The next day, Alex arrived at the company. His shoulder was dropping, with a tired expression on his face. It couldn't be helped that last night he had to calm Rihanna down and do some explaining to her panicking mother, who happened to call the cops at the time Rihanna was taken.Needless to say, Alex didn't get a proper night's sleep last night with all the chaos and trouble. "There shouldn't be any more trouble with the police getting involved." Alex mumbled to himself while massaging his shoulder, which had gone sour after his fight with the younger grizzly guard; those guys were too tough to crack.At the back of his head, Alex thought. 'It would have been a different story if they had cooperated in taking me down.'Anyways, Alex had to finish some things in the office and explain to Ms. Athena about the failure of the negotiation. He wondered how she would react to this new....At this moment, Alex finds his co-workers going back and forth carrying documents in panic and answer
It was Emily who appeared to be waiting anxiously for someone Alex couldn't help but secretly gulp at, seeing how pretty she was with her white dress showing off her flawless skin."If my memory serves me right, she wasn't this pretty at the reunion!" Alex said those words as he headed toward her. But then he saw a group of wealthy-looking young men come up to her to have a conversation.At the same time, Alex was approaching Emily, and likewise, she had noticed Alex pacing toward him as she let out a sigh of relief."Sorry about getting late, something came up." Alex said while scratching the back of his head. On his way here, there was traffic in the city center, so it couldn't be helped that he was late."It's alright, Alex. I'm really grateful that you came; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to handle...." Emily abruptly stopped talking as if she were hiding something. "What's wrong?" Alex said."Never mind that let's go; grandfathers' celebration should start anytime soon." Emily s
At this moment, the guests started gossiping among themselves as they kept glancing at the main table; some of them were curious about Alex's origin. "Is that Ms. Emily's boyfriend? But why is he so plain-looking and wearing a rag?" A female guest commented after sizing Alex up and down. No matter how Alex tried to hide his status as poor, a rag will always be a rag; it cannot be made into a proper dress. "But didn't Emily already have a fiancé?" A woman with blond hair was scornful at Emily for choosing a useless man when her fiancee was handpicked by their family and had a rich background, it was like choosing a toad over a prince! "What a poor dude, why'd he choose to visit the Shea family when Madam Brett is present?" Another guest chimed in, gloating at Alex's misfortune. "Tsk, he must be thinking of hitting it big by becoming the son-in-law of the Shea family; what an opportunistic fellow!" Since young Alex had a sharp hearing, he could hear the remarks from the guests, on t
Alex was dragged by Emily toward the Shea family's large mansion; it is said that the Shea family had spent an astronomical amount of money to construct it, on top of the materials that are famous overseas! One could only admire it.As Alex was walking through the marble floor of the hallway, he was observing his surroundings. There weren't that many guests, and he guessed that it was most likely that only the import guests or the Shea family's business partner are allowed inside the mansion, apart from the members of the Shea family, who are Emily's aunts, uncles, and cousins. On top of that, they were watching him with scornful eyes.'More like someone is waiting for me to make a mistake.' Alex mumbled in his heart as he frowned, as he felt that he didn't belong to this circle after all; he was merely Emily's boyfriend and not a real one at that."Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" Alex forced out a smile."Nothing to worry about, Alex; moreover, my cousins are bringing the
"Woah, did I hear that right? Madame Brett has a contract with the Landmaster Company?" A senior in the Shea family remarked in astonishment.Madame Brett was over the moon as she enjoyed being the center of attention as all the members of the house of Shea looked at her in admiration! She couldn't help but smile brightly as she gazed at the paper with the unique Landmaster Company's stamp on her hand. 'Although it wasn't easy to obtain the contract, I still managed to get my hands on it. Who would have thought that the new CEO was an easy woman who didn't bother to bargain with the construction materials? On top of gaining the approval to become the next head of the family, I'll also earn a hefty amount from this contract!' Madame Brett thought to herself—this time she had hit the jackpot.At this point, Patriarch George made an excited expression as he stood up in his seat and spoke with eagerness. "Well done! Daughter of mine, hurry, what are the contents of the contract? Would yo
At this juncture, Madame Brett was basking in everyone's adoration while her nose was pointing upward, and a faint smile could be seen on her red lips. Saying that she didn't enjoy the attention would be a lie at this point.Needless to say, not everyone in the Shea family was happy about the news, particularly Emily's first uncle, Vincent, who had been silent all this time. He looked down at the opened box on his lap; it was a hundred years old ginseng. He was preparing it and some other valuables in his personal collection to give to Patriarch George, his father, in hopes of receiving his father's favor in running the family business.However, looking at the contract his father was holding on to with a delighted expression, and then to his half-sister, Madame Brett, she was brewing with confidence; she was a hundred percent sure of her victory that she would be the one running the family business! Vincent let out a sigh of defeat. Nevertheless, he stood up and handed his gift to t
"The Landmaster company can't just do that; it would be a breach of contract!" Madame Brett hollered while her face turned ugly. There was a long pause as Patriarch George spoke. "No... The Landmaster CEO, Ms. Athena, had already stated that they were willing to pay for the breach of contract..." Upon hearing that, Madame Brett felt terrible as she crumbled on the floor. Her husband had to rush in to help her balance herself. "H-How could that be?" She mumbled to herself; she had not bet everything on that contract yet.... Madame Brett's reaction didn't differ from the rest of the Shea family members, and it could be clearly seen on their faces. The higher their expectations were, the harder they fell; they felt like they were being played by the Landmaster Company, making them extremely furious! Meanwhile, Alex was scratching the back of his head. He watched the Shea family chaos go highwire. "Alex, what should we do?" Emily said so worriedly. Truthfully, she wanted the deal w
"That being said, after some consideration, the Landmaster company would like to proceed with partnering with the Shea family." Without exception, the Shea family members were pleasantly surprised; they didn't expect that the Landmaster Company would still give them a chance! It was worth rejoicing over. Suddenly, Madam Brett screamed. "Father, what did I say? I know the Landmaster Company CEO would eventually acknowledge us!" The abrupt interruption by Madame Brett made patriarch George's face turn pale as he spoke quickly. "What are you doing? Are you blind? Can't you tell that Ms. Athena is speaking?" "Patriarch, it would appear that you are not showing me enough respect." Ms. Athena's cold tone of voice was apparent through the phone, making Patriarch George sweat bullets as he profusely apologized to Ms. Athena, fearing that she might change her mind with the cooperation. With bated breath, everyone waited, and the waiting was painfully slow, and Madame Brett didn't dare i
The guests in the Golden Paradise were stunned, and then they started to hang their heads down, terrified at this group of mafia-like men. They didn't want to get into trouble themselves, so they walked a bit further from the entrance.On the other hand, the employees were intimidated, not to mention that they had just seen the guards of the Golden Paradise outside groaning in pain. Clearly, they were beaten up.The senior manager gathered his courage. "Sir, please leave you're scaring the guests; if you don't, I'm afraid I would have to call the polic-"Before the senior manager could finish speaking, Alex cut him off. "It's alright, manager Kevin; from here, I'll handle this." Listening attentively to Alex's words, senior manager Kevin immediately bowed in Alex's direction and spoke politely. "Yes sir. Please excuse my rudeness." Alex turned his attention to this fellow, who was a member of the Crown family and must likely be his cousin...Alex never imagined meeting his cousin a
Teacher Vivian recovered from her shock and glared at her husband. "What are you waiting for? Shouldn't you carry your own luggage?""Um..." Richard's face was turning a shade of red as he hurriedly grabbed the bags Alex was carrying."Y-You must be tired, junior brother?" Richard wanted to keep his dignity, so he was making excuses not to be obvious. Furthermore, he had no idea about Alex's identity; he was horrified inside thinking about offending someone he shouldn't have. However, would Alex not notice what Richard was thinking? So he feigned ignorance and stated it in a calm voice. "Tired? Not at all. I can carry it for you all the way."Richard was stunned then, his back broke a cold sweat as he felt like crying with no tears. Not to mention, his wife was glaring at him."I-I'll carry it from here, please." Richard uttered, and at the end of his sentence, his voice was the sound of a mosquito; it was barely audible. On the other hand, Teacher Vivian came forward and faced Alex
"What do you mean my credit card didn't go through?" Richard was frowning heavily. How come his credit card wasn't accepted? He was pretty sure it had some savings in it.The server rolled his eyes, although he was annoyed. Nevertheless, he still had to maintain professionalism. With it in mind, he politely explained. "With all due respect, we only accept credit cards from reputable banks, mostly VIP card holders, but we do have a beer minimum; it would be the C.F.R. City Bank."The moment Richard heard those words, he was dumbfounded. What the... VIP card holders? What's even more incredulous is that the C.F.R. City Bank was considered a beer minimum.'Wasn't the C.F.R. City Bank the biggest bank in the City?' Richard mumbled in disbelief. On the side, teacher Vivian was similarly stunned, but soon she recovered, and she was starting to worry as she uttered. "Does it mean we will have to leave?""Let me think..." Richard gritted his teeth; he shouldn't have lost his cool, yet he had
Around ten in the morning, Alex finally arrived at his destination.He got out of the car while taking off his eyewear, which caused his brows to involuntarily twitch as he felt the heat rays from the glaring sun. Then he turned his attention toward the famous property of Antonio Florence.Undoubtedly, the plantsIt was a mixture of greenery and modernity, as the villas and the mansion were surrounded by gorgeous, rare plants. Alex wondered how they managed to grow those plants that could only be seen in different countries!Indeed, the place deserves its name, the Golden Paradise.Just then, someone came toward Alex."Sir, this way, please." A young man in his late teens who looks like an employee with his white and black uniform came to Alex and led him toward where a group of visitors was.'Kate and the others are not present. They've already gone ahead; I should look for them later.' Alex mumbled while scanning the crowd, looking for his co-workers, only to fail.At this point, as
Weeks passed, and everything was back on track. Alex could be seen jogging around the plaza, as the children were playing while noticing the young man, Alex pass them by while gasping for air.Gradually, Alex slowed down. He was thirsty and dead tired from working out. He took a seat on a vacant bench, gulping down the water bottle and putting some on top of his head to refresh himself. "That felt good," Alex uttered while feeling his muscles start to relax.Just then, Alex heard his name being called from a distance. He shifted his gaze toward the direction of the voice and saw a young lady wearing a yoga outfit.Rihanna? Alex thought in surprise at her appearance."Alex..." Rihanna was catching her breath as she spoke. "I noticed you from the apartment's balcony earlier; I wanted to tag along, but you were jogging too fast... Oh, I almost forgot this is for you."Rihanna took out a small pink towel and handed it to Alex in a shy manner."Wow, thank you, Rihanna." Alex grinned as
At this juncture, the veterans were starting to incircle around Alex; one of the veterans even moved a step closer toward Shenna.Just as the perverted veteran was about to grab her, Alex suddenly blocked his outstretched hands with his body."Tell your men to stop." Alex's words were directed toward the veteran leader, who was simply standing at the back of the group of veterans.Hearing Alex's sentence, the veteran leader signaled to his group of veterans to stop."You want me dead, right?" Alex said while pushing the terrified Shenna behind him to cover him from the veterans."Indeed, we want you dead; your head will be valuable." The veteran leader's statement was very alarming."At least give me a reason why you are after me... Is it because of the Crown family?" There was no need for Alex to hide his identity at this point; most likely, they already knew him beforehand. What's more puzzling is: what was their intention?"You sure have guts." "Alright, I'll explain it to you....
Bruce was taken aback as he looked at the furious Alex and Shenna, whose eyes were burning with defiance as she glared daggers at him."Pft." Bruce couldn't hold it in as he burst out laughing, and he wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes."You two are really similar! Showing such a face, how scary."Bruce stopped laughing as he continued to mock Alex. "Remember this place? Isn't it ironic? It's where your 'little girlfriend' decided to betray you because she wanted to use me to get promoted? If I were in your position, there's no way I would date such a woman, not to mention putting myself in danger!"Bruce wasn't done mocking Alex, as he proceeded to speak while leaning at the table with a grim face. "If you aren't blind, then you're certainly a fool!"In Bruce's opinion, Alex was an idiot.Alex understood that Bruce was using this tactic to play with his head. He was cleverly sowing discord between him and Shenna. But would he allow himself to fall for it easily? No!However,
The sudden interruption made Bruce's countenance stiffen; it took him a few seconds to recover as he mumbled. "Speaking of the devil!"There wasn't a doubt in Bruce's mind who the caller was! Without hesitation, Bruce picked up the call."My, my, I didn't think you'd be this fast for a fool!"Alex didn't immediately answer, making Bruce irritated. Just as he was about to yell at Alex on the phone, Alex's voice could be heard."... I'm outside, the money is already here, and I want to see her." Bruce signaled his men to go downstairs. He chuckled coldly while replying. "Showing concern, aren't we? Why don't I invite you in?""Alright." Alex replied on the phone.Bruce thought for a moment before responding in a mocking manner. "Do you want me to put your little girlfriend on the phone?" "There's no need for that; just make sure not a strand of hair is missing; otherwise, you'll regret it." Alex's tone of voice was deep.Without giving Bruce a chance to reply, the call was suddenly cu
Shenna was thinking hard about what purpose her abductors were after...Was it money? No, that shouldn't be the case, as who didn't know she didn't have anything on her name...Shenna couldn't help but think of her family, but then she smiled bitterly; knowing her family, she could easily imagine their indifferent reaction; they wouldn't lift a single finger to help her. If they knew he was abducted, they would even blame her for being careless...Unconsciously, Shenna bit her cheery, ripe lips until they bled; however, she didn't care as she ignored the pain.Although she could feel her anxiety rising, she had no idea where she was or what she should do; she was all alone in this lonely room, waiting for her abductors to do their worst...'No, I hate this feeling. I need to do something; that jerk Alex would mock me if I didn't do something. Shenna did so angrily in her heart; she didn't want Alex to look down on her. She inhaled deeply. She needed to figure out how to escape here be