Shadow Empire

Chapter 1169 Slowly Crushing Them Down
Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Director Roland couldn't help but light a cigarette for himself.

He rarely smokes at home. Even when he does smoke, it's only in his bedroom or study, or when guests come over and the men need some "tobacco socializing."

Aside from that, he rarely smokes in public areas. It's a matter of "self-cultivation." His education and his self-discipline prevent him from doing such a thing, but today, he has no choice.

The newspaper reported on his past in great detail, which can only mean one thing—

The journalist who wrote this press release has gone to his hometown and interviewed some people there.

This made his heart start to beat slightly faster. If the other party really got there and got some information from some people, would it reveal that he had a wife and child?
He sat there, frowning as he thought, and after a while he concluded that it was unlikely.

Because when he married his real wife, not many people knew about it except for the two of them and their parents. His wife's friends did not know who she had married.

Later, due to a series of events, he was threatened while investigating a local case involving important figures.

He, his family, and he himself felt a deep sense of powerlessness as a result.

He used to believe that justice was powerful and invincible, but he realized in the face of power that whether justice is powerful or not has absolutely nothing to do with whether it is just.

Because justice can also be weak. When the person holding justice is weak, then the justice he upholds is weak justice.

After understanding this principle, he wanted to gain greater power, to transform the justice in his hands into a powerful justice, rather than a weak and laughable one.

Considering that his life was indeed threatened, he and his wife discussed it and came to the current situation.

She publicly claimed that she was divorced but had children with her.

Director Roland did not tell anyone that he was married, except for his father.

To avoid implicating his wife and children, he had done everything he could to hide these relationships.

Oh, and his cousin, the local police chief, also knows about this.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately trusted his cousin, after all, they not only knew each other, but were also related by blood and had a business relationship.

The woman sat across from him, watching him frown, and asked softly, "You look troubled. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Director Roland looked up at her and said, "The only thing you can do for me is to not cause me any trouble."

He shook his head, stood up, and said, "Breakfast was delicious. I'm full. I'm going to work."

He left without looking back after he finished speaking. He wasn't very interested in this woman now, maybe a little when they first "got married," since she was a younger and more passionate woman.

But when she secretly became pregnant without telling him, he had already developed aversion to her body.

Dislike is something that persists and doesn't easily disappear.

Some people may find this a bit unreasonable, but that's the truth.

If a bowl once contained feces, even if it is now washed clean, would you use it?
I doubt anyone would use it, simply because it once contained excrement, which evokes a deep-seated aversion.

Director Roland disliked this woman trying to challenge him with such petty tricks, so he now only saw her as a tool, a tool to improve his own image, and nothing more.

If he treats her too well, she might come up with some other schemes, and he doesn't have the energy to deal with those things right now.

He left without looking back, just like a customer who had paid five yuan to relax at an entertainment venue and left without even bothering to look back.

The woman sat across the table, watching Director Roland leave and close the door, and the house fell silent.

She stared at the door for about ten seconds, her gaze seemingly able to penetrate it, before turning back to continue enjoying her simple yet hearty breakfast.

There were eggs, milk, beef, toast, and some fruit and vegetable salad.

She picked up the newspaper and made her nominal husband, who had been frowning, read it. It contained information about the hero's past.

Some memories in her mind seemed to suddenly surface and churn in her head because of this report.

There was the perfection of her youth, the terror of suffering, and the awe-inspiring arrival of Director Roland from the sky!

And a woman she didn't want to think about, her husband's real wife, not a "fake" wife like herself.

Her expression gradually turned cold. Recent events had caused a strange change in her emotions, making her quite different from how she had been in the past.

She sat there in a daze for a while, then tidied up the tableware and food on the table, poured the uneaten food that the poor people longed for but could not afford into the trash can, poured the remaining two glasses of milk into the sink, tidied herself up briefly, put on her outdoor clothes, picked up her bag and left.

In a sense, Roland was actually quite good to her; she had no shortage of money or freedom, only a lack of love.

But for a woman, she can live without money, she can live without freedom, but she cannot live without love!

The man she loved loved another woman, ignored her years of companionship, and even tried to hurt her.

Now she has an idea.

She arrived at a nearby hospital, where she was greeted by a young nurse. "I have an appointment for 9:15 today."

The nurse checked the appointment book for her and then led her into a doctor's office.

"I've been waiting for you!" When the doctor saw her, he warmly pulled out a chair for her and asked the nurse to leave first, saying he would take good care of this guest.

Some time ago, she had an idea: she still wanted a child, a child to get revenge on him.

So she contacted this hospital, hoping to have some high-quality babies there.

Because of the "abortion scandal," if she gets pregnant this time, Director Roland will definitely have to grit his teeth and let her give birth if he doesn't want to make things difficult for himself.

Even if he knew the child wasn't his, he would still acknowledge it, because she had discovered this man's most vulnerable spot—

If he wants to climb higher, and to climb very high, then he must abide by the most basic rules of this society in some aspects.

He needs to have a happy family and be responsible for it; otherwise, such a person is very difficult to control.

This may explain why some capitalists prefer middle-class individuals who are already married, have multiple children, elderly parents to support, and have mortgages, student loans, car loans, and other debts to repay.

These middle-class people are very malleable; they can be cows, horses, or dogs. As long as you don't make them lose their jobs, they can be whatever you want them to be.

So she wanted revenge. She had awakened and wanted to retaliate against him in the most humiliating way!
She gets pregnant with a child that doesn't belong to her, gives birth to the child, and the child calls her "Dad," and she has to act like "I'm a good dad."

The thought of this filled her with a sense of joy from the inside out!

After finding the doctor and explaining her thoughts, the doctor offered her a better solution: he would do it for her.

While federal assisted reproductive technologies exist, they are not perfect, require hospitalization, and have a possibility of failure.

She couldn't accept the idea of ​​being hospitalized; it would alert Director Roland, leaving her with few options. After the room door closed, the doctor walked up behind her, took her arms, and played with her hair, inhaling the wonderful scent emanating from her.

Just as he was about to take it a step further, he was met with her cold gaze, and in that instant, the doctor regained his composure.

"Feel sorry……"

He took out the test results of the specimens collected two days ago, saying, "You already have a child, two months along. Based on our current analysis, your body and the baby inside you are very healthy."

Roland's wife just stared at him, and he himself felt a little embarrassed and uncomfortable. He was actually a little ashamed and annoyed. They had slept together. Was it all just a transaction?
"Do I need to take any supplements to ensure the baby's health and stability?"

The doctor snapped out of his daze and quickly prescribed her some supplements. "Actually, you don't really need them. As long as you make sure you get enough nutrition every day, that's sufficient."

"But if you want, here is a prescription with some medications that can help the embryo develop better."

Having gotten the result she wanted, Director Roland's wife left the consultation fee with satisfaction and then departed.

She looked down on the doctor, even though many people might consider him an outstanding person.

She graduated from a prestigious medical university and is now a doctor in a clinic; her appearance is also quite decent.

But in her eyes, this doctor was not even worthy of carrying Roland's shoes, compared to the former Roland.

Everything was for the sake of hatred.

Director Roland was unaware that the darkest moment of his life was approaching. After arriving at the investigation bureau, he called his cousin. After exchanging casual greetings, Director Roland asked, "Have any strangers back home been investigating me or them lately?"

His cousin, the bureau chief, was somewhat surprised. "I'm not quite sure..." He was about to deny it, but then he remembered something. "Some time ago she asked if anyone was out of your house, so I took some people to investigate."

"According to the information registered by the community service company, there were no suspicious people. Every visitor that day was recorded, and there were also two real estate agents showing houses to people."

“At that time, only real estate agents and people looking at houses entered the community, so I think she might be a little sensitive.”

Director Roland pondered for a moment, "Investigate these people's details again. There was some news about me in the Federal Post today. You know I've been in trouble lately."

“These people may have gone back to their hometowns. Without my knowledge, they may have already found out something. I need confirmation.”

"Do it as soon as possible."

"In addition... arrange some police officers to stay with them, and take them to a safe house if necessary."

His cousin, the bureau chief, was a little confused. "Is the situation that bad?"

"Roland, you're the director of the FBI. Is there anything you can't handle?"

Roland reluctantly uttered the name, "Lance White. I suspect this guy is behind all this. He's a tough opponent. We can't underestimate him, nor can we ignore these suspicious things."

Since Director Roland had given such an order and was so serious about it, his cousin, the director, naturally wouldn't neglect it. After all, for the entire family, if Director Roland could gain more power, then those of them who usually had little presence would be able to do better.

After hanging up the phone, the cousin, the bureau chief, immediately arranged for someone to recheck the people registered in the register to see if they were related to the people that Director Roland was worried about.

At the same time, he was also a little worried, because it was easy to check the real estate agents, but it wasn't so easy to check the people who were looking at the houses.

Those people may only have a name whose authenticity is unknown, making it very difficult to investigate these two individuals.

Director Roland spent the entire day restless in his office.

Sometimes he would stand up and walk to the window, looking at the bustling streets outside.

With the approach of the Saint Farm festival, some festive ribbons have been hung along the roads. This year's Saint Farm festival is special because the president will personally appear on a float and drive around the main streets of New Gold City.

It is said that there will be many interesting celebrations, and some squares are already crowded with people preparing for the upcoming festival.

Everyone's face seemed to be full of smiles, but Director Roland's was the only one without; instead, he looked worried, irritable, and uneasy.

The next morning, before he could even have breakfast, he eagerly opened the second page of the Federal Post, which continued to feature reports about him.

It mentions that damned case, where a powerful figure used his wealth, power, and influence to completely distort the truth of the case, forcing him to abandon the investigation and even, to some extent, help those powerful figures handle the ins and outs of the case.

Even today, he still feels frustrated by this feeling.

The report didn't go into too much detail, only describing what he experienced during that time in somewhat vague and inaccurate language, and then mentioning what could be considered the most important woman in his life.

This article ends here. Want to continue reading?
We'll have to wait for the next episode.

His heart seemed to clench. He already knew very well what Lance was going to do: he was going to use the fact that he had committed bigamy to ruin his reputation.

This is one of the things he hates most.

Those high-ranking officials can have many wives. They even supported the development of a polygamous religious belief in the Union and promoted federal laws that "respect freedom of religion" and recognized the fact that "if a doctrine seriously violates the law, then the doctrine shall prevail."

In other words, the federal government does have a bigamy law, but if you believe in this religion, you can have many wives, and it's legal because the religion you believe in allows it, and even requires you to do so.

But for him, for a government employee, if this situation occurred, even if he also believed in that religion, he would still be harming basic social morality.

He could imagine that soon a deluge of public opinion would be focused on him; Lance was determined to ruin him completely!
Fake!

He slammed his fist on the table and left quickly without even eating breakfast. He just wanted to get these problems sorted out as soon as possible, not fill his stomach.

After arriving at his office, he called his cousin, the bureau chief. As soon as the call connected, the other end told him the results of yesterday's investigation.

"We haven't been able to find out the information of one person who viewed the property yet, but we have verified the personal information of the others..." The cousin, the bureau chief, spoke with a slightly... lack of confidence, clearly aware that he hadn't done his job well.

However, Chief Roland is no longer concerned with these matters. "Take her and the children away. I will call them once they are in the safe house."

"Just ask the school for leave, saying they have something urgent to attend to and need to leave for a while."

Upon hearing these words, the cousin, the bureau chief, felt a chill run down his spine. After a few seconds, he realized what was happening and asked in a low voice, "Something's wrong?"

Director Roland grunted irritably, then haphazardly pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "They may have found out about her and the children. I don't know if they have any evidence, but to avoid reporters gathering there, we'll move them away first."

"As long as they can't find the person, there's still room for maneuver."

The cousin, the bureau chief, was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of this."

"This has nothing to do with you!" Director Roland didn't blame anyone indiscriminately. He knew very well that if Lance had done this, even if he had reminded him, his cousin might not have been able to detect Lance's methods.

That was a guy he himself was wary of and troubled by, let alone his cousin, who he considered not very bright.

"Don't think about it too much right now. Take them away and hide them. I'll handle the rest myself."

(End of this chapter)