In the Creamer club, which was owned by Stephen himself.Stephen and Daine were dancing in the crowd, as the DJ played different songs. It was eleven in the morning, but they were all drinking and dancing and enjoying themselves, for it looked like a night inside the club.After dancing for nearly twenty minutes, Diane was tired. She went to a couch and ordered the girls who were sitting there to leave. They were annoyed by her, but they still listened to her and left.“This club is pretty good,” Diane smiled as she looked around. “Lots of girls here to pull men in continuously. They are earning thousands of dollars every day, but that’s only the front. They are using the girls to get the guys’ numbers and then suck more money out of them through relationships. By selling the items they get from the guys, they’re earning tens of thousands of dollars every week while only paying little money to the girls, just enough to keep them hungry for more. It’s a dangerous but brilliant tactic.
Stephen was checking his bank balance. There was a little over thirty thousand dollars in his account, and this frustrated him.“Tch, I have nothing but this bar on my name,” he frowned. “I have to get hold of Pinkness no matter what. That company will help me and my father’s gang to expand our businesses throughout the country. The Creamer family will soon be earning in millions every year and will achieve much more than we did in the past.”Stephe believed that Pinkness would be a much better place to use the girls to lure male customers and fool them into forming relationships with the girls, thus enabling the girls to suck a lot of money from the male customers. It was also possible to turn the female customers into high-end prostitutes or call girls or escorts or however Stephen saw fit.“As long as I feed the police officers and some politicians, no one will dare point their fingers at me. If they do, I’ll just cut those fingers off in public,” Stephen thought. “Diane did a very
In the outskirts of the city, at a ten-acre fish farm near the southern mountains.A bald man in his early sixties was smoking weed from a pipe while sitting next to one of the fish ponds. He had a big cyst on his left ear.“Please forgive me, Boss Edward,” a man was crawling at Edward’s feet, begging for his life. “I have two children and a wife waiting at home. If I die, they will not survive. Please have mercy on me.”Edward put his foot on that man’s head. “I forgive anyone except those who act like my friends and stab me in the back. Many years back, when I went home, I saw my wife sleeping with another man. She asked for forgiveness just like you did. She begged me to forgive her and give her another chance.”He put his hand to the side, and one of his men handed him an ax.“I gave her another chance. And guess what? Weeks later, I saw her in a park with that same motherfucker. That’s when I realized that you don’t give second chances to those who cheat on you.” Edward brought th
Lark just left Pinkness and was walking away.He remembered a conversation he had with Denver in the past on a certain mountain.“How long will we have to do everything he says? When are we going to fight back?” Lark asked. “I think we have enough power. If we start a war now… we will win.”“You really think that everyone who takes our side will support us until the end?” Denver asked him back while hacking trees. His legs were tied together in chains. His hands were also chained, but he was still able to move his arms together to hack the trees. “If we want a seed to grow into a tree that will touch heaven, we can’t throw manure in the sky. We have to put it in the ground. No matter how high of a result we want to achieve, we have to work at the ground level, Lark.”“Is that way you’re not even caring about going up the ranks anymore?” Lark asked with frustration.“A king can’t see the desires of his people unless he sits at the same table,” Denver replied. “If I aim to sit on the thr
At Harryfield hospital.Denver’s car stopped. He dragged Stephen out by his shirt collar.Stephen was crying in pain. “Let me go!”The guard who saw that quickly stood in his path, denying him entry.“What are you doing, mister? Let him go!” the guard growled.“If you don’t want your teeth broken, then move!” Denver warned.The guard felt intimidated by him and moved out of the way.Denver forcibly took Stephen inside.“You’re going to regret this,” Stephen hissed at Denver while frothing at his mouth. “My dad will surely kill you.”Denver didn’t respond. He took Stephen to a particular room.Stephen saw Jeremy in that room, his body covered in many bandages. Both of his eyes were swollen, and he couldn’t even see with his eyes right now.“Look at him,” Denver pushed Stephen near to the bed. “He’s just a mere low-level construction worker. He does the same heavy labor every day, and he doesn’t get the opportunity to do anything special. But he doesn’t let that beat him down. He showe
Catherine finished her interview and was returning home by foot. It was only a three mile walk, so she didn’t take the bus in order to save the money.Right now, money was more important than time because she had nothing productive to do regarding her career anyway.Catherine saw two lovers kissing on the road, and it made her remember Denver. And she smiled. “I gave him my first kiss. It wasn’t as crazy as I thought it would be, but I will never forget it.”“You’ll never forget what?” a voice came from her behind. Catherine quickly turned around, only to see her tallest female friend Sia.“What are you doing here?” Catherine asked.“I finished my part-time job,” Sia said, but she didn’t look the least bit tired.“Already?”“Yeah. I only work for two hours. It’s a special job, after all. They pay me forty dollars per hour,” Sia said. “Anyhow, how did you end up with Denver?”Catherine was surprised. “How did you know?”“Yesterday, we came to your flat. He was there. Didn’t he tell you
“Hahaha,” Stephen laughed, despite experiencing the pain of broken wrists. “I can’t wait to see you get beaten like a dog by my dad. He ruined entire families of those who so much as stole a dollar from him. What do you think he’ll do to you who messed with his own son?”Denver was staring through the window, counting the number of people that were coming out of cars. “32 of them.”“32 what?” Stephen snorted. “Did you just count their numbers? 32 isn’t all. More will come. If you don’t surrender, they’ll destroy everyone in this hospital. It will become national news then.”“You’re trying to scare the wrong person, dude,” Jeremy voiced his mind. “Even at the construction company, we’re surrounded by many underachievers, but Denver was always working extra hard and extra fast to get things done fast. Watching him would always give me motivation. I still didn’t do risky ladder climbs like him, but thanks to him, I became better at work over the past couple of years. ”Stephen blew air t
“Are you going to stay here and wait until my dad arrives?” Stephen asked in a mocking manner. “You acted like you were going to deal with anything that will come at you, but now that you’re seeing the king of the neighborhood, you’re thinking twice, aren’t you? It’s not too late. Fall at my dad’s feet and beg for mercy. He might let you live after severely punishing you, of course.”Denver took a deep breath and walked up to Stephen who was sitting on the chair.Stephen looked up with a cocky, proudful smirk on his face.“It seems just getting the wrists broken isn’t enough,” Denver slapped Stephen with the back of his hand.Stephen spun and crashed on the floor, chin first.“Huhu, you slapped his lights out,” Jeremy loved what he saw.“He was being pretty annoying,” Denver looked at Jeremy. “Can you move?”“I can manage. Why?”“Just in case someone else makes it to this room, you shouldn’t be here,” Denver said. “If possible, go home. Take your daughter and go somewhere else. Keep
A few minutes earlier.Catherine finished cooking two items: butter chicken, and cheesecake.She then took a random romance novel titled Entwined Fingers from the shelves and opened it.She tried to read the book, but she couldn’t focus.She was eagerly waiting for Denver to come home. She wanted to call him, but she didn’t want to ruin the surprise.He made her car look new, so she wanted to cook a delicious meal for him, which was the least she could do.Even after Denver and Diane were told to marry by Richard, Catherine didn’t fully give up on him.Nevertheless, she has been mostly sad for the past two years or so.But now, love once again breathed life into every pulse in her body. The heartbeat of a thousand dreams echoed through her thoughts.As she exuberantly waited for him, there was a knock on the door.She sprang off the couch like a deer, rushed over to the door and opened it swiftly.Her eyes saw Denver and Sia’s arms wrapped together just for a fraction of a second befo
The sun was setting over the Salem city’s skyline, casting a warm glow on the buildings as Denver made his way back to Catherine’s flat.It had been a long week packed with pressures, and he was looking forward to a quiet evening with her.He imagined the two of them curled up on the small couch, watching some of her favorite shows, holding hands, maybe sharing a kiss, just enjoying each other’s company.Even though he had just spoken to Diane a few minutes back, she didn’t even cross his mind right now.If he wanted, he could have easily put Diane in jail for destroying Catherine’s pool property, especially as he had the governor’s support now.However, he spared some mercy for her and only got her fired from her job. He believed that Catherine would pay her sister back in the future.At Catherine’s apartment.Denver stopped his car outside the gate.The apartment’s guard was a female in her forties. She saw Denver and was shocked by his sheer size and looks, even though he was still
After talking with the governor, Denver personally escorted him to the car. “Please look into the dumpyard land I talked about, sir,” he reminded the governor.“Oh, I’ve already talked about it with the land management bureau, and you can consider that public land as yours,” Gerard broke the good news to him. “All you need to do is go to the register office and either lease it or register it, however you want.”“Thank you so much,” Denver went in for a hug, but the guard of the governor stopped him.“It’s fine,” Gerard stopped the guard and then shook Denver’s head. “It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you. Though you’re so much younger than me, I wish I had your heart. I hope we meet again one day.”“I’ll be sure to meet you later,” Denver assured him.After the governor left, Denver came to his car.To his surprise, Diane was waiting for him, leaning her back against the black Mercedes as if she owned it.She showered a thin smile, but Denver didn’t reciprocate.The cool air of the
On his way home, Denver met the governor at a restaurant.“Edward Creamer is not as big as he used to be because of his partner betraying him,” Gerard told him while munching on steak. “But he’s still feared by his peers, not because of his strength but because of his ego. Once he focuses on something, he sees it through to the end. And I’m sure his focus is on you now.”Denver, however, was looking at the steak on the plate. “Can I pack this and also order an extra plate of steak to take home?”“Of course, you can, sir,” the waitress politely said. “Do you wish me to pack any more orders?”Denver then picked a dessert and along with an ice cream.After the waitress left, he looked at the governor and smiled, “I know Edward is dangerous, but I already did something to keep him in check.”“Do you have some dirt on him?” Gerard asked. “Can I see it?”“Uh, you might lose your appetite,” Denver scratched his chin.“Oh, it’s that kind of dirt, huh,” Gerard rolled his head once. “Don’t spar
Diane’s mind numbed after realizing that it was Denver who had beaten Stephen in the Creamer club.Denver saw Diane and came up to her, with his hands in his pockets. “Are you wondering how I am still alive?”“W-What? No,” Diane played dumb. “Why are you in this hospital? Are you sick?”“Don’t pretend like you care for me, Diane,” Denver’s voice wasn’t cold, but it sure wasn’t warm, either. “What you did to me sure shocked me, but what you did to your sister is worse. However, you won’t be smiling for long.”“I wasn’t the one who destroyed that pool. It was Stephen,” she said. “I told him not to do it, but he did it anyway.”“You think I will believe anything that comes out of your mouth?” Denver calmly asked her back. “I’m sure you’re here because you are still trying to hook up with Stephen for whatever reason, but the longer you stay with that guy, the harder you will fall. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m not saying this because I care for you, but for your dad’s sake, I’m giving y
A few minutes earlier.Diane hid in her car as the Creamer gang members were caught and were being taken away.However, one of the police officers recognized her Corvette and told his superior, “Sir, that’s Stephen Creamer’s car.”Diane saw the officers looking at her, and she started the engine and drove backward. The police chased her on foot, so she drove away fast and ended up hitting the road’s divider. “Shit! Fuck!” She still tried to drive away hurriedly, but the police quickly surrounded her car, leaving her no choice but to squeeze the brake pedal.The officers were about to attack the windows with their batons, but seeing Diane inside, they stopped attacking.“Open the door,” one officer growled.“W-Wait,” she grew so nervous she couldn’t even open the door properly. It was as if she forgot how to open the door. Eventually, she took a deep breath and then lowered the window instead of opening the door. “What’s wrong, officers?”“What’s wrong? Why are you in this car?” the of
A few minutes later.The special police arrived at the hospital, causing the gang members of Edward to scatter away. The police chased them and caught as many as they could.Inside the hospital, in a certain room.Stephen was getting treated on the bed. He still looked upset, angry, and frustrated.His dad was sitting next to him, looking like nothing happened.The doctor was tending to Stephen’s wrists.“It’s just a kiss. You kiss strangers all the time,” Edward said, smoking a cigar. “So, why are you upset over kissing your father?”Stephen felt like vomiting just thinking about it. “What if he leaks that picture on the internet? My image will be doomed. Our image will be doomed. The Creamer family will become a joke.”“If he releases that image, then that very same day, his corpse will be hung at our fish farm, too,” Edward said.“What’s the point of doing it after the damage is already done?” Stephen snorted. “You should just kill him now, Dad!”“He’s not just an ordinary guy with
The commotion inside the hospital was still there.Denver brought Edward to the room where Stephen was. To his surprise, Jeremy was still there.“Why are you still here?” Denver asked him in shock.“There are people running everywhere outside,” Jeremy said a bit embarrassedly. “My body is not in a condition to run. But, who’s that on your shoulder? Another patient?”“He’s Stephen’s dad,” Denver put him down next to Stephen and then began to kick Stephen in the gut. He was not gentle.Stephen’s eyes forced open. “Argh, you…” he glared at Denver, “you are still harassing me? When my dad catches you, I will tie you to a chair and have fun with you!”“Look beside you,” Jeremy said.“Mm?” Stephen looked next to him. His eyes sprang out of his sockets. “D-DAD?!” He couldn’t believe that his dad was lying next to him. “How? Who did this to him?”“We fought, and he lost,” Denver said, showing the gun to Stephen.“You beat my dad? That’s impossible,” Stephen blurted. “He was a champion in the
Catherine had a long, thirty minute ride in her car and returned to her apartment.“Wow,” one of the female neighbors saw her and asked in surprise, “did you buy a new car?”“It’s my old car,” Catherine flashed a grin free of burden and full of ease. “My man got this car restored to its new look.”“Your man?” She was visibly surprised. “Who? The big guy?”“Yeah.”“Oh. Don’t think of this the wrong way, Catherine, but don’t you think he’s way too out of your league?” she said. “I mean, guys like that don’t stay with women like us for long. Once he finds a woman with a better butt or boobs, he’ll move on.”Catherine frowned initially but then smiled a bit uneasily. “I never dated anybody. I never chased after love because it looked like an unending rat race to me.” She remembered the times when her friends shuffled boyfriends every season for stupid and silly reasons.Neither Catherine nor Diane were allowed to date anybody because their dad strictly forbade them. Diane considered this