Stephen knew Darius was out to get him and he was in danger, but he couldn't afford to offend Darius no matter how badly he wanted to.Darius sighed. "I'm surprised you've remained silent for so long, Stephen."Stephen narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. Darius obviously wanted to goad him into talking so he'd slip up. That way, Darius could use it against him. Stephen's brows furrowed as he thought about this, then said, "I think we're at an impassé."At this moment, Darius' phone rang, making him raise an eyebrow. Instead of checking his phone, he swept a gaze at his surroundings. Stephen obviously didn't intend to say anything else, though. Darius smirked and lowered his head. "Alright, then. I know where you stand now. Since there's nothing else to discuss, I don't have to stand on ceremony anymore." He was currently in a hall of sorts, and there were three paths ahead of him—all shrouded in darkness. He couldn't see where they led, but his smile grew as he strode toward one o
"Besides, the people in your country who know anything about this are few and far between." Teivel narrowed his eyes. Darius took a deep breath. "I think I know what you mean." He was the only person who could see and hear Teivel, so in Stephen's eyes, Darius was standing in the darkness and talking to himself. Stephen frowned. Was there something wrong with Darius? If so, there was no way he could possibly be appointed as the Reid family's heir. He glanced at the surveillance footage and smiled as an idea formed in his mind. Darius wasn't aware of this. He proceeded deeper into the darkness, eventually coming to a point where the path abruptly ended to reveal a gaping hole at least thirty feet deep. Wooden sticks rose from the bottom of the hole to provide footholds that were barely wide enough for him to step on, and he knew he would plummet to his death if he were to miss any of them. He sighed and stepped forward. Behind the camera, Stephen slammed a hand on the table, shooti
The door split cleanly into half, revealing the surveillance room to Darius' eyes. When he saw Pearl, who was still unconscious, he frowned. The temperature around him started to drop, making Stephen feel like he would freeze over if he were to look at Darius any longer. His eyes widened fearfully, finding it hard to believe a human could emit such an icy aura. He forced out a smile and said, "I truly didn't expect to meet you under such circumstances, Darius."Darius scoffed. "Is that so? Why does the look on your face tell me that you wish we never had to meet?"Stephen's expression turned thunderous. He didn't expect Darius to cut to the chase—what happened to playing nice on the first meeting? His blood was boiling, but he knew he couldn't let Darius see through him. He smiled as sincerely as possible and said, "That's a great joke, Darius. Why on earth would you think that? I would never think that!""Maybe it's cause I can see right through you." Darius put his hands behind his
"I thought I'd made myself clear." Darius approached Stephen, making him tremor in his expensive shoes. He darted toward Pearl without hesitation and dragged her toward him so roughly that the chair tipped over, making Pearl fall onto her side, still bound to the chair. Stephen didn't let go, though. He continued dragging the chair with him as he backed away, which in turn resulted in Pearl's skin scraping against the ground. Even in her unconscious state, the pain made her wince.Darius frowned at this and clenched his fists. "That's enough, Stephen! You'll only make me angrier if you harm even another hair on Pearl's head, and whatever you're doing now is useless!"Stephen stopped and looked at Darius fearfully. This was soon replaced by a crazed look, though. He forced out through gritted teeth, "Don't push me, Darius! I swear that if you do anything to me, this woman won't end up well either!" Stephen's chest heaved as he watched Darius nervously, waiting for an answer.To his sur
Stephen shoved Pearl away, shot to his feet, and grabbed a blade on the table behind him. He held it aloft and lunged at Darius, wanting to stab him. Unfortunately for him, things didn't go as planned. Darius slowly raised an arm, which made Stephen let out a disparaging laugh. "Do you think you can…" Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself lying on the ground. He stared skyward in disbelief. Had Darius actually flipped him onto his back? He pointed at Darius with a trembling finger. "You…what are you…"Darius crossed his arms and looked at him mockingly. "I tried to be patient, but it seems you don't need it." He stepped forward and placed a foot on Stephen's chest. "I've already made myself clear—the only thing that will keep you alive is you telling me everything you know. Of course, you can be stubborn and tell me to investigate the matter myself. If so, don't complain about not being a fan of my methods when I get to the bottom of this."Stephen's eyes were filled
"You two are equally kind; this fight must've started because of a misunderstanding, or someone sowed discord between you two. If you come to me right now, I promise I can act as if none of this ever happened." The man's tone was firm, but his eyes were filled with venom.Darius sat on the chair before the surveillance monitors and said lazily, "You're Stephen's father, right? That makes you my uncle. Well, dearest uncle, you should consider hiding your venomous expression before speaking. How do you expect me to believe you were telling the truth?" He sighed. "Anyway, your words make no sense to me, and you aren't emotionally stable. If you insist on having a heart-to-heart with me now, I can't guarantee your son's safety. Don't you think it's just like what happened to my father?"Darius watched as an ugly look crept onto the man's face, and he smiled. "The fact that you're feeling fearful now makes me want to laugh. There were countless times in the past when you should've been fe
##When Pearl opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Darius' feet, and she was looking at them at an odd angle. She stared at them dazedly and cried, "Darius, where are you?" Darius couldn't deny his heart twinged when she cried for him. He squatted down to look into her eyes and reached out to untie her. When he was almost done, he used one hand to lift her upright while the other continued to undo the ropes. Before Pearl passed out again, she seemed to see a trace of concern in his eyes. When Stephen made her chair tip over earlier, she'd landed on her head and was probably concussed.Darius frowned and placed a palm on her head, channeling his life force toward her. Her wounds healed rapidly, making him sigh in relief. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes. When she saw Darius squatting before her, she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't want to do this to someone who saved me, but I can't help it. I regained consciousness long ago and saw that you didn't bother helping me up
"If you bear any grudge against him for causing their deaths or are resentful that their deaths led to you going missing and leading a bad life, I don't think there's any way to resolve that." Byron smiled consolingly.However, as an enlightened martial artist, Darius could sense he didn't mean a single word. In fact, Byron seemed to be nervous—his heart was racing. He watched Darius carefully, and Darius felt his eyes would probably turn red if he were any angrier. And so, Darius decided to make him mad. He straightened up and walked toward Stephen, who had been lying on the ground for a long time. He hadn't budged or said anything even upon Byron's arrival, as if he knew his father couldn't save him. He was right, of course—Darius wouldn't let him off the hook.Darius ignored Stephen's trembling, placed a foot on his shoulder, and said frostily, "I think I've been patient enough up to this point." He smiled at Byron.Stephen shuddered violently and turned to look at Byron tearfully