Relationships and Power: Understated Dominance by by Marina Vittori

An Understated Dominance: By Marina Vittori​

Dahlia Nicholson and Dustin Rhys have been married for three years. After Dahlia achieves rapid success, she decides to end her marriage with Dustin, viewing him as a burden. Little does she know that all her accomplishments were actually thanks to him.​

CHAPTER 1
My wife is a CEO, she always hates me for being lazy and wants to divorce me. But she doesn't know that her success is bestowed by me.

“Dustin, here is the divorce agreement prepared by Ms. Nicholson. All you need to do is sign them.”

In the president’s office of the Quine Group, the secretary, Lyra Blaine, placed a piece of A4 paper on the table. A man sat opposite her, dressed in plain clothing.

“Divorce? What do you mean?”

Dustin Rhys was taken aback.

“Do you not understand what I’m saying? Your marriage with Ms. Nicholson is over. You’re not even on the same level anymore. Your existence is nothing but a smear on the president’s reputation!”

Lyra pulled no punches as she spoke.

“A smear on her reputation?” Dustin frowned. “Is that how she thinks of me?”

Back when they first got married, the Nicholson family was in ruinous debt. He was the one who helped them when they were at their lowest point. Now that they were rich, Dahlia Nicholson was ready to just kick him out.

“Something like that.” Lyra poked her chin toward the magazine on the table. A photo of a beautiful woman was printed on the front page. “Look at the headline on this magazine, Dustin. Ms. Nicholson’s net worth has hit one billion in the course of just three years, a feat no short of a miracle. She’s now the most desired woman in Swinton! With all this, she’s destined for greatness. But you, you’re just a regular joe. You don’t deserve her at all. I hope that you’ll see some sense and do the right thing.”

When Dustin remained silent, Lyra frowned.

“I know you’re not happy with this, but this is reality,” she continued. “You might have helped Ms. Nicholson when she was in trouble, but she has repaid you for everything you’ve done for her over the last three years. In fact, you’re the one who owes her now!”

“Is our marriage just a business deal to her, then?” Dustin took a deep breath to suppress the emotions within. “If she wants to divorce me, let her speak to me herself.”

“Ms. Nicholson is very busy. She doesn’t need to trouble herself with such trifling matters.”

“Trifling matters?” Dustin was stunned. Then he laughed bitterly. “Is that so? Is divorce a trifling matter to her? She can’t even find the time to speak to me. Truly, she’s that unattainable now!”

“Dustin, don’t delay this any longer.” Lyra pushed the divorce agreement toward him again. “Just sign here and you’ll get a car and a house as compensation. On top of that, you’ll also get eight million dollars. This is more than what you’ll be able to earn in your lifetime!”

“Eight million dollars is a lot, but…I don’t need it. I will sign the divorce papers if she comes personally. Otherwise, I won’t sign anything,” Duston said coldly.

“Don’t go too far, Dustin!” Lyra slammed her hand on the table. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. With all her power and resources, Ms. Nicholson can divorce you easily. It’s only because she appreciates her past relationship with you that she’s allowing you to keep your dignity intact. Don’t provoke her!”

“My dignity?” Dustin was a little amused by that. She didn’t even want to speak to him directly to divorce him. What kind of dignity was that? Moreover, if she really did appreciate their relationship, then why was she threatening him now?

“I don’t think we have anything else to talk about, then.”

Unwilling to argue, Dustin stood up and made to leave.

“Dustin Rhys! You—”

Just as Lyra was about to lose her cool, a curvy woman in a long black dress walked in. Her skin was as white as snow, and her features were delicate. Her lofty aura and curvaceous figure made her look like a goddess right out of a painting.

“You’re finally here.”

Dustin felt complicated emotions when he saw the beautiful woman. They had been married for three years, during which they treated each other with care and respect. But this was how it ended. He still didn’t know what he had done wrong.

“I’m sorry for being late, I was caught up with something else.”

Dahlia Nicholson sat down. Her expression was as impassive as ever.

“You certainly are busy, if you need your secretary to help you deal with your divorce,” Dustin said.

Hearing this, Dahlia frowned slightly. However, she did not explain herself. Instead, she said, “Since you’re here, let’s get straight to the point. Let’s end this on a pleasant note. I’m sorry I have to do this to you, so you can have the car and the house, plus eight million dollars as alimony. How does that sound?”

At that, she placed a card on the table.

“Do you really think our relationship can be measured by money?” Dustin asked.

“Too little? That’s alright. Let me know what you want. I’ll give you anything within my power,” Dahlia said placidly.

“I don’t think you understood me. Let me rephrase my question. Are money and power that important to you?” Dustin was truly bewildered.

Dahlia went over to the windows and looked out over the city. There was determination in her eyes when she said, “To me, yes, they’re very important.”

“You’ve earned enough to feed yourself for the rest of your life. Why do this?”

“Dustin, that’s where you and I diverge in philosophy. You’ll never understand what I really want.” Dahlia shook her head in disappointment.

They weren’t just incompatible in status and power; they were also incompatible in their principles. Most importantly, she did not see any hope for the future in him.

“You’re right. How would I know what you’re thinking?” Dustin laughed bitterly. “All I know is to cook for you when you’re hungry, prepare your coat when it’s cold out, and carry you to the hospital when you’re sick.”

“There’s no point in going into this now.” Dahlia’s expression held complicated emotions, but it was soon covered up by determination.

“You’re right.” Dustin nodded without any emotion. “I heard that you’ve been close with the heir of the Nolan family. Is it because of him?”

Dahlia was about to deny it when she gave it a second thought. In the end, she nodded.

“You can say that.”

“Okay. I hope you’re happy with him.” Dustin smiled and signed the divorce agreement without any more hesitation. All he felt now was disappointment. Ironically, today was also their wedding anniversary. There was cruel humor in divorcing him on the day they had gotten married.

“I don’t want the money, I just want that crystal necklace back. My mother left it to me before she died so that I can give it to my wife.”

“Okay.”

Dahlia nodded and gave him the crystal necklace.

“From today onward, we will have nothing to do with each other!”

Dustin put on the necklace and left. He had no more gentleness in his expression; all that was left was distant aloofness.

“Did I do the right thing, Lyra?” Dahlia asked hesitantly.

Even though she was the one who asked for the divorce, she didn’t feel happy at all when it was finalized.

“Of course you did!” Lyra nodded. “You have the right to pursue happiness. Dustin does not deserve you at all. He’ll only bring you down with him. You’re destined to be the most powerful woman in Swinton!”

Dahlia did not answer her. As she watched Dustin leave, she felt as if she was losing something precious.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 455

After struggling for half an hour, everyone finally managed to drink the antidote. Although they were still weak and pale, their lives were no longer in danger.

By the time they were finished, Natasha collapsed on the floor, worn out, and Dustin heaved a sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that he had so many drugs on hand, or there’d be no way he could deal with so many poisoned patients.

“Thank God you’re here, Dustin, or our family would have been done for.” Hector pulled himself up, his face full of gratitude. The Harmon family had nearly been wiped out.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Harmon. I just did what I had to.” Dustin replied, waving his arm.

“Uncle Hector, don’t you find this suspicious?” Quentin suddenly asked. “Why does this guy have the antidote?”

“What are you implying?” Hector frowned.

“Everyone who joined the gathering is either from our family or our esteemed guests. Everyone knows each other very well, while this guy is merely a stranger,” Quentin said, locking suspiciously at Dustin.

“Are you saying I’m the one who poisoned you?” Dustin narrowed his eyes.

“Hmmph! Someone from the inside was involved in this incident. You were able to correctly identify the cause and provide the antidote. Shouldn’t we be suspicious of you?” Quentin asked.

“Stop spouting nonsense! Why would he save you if he was the traitor?” Natasha yelled.

“To earn our trust, obviously!” Quentin answered confidently. “He orchestrated this entire thing. He first poisoned us before saving us with the antidote. This is not the first time I’m seeing such dirty tactics!”

His words immediately drew everyone’s attention to Dustin, their gazes conveying various emotions. Wariness. Distrust. Confusionand Anger.

After some thinking, they realized what Quentin said was logical. After all, everyone present had a vested interest and knew each other inside out, and the only stranger was Dustin, which made it hard not to suspect him.

“How absurd!” Natasha cried indignantly. “Quentin Harmon! Dustin saved your life just now, but you’re accusing him wrongfully? What kind of person are you?”

“I’m just trying to help everyone figure out who the mole is,” Quentin replied unapologetically.

“Fine! You said that Dustin is the traitor. Where’s the proof?” Natasha demanded.

“Isn’t all this proof enough?” Quentin sneered. “All of us were poisoned, but he was completely fine, so who else could it be?”
His words caused an uproar.

“He’s right! All of us were poisoned except that guy. How fishy!”

“Exactly. I was wondering why he was fine, but he turned out to be the person who poisoned us"

“What a treacherous man! Why on earth did I even thank him for? Ugh!”

Everyone’s opinion about Dustin began to sway under Quentin’s prodding. Instead of appreciative gazes, all Dustin received now were furious glares.

Hearsay sure was dangerous. In no time, Dustin found himself labeled guilty.

“Shut up!” Natasha yelled, infuriated. “Are you guys crazy? Dustin saved you, but instead of thanking him, you’re pointing your fingers at him? Unbelievable!”

“Natasha, this is a serious matter. I think we should look into this issue properly.” Trent suddenly spoke.

“I agree!” Jacob shouted abruptly. “I say we arrest and interrogate him for everyone’s safety!”

“Arrest him! Arrest him!” the Harmon family chanted agitatedly.

It was as if Dustin had suddenly turned into a criminal.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 456

Looking at all the hostile faces around him, Dustin smiled an imperceptible cold smile. They really didn’t know what was good for them. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have saved anyone. Now, he not only ended up failing to get into anyone’s good books but even brought trouble unto himself. How unlucky!

“Why so quiet, Dustin? Is it because you’re feeling too guilty, so you don’t dare to speak a word?” Quentin said aggressively. He looked as if he wanted to get to the bottom of things.

“You’ve already said everything there is to be said. What else can I say?” Dustin snorted and continued, “I saved your lives, but you keep insisting that I poisoned you and speaking so self–righteously. I’ve never met anyone as ungrateful as you bunch.”

“Humph! How dare you still defend yourself?!” Quentin’s gaze was icy as he said, “If you didn’t poison us, then why don’t you explain why you have the antidote?”

“That’s right! Why would you have the antidote?!” Everyone started demanding loudly. The incident was too much of a coincidence: it was difficult for people not to be suspicious.

“I’m a doctor, and I’m also proficient at medicine. Isn’t it normal for me to cure you guys from the poison?” Dustin said plainly.

“I can vouch that Dustin is indeed a very skillful doctor!” Natasha said firmly.

“Me too!” Ruth added. They believed firmly in Dustin’s medical skills and character.

“Fine, even if you’re a doctor and happened to have the antidote, then tell me why you didn’t get poisoned. Don’t tell me it’s because you have a strong immune system, so no poison can harm you,” Quentin demanded.

“You’re right. I am indeed immune to all poison,” Dustin said seriously. With his capabilities, common types of poison had no effect on him. Even the Deadly Slither’s poison, one of the most infamously lethal types of poison, only made him sleep for a while.

“Did you guys hear that? What a ridiculous excuse!” Quentin scoffed and said coldly, “Dustin, oh Dustin! You’re such a good liar. You’re also human like all of us, so what gave you the audacity to say that you’re immune to all poison?”

“Hmmph! Immune to poison? Sounds like bullshit to me!”

“I know, right? Only the person who poisoned us could come up with such a ridiculous excuse!”

“Don’t waste any more time on him. Hurry up and hold him down so we can interrogate him!”

The crowd flew into a furious uproar. They obviously did not believe Dustin.

“Dad, you’re the head of the family, hurry up and say something!” Seeing that the situation was going sideways, Natasha immediately turned to her father.

וי-Hector frowned, not knowing what to say. Although he believed that Dustin was innocent, he couldn’t treat a threat to the whole family’s life lightly. Most importantly, there were still suspicions surrounding Dustin, which made it hard for him to decide.

“Hector, let me handle this,” Trent said. “I’ve been in charge of the salety and security of the family all along. Since something like this has happened, I should carry out a thorough investigation regardless of whether Dustin is innocent.”

“Dad’s right! For the family’s safety, we should always be safe rather than sorry! Men, detain him!” Quentin commanded with a swift gesture of his hand.

“Yes, sir!” A group of the Harmon family’s guards stepped forward and surrounded Dustin. They had already drawn their swords.

“Stop!” Natasha shouted in anger. “If anyone dares to act rashly, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

“Natasha, you have to look at the bigger picture,” Trent said sternly. “If Dustin is innocent, then I will surely clear his name. I will not condemn him.”

“What’s the difference between condemning him and arresting him in public?” Natasha said with a frown.

“I only require his cooperation in the investigation. I guarantee that I will not hurt him.”

“He’s right, Natasha. This is a very serious matter that warrants a thorough investigation. I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble Dustin a little this time.” Jessica said.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 457

“Why don’t you trouble yourself? I don’t care, but nobody touches Dustin today!” Natasha didn’t give in at all.

In her eyes, no one was more important than her man. Even if he was guilty, she would still defend him till the end, much less when he was being wronged right then.

“Nonsense!” Jacob’s temper flared, and he shouted, “How can a junior like you meddle with such an important family matter? Someone take Miss Harmon back to her room!”

“Yes, sir!” Mrs. Davys and the others dared not show any hesitation. They half dragged, and half persuaded. Natasha out of the banquet hall.

Witnessing this scene, Dustin frowned. He had wanted to take action a few times already, but he had controlled himself. The Harmon family’s ways already ignited his anger.

“No one’s going to help you now, Rhys.” Quentin took two steps forward and gave a low laugh. “I already asked you to leave earlier, but you just didn’t want to listen to me. Look where it’s gotten you now. You regret it, don’t you?”

“I’m not the person who poisoned you,” Dustin tried to explain.

“Is that important? If I say that it’s you, then it’s you!” Quentin laughed coldly.

“So you’re condemning me on purpose?” Dustin asked with a frown. Being suspected was one thing, but being condemned was another.

“So what if I am?” Quentin had on an amused expression. “Everyone needs an explanation anyway, and making you the culprit will please everybody! What’s the matter? You feel very wronged, don’t you? Very dissatisfied? But what can you do? In this world, power comes above everything else. A pariah from the lowest rungs of society like you deserves to be a scapegoat! Just accept your fate!” With that, he turned around and bellowed, “Lock him up and torture him till he owns up! If he dares to retaliate, then kill him at once!”

“Yes, sir!” Hearing his command, the Harmon family’s guards acted immediately.

“Get lost!” Dustin rocked his body, and a potent wave of energy sent countless guards flying.

“How dare you still resist? This just shows that you definitely have something to be guilty of! Guards, heed my command! Kill the culprit immediately!” Quentin laughed wickedly and gave the kill order. At once, a wave of elite guards surged into the banquet hall from all directions.

“Do you really want to take things to the extreme?” Dustin asked icily.

“Humph, anyone would kill a traitor like you! Kill him!” Quentin said pompously. The moment he said that, a figure flashed before him. Dustin’s arm shot out suddenly, and he gripped Quentin by the neck, lifting him into the air with just one hand. He looked like he was holding a dying fish.

“How dare you!”

“This is preposterous!” Seeing what was happening, the Harmon family members all shouted in shock. Nobody thought Dustin would still dare to attack while he was already being surrounded.

“You imbecile! Let go of my son now!” Hector shouted furiously. However, he dared not act rashly for fear that Quentin would get hurt.

“He is undoubtedly the culprit! We must not let him go!” The crowd went into a furious uproar when they saw Dustin attacking someone.

“Hahaha— Hey, kid! You’ve pissed everyone off. Nobody can save you now!” Quentin laughed mirthlessly and said confidently. “If you have common sense, let me go at once. I could still spare your life. But if you dare touch a hair on my head, I can promise I’ll make you die a painful death!”

“Really?” Dustin snorted and tightened his grip aggressively. With a loud snap, Quentin’s head lolled sideways. He died on the spot before he knew it!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 458

Seeing Quentin die such a sudden death, the crowd was frozen with fright. Their eyes protruded, and disbelief was written across their faces. They could never have imagined Dustin to be so daring as to kill someone over a mere misunderstanding. He was swift, brutal, and very vicious. He never even gave Quentin a chance to negotiate. Shouldn’t every hostage be given a chance to negotiate first? Where was the reason for killing someone straight away without saying anything first? He was so unpredictable.

“It’s over. It’s really over this time.” Ruth smacked her forehead and shut her eyes. Il Dustin was just a suspect before this, he was now a murderer, no matter what the truth was. From that moment on, Dustin was the Harmon family’s public enemy! After a short moment of silence, the crowd launched into uproar.

“How dare you kill someone with all of us watching! Today will be your last day!”

"Fuck! Is that idiot crazy? How could he be so bold as to kill a member of the Harmon family on their very own turf? He’s a lunatic!”

“Burning bridges with the Harmon family so openly? I’ve never seen someone so extreme.” Because of Dustin’s actions, the entire family gathering turned into chaos. Some people were in shock, others were shouting furiously, and some even felt in awe of him.

“Imbecile! You imbecile!” Seeing his son’s body. Trent was so outraged that he vomited blood and collapsed onto the floor.

“How dare you kill my nephew! I’ll rip you to pieces!” After getting his senses back, Jacob bellowed furiously.” What are you guys waiting for? Kill him!”

“Stop! Everyone stop!” A feminine shout sounded out. It was Natasha running back after being dragged away earlier. She barged her way through the crowd and stood in front of Dustin, looking like she would defend him till the end.

“Natasha! What are you doing? You can’t possibly be defending that murderer!” Jacob shouted angrily.

“Natasha! Hurry up and move aside! That man has lost his mind!” Jessica yelled in panic.

“I already saw what happened just now. If you guys hadn’t pushed him to his limits. Dustin wouldn’t have made an impulsive mistake like that.” Natasha still attempted to defend him.

“This is absurd! He killed your cousin. Not only do you not blame him, but you’re even defending him. Are you even a part of the Harmon family?!” Jacob was beside himself with rage.

“That’s right! I think you’ve become blinded to be defending a murderer!”

“You really are in cahoots with him!”

Natasha’s attitude pissed off all the Harmons. She was a turncoat and a heartless traitor!

“Dustin! Quick, take me hostage! It’s the only way you can leave this place alive!” Natasha whispered. She knew that saying anything else would be useless at that point, and the only way she could keep Dustin alive was to go with this underhanded plan.

“It’s not that serious. Give me three minutes, and I can explain everything.” Dustin said with a slight smile. Natasha’s selfless protection warmed his heart.

“What’s there to explain? Quentin’s dead. Nobody will believe anything you say!” Natasha said anxiously. If she wasn’t worried that people would see through their act, theri she even wished she could hold a knife to her throat.

“As long as you believe me.” Dustin said calmly.

“What exactly are you up to?” Natasha asked with a frown. She really didn’t know how he could be so calm when the situation had already escalated to such a point.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 459

“Everybody. I know that all of you hate me, but please let me say a few words.” Dustin looked around and said loudly, “As long as you let me finish speaking, you can kill me ordo anything you please. I will not resist!”

“Hmmph! Are you still trying to make excuses till the very end?” Jacob demanded with a glare.

“I must say this regardless of whether you’ll believe me, but Quentin deserved to die. That’s because he is the real culprit who poisoned you!” Dustin dropped a bombshell.

“Bullshit!” Jacob snorted coldly. “Quentin is a Harmon. How could he poison members of his own family? I think you’re just framing him!”

“That’s right! If you’re going to make up a story, then at least make it believable. Who would believe you saying Quentin was the culprit?” Everyone scoffed and looked at Dustin with hostile gazes. If it wasn’t because Natasha was shielding him, they would have attacked him long ago.

“You say that Quentin is the culprit, but do you have evidence?” Hector, who had been silent till then, finally spoke up. He didn’t trust anyone, only the facts of the case.

“First off, I hold no grudges against the Harmon family, so I have no reason to poison you guys,” Dustin explained slowly. “Hence, all of you should be aware that the real culprit behind the scenes is the Dark Lord. However, not only did Quentin not blame the Dark Lord after being cured, but he kept suspecting me. He even used all sorts of reasons and excuses to condemn me and mislead everybody to make me the scapegoat. He deserves to pay with his life! That’s why I have reason to suspect that Quentin works for the Dark Lord! And because I saved everyone from the poison, he saw me as a pain in the ass that should be eliminated as soon as possible!”

Once he finished explaining, everybody became a lot more quiet. Some people were already mulling it over to determine if it was the truth. Everybody had their own version of a story, but after hearing Dustin out, they found it indeed a little strange.

“Humph! What a good talker!” Jacob’s expression was still icy. “He’s already dead anyway, so you can say whatever you want, can’t you?”

“Exactly! Do you think you can walk free by making up a story? Let me tell you that won’t be the case!” The members of the Harmon family were still treating Dustin with animosity, not trusting him at all.

“Words are useless. You must show us evidence!” Hector shouted.

“You want evidence, huh? Sure!” Dustin walked into the corner and picked up the incense burner that had been used to release the poisonous fumes. He explained, “The incense inside has a unique scent. It’s very long- lasting, and when it mixes with the poison, it makes it very hard to notice.”

“So what?” Jacob said impatiently.

“Take a sniff. Isn’t there an odd scent on Quentin? It smells almost exactly the same as the incense,” Dustin. said.

“Huh?” Jacob smelled the incense, then walked over to Quentin’s body and took a hard sniff. His expression changed instantly. Just like Dustin had said, the smell on Quentin was exactly the same as the incense in theburner. “They smell the same!”

To determine the truth, many people from the crowd came forward to take a sniff and experienced a shocking revelation. “Humph! So what if they smell the same? What does it prove? It could merely be a coincidence!” Jacob said coldly.

“Of course, the smell cannot prove anything. Actually, what raised my suspicion was not the smell, but Quentin’s body.” After a pause, Dustin dropped another bombshell. “You might not believe me when I say this, but Quentin already died long ago. His body was only being controlled using witchcraft!”

The crowd flew into an uproar.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 460

“Outrageous! This is absolutely outrageous! All of us saw with our own eyes that Quentin was alive and well before you killed him. Yet you dare say that he was just a corpse? How absolutely ridiculous!” Jacob’s rage burned to a whole new level, and he wanted to rip Dustin apart.

“Hmmph! Do you take us for fools? What makes you think we would believe your bullshit?!”

“Exactly! You were the one who killed Quentin. We all witnessed it!”

The crowd was furious, and their suspicions towards Dustin grew even stronger. How dare he deny killing Someone and even use such a ludicrous excuse to clear his name? Did he think they were three–year–olds?

“Young man, do you know what you’re talking about?” Hector said with a frown. He had tried to give Dustin a chance to explain himself, but his words only grew more outrageous.

“I know you guys don’t believe me, but I have proof.” Dustin walked to Quentin’s corpse and ripped Quentin’s clothes off, exposing patches of red lines to the crowd. “Do you see this? This is corpse plaque!” Dustin shocked everybody again.

“Corpse plaque?!” Everybody looked at each other skeptically at hearing those words. On the one hand, they were taken aback by what Dustin said. On whe other hand, they were skeptical about whether the corpse plaque was real.

“Hmmph! Is it corpse plaque just because you say so? What if those are just normal bruises?” Jacob said with a frown, still in disbelief.

“I — I can prove that it is really corpse plaque!” At that moment, a bespectacled man suddenly stepped forward and said with a shocked expression, “I used to be a doctor, and I’m very familiar with corpse plaque. What’s more, judging by the corpse plaque on his body, Quentin has been dead for at least twelve hours!” The
moment he said that, everyone’s expression changed.

“How could that be?! Quentin was still up and about just now. We all saw it clearly!”

“That’s right! There are so many witnesses. How could it have been a sham?!”
Besides being shocked, many people were skeptical because this revelation was hard to accept. “I was also wondering how a living person could have such serious corpse plaque on his body,” the bespectacled man said in astonishment.

“Dustin, what’s going on?” Natasha asked in confusion. She also couldn’t believe that the Quentin she had seen earlier was actually a dead body.

“I already said that Quentin was already dead, but somebody was controlling his body with witchcraft.” Dustin continued explaining. “I believe you guys must have heard of the rumors of corpse possession in Iden. This is similar to corpse possession, but the technique of it is far more refined.”

“That’s nonsense! How could dark magic like corpse possession exist in this world?!” Jacob demanded.

“If you haven’t seen something before, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. There are endless branches of the mystic arts that are very strange. Corpse possession is nothing in comparison,” Dustin said plainly.

“Hmmph! You can’t solve the case merely based on corpse plaque!” Jacob said stubbornly. As a warrior, he only believed in his own fists.

“You really don’t believe anything I say, huh? Fine, since you still doubt me, then I’ll enlighten you today.”

Dustin suddenly pulled out a silver needle and stabbed it into the space between Quentin’s eyebrows! A rumbling sound filled the air. A little while after he plunged the needle, Quentin’s body suddenly started convulsing.

Then, black blood started flowing uncontrollably from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. After a few heaves of Quentin’s chest, little black snakes started slithering out from every orifice of the corpse.

“Snakes! They’re snakes!”

Witnessing this scene, the crowd lost their composure and retreated in fright. Anyone would get goosebumps just by imagining snakes slithering out from a person’s head.

“How could this be?”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 461

Jacob was stunned and he couldn’t really believe his eyes. It was his first time witnessing such a strange incident.

“The Dark Lord! It must be the Dark Lord’s doing!” some members of the Harmon family started shouting. From time to time before this, some Harmon family members would die sudden deaths, but none of them had been as terrifying as this incident.

“How very brutal!” Hector frowned deeply, looking distressed. Someone had killed Quentin first, then controlled his body with witchcraft to poison the whole Harmon family. These tactics were not just cunning but vicious. Nobody other than the Dark Lord could be capable of it.

“I’m sure you guys believe my words now?” Dustin said at the perfect timing.

T- “I-..” Jacob was hesitant to speak. Although it was hard to accept, the facts were laid before him, and he had no choice but to believe it.

“Dad! The truth is out. Won’t you ask your men to fall back?” Natasha said.

“Fall back.” Hector gestured with his hand for the guards to retreat.

“Hector! He is my only son. He can’t just die for nothing!” Trent wailed. He was sitting collapsed on the floor.

“Jacob! This incident has nothing to do with Dustin. Our hatred should be directed at the Dark Lord!” Hector said grimly.

“But “Trent opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t bring himself to accept this revelation.

“Trent, don’t worry. Quentin’s death will not be in vain. We will find the Dark Lord and avenge Quentin!” Hector promised.

“Ahh… my poor son!” Trent sobbed sorrowfully.

Hector sighed and patted him on the back in consolation. Then, he turned to look at Dustin and asked the question everybody was curious about. “How could you tell?”

“I already realized that something was off since yesterday, but I couldn’t be sure. Only when I got close to Quentin today did I realize that his face was deathly pale, and his limbs were stiff. There was even a smell of rot on him. Although the incense covered the smell of rot, I still managed to notice. Of course, I did not act rashly. The main question I had to find the answer to was who was controlling Quentin’s body and what this person’s motive is,” Dustin explained.

“Then have you found out?” Hector asked.

Dustin nodded and said, “Of course, I’ve already found out who the perpetrator is.”

“Who is it?” Hector narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists subconsciously.

“This person is so near yet so far.” Dustin looked around and pointed at a pretty young woman beside Trent.” It’s her!”

“Huh?” Everybody looked in the direction he was pointing in and immediately frowned.

“Me?” The young woman was stunned. “Bullshit! You speak nothing but nonsense!”

After a moment of shock, Trent got worked up. “You idiot! You just murdered my son, and now you’re slandering my wife? What are you trying to do?!”

“Dustin, do you know that she is my sister–in–law?” Hector asked with a frown.

“Of course I do,” Dustin said calmly. “Not only is she your sister–in–law, but also the perpetrator of this incident. She is the mastermind behind controlling Quentin’s corpse!”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 462

“The mastermind?”

Everyone’s gaze fell on the beautiful lady when they heard that. Had he said that at any other time, none of them would have believed him. In fact, they might even have brushed it off as a lie. But after everything that had happened, they had no choice but to consider his words seriously. After all, they had just witnessed a corpse moving around with such vitality. At this point, nothing seemed impossible anymore.

“Hey, miracle doctor, I haven’t crossed you before this, have I? Why are you setting me up?” The beautiful lady frowned with a troubled expression.

“Dustin, you better not be accusing others without solid proof!” Hector warned him gravely. His brother had just experienced the pain of losing his son, and now, his wife was accused of being the perpetrator. This was no doubt rubbing salt in his wound.

“That’s right! What proof have you got to claim that our sister–in–law has anything to do with this?” Jacob demanded loudly.

“I must have a certain level of confidence to accuse someone of something so severe.” Dustin gazed pointedly at the woman and said, “Quentin’s body has a unique scent on it. And she has the same smell on her, only much stronger. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and catch a whiff.”

A few of the ladies who stood close to the woman went closer and sniffed the air around her. Immediately. they nodded. “He’s right! She does have a special scent on her, and it’s the same scent on Quentin’s body!”

Everyone’s expression changed when they heard that, and their look on the woman turned wary.

“I’ve always been using fragrances that I formulate myself, and Quentin’s my son! What’s so strange about my scent rubbing off on him?” She tried her best to explain the situation.

“The scent is just a point of suspicion. It isn’t solid evidence, and it doesn’t prove anything.” Hector shook his head. It didn’t make sense to pin the blame on someone based on a scent.

“Of course, that isn’t all.” Dustin approached the woman and circled her as he continued, “People who are well- versed in the mystic arts usually have something different about them because they feed the venomous insects that they breed with their blood. With time, some changes will happen to their body.”

“What changes?” Hector probed.

“Ordinary people have crimson red blood, but people who practice the mystic arts will have blood which is black and acutely poisonous. All you need to do now is to check her blood, and the truth shall be uncovered.” Dustin stated nonchalantly.

"Nonsense!” The woman shouted. “What do you mean you’re going to check my blood? That’s ridiculous!”

“Celeste, it’d be best to run a test to prove your innocence,” Hector persuaded.

“What? Do you really believe the rubbish he said?‘ Celeste asked, feeling wronged.

“This is a grave matter, Celeste. You should cooperate with us on this,” Jacob echoed.

“Honey, they’re joining hands and putting me in a difficult position! Are you just going to watch as they treat me like this?” With tears in her eyes, Celeste turned to Trent for help.

“Jacob! Hector! I’m your elder brother! Are you not going to show me any respect? Trent roared. His son had just passed away, and now, they were turning on his wife. Of course he couldn’t take it.

“Trent! You’ve got to see the big picture here!” Hector said seriously. “If Celeste is innocent, I’ll make a public apology!”

“That’s right. Trent. This is a matter that affects the future of our family. We can’t risk it! Everyone can be at ease once we just run a quick test on her blood.” Jacob coaxed.

“Fine! From the looks of it, you’ve all been brainwashed by this rascal!” Trent spat through clenched jaws. Then, he furiously said. “Alright! If you insist on running a test on Celeste’s blood, then fine, we’ll do it. But if my wife turns out to be innocent. I’ll cut this brat’s tongue off!”

“Sure,” Dustin agreed.

“Honey, you know that the sight of blood makes me faint.” The woman shrunk back with a scared look.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be over before you know it. Once we prove your innocence, I’ll make sure he pays!” Trent said confidently.

“Check her blood.” With a wave of Hector’s hand, two women swiftly came forward and proceeded to take a blood sample from Celeste.

But right before they managed to do so, she sighed regrettably. “I never thought that I’d be exposed so soon! What a waste of my excellent acting skills.”

“What?” Trent, who stood by the side, was caught off guard.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 463

Before he could even wrap his head around what was going on, a sharp blade was already pressed up against his throat. The blade glistened with a dark sheen, obviously coated in poison. “Celeste, what are you doing?” Stunned by the sharp turn of events, Trent was at a loss at how to react. He had never thought that the day would come when his wife would threaten him with a blade against his neck.

“Stop calling me that. Your beloved Celeste died a few days ago.” The woman smiled.

“You’re not Celeste? Then who are you?” Trent’s expression was one of utter horror and confusion.

“The Dark Lord is my master. Who do you think I am? The sinister smile on her face remained unchanging.

“You’re the Dark Lord’s disciple?” Hector frowned. This was a grave matter. They had never expected the Dark Lord to plant a mole in the Harmon family disguised as one of them.

“So it is true that you’re the one who poisoned Quentin! Guards! Get her!” Jacob ordered without further ado.

“Stand right there!” The woman made a slight move with the blade and threatened. “This blade is coated with poison. Just the slightest scratch on him, and you’ll bid him goodbye forever. I suggest that none of you make any sudden moves.” Everyone in the room stopped in their tracks when they heard that.

“Let my brother go, and I’ll spare you!” Hector bellowed.

“Hah! Do you think I’d believed you?” The woman held Trent hostage and began inching backward toward the door. As she did so, she taunted, “You lot are in luck. My intention had been to wipe out all of you today. Who knew you’d be so lucky to have someone here to save you? None of you would have been able to survive otherwise.”

“Cut the crap! Let him go right this instant, or you won’t make it out of the door alive!” Jacob roared savagely.

“Do you bunch of dimwits think that you can stop me? Anyway, I’ve had my fun today. I’ll come back some other day to toy with you.” When she reached the exit, the woman suddenly turned to Dustin and smiled seductively at him. “Hey, miracle doctor, don’t you forget what you promised. When you have the time, come over to my room, and we’ll have a nice long chat, alright? See you again soon!” And with that, she produced a spherical object and hurled it to the ground.

With a loud resounding boom, dense smoke burst out on the spot, clouding the visibility for a radius of several feet around them.

“Quick! Spread out! The gas might be poisonous!” Dustin warned at once. That gave everyone a fright, and they all dispersed promptly for fear of inhaling poisonous gas.

By the time the smoke cleared out, the woman was already gone. Trent was left behind, lying on the ground. unconscious.

“Trent!” Hector rushed forward to check on him. Fortunately. Trent was just unconscious and wasn’t harmed in any way.

“Get her!” Jacob was livid. Gathering his men, he was ready to go after her to take her down.

“Let her go!” Hector stopped them. He wouldn’t put it past the Dark Lord’s disciple to have several tricks up her sleeves. It might be dangerous for them to go after her and fall into her trap.

“Are we going to let her off just like that, Hector?” Jacob was peeved at the thought of her going free after all she had done.

“Of course not. But now’s not the time for us to take action yet” Hector told him seriously. They were out there in the open while their opponents were in hiding. The situation was not beneficial to them, and besides, without proper plan and preparation, they would only be led on a wild goose chase.

“Damn it! The Dark Lord is really playing us for fools!” Jacob hissed.

“Let’s talk about this later. For now, have your men arrange to send our guests back safely. Our family gathering will end here.” Hector announced.

“Sure.” Jacob nodded and busied himself with the arrangements. Now that something like that had happened, there was no point in carrying on with the gathering anymore.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 464

With Hector and Jacob’s arrangements, all the guests in attendance at the Harmon family gathering gradually left, and the annual event came to a jarring end.

In order to prevent any other parties from taking advantage of the situation, Hector gave everyone firm instructions to keep what happened a secret and that under no circumstances was any information to be leaked.

When all the guests had left, about 100 of the Harmons stayed back. As part of the Harmon family, they understood that if anything were to happen to the family, they would be similarly implicated, so they were all
in it together.

“We really appreciate your help in finding the culprit, Dustin. Had it not been for you, the Harmon family would have suffered a tremendous loss.” Hector patted Dustin on the shoulder with admiration in his eyes. It was rare to come by such a fine young man.

“Dad, Dustin saved our entire family. Surely you’re not just thanking him verbally?” Natasha prompted.

“Of course not.” Hector smiled. “Dustin, if there’s anything that you need, just name it. I’ll try my best to fulfill your wish,”

“If you really mean it, Mr. Harmon, I’d like to request that you annul Natasha’s marriage alliance and let her have her freedom,” Dustin said earnestly.

“Well" Hector frowned. A moment later, he shook his head. “I’m really grateful to you for saving my family but this is one thing I cannot promise you.”

“Why? Is it only because the Grants are able to help you defeat the Dark Lord?” Dustin questioned.

“It’s one thing to defeat the Dark Lord.” Hector sighed and continued helplessly. “The marriage alliance had been agreed upon a long time ago. If we suddenly decide to annul it, it would be akin to publicly disgracing the Grant family, and its repercussions would be beyond our imagination!”

There were three prominent families in South City. The Murrays had a military background, and with General Christopher Murray as head of the household, they were highly respected and had the military behind them. The Hill family, on the other hand, had their connections in the martial world. As someone who had been a master of the Balerno martial arts, Paul Hill had a myriad of disciples across the nation. His prestige in the martial world was unrivaled. As for the Grants, they had both military power and connections in the martial world. Their multifaceted development made them the family who thrived and flourished the most out of the three influential families. Their wealth of knowledge, experience, and resources, and how extremely well- informed they were about current affairs because of all their connections made them more formidable than the Dark Lord himself. He amounted to nothing when compared to the powers that the Grant family possessed.

Harmons stood a chance against the Dark Lord, but they were utterly helpless against the Grants. And that just was how things stood with the Harmons now. Annulling the marriage alliance was simply out of the question. They dared not even think about it.

“Say, Mr. Harmon, would it change things if it wasn’t the Harmons who decided to cancel the marriage but the Grants instead?” Dustin asked cautiously.

“I know you’re holding out hope for that, but chances of that ever happening is about as close to zero.” Hector shook his head. “The reason why the Grants agreed to the marriage alliance was because they were Interested in our family’s potential in the business world so that they can bring their family’s status up to a whole new level with our support in the industry.”

“But would you agree to it if the Grants decided to annul the arrangement?” Dustin probed.

“If it really comes to that, I guess I’ll be forced to agree.” Hector chuckled.

“Dad! Mark your words!” Natasha broke out into a grin when she heard his words. “As long as Tyler Grant decides to annul the marriage arrangement, you must never force me into a marriage again!”

“What do you have in mind?” Hector felt uneasiness coming over him. This daughter of his always had the wildest ideas.

“Don’t you worry about that. All you’ve got to do is remember what you just said.” Natasha did not explain any further.

“You” Just as Hector was about to say something, Mrs. Davys came over.

“Mr. Harmon, the Grants are here to visit.” she reported.

“Hurry up and welcome them!” Without wasting any time, he personally went out to welcome them with the rest of the Harmons in tow.

Outside the gates, a large throng of smartly dressed people awaited.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 465

There were several luxurious cars and a whole lot of bodyguards standing guard behind them. It was a grand sight to behold as there were easily a hundred people gathering: A man and a woman stood right at the forefront.

The charismatic man had a tall physique that exuded a commanding presence, and his sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through everything. Every step he took gave out a strong air of danger and menace, as though he were the Grim Reaper himself making his way through a sea of bloody corpses. He stood out from the crowd and carried such an air of reverence. This was none other than the impressive Tyler Grant! And the lady beside him was Jayla Grant, whom Dustin had had a chance encounter with.

“Tyler, I’ve asked Natasha about her thoughts on this marriage alliance before. She seemed to have expressed that she did not wish to marry you,” Jayla said offhandedly.

“That’s not her choice to make. No matter what she says, I will get the woman I have my eyes on,” Tyler said domineeringly with such confidence.

“You’re right.” Jayla nodded in agreement. “It doesn’t matter what Natasha thinks. This is an alliance of two families. She’s just a woman. She has no right to say anything about it.”

“They’re here.” Tyler raised his head and gazed straight ahead.

The gates to the Harmon estate swung open, and Hector, along with the rest of the Harmons, swiftly came forward to welcome them. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Tyler. Come on in.” Hector politely beckoned for them to enter.

Soon, they were all brought into the compound of the Harmon estate. As they made their way in, the Harmons stood to either side of them, showing their respect and sincerity.

“Bring us tea,” Hector instructed the household staff. Once they settled down in the lounge, all sorts of refreshments were served. The Harmons demonstrated such courtesy and were as respectful as could be.

“Mr. Harmon, you should know that the purpose of our visit today is to send you the bride token,” Jayla started, and as she spoke, she gave a clap as a signal.

In no time, boxes upon boxes of gifts were brought to them. Upon opening the boxes, they found them to be full of priceless goods. Some were packed full of gold bars, some were full of accessories made of pure gold, and others carried jewelry of all sorts. There were over 20 boxes in total, and every one of them held goods of priceless worth. It was truly astonishing.

“Mr. Harmon, will this be enough for the bride token?” Jayla asked with her chin proudly lifted, Tyler, however, just sat by the side, sipping on his tea as though all of these were none of his business.

“Of course it is! We’re very pleased with the sincerity that the Grant family has shown us.” Hector nodded with a smile.

“Great! Since you’re happy with this, we shall proceed with the marriage. We will come for the bride in 10 days! " Jayla cut things straight to the point.

“Sur-” Hector was just about to agree to the arrangement when the crisp voice of a woman sounded.

“No, I do not agree to this!”

“What?” When they heard that, everyone’s gaze shot over to the entrance of the lounge.

With everyone’s eyes on her, Natasha slowly made her way into the lounge with several people behind her. “l do not agree to the marriage alliance.”

“You do not agree?” Jayla’s expression darkened. “Have you any idea what you’re saying, Natasha?”

“Of course I have. And I stand by my words: I will not marry Tyler Grant,” Natasha said impassively.

“What is the meaning of this. Mr. Harmon? Are you going back on our arrangement?” Tyler slowly looked up. his sharp gaze directed pointedly at Hector. “Have you ever considered the repercussions of your actions?”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 466

The Harmons couldn’t help but shudder when Tyler’s gaze swept over them. An uncontrollable fear seemed to

come over them. Though he spoke calmly without any emotions, his gaze alone was enough to instill fear in them. For a moment, they felt like they were all prey to a monstrous beast.

“Do not be mistaken, Tyler. She doesn’t mean that.” As Hector said that, he shot Nataha a glare. “Stop messing around. Go back to your room right this instant!”

“Natasha, this marriage alliance is an arrangement between two families! This isn’t child’s play! You mustn’t act recklessly!” Frightened, Jessica stepped forward to warn Natasha. It was one thing for her to speak. impulsively in front of Jayla. But now that Tyler was here, things would get out of hand if she still insisted on saying such things.

“I’m not messing around, nor am I acting recklessly.” Natasha stood her ground. “I know you’re an exceptional person, Tyler, but matters of the heart cannot be forced. Nothing good will come of this. I hope that you can cancel the arrangement.” The Harmons were in no position to annul the marriage arrangement, but the same could not be said for the Grants.

“You want me to cancel the marriage arrangement? And why should I do that?” Tyler asked, aloof.

“As I said, we’re not compatible. It will not bring us any good if we get married just for the sake of getting married,” Natasha said with certainty.

“I don’t care.” Tyler took another sip of his tea before he continued indifferently, “Since we had an arrangement, then you’re going to follow through with it, or you’re going back on your words.”

“Can you please be reasonable?
"Natasha frowned. “I already have someone that I like. You and I, it’s not going to work out for us!”

“Oh? And who is that person that you like?” Tyler demanded.

“It’s him!” Natasha dragged Dustin out from behind her.

“You?” Jayla’s brows furrowed when she had a good look at Dustin. She never expected to bump into that annoying person here.

“What? Do you know him?” Tyler shot Jayla a side–long glance.

“Tyler, he’s the one who fought with me over the flower of Crimson Gem!” Jayla hissed.

“Oh.” Tyler wasn’t too fazed.

“Do you see now, Tyler? This is the man I like. We have mutual feelings for each other, so I hope you’ll give us your blessings,” Natasha said.

“Mutual feelings? Tyler chuckled menacingly. “You’re mine, Natasha. Nobody can take you away from me. If you refuse to marry me, I’ll kill him. You get me?” His words were straight to the point, and he did not even bother to mask his threats.

“How dare you!” Natasha was furious.

“There’s nothing much I daren’t do,” Tyler stated matter–of–factly.

“Tyler, if it’s an alliance with the Harmons that you’re after, you have a myriad of other options! Why are you so intent on marrying me when there are so many other eligible young ladies in the Harmon family?‘ Natasha drew a deep breath and announced gravely, “Since this is what things have come to. I’ll come clean. I am no longer a virgin. I have slept with Dustin.”

“What? You ve slept with him?” Chaos broke out when they heard what Natasha said. The Harmons all stared at her wide–eyed in disbelief. The Grants, on the other hand, were equal parts horrified and infuriated.

“Natasha! What nonsense are you spouting? Are you out of your mind?” Jessica was so shocked she broke out in cold sweat. It was a disgrace to the Harmons‘ reputation for Natasha to lose her virginity before marriage. Besides, it was also blatant humiliation toward the Grants.

“You wretched girl! What nerves you’ve got!” Hector was beside himself with fury. The Harmons had strict rules, especially toward their daughters, who were expected to preserve their innocence until the day they were married.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 467

“Natasha Harmon, you are shameless! Absolutely vile!” Jayla was so angry she slammed her hands on the table and jumped up from her seat. With her brother’s status and prestige, he was never going to marry a woman who had slept with someone else.

“Are you trying to provoke me?” Tyler’s brow knitted together ever so slightly. A brief second later, he regained his composure and put on a facade of indifference. “I do not mind that you’ve lost your virginity.”

“What?” Once again, everyone was shocked by what they heard, especially the Grants. It was like they did not even know Tyler anymore.

“You do not mind that I’m no longer a virgin? Well, what if I told you that I’m with child?” Natasha tossed him another shocker. “Truth be told, I’m pregnant. I’m carrying Dustin’s child!”

The moment she said that, a commotion came over the room.

“Oh, you wretched child! How terrible!”

“Oh, Natasha! You’ve brought disgrace upon the entire Harmon family!”

“How can you agree to a marriage alliance when you’re already pregnant with a brat? How utterly shameless!”

From the Harmons to the Grants, everyone was admonishing and chastising Natasha for what she had done. Some of her close relatives were so furious that they didn’t even know what to say.

Even Dustin himself was surprised to hear that. Was this the trump card that Natasha claimed to have? Wasn’t it too much? It didn’t seem like the best idea out there. She had totally destroyed her reputation just to get out of the marriage arrangement. He had to admit that he was impressed by this trick she pulled, but he couldn’t help feeling bad for her. He could already imagine the mean words and criticism that would be thrown her way from now on.

“Natasha Harmon! I’ve shown you enough patience and tolerance, but this is too much! You’re pushing my boundaries!” Tyler slowly stood up with a dark expression. No matter how composed he usually was, he could no longer stay calm now.

"The blame is on me, and for that, I am sorry. If you need any form of compensation, just let me know.” Natasha said.

“Compensation?” Tyler scoffed. “Do you think you’re being smart by pulling something like this? That everything will go your way because of what you said?”

“What do you mean?” Uneasiness crept up over Natasha.

“If there’s one thing I hate the most, Natasha, it’s being lied to. You better pray that I don’t ever find out that your pregnancy is a sham or who knows what I’ll do to you. Also, you won’t be getting what you wished for. I will not call off the marriage. I stand by what I said. You’re mine, and nobody’s ever going to change that. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re pregnant, and it doesn’t matter if you’re dead or alive. What’s mine will stay with me forever! I will be back for you in 10 days, and if you Harmons insist on rejecting the marriage. arrangement, I’ll take it that you choose to be enemies of the Grant family. As for what will come of that, I’m sure you’re more than aware. With that, Tyler turned and left, but his words left Natasha in a state of stupor, She did not expect Tyler to be so persistent even when things had turned out the way they had.

“Count yourself lucky that my brother is still willing to accept you, Natasha! But I have you know, people like you will never have an easy time in the Grant household!” Jayla followed in Tyler’s footsteps after she hissed meanly.

“Oh, Natasha! What’s gotten into you?” Jessica was so upset that she was just short of pulling her hair out.” You’ve just managed to ruin what was supposed to be a perfect marriage! It was foolish of you to pull something so absurd!”

“Natasha, Tyler isn’t an average person. You’ll never fool him with your pregnancy deception. I’m afraid that you’ve gotten yourself into some deep trouble!” Hector sighed. The only reason he had gone along with the act was because he bore hopes of freeing her from the marriage arrangement, but who would have thought that Tyler didn’t buy it at all? And not only so, he did not seem to have any intention of calling off the marriage at all!

"There must be some other way… Natasha’s brow was deeply furrowed as she cracked her head thinking of a way out of her predicament. The way things had played out was beyond her expectations, and she was in a dilemma right now.

“Dustin, hurry. You should get out of Millsburg pronto! Knowing Tyler, he’d never let you off the hook!” Hector was suddenly reminded of the danger Dustin was in.

“Don’t you worry, Mr. Harmon. Tyler won’t be able to mess with me so easily.” Dustin smiled and continued, Oh, and leave the matter of calling off the marriage to me. If persuasion doesn’t work on him, then we’ll try more aggressive means.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 468

“More aggressive means?” Hector and the rest of the Harmons were taken aback by Dustin’s suggestion, and they all stared at him like he had gone out of his mind. He wanted to use more aggressive means against the Grants? Did he have a death wish?

“Dustin, if you have a death wish, that’s all on you. Please do not implicate us!” Jessica said sternly with a frown. From how she saw it, her daughter’s rebellion and her publicly calling off the marriage were all because of Dustin, so she harbored some form off resentment toward him.

“Tyler Grant isn’t an ordinary person. He has the smarts and the brawns, he’s courageous and witty, and most importantly, he’s got military ranks. It would be arduous to make him back off.” Hector shook his head.

“Every man has his weaknesses. As long as I grab hold of his weakness, I’ll be able to turn the tables. We’ve got 10 days left. I’ll make sure that I smoothen everything out nicely.” Dustin promised with certainty.

“Act within your means, boy. Don’t push things, or you’ll bring doom upon yourself,” Hector warned him gravely. He was thankful to Dustin and did not wish to see him putting himself at risk.

“Rest assured, Mr. Harmon. I know what I’m doing.” Dustin nodded.

“Dustin, why don’t you stay at the Harmon villa for the next few days? I don’t think that Tyler would do anything over the top on our turl,” Natasha suggested.

“No!” Natasha’s suggestion elicited an immediate rejection from Jessica. “It would make things immensely worse if the Grants were to find out that Dustin is staying here!”

“Well things have already fallen apart between us. Will this make any difference?” Natasha raised a brow.

“The situation as of now is still salvageable, but if you continue provoking Tyler, then you’re putting us all in grave danger!” Jessica said sternly. With the power and authority the Grants possessed, they had infinite ways of making the Harmons‘ lives a living hell.

“Mrs. Harmon’s right. Now’s not the time to be making enemies. It’d be best for us to keep a low profile for the next few days.” Dustin nodded in agreement. It went without saying that he did not fear the Grants, but that did not mean that the Harmons did not fear them too.

“What if Tyler wants to kill you?” Natasha frowned.

“Well, that’d be a wish come true! I haven’t had the chance to loosen up for the longest time! I’d welcome a punching bag.” Dustin chuckled.

“Hey! I’m being serious here! This is a grave matter!” Natasha chided hullily. The Grants weren’t part of the martial world, so they weren’t bound by all the rules of the martial world. They had no qualms about killing someone off.

“Don’t worry about me. Stay home and wait for my good news!” Dustin soon left after setting Natasha at ease.

Things weren’t looking good for the Harmons. On the one hand, they had to deal with the Dark Lord, and on the other, the Grants. One was hiding, and the other was up on the surface. Neither one of them was easy to deal with. It would be a challenge for him to deal with both of them alone. He had to come up with a perfect strategy to settle everything.

“Did I really act too impulsively today, Dad?” Natasha let out a sigh as she watched Dustin walk away. She had thought that she could anger Tyler into canceling the arrangement, but it turned out that not only did her plan not work, but she had also planted Dustin in a precarious position. She was sure Tyler would find all sorts of ways to make life difficult for him.

“You were pretty rash Indeed, but what’s happened has happened. There’s no point dwelling on it any further. We’d be better off thinking about how to deal with it.” Hector said thoughtfully.

“Why don’t we go to Grandpa?” Natasha asked warily.

“Why should we go to him? We, Harmons, do not need his help!” Hector’s expression turned cold. The usually calm and collected man suddenly lost his cool as though she had brought up something sensitive which should not have been mentioned.

Natasha dared not speak anymore when she saw how agitated her father was. Standing by the side, Jessica sighed when she heard the conversation between them. It seemed almost impossible to bridge the gap between the two families.

At the same time, over in the backseat of a luxurious car

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 469

Tyler leaned back into the seat. Even as he took a rest with his eyes closed, he exuded an air of danger.

“Tyler! That wretched girl Natasha is really too much! We need to bring her into line!” Jayla sat beside Tyler, still indignant over Natasha’s words. Her brother was such a remarkable person who was outstanding in every aspect. Natasha should have counted her blessings and thanked every deity she knew that he even wanted to marry her! But not only did she not appreciate him, she dared to call off the marriage alliance in front of such a crowd. This was humiliation through and through!

“Say something. Tyler! That bitch cheated on you! Are you really not pissed off by that?” Jayla was even more disgruntled by Tyler’s silence. His fiancée had cheated on him with another man and even got herself pregnant! This was something that would never sit well with any man!

“There’s no point getting all worked up.” Tyler said with indifference. “I am not marrying Natasha because I like her. I only have my eyes on the potential she holds, so it matters not to me whether or not she’s pregnant.”

“Surely you can’t be serious, Tyler! She cheated on you! Does that not matter to you?” Jayla thought that her ears were playing tricks on her.

“I am only interested in results. I don’t care what means it takes to achieve the results I’m after. I will marry Natasha, and that’s final. Whoever dares stop me from getting what I want, Ill see to it that they die.” Tyler’s tone remained as detached as ever.

“You’ve changed, Tyler,” Jayla said as she shrunk back into her seat. She’d been away from her brother for two years, and she was starting to find that he was getting increasingly unfeeling. A man who was unaffected by being cheated on by his fiancée. He truly seemed quite terrifying to her now.

“What do you know about the man who was with Natasha, Jayla?” Tyler changed the topic.

“He’s Dustin Rhys, a medical practitioner. He lucked out and got a flower of Crimson Gem at an auction not too long ago. We had a little argument over that.” Jayla told Tyler all that she knew about Dustin. After her disagreement with him back then, she ran a thorough check on him, but she found nothing out of the ordinary.

“The flower of Crimson Gem is quite valuable. I want it,” Tyler said nonchalantly. “Get some of our men to retrieve it, and get rid of the scumbag while they’re at it.”

“Sure thing!” Jayla’s eyes lit up instantly. She had been planning to exact revenge on him for the longest time.

Now that she had her brother’s support, she was sure she’d get things to go her way.

On Dustin’s way back, his phone rang. He took his phone out to see that it was a call from Dahlia.

“Dustin, where have you been for the past few days? I haven’t heard from you for quite some time. I went to the medical center to see you, but Maximus said you’ve gone missing for several days.”

“Oh, I’ve got some matters to attend to in Millsburg. I won’t be back so soon,” Dustin explained.

“Is that so? What a nice coincidence! I’m in Millsburg too! I just got off the train. I called to bid you goodbye, didn’t expect you’d get here before I did!” Dahlia sounded surprised.

“What are you doing here in Millsburg? Dustin was taken aback.

“The Nicholson family’s business, Cardinal Group, is located here in Millsburg, so I’ve come to take over the position of chairperson,” Dahlia told him.

“I see.” Upon giving it more thought, it made sense for the company to be in Millsburg. After all, many elites were gathered here in Millsburg, so many huge corporations and enterprises chose to establish their presenceand operations here.

“Shall we have lunch together? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” Dahlia invited.

“Sure. Where are we having lunch?”

“Spices Diner.”

“Alright. I’ll be there in a bit.” Dustin ended the call and told the chauffeur to head straight to Spices Diner.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 470

Over at Spices Diner, Florence sat in a booth and took in the sight around her, occasionally commenting on what she saw. “Look, Dahlia. Things are so different here in Millsburg. Every other diner here looks so posh! I’ve decided! I’ll stay here in Millsburg for good! This is such a huge and advanced city! Everything’s so convenient here, and it’s way better than stuffy old Swinton!”

There was nothing much Dahlia could do but listen helplessly. She had planned on coming to Millsburg to assume her position alone, but Florence and James insisted on tagging along. They claimed that they didn’t want her coming to Millsburg alone with no one to rely on and that they’d be more at ease knowing that they’d be able to help her and take care of her.

“Mom, does Aunt Victoria live nearby?” James suddenly asked out of nowhere.

“She does! And I’ve invited her to join us for lunch. She should be here by now.” Florence nodded.

As they spoke, a group of three came in through the door, led by a glamorously dressed middle–aged woman. She was adorned from head to toe in gold, from gold necklaces to gold earrings and rings. She appeared every part a wealthy woman, and she was none other than Florence’s sister, Victoria Franklin. Following behind her were Julie and an attractive young man.

“You’re here, Victoria! Quick, have a seat!” Florence immediately stood up and welcomed them enthusiastically when she saw them coming in through the door.

“Florence, why have you decided to visit Millsburg? Victoria eyed her from head to toe, deliberately showing off her gold bangles and the thick gold rings on her fingers as she spoke.

“Dahlia’s running a company here in Millsburg, so we followed her here.” Florence chuckled. Then, it finally registered with her how flashily Victoria had dressed up. “Hey, have you hit the jackpot? Where’d you get all your jewelry from?”

“Haha! These are nothing! I’ve got loads more at home!” Victoria smiled smugly. “I have to say, I’ve got quite an accomplished daughter. She recently made a hundred million dollars, so she got me some jewelry.”

“What? A hundred million dollars?” Florence’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Julie, since when were you so capable?” Dahlia had toiled and suffered for three whole years to start up Quine Group, and even she did not have a hundred million in cash. Julie had struck il rich indeed!

“Oh, Aunt Florence, have you forgotten I graduated from a prestigious university? I’ve always been capable! You just don’t know it.” Julie hugged her arms arrogantly. She had returned to Millsburg and enjoyed all of life’s pleasure after selling off Florence’s sapphire.

“I guess I never found out.” Florence shot her an awkward smile.

“Florence, how long does it take for Dahlia to make a hundred million dollars? A year or two? Well, Julie did it in three days!” Victoria announced proudly.

“Three days? You wouldn’t get rich so soon even if you robbed a bank!” James had his doubts.

“Oh, you have such a limited worldview,” Julie made a disdainful face.

“Victoria, who’s this with you?” Florence’s gaze stopped on the charming young man who stood beside Julie.

“Oh, this is my daughter’s boyfriend. He’s Terrence Stone.” At the mention of Terrence, Victoria was even more chuffed up. “Terrence is a manager in Brooks Corporation. A fine young man with broad connections, he is. Oh, by the way, do you know Brooks Corporation? That’s a large enterprise worth several billion in market value!”

“Worth billions?” Florence was shocked to hear that. Cardinal Group was big enough of a deal for her. The prospect of a company with a value of up to billions was unimaginable. Was this the kind of grandeur that Millsburg had to offer?

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 471

“I guess you can say that I have quite an influence here in Millsburg, so if any of you ever run into any problems here, you can come to me,” Terrence said as he handed out his name card. As he spoke, he shot Dahlia one too many glances. A hint of lust flashed in his eyes. Dahlia was, after all, a bombshell. Not only did she have a perfect figure, but her face was also exquisite. She was unlike any other woman he’d seen before and definitely in a much different league compared to Julie.

“Very impressive, Mr. Stone! Here, take a seat, everyone.” As Florence gestured for them to take their seats, she called out to the waitstaff, “Excuse me, we’re ready for our meal now!”

“Hang on,” Dahlia piped up. “We’re missing one person.”

“Oh? Who else are we expecting?” Florence looked around them, puzzled.

Just as Dahlia was about to speak, Dustin gracefully made his way in through the doors. “Over here!” Dahlia stood up and beckoned for Dustin to join them. Her company turned around to see who it was and collectively frowned.

“Why is he here?” Florence was obviously displeased. Because of her prejudice toward him, she still held him in disdain.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting.” Dustin went up to them and smiled politely.

“We weren’t waiting for you!” Florence said curtly. “You sure are a pesky one, Rhys! We’ve just arrived in Millsburg, and you’ve followed us here? You haven’t been tailing us, have you?”

“I think you’re mistaken. I’ve been in Millsburg for the past few days.” Dustin said calmly.

“Hah! Who knows if you knew that we’d be coming here beforehand?” Florence pursed her lips. Her daughter was now the chairwoman of Cardinal Group, and she’d had a huge leap in status. Dustin was nowhere good enough for her anymore.

“Don’t say that, Mom. I was the one who invited Dustin for lunch,” Dahlia explained.

“Fine, whatever. Since you’re already here, you can join us.” Florence couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

“Have a seat,” Dahlia patted the seat beside her, indicating Dustin to sit beside her.

Her caring and attentive gesture, however, seemed to have caught Terrence’s attention. A cold glint rose in his eyes. “Damn it! Why would such a gorgeous and thoughtful woman be attracted to such a douchebag?” He thought to himself.

“Buddy, you don’t sound like you’re local. Mind sharing where you’re working?” Terrence smiled insincerely.

“Where he’s working? Hah! He’s just a grubby old medical practitioner with no formal qualifications,” Florence scorned. From how she saw things, Dustin’s success today was all thanks to Natasha. Simply put, he was nothing more than a toy boy.

“You practice medicine without qualifications?” Terrence was briefly stunned before he burst out laughing.” That’s a rare one. You’d barely be able to sustain yourself with such a job, would you? Things must be hard for you.” He was blatantly poking fun and regarded Dustin with a dismissive attitude.

“You’re right. It is tough. I barely get any patients. I’d call it a good month if I even get five patients coming in.” Dustin said, unbothered by Terrence’s comments.

“Hah! Then why are you still practicing it?” Terrence adjusted his tie and said pompously. “I say, why don’t you work for me? It just so happens that I’m in need of a chauffeur. If you can drive, why don’t you be my chauffeur? I’ll pay you a monthly salary of ten thousand dollars. How’s that?” “Thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I’m not interested.” Dustin shook his head.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 472

“My man, this is a pretty decent salary. You won’t get a better offer anywhere else! Il you do a good job, I might even give you a bonus!” Terrence jibed.

“You’re lucky that Terrence is offering you this position as his chauffeur, Dustin. You’ll regret it if you pass on this opportunity!” Julie said proudly,

“That’s right! Terrence is the manager of Brooks Corporation, and he has a bright future ahead. You’ll get a lot of extra perks working for him. What’s there to not like about it?” Victoria echoed.

“Is Brooks Corporation that big of a deal?” Dustin still wasn’t convinced.

“You don’t know Brooks Corporation? It’s a huge enterprise worth over hundreds of billions! You’ll live a life of luxury if you’re even the least bit affiliated with it!” Victoria scorned. He truly was a country bumpkin who knew nothing.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of it before.” Dustin shook his head yet again. He didn’t know much about the business sector in Millsburg.

"Alright, so you’ve never heard of Brooks Corporation. But how about Big Bucks Brooks? Surely you’ve heard of him? He’s renowned in the whole of Balerno!” Terrence smirked.

“Big Bucks Brooks?” Dustin raised his brows. “Of course, I know him.”

“Great. Well, Brooks Corporation is one of Big Bucks Brooks‘ businesses, and I work for him!” Terrence declared self–importantly.

“Oh? So you work for Roderick? What coincidence!” Dustin chuckled.

“What do you mean? Do you know him?” Terrence’s eyes narrowed.

“Of course I do! He used to seek medical help from me!” Dustin nodded.

“Seek your help?” Terrence sniggered. “You’re quite a liar, aren’t you, my man? Have you even got any idea how influential Big Bucks Brooks is? How could he possibly go to an unqualified medical practitioner like you
for help?”

“Exactly! There are reputable doctors everywhere here in Millsburg! Why would he seek medical help from you, of all people, when he can go to them? Who do you think you are?” Julie said with contempt.

“Hey, Rhys! Quit acting all important when you haven’t even gone through proper medical training! How disgusting!” Florence frowned. Since Dahlia was the one who invited him over, she felt embarrassed now that he was ousted as a liar.

“You don’t believe me? Well, how about I give Roderick a call now?” Dustin proposed.

“Sure! Go on, call him. I’d like to see for myself just how well–connected you are.” Terrence laughed maliciously. Even as manager of Brooks Corporation, he didn’t have Big Bucks Brooks‘ number. How could this punk be acquainted with him? How ridiculous!

“Yeah, go on! I’d be impressed if you actually got ahold of him!” Julle sneered.

“Okay.” Without wasting any time, Dustin pulled out his phone and made a call to Roderick Brooks. But after quite some time, the call still didn’t get through.

“What’s wrong? Is he not picking up? Haha! Well, carry on then, Terrence joked sarcastically. He was sure that Dustin was just putting on a show.

“Hey! Are you done yet? Everyone can tell that you’re taking it! Are you really going to carry on with the act?” Julie asked condescendingly.

“Hah! What an embarrassment!” Florence was very much annoyed.

“Forget it. Dustin. Let’s eat.” Dahlia saw that things weren’t going well for him, so she quickly attempted to help him out of the awkward situation. Everyone knew Big Bucks Brooks. He single–handedly controlled Millsburg’s economy, so he definitely wasn’t someone who just anyone could establish a connection with.

“It got through.” Just as everyone held Dustin contemptuously. Roderick finally picked up his call.

“Oh? The call got through? Here, let me hear what he has to say!” Terrence teased nastily and snatched the phone right out of Dustin’s hand before putting the call on speaker mode so that everyone could hear the conversation. “Hello, who is this? Are you Big Bucks Brooks? Hey, Mr. Brooks, I’d just like to know, are you planning on playing along with the act too?” he asked derisively.

“Hey, you’re not Mr. Rhys! Who are you?” Roderick asked.

“Me? Hahaha! I’m Terrence Stone, manager of Brooks Corporation! You’re pretending to be Roderick Brooks, aren’t you? Well, I’d like to see you try!” Terrence scoffed.

“Terrence Stone, right? Very well. I’ll remember you.”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 473

“So what? What can you do to me?” Terrence taunted, unaware of the impending trouble he had brought upon himself.

“I’m Roderick Brooks, and you work for me. What do you think I can do to you?” Roderick asked coldly.

“Still keeping up the act, I see. Do you think I’d really buy this crap you’re spouting?” Terrence snorted.

"Terrence Stone, I’m officially informing you that you have been fired by Brooks Corporation, effective today. You need not come to work tomorrow.” Roderick wasted no time in making the decision.

“Hahaha! You’re firing me? You’re something else, aren’t you!” Terrence gulfawed. “Truth be told, I have a powerful person backing me up in Brooks Corporation. Even Roderick Brooks is in no position to fire me, much less an impostor like you!”

“Is that so? Well, would you be so kind as to enlighten me who the person backing you up might be?” Roderick asked sternly. If someone like this was the manager, it was high time Brooks Corporation had a restructuring.

“You have no business finding out who the person is. All you need to know is that you’ll be sorry if you ever mess with me!‘ Terrence expressed conceitedly.

“How insolent!” Roderick huffed. “I don’t want to waste my time speaking to you. Pass the phone to Mr. Rhys!”

“What’s the matter? Can’t hold up the act any longer? You’re no fun.” Terrence then tossed the phone back to Dustin and ridiculed, “My man, this actor you found yourself is pretty incompetent at what he does! He lacks the necessary charisma. I say he needs to go back and brush up on his skills!”

“Actor?” Dustin stifled a laugh. “I wasn’t lying: he really is Roderick Brooks!”

“Heh! If he’s Roderick Brooks, then I’m Roderick Brooks‘ father!” Terrence said without giving it much thought.

Dustin simply found him amusing. Terrence was quite a stubborn one. Dustin had already reminded him multiple times that it was really Roderick Brooks he was speaking with, and yet he took no heed and continued to speak with such arrogance. He’d be in for a lough time when he went to work the next day.

“Mr. Rhys, do you know this person?” Roderick suppressed his anger.

“I don’t know him well. This is my first time meeting him,” Dustin said with a chuckle.

“That’s good to know.” Roderick heaved a sigh of relief. If Dustin were on close terms with Terrence, then he wouldn’t act rashly. But since they weren’t, he could handle things his way.

“Alright, Mr. Brooks, I’ll leave you to carry on with your day then. I’ll contact you some other time.” Dustin quickly ended the call. His intention had just been to give Terrence a warning so that he didn’t behave so arrogantly. Who’d have known that he was so foolhardy and went so far as to insult his boss like that?

“Your act’s been busted, my man. Is there any point keeping it going?” Terrence looked down his nose at Dustin, wearing a wise and discerning expression as if he had seen through Dustin’s lie.

“Hah! I think he’s the only one fooled by his act! Some people really know no shame! Julie shook her head, looking at Dustin like he was nothing but a clown.

“What’s the meaning of all this, Florence? How could you bring a scammer to our table? Are you insulting us?” Victoria was upsel.

“Dustin! Can you please cut your bullshit? Are you not ashamed of yourself? Because I am!” Florence shot daggers at him out of her eyes. Why did he have to act like he was all that when they were just having a meal? And what’s worse was that his lie got busted! It was downright embarrassing!

“There’s no point saying anything more. You’ll find out the truth tomorrow.” Dustin gave a faint smile, not bothering to explain further. He knew that no matter what he said, these people weren’t going to believe him.

“Quick! This is the place! I saw him go in!”

Right then, a commotion broke out at the door. They looked up and saw an obese man with a bunch of henchmen coming in menacingly. The person taking the lead was none other than Duncan Doyle, who had had a run–in with Dustin in a bar a few days back.

“Here he is!” Duncan’s eyes swept across the diner, and he quickly spotted Dustin. With his henchmen in tow he stormed up to him.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 474

“That’s strange. Why are they headed our way? They look like they’re up to no good. They’re not here to give us trouble, are they?” Florence fidgeted anxiously in her seat.

“They’re here for me.” Dustin piped up.

“You? Have you offended someone again?” Dahlia frowned. She noticed that Dustin ran into quite a lot of trouble these days.

“I wouldn’t exactly say I offended him, per se. I simply beat him up to teach him a lesson on how to behave,” Dustin said calmly.

"This is not Swinton. There are influential people all around. There are some people that we simply cannot afford to cross!” Dahlia whispered. Though she was now chairwoman of Cardinal Group, the handover had yet to be completed, so she had neither funds, connections, nor experience. At this stage of her life, what she needed to do was to make more connections, keep a low profile, and stay out of trouble.

“Don’t you worry. Miss Dahlia. I’m here. I’ll make sure that nobody kicks up a fuss here.” Terrence shot her a confident smile, trying to portray the image of a savior. He’d never pass up the opportunity to flex his muscles in front of such a beautiful lady. Every man wanted to play the part of a hero saving the damsel in distress.

“Dahlia, Terrence has some very powerful people backing him up. With the connections he has, these rascals don’t stand a chance,” Julie said proudly as she hooked an arm around Terrence’s.

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to thank Terrence in advance.” Dahlia managed to force a smile on her face.

“Don’t mention it. It’s no big deal,” Terrence said with a wave of his hand as he beamed joyfully, thinking it’d be effortless to deal with these thugs.

“You scoundrel! I’ve been searching high and low for you for the past two days! You can’t run away now!” Duncan advanced with a threatening smile on his face. His malicious gaze was fixed on Dustin.

“Why were you searching for me? Have you finally realized that you were wrong and were looking for me to apologize?” A hint of a smile tugged on Dustin’s lips.

“Apologize, my foot!” Duncan’s face fell as he roared. “Two days ago, you humiliated me and gave me three slaps across the face. I swear I’ll chop your hands off today, you asshole!”

“Excuse me, sir, Please calm down. If Dustin has hurt you in any way at all, I’ll pay you for the damages he’s done.” Dahlia stood to alleviate the tension.

Surprised that someone would stand up for Dustin, Duncan gave Dahlia a good look before his eyes lit up.

“Gorgeous! This lady is gorgeous Indeed!” he thought.

He’d set eyes on many beautiful ladies before, but this was something else. She was truly a rare beauty!

“Hey loser, is this your girlfriend? She’s quite hot.” Duncan stroked his chin as he leered at Dahlia with a smirk. ‘I’ll strike you a deal. If you let your girlfriend sleep with me for one night, I’ll let you off the hook for that ass move you pulled last time. How’s that?”

“You insolent bastard!” Before Dustin could say anything, Terrence slammed his list on the table and stood up. “Which sect do you belong to? Don’t you know that men’s disagreements should be settled between men? So keep the lady out of your dirty business!”

“And who are you to run your mouth here, you cad?” Duncan squinted at him.

“Hmph! I am Terrence Stone, manager of Brooks Corporation! If you know what’s good for you, you better scram, or I’ll make you regret the day you were born!” Terrence said with his hands behind his back, going for a look of superiority. Brooks Corporation was a giant in the Millsburg business industry and had enormous influence over the market, so Terrence was used to people backing off the moment he told them that he worked for Brocks Corporation. It worked like a charm.

“Manager of Brooks Corporation?” Duncan’s expression darkened when he heard that, and within a split second, he went up to Terrence and gave him a hard slap across the face. “Fuck you! How dare a measly manager behave so pompously? Do you have a death wish?”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 475

With a loud smack, Duncan’s hand made contact with Terrence’s cheek. The force was so strong that he staggered backward, nearly tripping over himself. The crimson outline of a palm blossomed on his face, clear for all to see.

Julie, along with the rest of them, were astonished by what they saw. It was beyond their expectation that these thugs would be so dauntless as to assault the manager of Brooks Corporation. Were they out of their minds?

“You–How dare you hit me!” Terrence held his cheek in his hand, gasping in disbelief. “Do you not know who I am? I am a managerial level in Brooks Corporation!”

“So what?” Without another word, Duncan gave him another hard slap. I’d probably be intimidated if Roderick Brooks himself were here. But a mere manager? Do you think I’d be afraid of you?”

“You scumbag! You’re done for, I’m telling you! How dare you hit me! I’ll make you pay if it’s the last thing I do!

Beside himself with rage. Terrence pulled his phone out and was about to call for backup.

“Fuck you!” Duncan kicked Terrence to the ground and bellowed, “How dare you act so arrogantly when death is staring you in the face? Get him, boys! Give him a good beating and show him who’s boss! With his orders, his henchmen came forward and rained kicks and punches down on Terrence.

“Stop it! Stop this immediately, or I’m calling the cops! Julie shouted. These thugs were going to be in deep trouble for messing with Terrence!

“Call the cops? Yeah, you go ahead and try that, and you’ll be walking out of here with one arm less!” Duncan glared at her nastily. That did the trick and shut Julie up.

“You you you’re too much!” Victoria was so angry, but there was nothing she could do, and that added to her frustration. She was consumed by distress at the sight of her prospective son–in–law being beaten up.

“This is all your fault, Rhys! If it wasn’t for you, Terrence would never have been beaten up!” As usual Florence pinned the blame on Dustin. Bullying people that she thought were weaker than her was what she did best. “I’m not the one beating him up! What’s this got to do with me?” Dustin was speechless. After all, it was Terrence who wanted to be the hero of the day but ended up embarrassing himself.

“Hmph! Terrence was helping you, and you’re here making sarcastic comments. Are you even human?” Florence demanded furiously.

“Well, maybe I’m not. If you are, why don’t you go ahead and save him?” Dustin gestured in Terrence’s direction.

“You-” Florence was rendered speechless. She would never dare to save Terrence because she feared that she would be implicated.

“Dustin, you fight well, Hurry! Go help him out!” Dahlia’s brow was lurrowed. Terrence had meant to help them, so she could not just stand there and watch him being assaulted without doing anything about it.

“Alright.” Since Dahlia was the one who asked, Dustin finally got up and gave several of the henchmen kicks that sent them flying. “You’ve had your fun, and your anger should have subsided. That’s enough,” he said nonchalantly.

“You’re in deep shit yourself! How dare you concem yourself with other people’s business?” Duncan spat spitefully.

“Come straight at me if there’s anything you’re displeased about. Do you even call yourself a man if you bully the weak?” Dustin said calmly. Terrence, who was cowering on the ground, looked insulted when he heard. Dustin calling him weak. He had meant to flex his muscles and show off how powerful he was, but these thugs had no regard for his status whatsoever! And because of that, not only did he get beaten up, Dustin ended up walking away with the credit that was supposed to be his. This was humiliation unlike any other!

“Fine! I won’t attack him. I’ll attack you instead!” Duncan smiled viciously and beckoned for his men to go forward with a wave. “Mess him up! And go all out while you’re at it! I’ll bear the consequences!”

“Yes, sir!” The group of henchmen answered and charged up toward Dustin all at once.

At the sight of that. Dustin composedly picked up a handful of cutleries from the table and threw them straight ahead. As the whooshing sound halted, everyone saw that the forks and knives were half–buried in the henchmen’s thighs.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 476

“Ah!” There were a series of loud cries as the henchmen were caught off–guard, falling to the floor one after another and rolling around in pain.

In a blink of an eye, the floor was littered with people. Everyone had a fork or a knife lodged so deeply in their thighs that they couldn’t even pull it out.

“What?” Duncan couldn’t help but be startled by the sight.

He had carefully handpicked these henchmen. All of them had gone through extensive training and were highly skilled. Typically speaking, a ten–against–one battle would have ended in an overwhelming but predictable victory on one side.

Yet, never in his dreams would he have expected that all of his men would have fallen just like that.

Were cutleries supposed to be this deadly?

“What? That bastard is this strong?” Victoria couldn’t help but be shell–shocked by how nonchalant Dustin looked. In her mind, Dustin was just an insignificant small fry.

How was he capable of that?

“Fuck! Turns out he’s had some training. Why didn’t he act sooner?” Terrence gritted his teeth, feeling the soreness throughout his body. If Dustin had come to his rescue sooner, he wouldn’t have had to get beat up for nothing!

Undoubtedly, that bastard just wanted to embarrass him!

“Rhys seems to be getting better and better at fighting.”

Florence and the rest were secretly stunned. Although they knew that Dustin was a decent fighter, seeing him end a battle in a single second like that was shocking enough.

“You want to take revenge on me, but you only brought so few people? That may be a tall order.” Dustin stared into Duncan’s eyes and continued indifferently. “If you break one of your arms and promise never to appear in front of me again, I may consider letting you off this time.”

“Letting me off?” After a brief moment of surprise, Duncan burst into menacing laughter. “Punk, I’ll admit that you’ve got something in you, and just any henchman is no match for you. However, if you think that victory is in your hands, then you’re majorly mistaken!”

“Hmm, are you saying you have another trick up your sleeve?” A shadow of a smile crossed Dustin’s face.

“Of course!” Duncan said with confidence. “After all, I’m here for revenge, so of course I made preparations. You’re a good fighter, aren’t you? Well, I’ll bring out someone who is an even better fighter than you now!”

With that, he clapped his hands twice.

Suddenly, two men in tracksuits walked in. One was in his forties, while the other was in his early twenties. From the looks of it, they had to be father and son. Not only did their faces resemble each other’s, but they also had similar builds; both of them had burly figures sculpted from solid muscles, and veins popped through their skin like earthworms. They looked terrifying.

“Punk, do you know who they are?” Duncan said gleefully. “They’re the famous Sander father–son duo of the martial world, Cobalt and Flint Sander!”

“The Sander father–son duo?” When Terrence heard this, his expression immediately changed.

Others might not know it, but he knew very well how strong the Sanders were. The son, Flint, was already ranked thirteenth on the Hundred Immortals. Meanwhile, the father, Cobalt, was ranked second!

What did being ranked second entail?

He was already far past the capabilities of the average person. He could smash rocks with his hands and feet.

Rumor had it that when Cobalt was at his peak, he had challenged 27 dojos in Millsburg in a row. Not to mention, he won every single time!

That alone was a testament to his immense power!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 477

Secing Cobalt and Flint stride in, shivers ran down Terrence’s spine. “Just who is this bastard? How did he manage to get the Sander father–son duo here?!”

These two were renowned top dogs in the martial world. Either one of them could take on a hundred opponents at once. They rarely showed up for anyone; it was definitely no easy feat to have invited these two to a light.

“Terrence, who is the Sander father–son duo? Are they very powerful?” Julie asked from the side.

“Powerful? To the average person, these two are monsters! Especially the one named Cobalt–he’s an absolutely terrifying freak. He kills like it’s nothing. Countless people have died by their hands!” Terence said solemnly.

As one of the backbone members of the Brooks Corporation, he naturally knew a thing or two about the martial world.

“What? They’re that scary?!” Julie shrunk behind Terrence.

Although Florence and the others didn’t say anything, they maintained their distance, afraid that they might end up as collateral damage. They had no understanding of the world of martial arts, but from the aura that the Sanders radiated, they were clearly not good people.

They couldn’t get on the bad side of people like them, no matter what!

“Punk, if you cross the Sander father–son duo, you’re done for!” After the shock wore off. Terrence couldn’t help but laugh at Dustin’s fate.

Because of Dustin, he got beaten up for nothing, so he was mad. Not to mention, Dustin had stolen his thunder, which caused resentment to build within him. Now that Dustin was down on his luck, he almost couldn’t stop himself from clapping and cheering.

“You bastard, no matter how good you are at fighting, you’re nothing in front of the Sander father–son duo.” Duncan said mockingly.

“Are they very strong?” Dustin asked.

“What? You’ve never heard of the Sander father–son duo?” Duncan lifted a brow and added, “Fine. I’ll give you a grand introduction today. You’re going to lose so badly that you have no choice but to admit their superiority! The younger one is Flint, ranked thirteen on the Hundred Immortals. His father, Cobalt, is even more impressive. He’s now ranked second on the Hundred Immortals! Do you know what that means? Unless a divine–level martial arts expert appears, he’s unmatched! No matter how strong you are, you’re nothing in front of number two of the Hundred Immortals. You won’t even last a second!”

After listening to all that, Dustan remained unaffected. He grunted noncommittally and asked, “And?”

“And?” Duncan sneered. “Punk, you’re truly fearless! It’s expected for a small–town bumpkin to be so ignorant. But no worries. You’ll learn in a moment how strong the Sander father–son duo is!”

“Really?” Dustin smiled lightly. “I do want to broaden my horizons.”

“Very well! I’ll grant you your wish!” Duncan regarded Dustin like he was on his deathbed. Then, he said to Cobalt, “Master Sander, I’ll leave this bastard in your hands. Don’t kill him yet; leave him alive for me to play with.”

“Flint, go and meet him.” Cobalt wore a cool expression, standing there with his hands behind his back. He had no intention of moving a muscle.

Naturally, the second–ranked of the Hundred Immortals had a matching ego. If he fought anyone and everyone then he’d be devaluing himself.

In truth, he had zero interest in joining a battle of this level. However, he owed the Doyle family a favor, so he had to show up.

“I can solve any problem as long as I’m paid. Don’t blame me when I cripple you later,” Flint said, slowly approaching Dustin with blazing eyes. His muscular body was absolutely threatening.

“And I’ll say the same thing to you,” Dustin said.

“Great! I hope you’ll still be so mouthy later!” Flint smiled coldly. He tapped his foot lightly, and his entire figure shot into the air like an arrow leaving the bow.

As he got closer to Dustin, he drew his fist back before aiming it toward his abdomen. This punch carried a few tons of force: even a cow would be blown to smithereens, much less a human being.

Dustin didn’t attempt to dodge this blow. Instead, he answered it with his own list.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 478

However, comparatively, Dustin’s fist was much smaller than Flint’s.

“You’re asking for it!” Flint snorted coldly. He exerted more force in his arm, his internal energy surging out from his body.

There was a loud explosion as the two men’s fists collided with each other.

Dustin stood there without budging an inch. Cracks began forming beneath his feet. On the other hand, the moment their fists crashed into each other, Flint let out a grunt. He flew backward, slamming against the wall heavily, leaving a crater in his wake.

The arm that he used to throw the punch was dripping with blood, and his bones were shattered. He couldn’t move anymore. After two seconds, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body began to crumple slowly, sliding down the wall like wet mud.

“How is that possible?!” Duncan was stunned by what happened. Although Flint wasn’t as strong as Cobalt, he was still ranked thirteen on the Hundred Immortals. However, a figure as powerful as that had been sent flying from a single punch by Dustin.

Was that punk that strong?

“Hmm?” Seeing the severely injured Flint, Cobalt couldn’t help but frown. He thought his appearance would merely be a formality; he didn’t think he’d encounter a skilled fighter.

If he could defeat his son with one punch, then that man was not any weaker than him. He had to take this seriously now.

“Young man, you’re quite skilled. May I ask who your teacher is?”

To have such power at such a young age, he must be from a famous guild in the martial arts world. If this man were someone he couldn’t afford to piss off, then he’d be in trouble, so he’d better ask first.

“I do not belong to any guild,” Dustin answered indifferently.

“You don’t belong to any guild?” Cobalt’s eyes widened. If that was the case, then it was very scary. “Young man, I think you’re a talent. I don’t want to slaughter you, so if you apologize to Duncan today, I’ll let things go. How does that sound?” Cobalt said lightly.

As a veteran in the world of martial arts, he naturally had his own life philosophy. If he didn’t know his opponent’s background, he’d better not let things get ugly if he could avoid it.

“Master Sander, what are you saying? I want you to break his legs, not ask him for a simple apology!” Duncan frowned, upset.

“Are you telling me what to do?” Coball’s face turned icy. “Just because I owe you a small favor, I have to give my life for you?”

Duncan wore a dark expression, but he didn’t dare retort.

Cobalt turned back to Duncan. “Young man, what do you say?”

“An apology is no problem, of course. However, he owes me an apology, not the other way around,” Dustin said with a slight smile.

“Huh?” Cobalt’s eyebrows wrinkled. “Young man, I’m already making a concession. Don’t take an inch and ask for a mile. You may come from an extraordinary background, but I’m no average Joe either. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Hill family, one of the Tremendous Three. I was formerly their family’s fighter!”

“The Hill family?” Dustin couldn’t disguise his surprise when he heard this.

“It seems like you know the power of the Hill family. In that case, let both parties take a step back and remain cordial. Or else, this serves no one any good,” Cobalt said.

“Since you were the Hill family’s fighter, I’m sure you recognize this,” Dustin said, taking out an emerald badge.

“The Consultant Badge?!‘ The moment Cobalt saw the badge, his expression changed. Then, under the shocked gazes of everyone, he fell to one knee, kneeling on the floor with a thud.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 479

“Lord Consultant, greetings! I am fighter Cobalt Sander!”

Under everyone’s gaze, Cobalt got on one knee and saluted Dustin with a face full of respect. He was the Hill family’s fighter, in other words, he was a high–ranking guard.

Meanwhile, a consultant was completely different–a consultant was second only to the master!

Everyone, no matter who, referred to him with the respectful address of “sir” or “lord.”

One could count on one hand the number of Consultant Badges the Hill family had given out. There were merely a handful of consultants, but each and every one of them was all–powerful figures!

If Dustin was able to get a Consultant Badge, then that was sufficient proof of his power and worth!

“Er -Everyone was shocked when Cobalt suddenly got on one knee. They were completely dumbstruck, their faces full of disbelief.

That was none other than the famous Master Sander, the second–ranked on the Hundred Immortals! People everywhere worshiped the ground he walked on.

Yet, a person of that caliber had actually knelt for Dustin.

What the fuck was going on?!

Terrence and Duncan were dumbfounded. Julie and the others looked at each other, shocked.

They had never expected that just by taking out a badge, Dustin could have scared someone into falling to their knees.

In truth, even Dustin hadn’t expected Cobalt to react this way. It seemed like the Hill family’s Consultant Badge was truly exceptional.

“M–Master Sander, what are you doing?” Duncan asked in shock. He even looked completely at a loss. He’d invited Cobalt to fight for him, not kneel for his enemy.

Ignoring Duncan’s words, Cobalt remained on one knee on the floor as he uttered a sincere apology. “My lord, forgive me for not recognizing you. I have offended you greatly earlier, but please do not take it to heart.”

At some point, sweat began to bead on his forehead.

The Hill family’s Consultant Badge didn’t just represent power but also a significant status. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that with just one word from a consultant, he could be made to disappear.

“It’s fine. You were just doing someone a favor. Since things didn’t sour further, then let’s just treat it as a misunderstanding.” Dustin said without a hint of aggressiveness. Cobalt’s behavior earlier had at least earned some of his respect.

“Thank you, my lord!” Cobalt said, looking overjoyed.

After expressing his gratitude, without any hesitation, he carried his son on his back and left.

Although being ranked second on the Hundred Immortals seemed like an amazing feat, it actually didn’t count for nothing in front of a true master. After all, in a place like Millsburg, there were many hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and divine–level martial artists were a dime a dozen.

Seeing Cobalt flee, Duncan instantly panicked. “Master Sander? What’s going to happen to me if you leave?”

“What’s going to happen? You’re on your own!” Cobalt said, throwing a glance over his shoulder as though he was looking at a dead man. Even the Doyle family couldn’t afford to cross the Hill family’s consultant.

“What?” Duncan was flabbergasted.

He was on his own? What the fuck was he going to do?

Seeing that the tables had turned, Duncan spat fiercely, “Punk, this is not over! Just you wait!” and attempted to slink away.

“Hold right there. Did I say you could go?” Dustin said indifferently. “You come and go as you please. What do you take me for?”

“Punk, I’ve already let you off the hook. What more do you want?” Duncan shouted, putting up a fierce front.

“Of course, I want to give you a lesson. As I said earlier, I want to break your arm. I can’t just eat my words.” Dustin picked up a fork and flung it casually.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 480

The fork whizzed through the air like an arrow leaving the bow and went straight through Duncan’s arm.

“Ah!” he screamed, cold sweat pouring down his face.

“Remember, if this happens again, I won’t stop at just an arm,” Dustin warned.

“You — you’re ballsy!” Duncan pressed his arm that was bleeding profusely, and ran for his life–his former moments of glory had now turned into a humiliating spectacle.

“Dustin, what was that thing you took out earlier? Why did that guy get on his knee immediately when he saw it?” Dahlia couldn’t help but ask curiously once Duncan was gone.

The others didn’t utter a word, but they were also bewildered.

“Oh, two days ago, I saved a patient, and his family gave me a badge. They told me that if I ever got into trouble, this could save my life. I didn’t think I’d actually have to use it,” Dustin said with a laugh.

“Huh? That’s unbelievably lucky,” Dahlia said, slightly surprised. She had almost thought that he was going to end up in deep shit.

“Hmph, how impressive can that be? In the end, he was still riding on someone’s coattails!” Terrence said cynically.

Dustin’s actions had made him feel ashamed. “You got all the glory because of that little badge. I’m tall, rich, and handsome, but why do I have to be shown up by you?” he thought bitterly.

“Dustin, to forge iron, you still need a strong hammer. A favor can only be used once, so don’t be too pleased with yourself. Next time, you won’t be this lucky again!” Julie said indignantly.

Her man was the best man in the world. What was a barefoot doctor in comparison?

“Really? I guess,” Dustin said with a light smile. He was too lazy to defend himself. There were always bound to be green–eyed monsters who couldn’t see the glory of others.

“Dustin, this badge of yours is really pretty. Can I borrow it for a few days?” Florence’s eyes were sparkling as she stared at the Consultant Badge in Dustin’s hand. If she could get her hands on the badge that could make people kneel, then of course she’d want to take it for a spin.

“This badge already has an owner. Even if I gave it to you, you can’t use it. You might even get into trouble,” Dustin said, shaking his head.

Considering Florence’s personality, if she got a hold of this, she could turn the whole world upside down.

“Hmph, what kind of trouble? I think you’re just selfish!” Florence’s face turned frigid.

“Mom, what do you want to do with Dustin’s badge?” Dahlia frowned.

“I just thought it was pretty and wanted to take a closer look. Who would’ve thought that that bastard would be so petty? Whatever, I don’t want it anymore! It’s just a shitty badge; what’s so special about it? You can hold onto it until it rots! Let’s go!” Florence blew her top. She wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore; thus she straight up asked them to leave.

“Even at her ripe old age, she still throws tantrums like a child,” Dahlia said helplessly, shaking her head.

“After so many years. I’ve gotten used to it.” Dustin thought nothing of it and changed the subject. “By the way. didn’t you come looking for me to discuss something? What was it?”

“It was nothing. I just wanted to refer you for a job,” Dahlia said, forcing a smile.

“A job? What kind of job?” Dustin was taken aback.

“To be the Chief Security Officer of the Nicholson Corp. What do you think?” Dahlia arched her brow.

“Chief Security Officer? What gave you that idea?” Dustin was puzzled.

“This is my first time in Millsburg, and I’m not familiar with the people or the place. Taking on a multibillion- dollar corporation, there will surely be many hardships. I need someone to help me,” Dahlia explained straightforwardly. “The corporation’s security department is in charge of safety and security. Any sign of trouble has to be taken care of in time. There are many positions in the company that carry a lot of weight, and this is a role I can’t give to an outsider; I have to keep it within my circle. After giving it a lot of thought, I think you’re the best guy for the role!”

She’d appointed him Chief Security Officer, half because she trusted him and half because she wished he’d stay by her side. After all, she’d be the closest person to him.

If he took on that position, she wouldn’t have to worry about Natasha stealing him from the shadows. By then, with time, feelings would develop. Well, then things would be up to her, wouldn’t they?

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 481

Dustin was in a dilemma. “Dahlia, you know I’m only average at martial arts. I’ve never been a Chief Security Officer before. Don’t you think I’m not suited for that post?” He was good at fighting and treating illnesses, but he had no experience holding an executive position in a company. It just didn’t feel right.

“You just need to be good at fighting.” Dahlia smiled at him. “You don’t need to do anything. You just need to oversee safety matters and, at the same time, protect me from harm.”

“Dustin didn’t know what to say.

“Hmph! If you don’t want to do it, fine.” She pulled a long face. “I’ll just die a quick death if someone wants to harm me. It’s no big deal.”

“Come on, it’s not that serious.” His eyes twitched.

Dahlia responded, “You’re right, it’s not that serious. Nicholson Corp. has tens of billions in assets. Of course, I don’t need any protection as the newly appointed chairman. It’s not like anyone is after their shares. Please. just remember to collect my body when I’m assassinated.”

“Stop speaking like that. Alright, I’ll do it, okay?” He smiled bitterly. This woman had started learning some tricks.

“Don’t force yourself. I don’t want you to regret your decision.” Dahlia said.

Dustin shook his head continuously I’m not forcing myself. And I won’t regret it.”

“Alright! You’re the one who said it; I didn’t force you.” She immediately flashed a beautiful smile.

He was helpless. “I feel like I’ve fallen into your trap.”

“You should be grateful. There are people waiting for the opportunity to be trapped.” She looked up at him proudly.

“Not to mention, I’ll treat you well. I didn’t prepare any gifts today, so I’ll give you a small reward first.” She stood up on her tiptoes and swiftly landed a peck on his cheek.

As she drew back, a waft of a light fragrance followed. Dustin froze and looked at her funny. “Dahlia, you seem to have turned into a delinquent.”

“Don’t guys like delinquent girls?” Dahlia retorted wittily. However, her face turned bright red. In the end, she wasn’t able to act freely without restraint like Natasha could.

Dustin was thinking of a response when his phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Patrick.

“Hello, Dustin? Sorry for bothering you.”

“It’s okay. Is there anything I can help you with, Patrick?” Dustin’s tone was pleasant.

“Well, the thing is, even though my grandfather’s condition has stabilized, he’s been coughing nonstop these past few days, and he doesn’t seem to be in good spirits either. I recalled that you mentioned he needs to take some medicinal wine?”

“Medicinal wine?” Dustin was confused for a moment before it hit him. “Oh, I’m sorry! I’ve been so busy these past two days that I’ve forgotten about it. But no worries; I’ve had it brewed beforehand. I’ll get someone to deliver it to you immediately.”

“I see. Sorry for the trouble.” Patrick breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s no trouble. It’s an oversight on my part.” Dustin felt embarrassed. Because of the Harmons‘ annual family gathering, he’d forgotten about the Hill family.

After he hung up, he made a call to Edmund. “Hello, Mr. Robinson. Can you help me check if the medicinal wine I left in the kitchen is still there?”

Very soon, Edmund responded, “It’s here. What should I do with it, Mr. Rhys?”

“I’m unable to leave at the moment. Could you please help me deliver the medicinal wine to Patrick Hill at the Hill family residence?”

Edmund agreed immediately. “No problem. I’ll go right away!”

30 minutes later, a Mazda came to a slow stop in front of the gates of the Hill family residence. The car door opened, and Edmund got off carefully while carrying the medicinal wine in his arms.

“Hey! What are you here for?” The guard by the gates yelled.

Edmund smiled apologetically. “Sir, I’m here to deliver wine to Sir Patrick Hill on Mr. Rhys‘ orders.” For an affluent family like the Hills, even the guards thought that they were above others.

“Mr. Rhys? Which Rhys?” the guard questioned.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 482

“Mr. Dustin Rhys.”

“Who’s Dustin Rhys? I’ve never heard of him. Get lost, and don’t be an eyesore!” The guard lambasted. Every day, many people sent gifts to the Hill family. It had already become a regular occurrence for them.

“But Mr. Rhys instructed me to deliver this to Sir Patrick personally.” Edmund was in a hard spot.

“Hey, do you not understand what I said? I told you to get lost!” The guard was getting impatient.

Edmund was nervous and shrank back in slight fear. “Could you kindly deliver the message at least?”

“Who are you to ask me to deliver a message? Get lost before I lose my cool!” The guard’s expression was cold.

“What’s the noise about?” At that moment, a tall, well–built man walked out.

The previously upset guard immediately greeted him with a smile. “Mr. Torben, it’s nothing. A beggar is being rowdy and wants to pass a gift to Mr. Patrick. I’ll get him to leave immediately.”

“Hold up.” Torben raised his hand to stop him and turned his attention toward Edmund. “You know Patrick?”

“No.” Edmund shook his head, his expression filled with fear. “Mr. Rhys asked me to pass a bottle of medicinal wine to Sir Patrick. Could you kindly pass on the message?”

“Dustin?” A cold glint flashed through his eyes. “So you were sent by him.”

“It seems like you are acquainted with Mr. Rhys. Thank God.” Edmund was relieved, thinking he had met a savior.

“Mmhm, thank God.” He sneered. “You mentioned a bottle of medicinal wine. It’s for Patrick?”

Edmund nodded. “That’s right.”

“It’s not poisoned, is it?” Torben narrowed his eyes.

“Poisoned?” Edmund was taken aback and waved his hands in panic. “That’s impossible. This is a medicinal wine to treat the sick. How could it contain poison?”

“Really? Why don’t you try it then?” He smiled mockingly.

Edmund smiled apologetically. “This is medicinal wine for Sir Patrick. A person of my status can’t drink it.”

“What? You’re not going to listen to me?” Torben’s expression turned dark. “You not drinking just proves that the medicinal wine is suspicious. Someone, take him away!”

“No, no, no. I’ll drink!” Edmund panicked and opened up the bottle in a hurry before taking a sip.

“That’s too little. Finish the whole bottle!” Torben ordered.

“What?” Edmund was shocked and at a loss. He would most probably collapse if he finished the whole bottle.

“Not going to drink? Let me help you out personally!” Torben grinned, then grabbed a fistful of Edmund’s hair and pulled his head down so his mouth was facing upward. At the same time, he grabbed the medicinal wine and forced it down his throat.

As the wine went down his pipes, Edmund coughed and choked uncontrollably until his face flushed red. He appeared extremely tormented.

Torben bellowed in laughter. “Drink up! Finish it all, buddy!” The sounds of his laughter never stopped as he continued forcing the remaining wine down his throat. He appeared exhilarated, as if tormenting others was a fun activity.

Torben didn’t seem satisfied even after he emptied the bottle. He snapped his fingers as he ordered, “This person is suspicious and added poison to the wine. Take him away immediately to be served his punishment!”

“I … I didn’t poison the wine.” Edmund laid on the floor, barely clinging to life.

“Bastard, you’re still talking back?” Torben stepped on his face and sneered. “Trash like you at the bottom of the food chain are just our toys. Your life is in my hands! I’m in a bad mood today, so I’m going to make sure you wish for death!”

 

[Kondeni0112]

Muhindi Wa Kuchoma unaupiga mwingi...

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 483

When Dustin returned to Enchanting Villa, it was already dusk, but Edmund was nowhere to be found. Dustin found it suspicious. Typically, Edmund would already have dinner prepared by this time. With how considerate he was, he would even inform Dustin i,n advance when he had to leave the house.

Just as he was wondering about the situation, his phone rang. It was from Abigail.

“Dustin! Things are bad. Something happened to my dad!” Dustin could tell she was anxious as soon as she spoke.

“What happened?” Dustin turned serious.

“The hospital just called. They said my dad was beaten up so badly he almost died,” Abigail replied.

Dustin’s brows furrowed slightly. “Edmund treats everyone with kindness. Why would he suddenly be beaten up?”

Edmund was always cautious and reserved, and he interacted with people with an apologetic smile on his face. Logically speaking, he wasn’t the type to engage in conflicts or make enemies.

“I’m not sure about the details. I’m on the way to the hospital.”

“Which hospital?”

‘Pinevale Hospital.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Dustin left the house right after he hung up.

Within 20 minutes, he had arrived at the hospital. In one of the wards, Edmund appeared lifeless. He was covered in bandages, leaving only his face exposed.

Abigail was pacing in the ward, at a loss. After all, she was only a 17–year–old high school student. She had never encountered a situation of such magnitude. It was inevitable for her to panic when her only relative was left in such a state.

“Abigail, how’s Mr. Robinson?” Dustin suddenly stormed into the ward.

“Dustin, You’re finally here!” It felt like she had found her pillar of support.

She said in a rush, “The doctor said my dad has multiple fractures and damaged organs. His whole body is also covered in all kinds of wounds. It’s suspected that my dad was tortured.”

“Tortured?” Dustin frowned. “Have you guys offended anyone before?”

“No!” Abigail shook her head immediately. “My dad is an honest though timid man. He’s never offended anyone.”

Dustin was silent. He approached Edmund and took a seat before feeling for his pulse. The next second, his expression darkened. Although Edmund’s injuries were not life–threatening, the perpetrator had used extremely cruel means. They had deliberately avoided striking vital points, ensuring that their victim would endure excruciating pain.

Someone who could perform such an act was either harboring a deep grudge or just purely sadistic.

“Mr. Robinson, can you hear me?” Dustin asked softly.

Edmund’s eyes fluttered before opening slowly. His voice was hoarse and weak. “Mr… Rhys.”

“Mr. Robinson, don’t worry. I will make sure you get better.” His expression turned solemn. “I’m going to ask you a few questions. You need to answer me honestly.”

“Okay Edmund nodded as much as he could.

“Who made you like this?” Dustin went straight to the point.

“I don’t know. I went to the Hill family residence today to deliver the medicinal wine. But someone deliberately made things difficult for me and made me go through hell.” Edmund spoke with difficulty. A glint of fear flashed through his eyes.

“Medicinal wine?”