"I thought I'd made myself clear." Darius approached Stephen, making him tremor in his expensive shoes. He darted toward Pearl without hesitation and dragged her toward him so roughly that the chair tipped over, making Pearl fall onto her side, still bound to the chair. Stephen didn't let go, though. He continued dragging the chair with him as he backed away, which in turn resulted in Pearl's skin scraping against the ground. Even in her unconscious state, the pain made her wince.Darius frowned at this and clenched his fists. "That's enough, Stephen! You'll only make me angrier if you harm even another hair on Pearl's head, and whatever you're doing now is useless!"Stephen stopped and looked at Darius fearfully. This was soon replaced by a crazed look, though. He forced out through gritted teeth, "Don't push me, Darius! I swear that if you do anything to me, this woman won't end up well either!" Stephen's chest heaved as he watched Darius nervously, waiting for an answer.To his sur

Stephen shoved Pearl away, shot to his feet, and grabbed a blade on the table behind him. He held it aloft and lunged at Darius, wanting to stab him. Unfortunately for him, things didn't go as planned. Darius slowly raised an arm, which made Stephen let out a disparaging laugh. "Do you think you can…" Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself lying on the ground. He stared skyward in disbelief. Had Darius actually flipped him onto his back? He pointed at Darius with a trembling finger. "You…what are you…"Darius crossed his arms and looked at him mockingly. "I tried to be patient, but it seems you don't need it." He stepped forward and placed a foot on Stephen's chest. "I've already made myself clear—the only thing that will keep you alive is you telling me everything you know. Of course, you can be stubborn and tell me to investigate the matter myself. If so, don't complain about not being a fan of my methods when I get to the bottom of this."Stephen's eyes were filled

"You two are equally kind; this fight must've started because of a misunderstanding, or someone sowed discord between you two. If you come to me right now, I promise I can act as if none of this ever happened." The man's tone was firm, but his eyes were filled with venom.Darius sat on the chair before the surveillance monitors and said lazily, "You're Stephen's father, right? That makes you my uncle. Well, dearest uncle, you should consider hiding your venomous expression before speaking. How do you expect me to believe you were telling the truth?" He sighed. "Anyway, your words make no sense to me, and you aren't emotionally stable. If you insist on having a heart-to-heart with me now, I can't guarantee your son's safety. Don't you think it's just like what happened to my father?"Darius watched as an ugly look crept onto the man's face, and he smiled. "The fact that you're feeling fearful now makes me want to laugh. There were countless times in the past when you should've been fe

##When Pearl opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Darius' feet, and she was looking at them at an odd angle. She stared at them dazedly and cried, "Darius, where are you?" Darius couldn't deny his heart twinged when she cried for him. He squatted down to look into her eyes and reached out to untie her. When he was almost done, he used one hand to lift her upright while the other continued to undo the ropes. Before Pearl passed out again, she seemed to see a trace of concern in his eyes. When Stephen made her chair tip over earlier, she'd landed on her head and was probably concussed.Darius frowned and placed a palm on her head, channeling his life force toward her. Her wounds healed rapidly, making him sigh in relief. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes. When she saw Darius squatting before her, she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't want to do this to someone who saved me, but I can't help it. I regained consciousness long ago and saw that you didn't bother helping me up

"If you bear any grudge against him for causing their deaths or are resentful that their deaths led to you going missing and leading a bad life, I don't think there's any way to resolve that." Byron smiled consolingly.However, as an enlightened martial artist, Darius could sense he didn't mean a single word. In fact, Byron seemed to be nervous—his heart was racing. He watched Darius carefully, and Darius felt his eyes would probably turn red if he were any angrier. And so, Darius decided to make him mad. He straightened up and walked toward Stephen, who had been lying on the ground for a long time. He hadn't budged or said anything even upon Byron's arrival, as if he knew his father couldn't save him. He was right, of course—Darius wouldn't let him off the hook.Darius ignored Stephen's trembling, placed a foot on his shoulder, and said frostily, "I think I've been patient enough up to this point." He smiled at Byron.Stephen shuddered violently and turned to look at Byron tearfully

"Yet you didn't mention it. I guess you either played a part in it or stood by, and watched it happen—that's why you didn't dare say anything. You knew people would point fingers at you if they were to find out. Then, you lost your cool when you were almost found out because a man who claimed to be my father's friend showed up as a witness. You didn't know how to deal with it. Eventually, you devised a plan—to kidnap that friend's son and keep him with you, pretending he was your son. This way, the only witness would be at your beck and call to protect his son." Darius stroked his jaw thoughtfully as he spoke. Stephen's eyes widened as he stared at Darius. He knew Darius was telling the truth, and everything made sense. Darius could tell Stephen had plenty to say, but he ignored him and looked Byron in the eye. "Am I right, my dear uncle?"Byron's expression was ugly. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself. When he opened his eyes, his expression had been replaced

He raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. Edward thought Darius would get angry when facing off against Byron, but things had ended so abruptly. He didn't say anything, though. He'd been by Darius' side long enough to know he wouldn't let Byron off the hook so easily.Byron was equally surprised. He didn't want to end things here but fell silent at Darius' words. He peered at Darius doubtfully and asked, "Do you really mean that? You wanted my head minutes ago."Darius raised an eyebrow. "Can I take that to mean you like me treating you with that attitude? I don't mind, of course."Byron took a few breaths as he weighed his options. Then, he stepped back. It wasn't because he'd suddenly developed a conscience but because he didn't want to get into a fight where Darius had the upper hand. Byron looked around the surveillance room and realized he had no chance of winning if they were to get into a fight there.Stephen was still lying on the floor silently. When he saw his father backing

Byron desperately wanted to see it, and his eyes practically burned holes in Darius. To his fury, none of the things he wanted to see happened. "Darius Reid! Your attitude has granted you a one-way ticket to hell!" He stepped back and waved a hand. "Kill them now!"Stephen's eyes widened at his command; he stared at Byron in disbelief. "Father, you can't treat me like this! I'm your son, aren't I? I've been loyal to you all these years! You can't do this to me!"Byron looked at him scornfully, then hurried over to him and stomped on his shoulder, making him let out a pained cry. He looked at Byron with a terrified gaze, but this didn't bother Byron. In fact, Byron smiled. "I've always hated how weak and powerless you were; you should be grateful I've kept you alive for so long. Despite that, I can see that not only are you ungrateful, but you even resent me."Darius sighed and stood up, ignoring the falling out between the father and son. He looked at the bodyguards that were approach

Edward was like a sharp blade. As Darius stepped back, he disappeared. At the same time, the bodyguards let out tortured screams, which was enough to show Edward hadn't truly disappeared. Byron's expression went from disdain to fear and anxiety at the sound of their screams. He even forgot to taunt Darius, turning instead to look at the black-robed person who'd been silent this whole time.Darius' gaze followed Byron's and landed on the black-robed person. He put his hands behind his back, no longer worried about dealing with these people. "You haven't spoken since coming here; I almost forgot about you. If all your comrades were as low-key as you, they'd still be alive."Byron stiffened at his words. However, his courage was boosted when he saw the black-robed person sitting there without moving. He couldn't see the black-robed person's face because it was hooded, but he figured the black-robed person probably wasn't bothered by Darius' words. He hurriedly said, "We can't handle Dar

Byron gnashed his teeth so loudly that even Edward could hear him amidst his battle. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Byron in surprise. Soon, however, he refocused his attention on beating the bodyguards up. The battle was basically over, but he still had some information to get out of them.Darius noticed Byron's reaction and smirked. Byron didn't notice Edward's surprise, but Darius' was in plain sight. His breathing hitched, and he paled. "What's that look on your face supposed to mean, Darius? I'm your uncle! Can't you see how hard I'm trying to get someone to teach you a lesson? How dare you give me this attitude!"Darius was sick of his spiel, and his annoyance grew every time Byron mentioned it. He'd never met anyone as dumb as Byron. He turned to the black-robed person and rolled his shoulders. "I'm sure you have a grasp on the current situation. Are you still resolutely on his side?"As expected, the black-robed person hesitated. He stood there silently for a while, after