"Even if your family's on the wealthy side, you shouldn't have abducted my daughter. If she's done something to offend you, you should've had your elders come to me to resolve this," said Bennett irritably. Darius crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. This only angered Bennett more. He took a deep breath, his voice even more severe than before as he growled, "I'll give you one last chance. Release my daughter right now; I can pretend none of this ever happened. If you don't … Well, I'm sure you're aware of the Evans family's prominence and power in Ashweir City!" His eyes gleamed menacingly. "You should know I'm not the type to joke. I'm more than capable of getting rid of a brat like you."Darius shrugged, looking unruffled by his threat. "I know you're not joking, of course. I'd be blind to miss your true emotions—you have zero ability to conceal them. Still, I find it funny that you're bragging to me about how powerfu
"I guarantee it's the right decision," Darius said with a smile. "I suppose you've already heard about what happened between your daughter and me. After all, it happened in broad daylight and with so many spectators—it's easy enough for you to find out what happened."Bennett shut his eyes and sighed, balling his hands into fists. He said tiredly, "Yes, I'm aware of everything that happened." He felt exhausted at the thought of everything his daughter had said and done, so he didn't argue with Darius over that. "What exactly do you want? Just cut to the chase instead of wasting time pulling these unnecessary tricks."Darius laughed and clapped his hands, giving Bennett an approving look. The atmosphere was more relaxed than before, yet also odd. Darius crossed his arms and said, "It's simple. If you weren't involved in this, with your daughter's intelligence, I doubt she would've been able to devise such an elaborate plan against me. I don't care whether someone was guiding her or whe
"Now, I think we can restart this negotiation on the compensation. That kick I just gave you tired me out, so you'll need to give me an extra million as compensation," Darius said cheerily.Bennett returned to his senses when he heard the exorbitant amount. His eyes widened in disbelief as he rasped, "You're crossing the line! There's no way I'll give you that much money!" He trembled due to a mixture of anger and fear.Darius raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You're yelling really loudly, but what's that gonna do?" He shrugged and put his hands behind his back.Bennett subconsciously gulped in fear, wondering how he could possibly be afraid of such a young man. He scrambled backward, still on his back. Darius calmly stepped forward to place a foot on his knee. Although he looked calm, Bennett still sensed the danger that lurked underneath.He shook his head vigorously and stuttered, "I d-don't know anything! Nothing's happened!" His heart raced; he could hear his blood rushing.
Darius said, "I thought you'd be terrified or something after hearing me say that, but you seem fine. Let me see—your eyes are darting around everywhere. Should I guess what's going through your mind?" He squatted beside Bennett and smiled coldly. "You don't look too happy. Based on my experience, you're probably trying to figure out who I am.It scared the hell out of Bennett. He looked at Darius and gulped, not understanding how Darius could tell what he'd been thinking earlier when he couldn't see his face. Fear washed over him when he met Darius' eyes; he regretted it almost instantly. However, Darius looked like he hadn't even noticed this. He stood up, stuck his hands in his pockets, and looked down at Bennett contemptuously. Bennett knew this meant Darius wanted to communicate with him—perhaps "communicate" was too mild a word. Deep down, Bennett knew Darius was giving him a chance to explain himself. He looked away. Before this, he thought Darius was mature and forward-thinki
Darius' actions made him seem like a jerk. A barrage of thoughts flashed through Bennett's mind, but he couldn't put any of them into words. He shuddered and looked up at Darius. "No, no. I'll do it myself.Darius raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "No, I don't think you're the right guy for the job. It's better than I handle this." He put his hands behind his back and smiled. "I gave you more than enough time to show me your results, but they're obviously not up to par. I can't guarantee whether you'll continue wasting my time if I give you another chance, so after taking everything into consideration, I've concluded that it's better for me to handle this alone." He pulled his phone out to check Erin's latest email to him.After reading the email, Darius clucked his tongue and said, "Your salary's much higher than I expected. It just so happens that you own a business in an industry that I really need, so you should be proud that you have something useful to me." He put his phon
Darius looked at Bennett disdainfully while Bennett raised his head to look at Darius. As their gazes met, Bennett felt himself subconsciously tremble—once again, he felt like he was being sucked into a whirlpool. He'd never met anyone with such a gaze before; it made him feel like he was about to suffocate. Bennett averted his gaze and gasped for breath. A few seconds later, he forced out through gritted teeth, "We can work together; I'll bear the costs and give you all the profits, but I can't give the company to you."Darius raised an eyebrow and sighed. "I thought I'd made it clear that your film company is all I want. If you disagree, that means this negotiation has failed."They were so busy negotiating that none of them realized how stunned Iago was. Last night, he'd prepared for this moment by bugging the living room so he could hear everything that went on there. He didn't know how to feel—he knew his father didn't like him, but he didn't expect Bennett to be this biased. L
"Talk about me and Ursula, I mean." Iago shut his eyes as he spoke, looking pained.Bridget sighed and said comfortingly, "You don't need to put yourself under so much pressure. No matter what, there's no changing the fact that there's bad blood between Mr. Reid and Bennett. So, if you're against your father, that automatically makes you Mr. Reid's friend." Then, she turned to look out the window with a smile. She was in a good mood because she could sense that more and more people were gathering around Darius, which meant he was becoming increasingly influential. Bridget turned back to gaze at Iago gently. No matter what he was like or the circumstances under which he'd joined their side, she believed he would become Darius' loyal follower one day. Iago didn't know what Bridget was thinking, but he could feel his heart melting at the sight of her smile. His heart raced, and he returned her smile.The two people downstairs didn't know about the beautiful misunderstanding that had blo
Bennett looked horrified. "You managed to dig up so much information in such a short time? Don't tell me you've been out to get us right from the start!"Darius raised an eyebrow, looking scornful. "What does it matter? What are you gonna do to me?" He crossed his arms and leaned back.Bennett took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. "I speak nothing but the truth." He placed a hand over his heart. "I swear on my life I'm not lying. The film company's shares only look like they belong to me."Darius sighed. "Well, tell me what's going on, then."Bennett lowered his hand and looked at Darius seriously. "The film company used to belong to my ex-wife, Iago's mother." Fire burned in his eyes as he snarled, "When she sensed she was about to die, she had a will done. It clearly stipulated that the shares would be under my name, but I wasn't allowed to sell them. In fact, only ten percent of the dividends go to me—the remainder goes to her son!" His nostrils flared, and he panted wit