#She was worried about him and sighed softly, not wanting to disturb him. However, Darius was an enlightened martial artist—how could he not hear her? He frowned and opened his eyes, turning to gaze at her with a helpless look in his eyes.Alicia couldn’t discern the emotions in his eyes, and she tensed when his eyes landed on her. He could tell how nervous she was, and he sighed softly. He beckoned at her and said, “Come here.”Alicia didn’t know why he was beckoning at her, but this was the gentlest she’d seen him, and her heart raced. She felt like she was having an out-of-body experience, or perhaps she’d just lost control of her mind. She walked over to Darius, and her face burned the closer she got to him. When she finally stood before him, she felt like her face was so hot she was practically smoking at the ears. “Mr. Reid,” she said in a small voice.When Darius saw her eyes trained on the floor, he couldn’t help sighing again. “I know you guys are terrified of me, but there’

The only person he could spar with was Shelvin, but he’d gone missing after showing up at the hotel for a short time, and no one had seen him since. Darius didn’t expect the problem that had been plaguing him to be resolved like this suddenly, and he looked at the man in black robes. Meditation was long-term, and he wanted to have someone around to meditate with him. Now, it would be best if he could somehow make this man stay.The man’s hair stood on end at the way Darius was looking at him. A wave of fear washed over him, and he subconsciously took a step back. Then, he frowned. He’d never felt this way—it was as if a venomous snake locked its eyes on him. He took a deep breath, then held his hands up and said, “I know you’re an enlightened martial artist, thanks to the hints my fellow apprentice left for me before his death.”Darius placed his hands behind his back and looked at him in confusion because of how the man was talking to him like they were strangers. Hadn’t they alrea

arius had never spoken so much in one go before, so he paused to take a break. Shelvin had a thousand and one questions, and he finally had the chance to pose them when Darius stopped speaking. He quickly walked over to Darius, sat opposite him, and propped his head up with his hands before saying, “I understand every word you said, but I don’t get why you think making these businesses fear you would be difficult. Shouldn’t it be easy-peasy for you? All you need to do is show one of those organizations some tough love, and the others will naturally fear you—you won’t need to do anything else.”Darius leaned back and exhaled. “I can’t deny that you’re partly right. That’s what I intended to do at first, but I later realized I didn’t know which organizations belong to the Gillette Group. This means I won’t be able to effectively threaten them in one go.”Shelvin straightened up, then got to his feet and slowly started to pace before Darius. He’d never considered the picture that Darius

She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, but this didn’t stop her from quickly answering Darius. She said, “This hotel—or perhaps I should say this plot of land—has a long history. It’s been around since my grandmother was a child. Back then, before this hotel was built, no one occupied the land until the Gillette family came into the picture.” Alicia’s voice was calm, but there was a hint of confusion in her eyes. She didn’t know why Darius wanted to know about this.She knew it wasn’t her place to ask, so she racked her brains, trying to remember every detail she could about the hotel. “Based on what I remember, the previous owner of this land was a staunch member of a cult. After his death, the building he’d built here became a place that no one wanted to come near. Things only changed when the Gillette family showed up and produced the lease to the land. They only stayed for a short time before moving out, and no one knows why. Then, they converted the building into a hotel. Thei

As Darius spoke, the corners of his lips curled into a sneer.It revved the engines of Alicia’s heart, making it beat faster than before. That was because she had never seen this charmingly determined side of his. Throughout her time with Darius, she did not even dare to picture him smiling so confidently, fearing the beautiful scene would vanish forever once she snapped out of her daydream. After all, she could never withstand such a rude awakening.Darius placed one hand on the table, waiting for a response from the former. To his surprise, he never got one after a long period. He turned his head, only to realize Alicia’s eyes had lit up at him the entire time. It did not take much effort for him to decipher the meaning behind Alicia’s smitten look. Darius could not hold back his smile and even chuckled at the realization. At the same time, his hand reached out to wave twice in front of the dazed woman.Alicia’s heart fluttered wildly in her chest. She gulped, then quickly spun on

Darius tucked both hands into his pockets. His face was devoid of emotion, regardless of how much Shelvin stared at him with assessing eyes. All he did was frostily ask, “I’d like to know what your next move is. Although nothing you do will work in front of me—someone with true power and wealth, I prefer to save myself the trouble.”Shelvin’s lips curled just then. Although it seemed like a smile, anyone who looked at him would know he was unhappy. He replied, “I was worried you’d behave this way. It’s why I never dared step up before you and reveal all of this—I didn’t want you to see me as an enemy after learning about my identity. It’s not your fault for thinking this way, but I’m not at fault either. After all, I was taught the wrong values while growing up.”A brief but loud snort came from Darius, his distrust and disdain oozing into the space. It made Shelvin tense up while gawking at the former. Seeing Shelvin’s widened eyes, Darius raised a brow as he neutrally interrogated,

“Speaking of this, who’s the remaining shareholder of this hotel?” Darius asked, thinking he understood Umbrite Hotel’s division of shares well since he had previously scanned through the information of each shareholder. Even so, he could not help second-guessing the identities of the hotel’s shareholders.“Huh? Has Mr. Reid recently unearthed new information? Or is there another reason he’s asking me this?” The cogs in Edward’s brain spun faster just then. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he froze the entire time. Eventually, he parted his lips to voice his curiosity but got interrupted by Alicia’s bright voice. “Don’t worry, Mr. Reid. We’ll ensure that the final shareholder shows up for tomorrow’s banquet. I’ll personally bring him over from his residence if otherwise.”That garnered a satisfied nod from Darius, who then waved to dismiss the two.A sigh of relief escaped Alicia immediately after. Her arm shot forward to grab Edward’s wrist as she speedily led him away. Befo

Shelvin straightened his back at once, adding, “One more thing—they now consider my existence a serious issue because I’ve located their newly developed medicinal substance and successfully injected it into my body in front of them.”Darius’ eyes had fallen shut some time ago, and his breathing remained steady.Unsure whether Darius was awake, Shelvin got onto his approached the former to find out. Yet, as he stepped one foot forward, Darius’ eyes shot open as if shooting a dark warning at him. Before Shelvin could process what was happening, his feet stumbled backward out of instinct, causing him to almost fall out of fear. Before he could stabilize himself, his gaze darted past the room and noticed Darius’ expression had returned to neutral. That was enough to relieve the weight off his shoulders. Following that, Shelvin recomposed himself and calmly stated, “I know you have your reservations toward me, but please don’t worry. You’ll see I’ve been telling the truth this entire tim

“I-I’m sorry, but I-I should leave now. I just realized I have some matters that require only me to attend to, so I have to go,” Shelvin muttered hoarsely while looking at Darius. He then turned to leave but failed to take one step ahead as the latter grabbed his wrist. Simultaneously, Darius’ grip caused the flames beneath his skin to spread, making the pain even more unbearable. It was so intense that Shelvin bellowed in agony. His cries ripped through the air and startled everyone at the scene, fear crawling into their hearts. What shocked Shelvin was that Darius remained unbothered. He had noticed it while he was screaming earlier, so once the pain soothed, he gazed confusedly at Darius.Knowing what Shelvin’s inquisitive gaze meant, Darius immediately explained, “I’ve seen this before. Dream Investment Group must’ve intentionally left that guidebook behind for you and your fellow apprentices. That way, if any of you harbored plans to betray them, the book would mislead you into

“But that’s not how Darius should be,” Shelvin immediately rebuked himself in his mind. After dissecting the situation more, he shook his head and thought, “Then again, regardless of whatever Darius is plotting against me, his willingness to save me is touching.”That was when Darius cast a questioning look at Shelvin. He could tell the latter’s shoulders trembled harder once he placed his hand on them earlier. Darius did not know why Shelvin reacted that way, nor could Darius figure out a logical reason behind it. So, he took his hand off Shevin’s shoulder before folding both hands behind his back. He then narrowed his eyes and said, “Don’t get too excited, though. There’s something else I have to tell you.”Shelvin instantly fell silent upon hearing that. Still, he could not hide how anxious he felt, his gaze hardening while his muscles tensed. Darius stared more intensely and dubiously at the former, not knowing why Shelvin’s every reaction thus far seemed so dramatic. Nonethele