Empire of Shadows

Chapter 281: Tearing Up the Ticket [666+18]

Eric had never slept so soundly before; he knew this was called deep sleep.

It might have only been a short nap, but it felt incredibly refreshing. He thought of that girl, and it seemed like a force was flowing through his body.

He opened his eyes, but was puzzled to find he wasn't in the hotel suite.

He quickly realized his situation was terrible; he was tied to a chair.

He hurriedly looked around, a movement that instantly stiffened his neck!

He had been sleeping with his head down for a long time, and his cervical spine couldn't handle such a sudden, large movement.

But it also allowed him to see where he was: a garage.

A layer of tarpaulin was laid on the ground, and its light red color made him feel uneasy. He had never seen this color of tarpaulin before.

Some old car repair tools hung on the walls, like wrenches, rulers, and screwdrivers.

There was a smell of decaying wood in the air, indicating this place was probably remote and the air was very humid.

"Is anyone here?" he shouted a couple of times. The side door of the garage opened, and someone walked in.

The sunlight outside was a bit dazzling; summer sunlight was like that, so bright it was hard to open your eyes.

He watched the dark figure walk into the garage, revealing his face.

"Lance?!" he suddenly began to struggle violently. "Are you out of your mind?"

"How dare you tie me up like this? Untie me now!" he shouted frantically. "Otherwise, I'll make you regret this, I guarantee it!"

Lance simply walked up to him, and just when Eric thought Lance was going to untie him, Lance punched him.

The punch left Eric coughing, unable to even speak.

Tears and snot streamed out!

Elvin came in from outside, his arms slightly damp.

This was a small house by Angel Lake, which he had rented.

Before the legends of Angel Lake spread, many people would come here to swim, dive, or fish.

After all, the scenery of Angel Lake was indeed very beautiful, especially when standing on some hills. When the weather was good, looking out over the lake, the sparkling surface made the entire lake shimmer with gold!

Its beauty was something even poets couldn't describe in verse. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Goldport City was also known as the City of Angels: because of this Angel Lake!

It was like an angel fallen into the mortal world, breathtakingly beautiful!

But as more and more people discovered that this place had become Goldport City's largest body dumping ground, the number of tourists here decreased. Only some clueless outsiders would come.

In recent years, the legends of Angel Lake had spread wider and wider, and even outsiders wouldn't come here anymore.

Someone once didn't believe it and dived into some dangerous waters marked with "chemical leaks," and found countless oil drums at the bottom…

These small houses originally built around Angel Lake to rent to those tourists had gradually become deserted.

Eric, hit by the punch, couldn't continue shouting due to the intense pain and spasms. Lance took two steps back, sat down on a chair, and lit a cigarette.

"You don't seem that important to your father, Eric," he said, taking a newspaper from his pocket, unfolding the front page, and placing it on the ground.

This was a special supplement to the "Goldport Today," urgently printed with only four pages, but it was selling like crazy!

Eric looked at the paragraphs and began to feel fear. His eyes no longer held the confusion and arrogance they had before; now he looked pathetic.

"Lance… I… I won't tell anyone you did this, I promise, I swear on my mother!"

"Including my uncle, no one will know what happened. I'll tell people I wanted to go out for a walk alone and forgot to tell them."

"Everything will go back to normal, no kidnapping, no ransom note. I'll prove it was just a joke!"

He trailed off, unable to continue, because although he was a bit stupid, he wasn't stupid beyond redemption.

That ransom note.

His body trembled slightly. He seemed very scared. Lance turned the cigarette around and put it in his mouth. He greedily inhaled, as if the cigarette could soothe the fear in his heart!

He was very nervous, glancing up at Lance before lowering his head again. "I don't want to die, Lance, spare me…"

Lance shook his head slightly. "This isn't you."

Before Eric could understand what that sentence meant, Lance smiled and said, "I liked the way you took my five-hundred-dollar check that day, Eric. That was you."

"Arrogant, conceited, with no one in your eyes except your uncle, including me!"

He was about to cry!

"Lance, listen to me, listen to me, I didn't mean to, I… I did something stupid, I don't want to die!"

Tears welled up in his eyes. Elvin stood beside him with his arms crossed. "You weren't treating that girl like this last night."

Eric suddenly realized. He paused for a moment. "You're in this together."

Using a declarative sentence, Lance didn't deny it. "To secretly kidnap you without letting anyone know who did it is actually not easy."

"I considered kidnapping you on the road, but that wasn't a good idea. You have too many lackeys around you, and I'd have to kill them all."

"But once I started shooting, it would be difficult for me to hide you. Your dog, John, might launch a city-wide search to please your uncle."

"Controlling you where you live isn't realistic either. You live in the mayor's mansion, and the security there is very tight. I can't take you out without alerting others."

"So, I had to make you leave them voluntarily."

"Do you regret it?"

Lance asked.

Eric nodded with a mournful face. "Yes, yes, I regret it."

He could only agree with Lance, but Lance laughed. "Maybe you're thinking about how to get revenge after you leave."

Eric was shocked. "I didn't, I swear I really didn't think that!"

He saw Lance stand up, and his voice changed.!

"Please, don't kill me, help, help, I'm Eric, someone wants to kill me…"

Lance looked at him. He shouted for a long time, but the surroundings were as quiet as… the wilderness.

"This is Angel Lake, Eric," Lance said. "There's no one around. Even if you shout all day, no one will hear you."

He turned into a crying face again, because he had just shouted that Lance was going to kill him.

Perhaps sensing the impending doom, fear surged up. He cried with tears and snot streaming down his face, and even wet himself!

"Please, I don't want to die…"

Lance took a piece of steel wire from his pocket and walked behind Eric. He began to struggle violently again, but the moment the cold steel wire tightened around his neck, he despaired!

"You used five hundred dollars to buy yourself a one-way ticket to hell, Eric!"

"This is what you deserve!"

The end of life seemed to arrive in an instant. Eric cried, begged, and pleaded desperately, but it was all meaningless.

Lance tightened the steel wire in his hands. Eric struggled violently again, his face turning red, unable to make any sound.

It didn't take long, not even a minute, before all the struggles stopped.

Elvin looked at the tarpaulin on the ground. "I thought you were going to make a mess."

Lance shook his head. He re-rolled the steel wire and put it back in his pocket. "Just to be safe."

Elvin looked at him. "What do we do now?"

Lance smoothed his hair and lit another cigarette. The previous one had been smoked by Eric.

He lowered his head, struck a match, took a deep puff of smoke, and the smoke rose up. "Send him back. Aren't they looking for Eric?"

Then let's give him to them!

The two of them cleaned up simply. The tarpaulin was washed in the water. The water stains on Elvin's body were from him washing the things from the car by the water, trying to prevent any evidence from being left in the car.

Now the tarpaulin also needed to be washed and then used to wrap Eric.

He was placed in the back seat of the car, and the two of them drove back to the city as if nothing had happened.

At this time, some citizens had spontaneously launched a "Find Eric" campaign. They were looking for traces of Eric everywhere, whether in the city's inner rivers, some pools, or any hidden places.

But without a doubt, Eric couldn't possibly be there.

In fact, the more they couldn't find him, the more the mayor understood that Eric was dead. He had to make a big deal out of Eric's death.

In fact, it wasn't just a portion of the citizens who were spontaneously looking for Eric. The people of the five major families were also looking for Eric, but clearly, they couldn't find him.

Lance heard that Alberto had called him after he came back, and he immediately returned the call.

"Damn it, have you seen Eric?"

"No, I went out to do something. The news said he was kidnapped, is that true?"

"He was indeed kidnapped. It's terrible, Lance, I'm a little uneasy."

"About what?"

"Things are developing step by step in an unknown direction. Ever since… I don't know when, everything has become uncontrollable."

"Once things get out of control, I'm worried…"

He didn't say what he was worried about, but it was clear that he was very anxious.

Lance consoled him, "Everything will be alright, just like every time before."

"And even if something really happens, the Five Great Families and those old men will be watching. What does that have to do with us?"

Alberto sighed. "I don't know. Anyway, let's be prepared. I feel like the storm is coming."

He had an accurate feeling, it must be said.

It was past three in the morning, and there was hardly anyone on the street. Lance was driving, and Elvin was sitting in the back seat.

When the car passed the city hall, Elvin opened the door and pushed Eric out. Then the car quickly disappeared into the darkness…