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

##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

"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

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

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