The Hero

Chapter 101 There is something I want to ask you

Dunham Group is more than just Geoffrey's private property, but it's family-owned. And now, having been a colossal sucker twice, it doesn't surprise anyone that the Dunham family is furious. When a zircon mine scandal is pulled from under the carpet, the entire family essentially unsheathes their fingers and launches an interrogation of Geoffrey and his son.

Their ultimate goal, it seems, is a request to find out if Geoffrey is "mentally challenged" and whether he has passed down that trait to Zayn. The family meeting that was held that night basically took out the entrails of Zayn and Geoffrey, sending them to hell and back.

Then, over the course of a few days, the Dunham Group basically became weak. Their initial intention was to sell those zircon ores, but since someone had thrown a large amount of money into the market, their price had been lowered to 200,000 dollars, that is far from the original 240,000 dollars that the family demanded of over 300 tons of ore.

It would be manageable if that was the extent of the problem, but they still had three zircon mines. Still, misery loved the company, so the government soon passed a law that immediately gave Dunham clues about the fact that Doug was not bluffing.

The country will impose a crackdown on smaller zircon mines.

Although the Dunham family had learned of this, they thought Doug was just trying to trick Javier and they even praised the former for it. But now, the zircon mines they had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to own were almost shut down.

The Dunham Group crisis has turned into a catastrophe. They had lost about 160 million dollars, and the group's capital chain was stretched rather thin just to cover these holes.

Shouldering this great task, of course, were Geoffrey and Zayn.

on one

Zayn watched as his father slowly peeled off by his increased workload and felt a pain in his chest. He began racking his brain in search of ideas, until finally, a new plot formed in his head.

A scheme that would save his family and bring down Javier.

He's going to ruin Jade and Javier's relationship. He'll make Jade kick that b*stard, and then... They can say goodbye to Reivaj Group. Better yet, she could lean on the girl in distress, and while she felt vulnerable, she would give her a shoulder to cry on and win her heart!

Win the girl, win Reivaj, and Dunham Group can annex her as one of his!

“Yah, okay. Javier Kersey, you consider yourself a chess master, don't you? But you can't even beat someone who's half as good as me no matter how hard you drag your ass!"

The time for his maturity ritual is drawing near, so Javier has to move on now. But before that happens, he needs to make some arrangements, not only for the Reivaj Group but also for Jade.

Javier had Mackenzie send someone to work on to keep Jade safe. His friend then sends a former professional bodyguard named Ingrid Lovette, whose female gender makes some think they should be vigilant around him.

This assumption cannot be far from the truth. Ingrid's abilities are far from substandard, as he has been tasked with escorting many politicians both domestically and abroad. Joining Jade's side requires her to be demoted from her famous role. To rationalize Ingrid's presence in Jade's house, Javier appoints her as the new "housekeeper.

As a professional bodyguard, he was qualified for the job, but he was fine with it. It's great to be working with Master Javier again, though his feelings are less motherly and more like excitement when he meets his unofficial pupil.

After all, he used to teach her how to play with daggers.

With Jade's security issues resolved, Javier's mind drifts to Reivaj.

That night, Javier invites Jade, Chad, and Mary Jane to join him at a table while enjoying wine. There, he stated, "i'll be out for some time to resolve some personal issues, so our business will be in your capable hands, Chad and Mary Jane."

Both know the real reason behind his journey—he will attend a ceremony that signifies his journey to true maturity at the age of 24. They nodded solemnly before assuring Javier that they would ensure no mishap would harm the Reivaj Group. As Chad says, “Yeah, the only accident that might happen.. is accidental growth! Haha, it will blow your mind! ”

Javier knew enough not to take this as a pure bluff. In Chad's hands, Reivaj will surely expand his conquest faster than expected. Useful as Javier's pretext and a sneaky ruse might be, it still can't compare to going up against an actual professional like Chad Floyd McCool..

She will have a smaller chance of competing with Mary Jane Gould, especially since she is essentially a war goddess on the financial battlefield who leads the nation to victory against contemporaries.

After they had dinner and left the hotel, Javier decided to go home on foot instead of driving under the influence of alcohol. Jade, on the other hand, drove Chad and Mary Jane home.

The scream was hysterical, and Javier shook his head in the direction it came from.

There, at the end of the corner, three men loomed over a young woman who was no more than twenty-four or twenty-five years old, corner her and made her lean against the wall.

She is a beautiful woman. Her long, unraveled hair fluttered in the night breeze, and she wore a lacy black satin dress that accentuated the faintly seductive aura around her.

Javier has no doubts. Instinct alone made him run.

"Let him go and go!" he warned those people.

The three offending men were not too happy as their perverted pleasures were interrupted. One of them wasted no time in attacking. “Who are you? This is my business, ban**at. It's not yours. So, leave unless you're stupid enough to get close!”

There was a slight threat in his tone. A gangster, maybe?

Half a minute later, gangster-like people were lying on the floor, grimacing and moaning like tortured dogs. Not wanting to waste time chatting with the thugs, Javier took off his coat and wrapped it around the woman's body.

"T-Thank you," he snorted, his voice a little tired. However, his eyes conveyed his gratitude. He seemed to have something more to say, which caused Javier to consider him curiously

He lowered his head and let his hair cover his eyes. "I'm afraid, I'm afraid" he whispered. “C Can you help me one more time to take me home? PP-Please?”.

Ah, so that's what's on his mind. That's also a very reasonable request. He was alone at night and he had just experienced near misses with the unthinkable. Javier agreed without thinking.

Keeping the young woman by his side, Javier drove her home. On the way, she introduces herself as Ciel Ince-Dolch and says she lives somewhere very close.

The name reminded Javier of something in the head, enough that he immediately called out the name of his school. “I know you look familiar even from afar, but I'm not sure enough to call your name! You're an alumni, aren't you? Cheerleader squad captain and famous dream girl?”

Ciel surprised. "K-You ... You know me?"

Javier is so happy. "Know You? Heck, we're in the same group! Different majors, of course, but still.

Saving the life of his old schoolmate by chance has given Javier a sizable serotonin boost, he starts chatting with Ciel on the street. He took her to the front door as soon as they got to his house and paused for a while outside the door. Given her gender, she was not inclined to enter the female residence.

He waved, implying that this was a farewell. Before he turned around, Ciel said, “Come in for a drink of water first. I still have something to ask you, Javier.”

This piqued Javier's interest. What should he ask her?

He walked in and sat on the sofa. Ciel then unscrewed the water bottle and handed it to her.

All the chatter on that street made him a little thirsty, so Javier didn't think about it and took a sip. The two started another casual conversation, but Ciel never mentioned the question, he should have been itching to ask her.

As Javier's curiosity grows, a strange, deadly mist begins to envelop his head.

Body's warming. It was burning as if it was burning.

By the time he realized he might have been drugged, his body had given up enough that he fainted on the sofa.