EVIL INTENTIONS

Anthony didn't have to stay long with his so-called family to realize that most of them didn't like him.

Beneath the mandatory respect they showed him as the future patriarch, they hated him and saw him like an outsider.

Even his mother's reaction was lukewarm.

Apart from the initial hug and is this really my dear son, which she kept exclaiming after the DNA test, she spent hours lecturing Tony on his conducts.

She let him know that apart from his status as the master, he has nothing to be proud of as the others were all more exceptional than he is.

They were a family of cultivators, while she was damn sure Anthony had never cultivated in his life.

He even went bankrupt after signing his wealth to his wife, so he doesn't have material achievements either.

Ava had quickly brought the investigation results of his new family members to him.

Most people were not happy about his return.

They were hoping to replace him once he was not found, only for Ava to disappoint them.

They were still in Hill country, madam Meyer had things she wanted to do.

******

Anthony walked out of the mansion and saw a convoy of sports cars waiting for him with numerous guards.

He counted ten cars which included porsche, lamborghini, ferrari, bugattis and two rolls-royce.

He entered the middle rolls-royce and the guards shut the door after him.

Anthony wasn't eager to return to southern Dale which he knows will be his first battlefield.

So when he heard about the municipal ball, where all the powerful families and business men gather per year, he jumped on the invite.

His mother had approved, even though she considered the so-called powerful families beneath them.

Making new connections won't hurt, to increase his sphere of influence in hill city. After all, a local snake is more powerful than a dragon in its lair.

Anthony sighed as his phone rang again.

Ava kept calling him.

"I'm in front of the municipal hall" he snapped impatiently as he got down from the rolls-royce.

A guard who was appointed as his new assistant followed him, while others gawked at the lavish display of expensive cars following one very handsome man.

"Who is that man? Why doesn't he seem familiar? Which of the families is he from?" A woman asked, rushing to the steward checking the invite.

The steward ignored her but she smiled and shoved a bundle of dollars into his pocket.

"He's Stephen Meyers, the prince of the almighty Meyer clan of southern Dale. He just returned to his family after his training" he said casually, making the woman stagger.

Others may not know the Meyers of Southern Dale, but she does.

Her powerful Yue family once had to kneel before their city gate, begging for forgiveness for twenty-one days, when one of them mistakenly pushed down the patriarch's niece in a mall.

She wiped the sweat on her forehead and quickly ran away, canceling her plans of trying to seduce him.

Playing with such dangerous people can end you.

Anthony stared at the limited edition patek watch on his wrist.

It was the only one in the world.

He had been really unhappy when the stylists were dressing him up and changing his wardrobe, but now that he saw his appearance, he decided it's worth it.

His handsome royal look was now filled with confidence, and an aura of power.

"You little disgrace of a man, are you still following me around? Why did they let you go? Wait, how did you sneak in here without an invite? You lowlife. Leave quickly and don't embarrass me, otherwise I will call the security on you. You better not ruin this night after my meticulous efforts to get an invite", Priscilla spat as she walked angrily towards him.

The guard following Anthony in the shadows frowned, but since Anthony has not called for him, he will remain hidden.

Anthony stared at the beautiful woman before him.

She was looking heavenly in her floor length black gown which exposed her back, neck and breasts.

She had expensive looking fur wrapped around her arm.

However, strangely, he felt nothing for her.

Unlike the past when he would get an erection or feel like rushing to her arms, his heart felt nothing but cold, it was not beating in excitement.

He tried to hold back his disgust and continued to sip his wine.

She angrily kicked him, feeling frustrated.

Her fiance hates seeing Anthony, so she doesn't want him to be angry or think she was still seeing her useless ex-husband.

People have begun to watch the spectacle.

Yue li frowned and wondered which blind idiot was attacking the heir.

People watched the woman angrily kicking the handsome man who stood stoically, like a stone pillar, calmly sipping his wine while the woman ranted and raved.

It was as if he couldn't see or feel her.

Priscilla gritted her teeth and walked to the steward.

He came with guards to kick out the intruder.

However, when he saw it was Anthony, he shook in fright.

He didn't know it was Anthony, so he had let the woman attack him.

"Young master, should we throw her out?" He asked humbly, making Priscilla frown.

However, before she could retort, she saw Mr Garcia of Waves group, the very person she had come to see.

She immediately ran after him with a flattering smile.

She fished out the proposal from her bag, while doing her best to suck up to him.

Anthony frowned as he watched her trying to flirt with Mr Garcia while he read the contract on the VIP table, where a seat was reserved for him.

"If you decide to invest in her, it will be the worst decision you can ever make," Ava declared loudly, walking towards the table with her guards and assistants.

Mr Garcia quickly stood up and bowed to Ava, greeting her.

Priscilla frowned.

She would have attacked Ava for her impudence If she didn't know the cold, arrogant beauty's identity.

Even the almighty Garcia family she's trying to suck up to can only lower their head before the Smith family.

Besides, he was the most powerful youth in the Smith family, their invincible young mistress.

Priscilla swallowed her anger and turned to Ava.

"Miss Smith, we can eat carelessly but shouldn't speak carelessly. Why will you try to sabotage my partnership with the Garcias? I have not offended you in the past, so why the hatred?" Priscilla asked with a calm smile.

"Trash like you is not qualified to speak in my presence. Shut your smelly mouth and step aside. You are not qualified to share the air I breathe" Ava declared arrogantly before turning to Mr Garcia.

"You will lose your money if you invest because the brain behind her success is no longer there. The man secretly pulling the strings for her is no longer behind her. The greedy witch poisoned him and asked for a divorce after he signed his wealth to her. The knights rose in two years like a shooting star because of him, yet she poisoned him because of her greed. If she can ruin a man who picked her from the trenches and brushed her and her family up with love, what will she not do to you? You're merely a business partner. Since she could use her husband as a stepping stone, strip him of his wealth and poison him, she will waltz into your bed and repeat the same process just to swallow up the Garcias' wealth for herself" Ava declared.

Everyone in the VIP table began to scrutinize Priscilla who was as pale as sheets.

"How do you know all this?" Mr Garcia asked skeptically.

"Oh, I know because her ex-husband is now my fiance," she said, smiling happily.

Everyone frowned.

Who can possibly be powerful enough to be Ava's fiance?

"The genius who programmed X-city suddenly disappeared because he decided to stand beside Priscilla Knight and support her dreams, only to be rewarded with poison. She thought she now had all his wealth, not knowing it was just a fraction of it. He was going to sign over the rest of his properties to her on their anniversary, but she poisoned him and dumped his body, a few days before the date. She stupidly thought she milked everything, but she was blind. She's a cheater, a liar and a ruthless killer. I forbid everyone in Hill country from investing in her business, or doing business with her!" Ava ordered.

Priscilla shook in fear at her declaration.

Her stomach was filled with bile and regret on hearing that Anthony still had money apart from the one she gained.

She wished she found out on time.

She could have apologized instead of attacking him.

"I have to thank you for letting go of him and revealing your true color. An honest and loyal man like him would not have agreed to leave his wife for my sake, especially with the way he loved you crazily. But you made everything easier for me by attempting to kill him. Thank you" Ava said, holding Priscilla's hand with a grateful smile.

Her creepy smile made people shiver and filled Priscilla with dread and regret.

"Ava! That's enough", Anthony said, walking towards her angrily.

Even though he hated Priscilla, he still doesn't want her to suffer or go bankrupt.

"Oh honey" Ava said with a smile, pecking Anthony's cheek.

The ice queen, who was wholesomely arrogant, was hugging Anthony like a little school girl and looking up at him, obviously star struck.

Everyone wondered what kind of man could make the arrogant Ava who looked at men with disdain, doggedly go after him, seeing him like some prize.

"Why did you do that?" Tony asked angrily as he entered the rolls-royce.

"I wanted to fill her with regret," Ava said giggling, joining him in the car.

Anthony frowned on seeing her join his convoy.

"To think that I have been searching for you while you were right under my nose, being suppressed by that woman. But why did you change your name? I was told to look for Stephen Meyers" Ava asked in confusion.

"My middle name is Stephen. I'm Anthony Stephen Meyers" he clarified and shut his eyes absentmindedly.

********

Ava looked at the entourage flying up to the air.

Anthony was going back to Southern Dale with his family.

She felt a strange sense of loss, making her eyes water.

"You should not get too attached to him, his future is bleak" Diego said, standing beside his daughter.

Ava frowned and looked at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.

"His family wants to kill him. Some people are unhappy at his return. They will try to kill him on the guise of training. They will send him to the perilous lands" he declared emotionlessly.

"Perilous lands? People rarely come back from there alive. It's a portal that leads to hell. People don't come back from the perilous lands. It's not even a part of earth. I need to warn him" she shouted, turning around.

"You will do no such thing! The perilous lands are no joke. They will force him to enter there. If he comes back successfully, he will be back stronger, as a powerful cultivator. If not, he will die and perish!" Diego shouted, holding her back.

Ava gasped, holding her chest.

Traveling to the perilous lands?

The portal to hell itself?

What if he enters hell instead of entering the other world where he's meant to train?

The portal leads to two places, hell and the other dimension.

How will he survive entering the perilous lands?