I Am the Devil of This Hell

Chapter 055

Victoria Vance was furious. Her chest heaved beneath her leather jacket as she stuttered, pointing a finger at the two girls.

"I am trying to reason with you! I am giving you good advice! You... you..."

Tia Valentine huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "We don't care! Grandpa Dominic loves us the most. Whatever we want, he will make sure we get it. Besides, on our birthday last year, both Grandpa Dominic and Grandpa Arthur promised in front of the entire family that they would never interfere with our love lives. We choose our own men. No interference allowed!"

Sienna Summers chimed in, her voice dripping with logic. "And besides, Big Sister, is your status really that low? Your grandfather is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He's practically a warlord in his own right, comparable to our grandfathers. If your grandfather allows you to be with Husband, why wouldn't ours? Hmph! We aren't stupid. You're just trying to trick us into leaving Husband."

Tia nodded sagely. "Mom said that people who trick children are villains."

Victoria felt a wave of dizziness. Me? A villain? Tricking children? She, the Ice Queen of the underworld, had been reduced to this.

Kane Adler patted her shoulder sympathetically. "My condolences. I know you mean well. Deep down, you have a kind heart."

Having nowhere else to vent her frustration, Victoria’s hand slid naturally to Kane's waist. Her fingers found a pinch of skin and twisted—hard. Her voice was terrifyingly sweet.

"Thank you for the compliment, Husband."

"Hiss... you're... wel... come." Kane gritted his teeth, tears welling in his eyes.

Tia stood up, her large, watery eyes fixed on Kane's grimacing face. "Husband, will you accept us? Please?"

Sienna joined her, clasping her hands together in prayer. "Husband, we promise to be good. Just accept us, okay?"

Kane rubbed his cheek helplessly. Is my face really that magnetic? First Victoria, now these two princesses. It was an embarrassment of riches, but the "riches" came with the potential for nuclear war.

Could he dare to accept them?

Victoria was right. If he accepted them, and those two Titans in Washington D.C. decided they didn't like a g**g leader dating their precious granddaughters, his "game of death" might end before the tutorial level was even finished.

As if reading his mind, Sienna stepped forward. "Husband, we guarantee Grandpa will agree. Sienna promises!"

Tia nodded vigorously. "Tia promises too!"

Kane looked at Victoria with a helpless expression. This is weird, right? Girls chasing a guy? Begging him?

Victoria rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. "Such a good deal dropped in your lap. Why aren't you grabbing it?"

Kane sighed, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "You two little girls... are you sure you've thought this through? I'm not exactly a 'good guy'."

"Yay!"

Ignoring his warning completely, the two girls squealed and launched themselves at him. They knocked Victoria, who had been clinging to his arm, completely out of the way and buried themselves in Kane's chest.

Smack. Smack.

Two rosy mouths planted kisses on his cheeks again.

Tia hooked her arms around Kane's neck, giggling. "From now on, you are officially our Husband. So, you need to make some changes."

"Changes?" Kane looked at her, puzzled. "What kind of changes?"

Sienna poked his chest. "The change is that you can't be so... wooden."

"Wooden?" Kane blinked. Me? Wooden? I think I'm pretty sharp.

Victoria scoffed from the side, straightening her jacket. "See? Any female with eyes says you're wooden."

Tia knocked on Kane's forehead as if testing for a hollow sound. "Emotionally wooden, dummy. You're a little log. A man needs to be... charming but not sleazy. You need style."

Sienna raised a small fist in the air. "Starting today, 'Operation: Playboy Transformation' is a go!"

"What?!"

It was 5:00 PM. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows over the city of Larkspur.

Kane, accompanied by Marcus Grady, Owen Steele, and the rest of the inner circle—plus his two new "little tails"—arrived at Ocean Manor.

Ocean Manor was a skyscraper hotel and casino complex that had originally been the crown jewel of The Five Kings territory. Now that the entire southern district had been absorbed into the Shadow Eagle Clan, this cash cow naturally became Kane's property.

The 17th and 18th floors were dedicated to administrative offices, offering vast, open spaces. After a brief discussion, it was decided that the headquarters of the Shadow Eagle Clan would be established here, on the 18th floor.

Security was tight. The building's original security staff had been replaced by elite Shadow Eagle soldiers. Furthermore, every building within a half-mile radius had lookouts and snipers from the clan posted on the rooftops. It was a fortress.

Standing in his new office—a sprawling 3,000-square-foot space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the entire city—Kane gently closed his eyes.

The feeling of looking down on the world, of holding the city in the palm of his hand, was intoxicating. He instinctively spread his arms.

Soar... my Shadow Eagle.

"Dixon, how is the personnel deployment?" Kane asked without turning around.

Dixon Jace, the master strategist known as Shiv, replied calmly. "Recruitment went smoothly. After we buried a few of the louder captives alive, the remaining four thousand fell in line."

Tia, who was happily playing with a plush bunny rabbit Kane had bought her to keep her quiet, suddenly looked up. Her eyes sparkled with stars.

"Wow! You really buried people alive?"

Sienna rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Are there more? Are there more? When are you going to bury someone else? Can I watch?"

A chill ran down the spines of every hardened gangster in the room.

The ancients were right, they thought. You can't judge a book by its cover. These cute girls were absolute psychos.

Dixon’s mouth twitched, but he continued professionally. "From this morning until 3 PM—eight hours total—we processed exactly 3,800 men. 3,600 have been divided into the three main Halls. Rex, Ethan, and Reno are currently busy organizing their new recruits. Ford Slater is supervising. The remaining 200 elite fighters I selected personally have been inducted into The Execution Unit. Cillian Moss is handling their orientation."

Kane nodded. "Good. Dixon, make one more round. Make sure the men we rejected are settled properly. Until our foundation is solid concrete, we cannot afford any loose ends or hidden threats."

"Understood, Boss. I'll handle it." Dixon nodded and left the room.

Shortly after Dixon left, there was a knock at the door. Ryder, a tall, stoic man known within the organization as Five, walked in, escorting a tall, striking woman.

"Boss, the person you asked for is here. This is the General Manager of Ocean Manor, Yolanda Finn."

The woman who walked in was young, perhaps twenty-two or twenty-three. Her skin was as pale as snow, her features painted like a fine work of art. She was a knockout.

She had a delicate, oval face and long, elegant eyebrows. Dressed in a sharp, tailored black business suit, she looked like a lotus flower blooming in a dark pond—beautiful, but distant. Behind a pair of large, stylish glasses, her eyes were cold. It was a beauty wrapped in frost. A snow lotus on a high peak—gorgeous, but freezing to the touch.

She was the definition of an "Ice Queen."

Marcus Grady, who had been sulking in the corner, suddenly perked up. He grabbed Dante Romero's shoulder and whispered urgently.

"Holy... Dante, have you noticed? Why are there so many beautiful women in the world today?"

Dante nodded in solemn agreement. "Top tier. Another top-tier one. That makes the fourth one today. You want to go flirt with her?"

Marcus's rising passion was instantly extinguished. He rolled his eyes at Dante.

Go flirt?

I flirted with three so far. And all three turned out to be my Sisters-in-law.

My luck is trash today.

Kane turned around and carefully studied the General Manager. This woman commanded respect even from the vicious leaders of The Five Kings. She was a shark in the business world.

Kane smiled politely. "Ms. Finn, hello. I am Kane Adler. I have taken over Ocean Manor. I hope we can have a productive cooperation."

Yolanda Finn’s cold eyes showed no fear, no nervousness. In fact, facing Kane, her gaze held a flicker of distaste. She gave a curt, professional nod. "Mr. Adler."

Kane chuckled, ignoring her coldness. "I have heard of Ms. Finn's business acumen. I am a rough man, Ms. Finn. I don't know the first thing about corporate management. Therefore, I am entrusting the entire commercial operation of Ocean Manor to you. I will not interfere. I invited you here today simply to tell you this: I do not want the change in ownership to affect business."

He paused, letting the words sink in. "Furthermore, if you wish to try new projects—whether it's dining, entertainment, or expansion—as long as it generates profit, just ask. The Shadow Eagle Clan will fully support you. And I can guarantee that you will face absolutely no outside interference or harassment."

Kane’s extreme generosity caused a c***k in Yolanda's icy demeanor. Surprise flashed in her eyes. "You... are giving me full authority? And you will fund any venture?"

Kane smiled. "I am no genius, but I admire geniuses. I don't have many talents, but I have some spare cash. I can provide the soil for talent to grow. But..." His voice dropped an octave. "I am not a charity. I expect a return on my investment. A heavy return. Do you understand, Ms. Finn?"

Yolanda studied Kane with a complex expression. After a moment, she replied coolly, "I will not disappoint you, Mr. Adler. As long as you remember your promise, I can generate the returns you seek."

"My memory is excellent," Kane said. "As long as you dedicate yourself to the Empire, we will not mistreat you. Also, I tend to be generous. Starting today, everyone from you down to the janitorial staff gets a ten percent raise. How does that sound?"

Yolanda nodded calmly. "Then, on behalf of the staff, I thank you, Mr. Adler. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

"Please."

As the door closed behind her, Tia pouted, poking her plush bunny aggressively. "Hmph. What is she so arrogant about?"

Kane laughed. "Talented people are allowed to have an attitude. Especially beautiful ones." He turned to Marcus. "The Fox, did you deliver the invitations?"

"All delivered," Marcus replied, snapping back to business mode. "By 5 PM, almost everyone had RSVP'd. They will all be there. It's almost time."