Carol's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, and she shifted comfortably in her seat. "No. It's not exactly good news," she said, biting her lip. "It's about Haley B… She has declined the thirty million dollar offer to endorse us."Damien rolled his eyes. "That much was expected. Haley B is an international superstar with millions of fans. Thirty million dollars means nothing to her. Moreover, she is arrogant and elitist and doesn't listen to anybody but herself." Damien rose from his seat, eager to leave the meeting. "This meeting was pointless…"Carol pursed her lips. "Haley B told me she will sign with us if a condition is fulfilled."The young man stopped in his tracks. "What condition?""That you go take her out for a dinner date."Damien raised an eyebrow and sat back down. "What? Haley B said if I go out with her on a dinner date, she will join us as our brand ambassador?"Carol nodded. "That's correct."Damien crossed his legs and went into contemplation. He had been pursuing H
"Tabitha is an angel!" Dave's message said. "She is beautiful, intelligent, and kind. I love going out with her since we have so much in common. I don't want to jinx it, my friend… But she might be the one! Thanks for everything…"Victor read the text with amusement. Kyle Shannon had gone to great lengths to make up for his sins. He promoted Dave to a manager position, set him up in a newly furnished apartment on a high rise, and arranged a date with a lovely woman. Freshly divorced, Dave seemed to have fallen in love. He had never been happier in his life.Victor slid the phone into his pocket and parked his bike in an inconspicuous corner. He was in the parking lot of Sparkling Soy restaurant, popularly known as SS. It was a sophisticated international chain of restaurants that had opened a new franchise in Springfield. SS did not accept walk-in customers. Reservations were made only after confirming the customer's social status. Therefore, only the wealthy, elite, and influential
The security team nodded and flipped out their stun batons. No matter how fast the stranger was, an attack from all sides would trap even the most gifted fighter. Besides, the stranger had no weapons. It would take a few seconds to neutralize him.Victor felt the entire spectacle to be uninteresting. He picked up a newspaper from a nearby stand."What will you do with the paper?" the head of security snapped. "Do you want to read the news while we're beating you into a pulp?"Victor offered no response but folded the newspaper into a tight roll. The guards shook their heads with pity and then rushed at him, firing their batons on a full charge. They attacked him from all sides. Victor moved so fast that they never had a chance to land attacks. The man slapped the newspaper roll as he glided through the dozen guards at a frightening pace. Within ten seconds, all of them lay on the concrete, writhing in pain. The newspaper roll in Victor's hand looked tattered, as if it had been dipped
Rose and Claire appeared ecstatic, with their arms linked with Victor. It was like they were a romantic threesome walking down the red carpet. They clung to him tightly as if he would run away otherwise. Victor sighed. The beauties were taking the charade too far. Onlookers inside the Sparkling Soy restaurant began to whisper among themselves. They were Springfield's wealthy and influential, who would spread every bit of gossip like wildfire."Who is the mystery man?" "Is he dating both the billionaire goddess and the queen of roses?""Could there be a luckier guy in the world?""Did a man finally meet Claire's high standards?"The place was abuzz with fresh gossip."Don't you like the attention?" Claire whispered to Victor, her eyes sparkling. "You can be much more popular if you become my lover." She waved to a few friends and ignored most of the others."I'd rather keep to myself and not be noticed." the man replied. Rose overheard their conversation. "Don't claim Victor for you
"I also heard about how you rescued Claire,"Rose went on. "You are a force of nature, and I fear your true identity is more shocking than I can imagine." Claire was aware of some of Victor's achievements, yet she eyed him in a new light. The man had exhibited mind-boggling power, influence, intelligence, and physical strength. Was there even more to him she was missing?"Let's order some food," Victor said, unwilling to engage in the topic.Rose pursed her lips. "Okay… I respect that you want to keep it a secret. But I'll find out everything about you one day."Victor offered her a brief nod. It would be pointless to dissuade the young woman at that point. "Your boyfriend had also washed his hands off you after the scandal leaked. Did he return?" The question took Rose by surprise. Her cheeks turned red, and her voice faltered. "Yes…" "Who is your boyfriend, if you don't mind telling me…" Claire asked with narrowed eyes. She couldn't believe that Rose had kept such an important secr
Claire’s eyes widened. "What? Are you kidding me?""I'm most certainly not!" Rose replied.She looked from Victor to Claire in panic. "No! I am not a spy, I swear! I don't know what you are talking about!"Claire inched away from her. "Are you sure about this, Victor? Is she really a source of trouble? Which villain planted her?"The man nodded, his grave eyes trained on Rose. She was trembling in dismay. "My intel is solid and indisputable. I've been looking for an international mastermind terrorist. He's called the puppetmaster, who threatened to upset the world order twenty years back. He has returned to Springfield now, activating his minions and sleeper cells. My informants have reason to believe that Rose is a minion of the puppetmaster."The billionaire goddess looked shocked. Was Rose a terrorist hiding in plain sight? She must be an incredible actress to maintain the cover of an innocent damsel in distress.Rose shook her head vigorously, and her eyes filled with tears. "Plea
After Victor and Claire left, Rose freshened her makeup again and headed towards the parking lot. Victor's interrogation and dramatic revelations had drained her. It was unbelievable that she was intimate with a terrorist in the past. Raylan had never shown any criminal tendencies. But she was too young then to know any better. Rose wondered if Victor still trusted her after discovering she was fluent in Riotish. The beauty wished she could tell Victor the truth—she loved him too much to betray him.The door slid open as Rose approached the elevator, and a young, glamorously dressed couple entered. The male was boyish and slender, sporting an expensive Armani suit. He spoke arrogantly as if he owned the restaurant. Considering that Sparkling Soy only allowed the filthy rich to book tables, it was natural the restaurant would be frequented by vain, entitled men. As soon as the young man laid eyes on Rose, he stopped in his tracks. "Hi! I am Tony," he said, blocking her path. Although
Tony fished into his coat and retrieved an attractive catalog. He opened it up to show her the workflow. "A customer can order premium gifts online after filtering through thousands of options and customizations. You can gift something as simple as a ring to something as expensive as a luxury car. We handle everything, including purchases, transfers, paperwork, gift packaging, special messages, and requests. The final premium-exclusive product is sent to the customer's loved one in an attractive mode.""This is outstanding!" Rose said, perking up. "How much does a gift usually cost?""The gifts begin from one thousand dollars and go as high as a million, depending on what you want to buy. Customer reviews indicate that their relationships with their loved ones changed drastically after using our website. So… what do you think?"Rose pondered the information for a few moments. "I'd love to invest. But first, I want to try out the service."Tony smiled and nodded. "Of course. Do you hav
Victor checked the time on his Cartier watch. It was a Valentine's gift from Eva. He wondered what she'd be doing right now—probably still awake, waiting for her lover. Even though the duo were intimate just a few hours ago, he already missed her warm, slender body., and her naughty smile.Victor had spent all night hunting down criminals—drug peddlers, child traffickers, rapists, and burglars. They were petty offenders but still made Springfield unsafe. He would be back home already if he hadn't followed Kate to the abandoned asylum."First things first, Raven," Victor began. "Why did you call me a monster? What was that uncalled-for outburst all about?"Kate crossed her arms and gave him a quizzical look. Did Roadkill seriously not know? Was the psychopath clueless about his own murderous tendencies?"I will not fall for that," she replied defensively. "You're trying to find whether I have gathered any evidence to incriminate your brutalities. Once you know everything, it will be co
Kate's grip loosened a bit on her knives. Did the stranger say he was Roadkill? Why was the name so familiar? A moment's reflection brought back her doubts and anxiety.Of course! The poster vigilante, Roadkill! He was so popular among the youth that cosplayers dressed up as him in comic-con. Teen girls loved him so much they got the tattoo 'R' over objectionable parts of their bodies. There were steaks and drinks named after him!Kate ground her teeth in disgust. The Raven used to be Springfield citizens' poster heroine and sole protectress. That ended when Roadkill arrived. However, the female vigilante wasn't really upset that he stole the limelight from her. She was more disturbed by how he did it.Kate went through the newspaper articles, online blogs, and witness reports of cases in which Roadkill was involved. Even though the police department publicly denounced him, they made no attempts to curb his vigilante activities. On the other hand, the Raven was painted as a hobbyist a
Kate jumped from rooftop to rooftop undetected in the darkness, her beastly green eyes glowing in the night. She was light as a feather and agile like a feline. She used parkour moves, advanced gymnastics, and physical resilience to traverse buildings.Kate was trying to put some distance between herself and the crime scene she had recently visited. Less than ten minutes later, she found a group of drunkards harassing an innocent lady. The latter was returning from shopping and somehow missed the curfew time.The villainous group ambushed her in an alley and surrounded her. After robbing the lady of her belongings, they went too far. Inebriated and stoned, they attempted to tear off her clothes and rape her.Luckily, Kate heard her cries and jumped down from the building for a rescue. She offered no warning to the perpetrators. Her powerful chops, jabs, and slams floored them in a minute. The end result was that the men needed hospitalization to survive.After making an anonymous call
Clearly unsettled, Eva tried to get up from the bed. But she failed because her legs and arms were bound. The young woman had been stripped and made to wear a hospital gown.What was going on? Didn’t she lose consciousness in the restaurant? Where the hell did they bring her? Or was she asleep, having a nightmare?Eva heard a few voices talking but couldn’t recognize them.“The fresh specimen has a bun in the oven, sir…”“What? Is the woman pregnant? Now, that sounds like good news. We can have both her grey matter and her uterus. Jackpot!”Eva’s heart froze in horror. What nonsense were the strangers blabbering? Then, the realization hit her. She had been abducted!“Where am I?” Eva called out to the voices. “What’s going on here? Answer me! I am the Mayor’s executive assistant! You guys are in a lot of trouble! The military police will barge in at any moment and gun you down!”Eva heard footsteps. Moments later, three smiling faces loomed over her. “Ah, the specimen is awake,” a mid
Eva stopped eating her food and stared at the young man. He looked innocent, probably fresh out of high school, a college freshman. Was he a fan of Victor Cromwell?“How did you know it was me?” she asked apprehensively.“Please don’t be alarmed, ma’am,” he replied, joining his hands. “I am George. I am actually a big admirer of Mr. Victor Cromwell and the wonderful work he has been doing for Springfield. You’re always by his side in meetings, conferences, and photo ops. Therefore, it isn’t irregular for commoners like us to recognize you.”Eva was still unconvinced. “You are a fan of Victor’s work? Are you okay with military rule? Most of the city appears to be against it.”“Yes, of course they are against it!” George exclaimed. “Governments rise and fall all the time. Governance styles also change. Springfield is becoming a military-industrial complex, and people must get with the times.”Eva nodded, reassured that the boy was a modern arts student, an idealist. Why else would he tr
Eva Atelier stepped out of the shower, looking resplendent. She wore only a white bathrobe and smelled of lavender and honey. The beauty just had a long, warm, and luxurious shower. However, the timing could have been better since it was past midnight.Victor had gone out after an hour-long lovemaking session, leaving her yearning for a thorough cleansing. Perhaps he would return soon, and they could go at it again. She was already horny thinking about her man.Victor usually disappeared every night and returned before dawn. Eva never asked him about his whereabouts. She assumed he was meeting important people and hatching plans for Springfield's betterment. The girl equated herself with a superhero's girlfriend, never disturbing his high-stakes, clandestine nightlife.It had been a month since Eva started living with Victor at the Mayor's mansion. It was now public knowledge that the two were dating. The media picked up the news on the first day and played it until the entire city kn
Haley B stumbled out of a high-end liquor store with a vodka bottle in her hand. She was clearly inebriated. The young, beautiful celebrity had fallen off the wagon and had been drinking every day since Victor died.Haley B had postponed all her movie and concert schedules indefinitely and wasn't accepting any more offers. All she wanted to do was bury her sorrows in alcohol. When her media team tried to convince her otherwise, she fired them.At the moment, with a liquor bottle in hand, and wearing a loose hoodie and track pants, Haley was in disguise. If the paparazzi found her intoxicated, she would be on national news, and the internet would break. Not that she cared much about her celebrity status anymore.Haley looked around at the pedestrians and drunkard crowds. Nobody gave her a second look. People probably thought she was a homeless woman.Her Mercedes stood outside with a chauffeur and two guards. Haley eyed them from a distance with blurry vision. Indeed, she had had a lot
Dear Readers, Thanks for staying with the story this far. You're all awesome. I have tested your patience with slow updates and such tests will be less frequent in the future. About the story: The Invasion Arc ends with the last chapter. It will be followed by the Dark City Arc, that will introduce new characters and spring many more twists. Victor Damone is now Victor Cromwell, the legal heir of a royal family. However, escaping his past won't be as easy as he thought. Let's see how the Peerless Man deals with the upcoming dangers. Stay tuned!
Victor recognized the vigilante named Roadkill because he was, in fact, Roadkill. When he first arrived in Springfield as Victor Cromwell, he immediately noticed the societal change. People were bolder, more outspoken, and political. On the other hand, something was uncanny about the steep rise of both crime and criminals.Even after the military boosted security and restored the economy, public order continued to worsen. It meant certain forces were actively inciting crimes. Robberies, burglaries, and murders were frequent.As soon as the sun set, a hush fell over the city. People were scared to go outdoors in the dark. Anti-social elements hung out in the alleys. Drugs, smuggling, and trafficking were at an all-time high. It was dangerous for women and children to go out alone after dusk.Victor decided to take matters into his own hands. He walked the streets and alleys himself to investigate the cause of this anomaly. Since he couldn't publicly reveal his identity and face, he dis