Empire of Shadows

In an upscale neighborhood on the edge of the Imperial District, Burton was looking at Nancy across the table.

The father and daughter sat like this, separated by a table.

Nancy's purpose for coming back this time was to get some money; she hadn't been doing too well lately and was a little short on cash.

She had recently lost her job and had also just broken up with her boyfriend; she wanted to go to another city to relax during this summer vacation.

Supporting her in doing all of this had one prerequisite: money.

Money was important and indispensable, but she just didn't have it.

Since Robb's death, she had rarely returned home and rarely communicated with Burton; she always felt that Burton was too realistic on this issue.

That was his son, and also her brother, yet he could still work for the person who killed Robb!

It was simply unbelievable; she had never seen such a cold-blooded father, even in movies or operas, those villains were more humane than him.

She couldn't accept such a family environment and was afraid that one day she might become the next victim, so she entered independent living in advance.

But this time, she came back because she had no money.

She had thought a lot about the timing of her and Burton facing each other again, perhaps because Burton couldn't stand the inner torment, realized his mistake, and then found her, weeping and seeking her forgiveness to gain spiritual comfort.

Or perhaps he realized that the only person he could ultimately rely on was his daughter, so he wanted to gain her forgiveness and then leave this sad city to live somewhere else.

She had thought about many possibilities for their reunion, but she never thought that she would be the one to compromise first, which felt like a betrayal to Robb, even though that dead ghost was already dead.

She also hadn't thought that the reason for her compromise and betrayal wasn't her desire for family affection or anything else, but simply because she was broke.

What made her feel even more… threatened was that Burton was now living in a mansion, and that bitch was shamelessly dressing herself up like a lady!

And she, Burton's daughter, had to come back because she couldn't afford the rent!

Damn it, this is fucking ridiculous!

"I thought I would wait until you got married, and then you would give me an invitation, telling me that you were getting married, and that I should show up at your wedding ceremony in formal attire."

Burton sat in the chair with great restraint and dignity; he had recently started watching operas.

This was something he wouldn't have dared to imagine in the past, not only because he couldn't afford the cost of seeing operas, but more importantly, no one had guided him, and he simply couldn't learn how to watch operas!

Yes, watching operas requires introduction, learning, and understanding the original works and stories in order to feel its beauty!

Lance's success had made the Lance family the ruler of the Goldenport City's underworld; some people couldn't reach Lance, but they could reach those under Lance, such as Burton.

They would host banquets for Burton, and as long as he made a request, those people would naturally not refuse.

Burton was a complex person; he could be absolutely controlled by his desires, giving up hatred and everything.

But he could also maintain relative calm and rationality under the trend of desire, without touching his interests.

He didn't accept money or anything else, nor did he make any promises to others, but chose to watch operas with some people.

I just let you watch an opera with me, you can't ask me to do this or that.

If you ask, then I will refuse and also invite you to watch an opera.

Under such circumstances, he began to formally contact and understand opera; he now sometimes imitates some of the characters in the opera; he feels that he is no longer who he used to be.

The mud stains on his trouser legs had been discarded when he changed his clothes, and they would never be stained on his trouser legs again; he was now a member of the upper class.

Although saying this may be a little… exaggerated, it can't be said to be completely wrong.

So now when he speaks, he has a bit of airs, a bit of affectation.

This emphasis made Nancy a little confused; she didn't know that her father would have such a side to him.

At the same time, Burton's words also made her feel a sense of tension; she realized that she was definitely not that important in Burton's heart.

After all, he could give up even the revenge for his own son, and she was just a girl.

Nancy didn't know what to say; she was actually a little… unsure of what to choose now.

If she continued to choose to leave and handle it coldly, she might drift further and further away from this family, and eventually they would become "relatives" instead of "family members."

She didn't want this, especially after seeing this mansion and seeing her former best friend wearing expensive luxury goods, looking at her like a clown like a lady.

Nancy pursed her lips, "I… I just can't accept it for a while."

Burton still looked at her with that unchanging expression, "So now, have you accepted it?"

Accept the fact of Robb's death, and accept other things.

Nancy was silent for a while, without speaking, Burton then continued, "He made a mistake."

"He sold the family's information to the outside world, causing huge losses to the family, so he died."

"Nancy, he was my son, and I am also full of sadness and regret for his death, but the rules are the rules."

"The family is not the family of one person, it belongs to all of us, and Robb hurt not only Lance, but also all of us."

"In school, if you make a mistake, the teacher may punish you."

"In society, if you make a mistake, your boss may deduct your salary, and your friends may neglect and stay away from you."

"In the gang, if you make such a big mistake, then you can only have such an end."

"I am heartbroken, but I also respect his outcome."

"If you still think this is our problem, you can continue to calm down."

Nancy remained silent, she didn't know how to speak.

It happened that the phone rang at this time, Burton made a silent gesture, and then answered the phone, "This is Burton."

"…Okay, very important, I know, I will tell the boss myself."

After he hung up the phone, he dialed Lance's office phone; Lance hadn't given any other instructions these two days, and he would be in the office all the time.

The phone was quickly connected, Lance answered it, and he repeated what had just been conveyed.

While he was speaking, Nancy noticed that Burton, who had been keeping a straight face, showed a smile on his face, with a hint of caution.

After he put down the phone, he glanced at his daughter, knowing that his changes just now had been seen by her.

He didn't mean to hide it; originally, he didn't need to be so careful.

With Gerald around, he could completely become friends with Lance like other people.

"This is what Robb brought to me, I have to be careful at all times."

He took out a cigarette and lit it, "Do you want one?"

Nancy looked at him in surprise; he smiled and said, "I found cigarette butts in your room, after you left."

Nancy hesitated and took one, a pack of thirty-five cigarettes, definitely high-end goods, she had only seen them, not smoked them.

The father and daughter smoked in the office, silently, after a while, she said, "How much… how much money can he give you?"

When Burton heard this, a faint smile appeared on his face, "So far, in two years, dear, I have earned about… three to four hundred thousand, I haven't calculated it in detail."

"And the speed of making money will get faster and faster, because the boss's territory is getting bigger and bigger."

"We need more people, and it may not only be internal, but also external!"

Morris being transferred to manage the casino did make many people a little envious and jealous; everyone knew that the casino was a business that made money every day.

Even if you don't reach out to grab a little, with Lance's generosity, whoever manages the casino will definitely get a lot of money.

But Burton was not envious or jealous, because he was also doing work that could not be replaced by others.

Moreover, with Morris's job change, he was likely to be fully responsible for the Lance family's intelligence work.

This meant that Lance would allocate more money to him every year; he needed to expand outward, and expansion required money.

Hiring people costs money, buying people costs money, bribing foreign officials costs money, anything related to intelligence requires money!

The benefits he could get from it would also be greater.

The past two years of getting along had made him understand a truth: Lance didn't care whether he was corrupt or whether he was feeding himself.

What he cared about was whether the information and news he needed could reach him in time.

As long as Burton could do this, and he didn't grab too much, Lance would continue to reuse him.

He would be better than he is now.

He raised his chin slightly, like a proud rooster.

Three to four hundred thousand in two years, this had already exceeded the income capacity of ordinary middle class, and he was not too far from the threshold of the upper class.

When Nancy heard this number, she was also shocked speechless; she realized why her best friend, her good classmate, could live so freely.

That money should have been used on her.

She cursed a few dirty words in her heart, and then began to consider countermeasures.

After about ten seconds, she said, "You have a point, I mean about Robb's matter."

"Everyone has to pay for their mistakes, it's just… his bill was too heavy."

Bolton didn't respond to her, just continued smoking.

Nancy lowered her posture and voice a little, "I've been thinking about these issues for the past two years. I've realized that we are family, and no matter what you've done, that fact cannot be changed."

"Let the past be the past!"

"We are family, we should be together, not torn apart by things that have already happened."

Bolton nodded slightly, "You're right, we are family. When your mother left, I promised to take care of you."

"Although he… was disappointing, I still intend to fulfill my duty as a father."

He paused, "You can live in our old house first, and then I'll find you a job."

Nancy said, "I want to live here, and I won't have any conflicts with her…"

Mr. Bolton considered it for a moment and didn't refuse, "You better be telling the truth. Frankly, I don't have that much time and energy to resolve your disputes if they break out."

"At that time, I can only let you go to the old house to live, which will disappoint us all, understand?"

Nancy nodded in agreement, also relieved.

Bolton was very satisfied with her knowing what's good for her. In fact, as things have developed to this day, he wouldn't even hate anyone for Robb's death.

Others in the gang also make mistakes, even do things they shouldn't do, and Lance will also deal with them according to the family rules.

Not just Robb, everyone else is the same. As long as they make a mistake, they will be punished.

For example, everyone knows about the undercover agent next to Allen.

Even Bolton himself at this time is a maintainer of the rules, not a potential destroyer.

As a vested interest group, he is more willing than others to maintain the current rules.

As for Nancy, he doesn't think Nancy will cause any problems. She's just poor and wants to live a good life, which is no different from them.

Nancy got permission and couldn't wait to throw away those old, worn-out luggage. She went to choose her room, everything was going to start over.

Robb brothers?

Sorry, she also forgot about that brother at this time. What she wants now is to live the life of a young lady, instead of continuing to live a hard life and watching her best friend become a wealthy lady!

Lance didn't know about some of the changes in Bolton's family. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care, these are all small things.

The thing he cares most about now is where Jordan is.

He called Hiram and told him that Jordan should be there, and then called Ron to bring Theron over.

Not long after the phone call, Hiram saw two motorcycles appear outside the film company. Two guys who didn't look like good people parked their motorcycles and stood across the road, observing for a while.

Without a doubt, according to Bolton's description, these two should be the people they were looking for.

However, after only observing for a while, they rode their motorcycles away.

They were casing the place. Jordan also felt the potential pressure from the Lance family, so their current idea is not to confront them head-on, but to take the person away first, and then find a way to get the debt back for his good friend, plus revenge.

I have to say that Jordan is very cautious, but he chose the wrong target. Even if he is very careful, he is like a moth that has broken into a bat's nest.

No matter how much he flutters, he has been completely locked on!

As they left, a car followed.

In a hotel on the edge of the industrial area, the two bikers quickly returned here.

"How does it look over there?" Jordan asked.

The two subordinates reported what they had discovered, "There's nothing special about it from the outside, and there are no gang members at the company entrance. It's not clear what's going on inside."

"However, their parking lot is in the alley next to the company, and there is only one entrance and exit. All vehicles entering and exiting can be seen."

Jordan nodded. Although he didn't find out much about the Lance family, that in itself was a message.

He also inquired with other friends. Some people think that the Lance family is not strong—no family has been destroyed by the Lance family.

In other words, the Lance family did not gain its current status through war.

The Cassia family died in internal strife, and Tita and Keane took the initiative to leave Goldport City because they suffered heavy casualties during the internal strife.

The Lance family and the Koda family had conflicts, but the conflicts were not intense. After the other two families left, they were already at a disadvantage.

Bandi was said to have been silenced by the Bay Area in the police station, and Gauri chose to kill himself after failing to assassinate Lance.

Fleming doesn't know where he ran to, and there is no news yet.

Stone has already started serving his sentence.

It can be said that the Lance family picked up a big bargain!

This kind of news gives people a feeling of "I can do it too."

This is also why Jordan doesn't know how to evaluate the Lance family. They seem to have done nothing, but they also seem to have done something.

So he chose to be cautious.

"Go find out who their general manager or something is, what he looks like, and what kind of car he drives."

"When he gets off work at night, follow his car, and we'll pick a place on the road to do it."

"No direct firefight, try not to shoot if you can avoid it."

"Our goal is to take the person away. After grabbing him into the car, leave the city immediately. Don't stop, run all the way, and meet at the intersection of … highway and … highway after leaving Licari State."

"Does anyone have any questions?"

The others naturally had no objections. Although they are gangsters, it doesn't mean they are all fools.

Coming to someone else's territory to cause trouble, the consequences of being caught are very miserable.

No one is afraid of death, they are also afraid, they don't want to get hurt either, but they have to come because of face and gang rules.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that Jordan could choose this way.

They just don't know that they are already very careful, but even so, at this time, in the parking space diagonally across the road, two people are staring at this hotel behind the windshield of a car.

In the telephone booth not far away, someone is also making a phone call while staring at the hotel.

Twenty minutes later, seven or eight more cars came, as well as two police cars.

The police cars are used to maintain order. After all, there may be a gun battle. Timely sounding the alarm helps the public stabilize their emotions.

Hiram's car parked next to the car responsible for surveillance. He sat in the passenger seat, looking at the subordinate in the driver's seat opposite, "They haven't left?"

"A dozen or so have left, and some people are still inside."

Hiram frowned. It's not easy to make a move if the people aren't there, and there are so few people missing. It would be fine if only two or three were missing.

He told the person doing surveillance to continue watching, and they went to wait a little further away, waiting for these people to come back at night…