"Honestly, James isn't such a great chairman. How could he allow just about anyone to join?" Blake abruptly fell silent after saying that. He looked horrified. Then, as he swept a gaze over everyone present, he laughed. "I can talk again! You can hear me now!"As the other board members looked lost, Blake's expression darkened. He rasped out, "You idiots! If not for you, Darius would've let me go! It's all your fault that I've been stuck like this for so long!"The other board members didn't look too pleased at this, especially the one who'd stepped forward. He looked at Blake with anger and disgust. Then, he waved a hand and turned to leave. "I wasted time pleading on your behalf. You deserve everything that's happening to you right now! I wouldn't have an issue with you dying right this instant." He spat, then headed to the building's entrance.He stopped as he passed by Darius. "I don't think you're a good leader, but I have no issue with you taking over the Reid Consortium." With

Bruno's friends approached at lightning speed. They took broad steps and soon blocked off Darius' path. Although they panted heavily, they shot determined looks at Darius. Among them was a woman who put both hands behind her back as she spoke. "Sir, are you doing this because you know you're at fault? Bruno has been our dear friend for many years. We take friendships seriously, and so does our friend. He would never lie to us about this. I can tell you're wealthy from your home. It would be a high risk for Bruno to trick us into coming here and harming you. As our friend, he would never do that."Darius noticed the person was shaking while saying that. He cocked a brow before sneering, "You guys place a lot of trust in Bruno. Sadly, he's unworthy of such trust."With a sigh, he walked ahead and added, "What you think is unimportant to me. But let me tell you that the others are over there. You're free to enter if you still don't believe me. I bet Bruno will have valid explanations fo

Darius smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Bruno's friends noticed that. They inched toward Bruno because they feared Darius would attack the former. Otherwise, they couldn't protect Bruno if Darius made a move.Darius' smirk deepened when he saw the group form a defensive barrier before him. He leaned back, then sneered.That made everyone's face darken. Yet, no one dared to speak because Darius terrified them.Darius crossed his arms over his chest and sat on the couch while nodding. "I planned to forgive you guys because you seemed like kind people. Alas, your actions now show that's not the case." He sighed, cracked his neck, then leaned back. "You came up with any excuse to achieve your goals and justify your skewed assumptions about the rich, even if said assumptions were unfair. I didn't want to say these things because I didn't think it mattered at first."Darius sighed again. "But I'm willing to give you another chance since you guys haven't done anything too wrong

"I look forward to hearing you correct me if you think I've made the wrong assumption." Darius smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He stood there. It was like his presence had made the surrounding temperature drop.The woman gulped. She had never encountered anyone like Darius before. At that moment, she felt like her plan was about to fail. Her eyes fell shut, and even her breathing grew louder. After several seconds, she opened her eyes to look at Darius. She realized how stupid she was. Because of that, the woman didn't waste any more time. Even her voice didn't fluctuate as she voiced a sincere question. "Darius, let me ask you something. Did you already know things weren't as they seemed from the start? Did you guess my identity when we first met? You knew I wasn't a regular person, and I had an ulterior motive for appearing before you? Did you know that?" Her voice grew higher with every word. Darius raised a brow, then pivoted to meet the former's gaze. "What you're say

Erin shook her head after sending those messages. She looked baffled. Then, she continued typing, "Sir, you might not be too familiar with these things, but this is a rare occurrence. It's rare for someone to refuse to change their surname despite being kicked out by their family. This is especially so for the wealthy. There's something amiss here, and I think there are more secrets we can dig up. I've been digging for some time but can't get anything out of them. None of the members of the Evans family are willing to say a thing on this."Darius nodded, looking calm. "That's okay. It's only normal that you can't get anything out of them. If it were so easy to find out, they wouldn't be one of the most powerful families in Ashweir City—at least on the surface. It's really not that powerful." He flexed his neck. "You can go back to work. I'll see how things go and play it by ear. Don't worry." He hung up.Erin parted her lips when she heard the dial tone but didn't say anything. She kn