Chapter 2 A Cold And Cruel Man

A gleaming black car approached. It was a limited edition Rolls-Royce, and it came to a stop in front of the gate of the QL Group building.

The four bodyguards who had been driving the sports cars immediately left their vehicles and went to the Rolls-Royce. One of them opened the door while the others stood in position to welcome the passenger of the car.

A tall, slender man emerged from the Rolls-Royce. Everyone turned to look at him. He was wearing an expensive, tailored black suit and dark leather shoes.

Women stared at his handsome face, but men noticed the coldness in his eyes. He wore a calm expression, but there was something in the way he stared at the people around him that made everyone shrink at the idea of going up to speak with him.

His name was Darren Leng. His age was thirty-two, he was already one of the legends of the business world. Under his leadership, the QL Group had expanded and became one of the wealthiest, largest, and most powerful business consortiums in Asia. They had branches all over the world. Many competitors had sought to undercut the QL Group at one time or another, but under Darren's leadership, no one ever succeeded.

"He is just gorgeous," whispered one of the women to a friend.

"That's the CEO of the QL Group. I would risk my life to become his girlfriend, I swear."

"Well, I would risk my life to spend just one day with him, or even one hour."

All around them, women were smiling and murmuring to each other, trying to catch the eye of the handsome young businessman.

From the moment Darren showed up, almost all the women in the vicinity became infatuated with him.

Darren had only taken a few steps forward, however, when someone rushed over to him. A middle-aged man in shabby clothes faced him, blocking his way.

"Mr. Leng, please don't buy out my company. I'm begging you, please don't do it. It's my life's work. It's all I have." The man knelt on the ground.

Darren's expression was harsh and unmoved. Coolly, he said, "Only the strong survive. It's the law of the jungle."

A look of anger appeared on the man's face. Suddenly, he pulled out a knife from his cloak. The onlookers gasped and one woman even screamed. Darren did not move. He gazed calmly at the man, who waved the knife frantically in his direction and shouted, "Since you won't change your mind, I have no choice but to kill you!"

The man hesitated, then lunged forward. Darren stepped aside, easily dodging the attack. Within seconds, his bodyguards had overwhelmed the bedraggled man, who struggled against them fiercely.

"You are heartless! I may have failed, but someday, someone will make you pay for the things you've done!"

One of the bodyguards said, "Mr. Leng, should we get rid of him?"

"Let him go," said Darren flatly. His answer shocked everyone.

"Mr. Leng, this man just tried to hurt you."

Darren sneered. "He's going to be bankrupted and his family will be ruined."

When Darren mentioned his family, the man increased his struggles and shouted, "Don't hurt my family, you monster!"

But Darren was already walking away.

When Darren was gone, the bodyguards released him, but they took his knife. As he stood alone, panting, he felt a pang of regret. He shouldn't have come here in the first place.

But there was nothing he could do about it now.

Meanwhile, Eliana was in a taxi, on her way to the MH Club. When she arrived, her eyes widened with amazement at the spacious, luxurious establishment, with its high ceilings and glittering lights and thick carpeted floors. No wonder it was the favorite club of the upper class in T City.

Many of the men and women in the club were skimpily dressed. They looked gorgeous. A DJ was in the hall, playing loud, booming music. Eliana felt a bit self-conscious, but she kept her head high, determined not to let anyone notice that she didn't belong in a place like this. She hid her wince as the DJ turned up the volume even further, wondering if her eardrums would ever recover.

As she headed for the bar, a couple of men waylaid her, asking if she wanted to dance, but she shook her head, pasting a friendly smile on her face. As soon as she reached the bartender, she said, "Hi. I'm looking for Marcus, is he here?"

The bartender glanced at her. She was a very beautiful woman, and he wondered how Marcus had attracted the attention of someone like her. He nodded and said, "Please wait a moment."