"In any case, I was punished and relegated here over something that didn't even happen!"Darius raised an eyebrow at Iago's complaint and mentally reviewed the information he'd revealed so far. Iago had been framed, leading to his parents cutting him off financially. He'd originally just been a rich kid living the cushy life but had been forced to work here as a security guard, surviving from paycheck to paycheck. Darius gave Iago an odd look—things didn't look as tough for him as he'd made them seem. He didn't look tortured or disheveled.Iago immediately understood what Darius was thinking. He forced out through gritted teeth, "See, that's what you think as well! You think my current life looks alright, don't you? But you don't know about that woman docking my pay when she feels like it! Going to work and doing my job is all I can do right now. You might think she's doing this out of the kindness of her heart, like maybe she's trying to train me so I can do a better job of managing

Darius had only known Iago for a short while, but he was confident that all sorts of weird thoughts were going through his mind now. These thoughts were probably along the lines of him complimenting himself on being intelligent enough to pick someone like Darius to be his friend. Darius shook his head at this and sighed. "Alright, alright. I know how kind and outstanding you are." He smiled and continued, "You're probably really happy that things turned out like this. I know your imagination's probably running wild now, but please rein it in for the time being. We need to focus on resolving this matter right now. Otherwise, we won't be able to move on."Iago's eyes lit up at his words, and he nodded vigorously. "You're right." He put his hands on his hips and turned to slam a hand on the front desk's counter. Darius thought he would say something profound and commanding, but … Iago held his head high and gestured at Darius with his other hand. "This is Darius Reid, the heir to the R

Darius took a deep breath and started driving. Iago watched him dazedly and asked, "What do I need to do now? And where are we going? I've never taken this way before; is there something fun where we're going?"Darius rolled his eyes. "No, there's nothing there except my home. I'm guessing you've been staying at the hotel's lodging all this while. Now that you've fallen out with them, you won't be able to continue working there, which also means you're out of a place to stay." He glanced at Iago. "So, I'm taking you to my place now. I'm sure you have no objection to that." Iago immediately nodded vigorously, making Darius' lips twitch. "Right, we can talk about everything else tomorrow. I believe Ursula will probably show up with those three people in tow."Iago crossed his arms and nodded. A few seconds later, he asked hesitantly, "What about that employee they were bullying? He wasn't lying about that. Throughout my time at the hotel, I've witnessed many people bullying him. Beside

Erin followed Darius out of the room. She looked even more confused by Darius' question but still nodded. "Yes, I do."Darius' grin widened. "The person who's locked in the car and screaming his head off now is the youngest son of the Evans family—Ursula Evans' youngest brother."Erin frowned. "Isn't Ursula Evans out to get you? Won't her brother … ""Her brother is out to get her." Darius finished her sentence. "My instincts as an enlightened martial artist tell me he's innocent enough, if only a little mischievous." He headed toward the car, where Iago looked terrified yet infuriated. Never in his life would he have expected to find himself locked in a car after waking up from a short nap. His breathing raced, and he jolted when he saw Darius appear before him. He stopped yelling and fixed an aggrieved, pitiful gaze on Darius.Instead of unlocking the car, Darius slowed to a stop and turned to look at Erin with a smile. "Look at him. He wouldn't hurt a fly."Erin bit her lip withou

This time, however, they didn't linger in the hall. Instead, they headed straight to the study. Darius sat down and placed a hand on the desk. He shut his eyes and slowly rapped his knuckles on the desk. "Alright, tell me what else has happened recently."Erin stood opposite him with her hands behind her back. "There have been some other incidents, but everything related to West Atlantics Int'l has either been good news or not too urgent. Zack's betrayal didn't cause any financial losses, and the issues he caused with the cash flow have already been rectified by cutting some costs internally … " At the thought of this, her eyes widened. "Sir, as you're aware, all our projects are fund-intensive, but we managed to resolve the cash flow issue solely by cutting costs. We didn't even need to cut the employees' salaries. This means we've been overspending in this aspect; I think this is something we can look into for further improvement."Darius continued to knock on the desk. Then, he wa

Erin didn't dare meet Darius' eyes. From where he sat, Darius could clearly see how red Erin's face was, and he knew he'd guessed correctly. "Well, since you guys have already done everything that you can, are you here to ask me to question Zack personally?" he asked calmly.Erin said hesitantly, "I know you haven't fully recovered and that you're busy, but I still wanted to ask you—""There are too many questions in this world that have no answers," Darius interjected. He smiled and continued, "Alright, that's the end of this matter. If Zack wants to see me, you can bring him here. Otherwise, inform him that he can head to the HR department to get his resignation settled. Remember—this has to be voluntary on his part. If he doesn't say anything, act as if you know nothing." With that, he stopped knocking on the table. "I assume he still doesn't know we're already aware of him contacting Dream Investment Group."Erin's grimace faded as she shook her head. "I'm not sure whether he know

After a long silence, Erin said in a small voice, "There's something wrong with your admission status again." Darius silently raised an eyebrow, making Erin's hair stand on end. She gulped, then hurriedly said, "Because you've continued to be absent from class, the university has decided to temporarily suspend your admission again. If not for Professor Owen Kurt lending you a hand, things would probably be worse."Darius sighed and turned to look out the window in an attempt to calm down. A few seconds later, he said, "Got it. Tomorrow morning, when we're done dealing with this mess, I'll arrive at the university at eight on the dot to talk to the dean—" He abruptly fell silent.Erin looked at him curiously. "Sir, is there something that you haven't told us?"Darius gave her a complicated look and nodded. "This is rude of me, but I've forgotten the dean's name because I've never actually thought of him as my dean."Erin's lips twitched at his words. Still, as a professional secretary

"That way, I'll be able to help him avenge his son," said Darius.Erin stiffened and stared at him with wide eyes. Suddenly, she didn't know what to think of him. She gulped and said, "Sir, is that the right thing to do?"Darius shrugged. "It doesn't matter because I know there must be something wrong with this son of his." Erin gaped at him. He shook his head and smiled. "You'll need to learn to accept these things. The mysterious person behind Dream Investment Group will soon find it hard to enjoy his position of power and will come after us again. If we don't strike preemptively, we're the ones who'll have to bear the consequences, good or bad. I'd like to avoid that—my objective is to provide the best that I can for my employees so they can live better lives."Erin nodded. Then, she turned to leave. She was still taken aback by Darius' plan when she returned to her office and took her seat. She'd seen a different side of him today, a side that he'd never shown others before. Befor

"They'll only go in one ear and out the other! I won't believe a word you say; they won't have the chance to enter my mind, let alone be processed." Zack forced the words out through gritted teeth, his fury evident. Darius could almost feel it through the speakers. Zack exhaled heavily and said, "If Darius were the one who'd caused my injuries, I wouldn't be so resentful. Yet the reality is the exact opposite!" He slammed a hand on the table. "Darius isn't the one who injured me. On the contrary, he saved my life! The person I've been plotting against all this while saved my life, which was in danger because of my so-called comrades. Do you know how guilty I feel toward Darius because of this? There's no way I can continue working against him in secret. Since I'm destined to die in the same person's hands, there's no way I'll continue doing anything for that person. As for you, you're also nothing more than a pawn to him. It's your choice if you continue working for him, but I hop

Pearl took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Her heart wasn't pounding as quickly anymore, but her eyes were still red. She parted her lips to say something when she saw a broken banister behind Darius. She subconsciously pointed at it before looking at Darius in confusion. Darius sighed and frowned. "It looks like the quality of the furnishings in this place isn't that great." As he spoke, he looked down at the part of the banister he held. Pearl's gaze followed his, and her jaw dropped when she saw what he held. Only then did she realize how quickly Darius had moved earlier. She said in disbelief, "I can barely believe this, but you honestly did move that quickly when you appeared before me earlier. My eyes weren't playing tricks on me because I was sad—you didn't take the stairs at all! You jumped over the banister, taking it down with you!" Her voice grew increasingly high-pitched as she spoke.Darius shrugged. "I heard you crying, and my first thought was that you were