Fury flashed in Madeline’s eyes, and without hesitation, she slapped Samuel hard across the face.The sound echoed in the hallway.“Enough!” she hissed, her voice trembling with anger. “Know your place.”Samuel’s cheek burned, but he stood tall, his voice calm.“You’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life.”Madeline laughed derisively. “Who do you think you are, Samuel? Without my grandparents’ charity, you’d still be nothing more than a street rat! Don’t delude yourself into thinking J&S succeeded because of you.”“Your skills were all ours to begin with,” she continued, her tone dripping with contempt. “If someone as useless as you could run the company, imagine what we can achieve without you.”Samuel gave a faint smile, saying nothing more.“You know what? I’m marrying Gideon!” she declared, her voice laced with venom, "He was incredible!"“Gideon is handsome, smart, and rich. With him around, J&S will not only make more money but also become a global powerhouse!”Samuel res

If there's anything more terrifying than a crime, it's the West Line.That sentence was always drilled into the heads of every law enforcement officer and government official.So, it was clear—Samuel’s request to go to West Line was the most insane idea they had ever heard."I’m sure you’re fully aware of how West Line operates, Mr. Hayes, and it’s not a good idea!"Joey clenched his fists, his expression filled with unease. He ruffled his hair in frustration."The largest supplier of every kind of drug is there! It’s the hub!" "And that’s not even mentioning the weapons assembly distributed on a massive scale, or the human trafficking! Oh, my God!"Douglaz, who had been sitting silently with his head bowed, took a deep breath. He looked up, raising one hand."Permission to add, Chief—one of my friends died when he entered West Line.""His body was never found. All that was sent to his house was a small box.""That box contained... his finger bone."Joey slammed the table, shouting,

Madeline’s mind was in chaos, her hands trembling.The sudden withdrawal of the two biggest investors supporting J&S Corp’s cash flow almost made her faint.This meant the company had abruptly lost its operating funds, which could disrupt the supply of raw materials—and paying workers would be out of the question.A major corporation can collapse in an instant!A flicker of doubt crossed her mind:Could it be... that Samuel was actually important?She quickly dismissed the thought.If Samuel were so capable, why would he have worked to help run the Brooks family’s company?There must have been some mistake during the partnership.Gritting her teeth, Madeline returned to her seat.Gideon and Arthur didn’t seem to have heard anything, cheerfully sipping their wine.Looking at Gideon’s face, Madeline felt reassured.After all, it didn’t matter if the investors pulled out.J&S Corp was about to partner with The Hawthornes!With The Hawthornes Corporation involved, those investors were irr

To Samuel, he was simply stating the facts.But to Gideon, it was an outright provocation!Gideon’s eyebrows twisted in anger.The next moment, he clenched his fist and threw a powerful punch toward Samuel’s face.The room seemed to hold its breath.But the punch never landed.Samuel seemed to just flicker and dodge the attack.In one smooth motion, he blocked the strike and pushed Gideon’s arm aside.The onlookers gasped in unison.Gideon stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock.“What?!” he sputtered, clearly stunned.The move he had just tried was one of his master’s most advanced techniques—a strike that had never failed him before!He was confident in his fighting skills.Normally, his opponents couldn’t dodge and would fall helplessly.How could someone like Samuel block it so effortlessly?Samuel was beneath him!“You’re such a weasel,” Gideon seethed, his eyes bloodshot with fury. “How did you dodge that?!”Samuel raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.“I don’t want to fight,”

Gideon's eyes, which had originally looked at Joey with pleading, immediately changed to that of a tiger eyeing its prey. He, who had been kneeling, stood up and gave a cynical smile."Nowhere, it's so hard for the police to work seriously, pfft!"Gideon patted Joey on the shoulder and said, "I hope you catch and take this scoundrel away soon! Don’t let The Hawthorne get involved any further!"Joey shuddered upon hearing that sentence.If it weren’t for Samuel, Joey would have punched Gideon in the face with one blow.A spineless bully! A coward!Just as Joey was about to step toward Samuel, Gideon stopped him again."You know The Hawthorne, right?" Gideon asked, craving validation.Joey calmly nodded. "Sure, Mr. Hawthorne.""Take him quickly! I'm tired of looking at his face!" Lisa screamed.Samuel had it enough. He didn’t say much and walked out on his own.Joey quickly followed him.Arthur felt a flicker of doubt in his heart. The sheriff's attitude toward Samuel had a hint of resp