked at the elderly man, saying, “This gentleman tells me he’s kind and has never done anything to harm anyone; I’m surprised by him lying through his teeth.”Bridget smiled and looked at the elderly man as well, making him bristle. An ugly look crept onto his face, but he knew he couldn’t say anything in retort. Who knew whether Darius and Bridget would take his life? To the elderly man, the worst part about this was how he felt like Darius could see right through him whenever he laid his eyes on him—it made him feel utterly useless.He bit his lip while giving Darius a bitter look. He sensed the younger, 30-year-old man’s gaze on him, silently urging him to say something, but he also knew there was a high chance of him offending Darius if he were to utter a word. To make matters worse, he knew very well he co
Darius’ gaze turned laser-sharp at his words, and his face turned frosty as he got to his feet. He walked toward the 30-year-old man, who paled and trembled as Darius approached. He slapped his substitute on the shoulder, saying, “Why are you still standing there? As my substitute, you…” Before he could finish his sentence, Darius wrapped a hand around his neck, and he could no longer make a sound.All he could do was glare at Darius while kicking his legs in mid-air, trying to break free of Darius’ grip. He parted his lips and said with difficulty, “Do you know what you’re doing? I haven’t done anything wrong! What right do you have to treat me like this?”Darius frowned, looking impatient. “I thought I’d made myself clear—who are you, and where did you learn that insult from?”The 30-year-old man looked fearful at his words; he now knew what Darius’ issue was. He gulped and said, “If you let me go, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”Darius curled his lip and looked at the
The man looked at Darius. Though he knew it was impossible, he still prayed Darius would let him off the hook. To his surprise, his prayers were answered! Darius put his hands behind his back and looked at the man calmly. “I had no intention of taking your life, just as you had no intention of taking mine. Something about you surprises me—you have plenty of misdeeds, but none of them have resulted in deaths. Because of that, I will let you leave this place alive. As for your broken rib…take it as me teaching you a lesson.”Darius turned to reveal the door behind him. Then, he kicked the man and said, “The door’s over there—make yourself scarce now. From now on, you have nothing to do with the Chamberlain family.”The man’s eyes widened in shock. Though he had nothing to do with the Chamberlain family in the first place, he was still surprised that Darius was willing to let him go. He staggered to his feet, making sure not to aggravate his injury.Darius had indeed broken his rib, but
Darius looked at Liam, suddenly curious to know how he would handle this. To his surprise, Liam’s face turned frosty at the elderly man’s words. “My father’s treated you equally well—no, better than you’ve treated me—since you were a child, yet you had no qualms about harming him when you found you had something to gain from doing so. How do you have the nerve to demand I repay your kindness?”Darius raised a brow and exhaled. “Alright, I’m not interested in getting involved in your internal strife, and I want answers. If you can’t tell me where that man learned those words, at least let me know how he found you guys or anything you know about him.” He put his hands into his pockets and walked to the window. At the same time, his gaze swept around as he took in the Chamberlain family’s villa.For some reason, the elderly man couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Still, he gritted his teeth and said, “Darius, you have many questions. I must admit they make sense, but you’re wasting your time
“Now, however, it seems my kindness didn’t have the intended effect. If so, you should pay the price for wasting my mercy.” Darius looked at the elderly man with disdain.The elderly man returned his look with one of horror, not knowing what to say. “You know everything! How is that possible?”Darius smirked. “Of course. Why else would I have wasted so much time on you?” He reached for the elderly man as he spoke, making the elderly man’s knees go weak and fall to the floor. The elderly man’s lips trembled as he shut his eyes in despair. “You’re right—I do know more than I let on. However, I have to apologize because I can’t tell you anything. You may not believe this, but the Chamberlain woman I married isn’t my only wife. I have another secret wife.”Darius raised an eyebrow. He looked at the elderly man mockingly but didn’t say a word. On the other hand, Liam couldn’t accept this. He exclaimed, “How can you call her a secret wife? At most, she’s a mistress. Besides, how could you
Darius raised an eyebrow as he looked the old man in the eye. “You’re lying. All of the formidable black-robed people are dead.”The old man looked at him dazedly. However, when he spoke, his tone was agitated. “When did that happen?” He looked at Darius desperately, but it soon faded into doubt and suspicion. “You’d better be telling the truth, Darius Reid. Otherwise, there’ll be hell for you to pay. I know you grew up in squalor, so you might’ve picked up some bad habits. However, you should know that certain nifty tricks that seem to work like magic may not exactly give you the same results when used on a wealthy person.” He looked Darius in the eye as he spoke, trying to determine whether Darius was lying.Darius looked at him scornfully. “You people constantly use the environment I grew up in to attack me, but you’re the ones who end up dead.”The old man stared at him for a few moments before slowly chuckling. Then, the chuckles turned into a hysterical laugh. “Their deaths must
Liam didn't say anything else and followed Darius into the backyard, only stopping when they were at a deserted corner. His eyes widened as he pointed a trembling finger at the corner, saying, "This place looks completely different. It used to be covered in flowers, but it's bare now."Darius raised an eyebrow, then nodded and smiled. "Yes, you're right. While you were away, many people saw a lot of soil and earth being moved out of the Chamberlain family's villa, which means they've built a new secret chamber somewhere."Liam's breathing sped up. He couldn't believe his father and daughter had been locked up here all this while. How were they doing in there? Had they had a bite of food or a drop of water since his return to the villa?Darius patted him on the shoulder when he sensed his anxiety and guilt. "You don't need to be so nervous. I can sense things haven't been too bad for them there." As he spoke, he stepped forward and stomped on the ground, sending soil flying to reveal t