Empire of Shadows

Alberto subconsciously lit a cigarette, partly because the smoke could help him focus his attention on thinking.

On the other hand, the cigarette and smoke could mask some of his true emotional expression.

His hand, holding the cigarette, covered half of his face.

Lance's words made him sink into deep thought. He licked his lips, "Is it possible that there's a problem on your end?"

"Is there such a possibility?" he looked at Lance expectantly.

Lance also seriously went through the people he knew in his mind, then shook his head. "The people who know about this are basically all in the car. They wouldn't risk being killed by betraying my information."

"Besides, what I give them is something others can't."

Alberto's scalp was itchy, and he scratched it hard. He actually had some guesses in his heart, but he just didn't want to admit it.

"I don't know, Lance. I don't want the problem to come from our side, but it seems you're very certain that the problem happened on my side."

He was silent for a moment, his expression becoming serious. "I need time to verify this matter."

He seemed very sincere, "I must apologize to you for this, Lance. I hope this won't affect the relationship between us."

Lance stared at his face for a while before slowly nodding, "I need to know the truth!"

"Tell Paul to close the bar for now. I'll come over again after we resolve this matter!"

After he finished speaking, he stood up and left directly, ignoring Alberto's attempt to keep him.

After seeing Lance off at the door and watching Lance's car leave, Alberto returned to the office.

Fordyce walked in with a bellyful of doubts, and he even thoughtfully found a reason for himself to come in and inquire about the news. He was holding a cup of coffee.

"Lance thinks his attack is related to us?" Fordyce was a little curious. Lance's arrival today obviously carried an accusatory attitude. If there was anything that could make him so angry, it must be related to his attack!

Alberto picked up the coffee and took a small sip. It was already a little cold. He glanced at the tray. Obviously, there was another cup just now.

This bastard had wanted to sneak in and eavesdrop for a long time, but Lance left before he could come in.

No need to guess, the other cup of coffee was definitely drunk by him.

Alberto put the coffee cup back, "It's cold."

Fordyce touched the coffee cup, "I can heat it up for you."

Alberto rolled his eyes, "Just leave it there!" He paused, "Lance thinks someone in the family betrayed his whereabouts."

Fordyce's expression also became serious.

In fact, what these gang leaders least want to see is their schedule for the next day, which road to take, being leaked to others.

In fact, it's not just gang leaders who don't want this kind of thing to happen. Some company presidents, big capitalists, and politicians also hide their schedules and routes.

This is not a safe era. Things that seem a bit cumbersome can actually guarantee their safety!

Whether it's Lance, the late Heller, or Paul himself, or other gang leaders, they will maximize their efforts to prevent their whereabouts from being known in advance.

Before, Bill was almost killed on his way to buy breakfast because someone had figured out his habits!

But if the Wolf Gang didn't know that Bill would often go to a certain place for breakfast, and didn't arrange for people to ambush in advance, he wouldn't have broken into the dock, and there wouldn't have been a series of things that followed.

He leaked his information, so he died.

This time the situation is the same. Being able to ambush in a precise location means that these people must know that Lance will pass by here.

Only those who know where he's going know which road he'll take, so someone must have betrayed his information.

Fordyce watched Alberto smoking and couldn't help but take a few cigarettes from the cigarette case and put them in his own cigarette case. "So Lance suspects that we leaked the information."

Alberto nodded, "Many people know that the bar is going to be transferred to Lance. This matter can't be hidden from anyone."

A bar that's doing so well suddenly announces that it's going to be transferred out, even if it's the family's decision, it will still make the group in charge of this bar feel dissatisfied.

If they are older people, the traditions of the Sumori people are still engraved in their bones. They may be dissatisfied with the family's decision, but they will still obey.

But if they are young people who don't respect tradition, they are not so honest and will be very difficult to deal with.

They will question the family's decision, after all, they are the independent and self-centered new generation.

These new generation of young people no longer think they are Sumori people, but consider themselves to be federal people of Sumori origin.

It seems like… there is no difference, but in fact, there is a huge difference here.

The former represents their recognition of Sumori Island and the entire Sumori culture, recognizing their race, recognizing the culture, recognizing everything.

The latter represents that they have been assimilated by the Federation in the process of growing up, and their values are the values of the Federation.

Under the impact of the Federation's spirit of freedom, they have not learned to respect tradition and authority, but to question tradition and authority.

Some schools even praise and encourage students who question teachers, believing that this spirit of questioning authority is a concrete manifestation of the spirit of freedom!

They also turn these things into small stories and publicize them everywhere, as if you are not a normal person unless you question authority!

Questioning authority and questioning tradition leads to a loss of reverence and becomes more self-centered.

When their interests are damaged, they may first think about their personal interests, not how the family is!

They will also doubt whether Paul's decision is correct, and whether he has other purposes in doing so.

In fact, this situation is not uncommon in the Pasreto family. They are a large criminal organization that runs many criminal businesses.

Smuggling, arms, flesh trade, drugs, gambling tables, and now there's also alcohol!

It is impossible for everyone to get the same profit from the business they handle. There will inevitably be some differences and dissatisfaction.

They didn't show it before because Paul, or the five major families, were strong enough. They didn't speak up because they didn't dare to challenge Paul, not because they respected him.

Paul still has absolute authority in the family!

But recently, especially this month, the five major families are at odds internally, the mayor is putting a lot of pressure, and there are also some voices within the family that are different from Paul's.

Some younger people think they should strike more aggressively, while Paul and the other old people think they should use some political-like methods to keep everything within a controllable range.

If the differences are not resolved, the final result will be conflict!

Alberto wouldn't actively talk about the internal discord of the family to outsiders. He has deep feelings for the family. After all, Paul brought him out of Sumori Island. To him, he is not only a relative but also a benefactor.

He rubbed his head, "There are too many possibilities, and I don't know who is more likely."

As he spoke, he picked up the phone and dialed Paul's number.

The five major families have been relatively tense internally and externally during this period, and Paul has been staying in the manor and hasn't left.

Even his favorite facial treatments, he would arrange for people to bring the barber back to the manor for facial treatments from time to time.

This is actually the most appropriate approach.

However, it will also make some people think that he is timid. When a person begins to "despise" authority, things will become very difficult to control!

So the phone was quickly connected.

"Boss, it's me, Alberto. Lance was here just now."

"Hmm?"

"Lance was attacked in Prussia. He said that our people leaked the information."

"Okay, I know."

"Boss…"

"Alright, I know. I'll investigate it, and I'll notify you if there's any news."

Paul hung up before Alberto could finish speaking, which made Alberto vaguely realize that the problem might really come from within the Pasreto family!

This made him feel a headache, but Fordyce, who was sitting across from him, was very calm.

"In fact, the contradictions have always existed, but they just haven't been revealed before!" he said something he had always wanted to say.

This made Alberto roll his eyes at him, "No one will treat you like a mute when you don't speak!"

That being said, he also knew that what Fordyce said was correct.

A bar with hundreds of thousands in revenue every month is now being transferred to someone else, and someone will definitely have some opinions.

From the doorman, to the bartender, to the security guard, to the manager, to every employee of the bar, they can all get a commission from it.

Now that this commission is suddenly gone, so much resentment, anyone could be the one who betrayed Lance's information!

Moreover, to them, Lance is not a member of the family, so betraying him is just betraying him, without any psychological burden.

If Lance dies, then the bar can continue to be run by themselves, isn't that a good decision?

Alberto slumped in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. He suddenly seemed to think of something and asked, "Who was in charge of that bar before?"

"Dover."

Christopher… removing some middle names that can be omitted… Pasreto, Dover is Paul's nephew.

His father protected Paul when he was young, taking a bullet for Paul and dying in an attack.

Then Paul took on the responsibility of raising Dover, treating him like his own child and providing him with many good opportunities and conditions.

Dover's performance could only be described as mediocre. He didn't have any particularly brilliant moments, nor did he have any disappointing ones. He was just… average.

His lack of outstanding performance led some to question how he managed to run a bar in the Starlight District.

They were the ones who had risked their lives for the family, yet they were stuck with ordinary businesses, barely making ends meet.

On the other hand, Christopher, a young man who hadn't experienced any real battles, was in charge of a lucrative business. Naturally, they would be dissatisfied.

Alberto used to look down on this young man as well. The family's gossip could be infuriating, but he seemed to ignore it.

If it were someone else, they would have tried to prove themselves, but he was content with the status quo.

Perhaps, for him, money was indeed very important.

If Dover did it…

Alberto started to get a headache. Paul was a man of loyalty and principles, so it would be difficult to get him to hand over Dover!

He couldn't help but scratch his head again, hoping that this matter had nothing to do with Dover. He didn't want to put Paul in a difficult position.

After Lance's convoy returned to the Imperial District, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. People wore grim faces, except for the passersby who smiled.

They genuinely liked Lance and didn't want anything to happen to him. Thankfully, God blessed him, and Lance returned!

The convoy went directly to the office. Mador got out of the car first, and he and the veterans checked the surrounding environment with guns before letting Lance out of the car.

They drove the cars back. Although they looked like sieves from the outside, they had saved Lance and the others' lives.

Even if they were attacked again, they could still provide good protection.

Once inside the office, Lance relaxed. He took off his coat and tossed it to Corinda (one of the two girls), then went into the office and grabbed a bottle of liquor from the bookshelf.

He needed to unwind.

Alcohol is a magical thing. Just a little bit can help people relax. Others came in one after another, and then Burton arrived.

Burton was panicked!

Lance was more important to him than anyone else!

His recent married life had made him realize this more and more.

Sons can be reborn if they are gone, and wives can be replaced with younger ones, but all of this has a prerequisite: he must have money and status!

He had worked in the Federation for over twenty years and only owned a mortgaged apartment, a beat-up old car, and a pile of bills and two children.

He had nothing, really!

He was not an indispensable key figure, and the company was constantly exploiting him. Although he always tried hard to integrate into higher circles, he couldn't because of his innate disadvantages!

The middle-class Imperial immigrants at Saturday's gatherings didn't like him either and would avoid him.

Did he not know this?

He knew he was like a clown, but what could he do?

Recently, he felt truly alive!

With money and status, girls the same age as his daughter spread their legs to help him find a more comfortable position.

His ex-wife didn't even want to look at him, but now, his young wife treated him like a precious treasure and would agree to any request he made.

There was also a big change in how he was treated when he went out. People would stop, stand out of his way, take off their hats, and say, "Mr. Burton."

Those who once treated him like dirt would now take the initiative to greet him warmly and talk to him about finance and politics, which he didn't understand at all.

People wouldn't laugh at his shallow knowledge. Instead, they would listen carefully and think what he said was very insightful.

It wasn't because he was so good that they accepted him.

It was simply because he was a member of the Lance family and considered a small leader.

He knew very well that once he lost these things, he would return to the past overnight, even worse than before!

The newly rising gangs would make trouble for him, the ordinary people would make trouble for him, and even his current subordinates would make trouble for him.

Only in this way could they distance themselves from him.

So he was probably one of the people who least wanted anything to happen to Lance.

Seeing Lance sitting safely on the sofa, the weight in his heart finally lifted, and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief!

"Thank God, it's good you're okay!"

Lance nodded slightly, signaling him to stand aside.

"Brothers died. According to our rules, take good care of their families."

Mero nodded. "I know what to do." He was always in charge of this part of the compensation.

The families of these deceased people could receive a monthly compensation from Mero based on the federal standard average wage, for decades!

Their children could get better opportunities for education, whether it was joining the family or studying. Lance would cover all their expenses during their growth.

In addition, their dividends and income from the gang would be given to their families in one lump sum.

Even ordinary gang members could enjoy similar treatment. Their families could receive at least twenty years of average income, which would completely solve their worries for many families.

"Find a professional mortician to clean them up and let them leave with dignity."

"And!" Lance changed his tone. He leaned forward, pressing his arms on his thighs, like an arrow ready to be shot out at any moment. "Find those people!"

He looked at Morris and Burton. "Today we also killed a lot of people. Go to Blue and have him get the identity information of these people. I want to know who they are, what their names are, and who they work for!"

"I don't care who attacked me. I only care if they are prepared to pay a heavy price for it!"

"Tell the brothers to be careful, pass out the weapons. The atmosphere in the city is very bad recently. I suspect it will soon be chaotic."

"I still say the same thing. Our brothers came to the Federation with great difficulty, finally found a place to settle down here, and finally have enough to eat, warm clothes, and can see the most prosperous side of this world."

"I don't want to end up with only a few people left. I hope each of you can be with me!"

"If anyone is careless… I don't want to say this, then be sure to prioritize your life, don't resist, and wait for me to save you!"

He reached out and patted Elvin on the shoulder. "Go to work!"

This sentence was said to Elvin, and also to the others. People quickly dispersed, leaving Lance alone in the room.

He leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes slightly, rubbed his cheeks, and gradually relaxed…