Shadow Empire

Chapter 290 Suspect

Alberto subconsciously lit a cigarette, on the one hand because the cigarette could help him concentrate and think.

On the other hand, cigarettes and smoke can cover up some of his true emotional expressions.

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

Lance's words made him fall into deep thought. He licked his lips and said, "Is it possible that something went wrong on your end?"

"Is this possible?" He looked at Lance expectantly.

Lance also carefully sorted out the people who knew about this in his mind, and then shook his head, "The people who knew about this are basically all in the car. They can't risk being killed and betraying my information."

"And what I give them is something no one else can give them."

Alberto's scalp was itchy and he scratched it hard. In fact, he already 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 like you are very sure that the problem is happening on my side."

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

He acted sincere. "I want to apologize to you for this, Lance. I hope this won't affect our relationship."

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

"Tell Paul that the bar is closed for now. I'll come over after we resolve this matter!"

After he finished speaking, he stood up and left without paying any attention to Alberto's attempts to keep him.

After sending Lance to the door and watching his car leave, Alberto returned to the office.

Fordis pushed the door open and walked in with a lot of doubts in his mind. He was very considerate and found a reason for himself to come in to inquire about the news. He was holding a cup of coffee.

"Lance thinks that his attack has something to do with us?" Fordis was a little curious. Lance came here today with an obviously questioning 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 sip. It was already a little cold. He glanced at the tray and saw that there was obviously another cup on it.

The bastard had been wanting to come in and eavesdrop for a long time, but Lance left before he could come in.

There is 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 has betrayed his whereabouts."

Fordyce's expression also turned serious.

In fact, what these gang leaders least want to see is someone leaking out where they are going and which route they are going to take tomorrow.

In fact, it is not just gang leaders who don't want this to happen. Some company presidents, big capitalists, and politicians also conceal their itineraries and routes.

This is not a safe era. Things that seem a little cumbersome are actually the things that can ensure their safety!
Whether it's Lance, Heller, Paul himself, or other gang leaders, they will try their best to prevent others from knowing their whereabouts in advance.

Before, Bill was almost killed on his way out to buy breakfast because someone knew his living habits!
But if the Wolf Gang didn't know that Bill often went to a certain place for breakfast and didn't arrange people to ambush in advance, he would not have been able to break into the dock, and the series of events that followed would not have happened.

He leaked his information, so he died.

The same thing happened this time. The fact that they were able to ambush in a precise place meant that these people must have known that Lance would pass by here.

Only those who knew where he was going knew which route he would take, so someone must have betrayed his information.

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

Alberto nodded. "A lot of people know that the bar is going to be transferred to Lance. This matter can't be kept secret."

A bar that is doing very well suddenly announces that it will be transferred out. Even if it is a family decision, it will still make the group in charge of the bar feel dissatisfied.

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

But if it is young people who do not respect traditions, they are not so honest and it will be difficult to deal with them.

They will question the family's decisions, after all, they are the new generation with independent selves.

These new generation young people no longer consider themselves to be Sumurians, but rather federal people of Sumurian descent.

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

The former represents their identification with Sumur Island and the entire Sumur culture, their race, their culture, and everything.

The latter means that they have been assimilated into the Federation during their growth, and their values ​​are the values ​​of the Federation.

Under the impact of the federal spirit of freedom, they did not learn to respect tradition and authority, but rather questioned tradition and authority.

Some schools will even praise and encourage students who question their teachers. They believe that this spirit of questioning authority is a concrete manifestation of the spirit of freedom!
They also turned these things into small stories and publicized them everywhere, as if as long as you don’t question authority, you are not a normal person!
The consequence of questioning authority and tradition is losing awe and becoming more selfish.

When their interests are harmed, the first thing they may think of is not the family, but their personal interests!
They will also doubt whether Paul's decision is correct and whether he has some other purpose in doing so.

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

Smuggling, arms, sex trade, drugs, gambling, and now alcohol!

It is impossible for everyone to gain the same profit from the business they handle, so there will inevitably be some differences and dissatisfaction.

They didn't show it before, because Paul and the five major families were strong enough. They kept silent because they didn't dare to challenge Paul, not because of respect.

Paul still has absolute authority in the family!

But recently, especially this month, there have been disagreements among the five major families. The mayor has put a lot of pressure on them, and there have been some voices within the families that differ from Paul's.

Some younger people think they should attack more radically, while older people like Paul think they should use some political means to keep everything under control.

If differences are not resolved, they will eventually lead to conflicts!
Alberto would not take the initiative to tell others about the family discord. He had deep feelings for his family. After all, it was Paul who brought him out from Sumur Island. To him, Paul was not only a relative but also a benefactor.

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

He said as he picked up the phone and dialed Paul's number.

During this period, the situation within and outside the five major families was quite tense, and Paul stayed in the manor and never left.

Even for his favorite facial, he would arrange for someone to pick up the barber from time to time to do the facial in the manor.

This is actually the most appropriate approach.

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

So the call was connected quickly.

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

"Ok?"

"Lance was attacked in Priscia. He said that one of our people leaked the information."

"okay, I get it."

"Boss..."

"Okay, I got it. I'll check it out and let you know if I have any news."

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

This gave him a headache, but Fordis, who was sitting opposite him, was very calm.

"In fact, the contradiction has always existed, but it just didn't show up before!" He said something he had always wanted to say. This made Alberto roll his eyes and look at him, "When you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb!"

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

A bar with a monthly income of hundreds of thousands is now being sold to someone else, and there will definitely be people who would disagree.

From the doorman, to the bartender, to the security guard, to the manager, to every employee in the bar, they all get a commission.

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

Besides, to them, Lance was not a member of the family, so if they wanted to betray him, they just had to do it, and they didn’t have any psychological burden.

If Lance died, then the bar could continue to be run by them. Isn't that a good decision?
Alberto slumped in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. He suddenly seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Who was in charge of that bar before?"

"Dover."

Christopher, minus some middle names that can be omitted, Pasletto, Dover is Paul's nephew.

When his father was young, he took a bullet to protect Paul and died in an attack.

Paul then took on the responsibility of raising Dover and treated him as his own child, giving him many good opportunities and conditions.

Dover's performance can only be described as mediocre. There was nothing eye-catching, nor was there anything disappointing. It can only be described as ordinary.

He didn't have any outstanding performance, and some people actually had some opinions about him being able to run a bar in the Starlight District on his own.

They have fought for their family with real swords and guns, but they are just running an ordinary business that can neither feed themselves nor starve.

On the contrary, they would definitely be dissatisfied with Christopher, a kid who had never experienced anything, but was running a lucrative business.

Alberto used to look down on this young man. The weird things in the family could really make people angry, but he acted as if he didn't hear them.

If someone else came, he would definitely have to prove himself, but he chooses to be content with the status quo.

Maybe money is really important to him.

If Dover did it…

Alberto was having a headache. Paul was a man who valued friendship and followed rules. It would be difficult to ask him to hand over Dover!
He couldn't help but start to feel anxious again. He hoped that this matter had nothing to do with Dover. He didn't want to make things difficult for Paul.

After Lance's convoy returned to the Imperial District, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone had gloomy faces, and only passers-by smiled.

They are people who truly like Lance and really don't want anything to happen to him. Fortunately, God bless Lance, and he is back!

The convoy went directly to the office. Madore got out of the car first. He and the veterans checked the surrounding environment with guns, and then let Lance get out of the car.

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

And even if they are attacked again, they can still provide good protection.

After entering the office, Lance relaxed completely. He took off his coat and threw it to Corinda (one of the two girls), then went into the office and went to the bookcase to take out a bottle of wine.

He needs to relax.

Alcohol is a magical thing. Just a little bit can make people relax. After other people came in one after another, Bolton also came.

Bolton is panicking!

Lance means more to him than anyone else!
His recent married life has made him think more clearly.

If he loses his son, he can have another one; if his wife runs away, he can marry a younger one, but all this has a prerequisite: he must be rich and have status!
He worked at the federal government for more than 20 years, and in the end all he had was an apartment bought with a mortgage, a broken old car, a pile of bills and two children.

He has nothing, actually!
He is not an indispensable key role, and the company is constantly exploiting and squeezing him. Although he always tries hard to integrate into a higher circle, he simply cannot fit in because of his innate deficiencies!

At the Saturday party, the middle-class imperial immigrants would not like him and would avoid him.

How could he not know this?

He also knew that he was like a clown, but what could he do?
During this period of time, he felt that he was truly alive!

With money and status, girls of the same age as my daughter bend their legs to find a more comfortable position.

His former wife didn't even want to look at him, but now, his young wife treated him like an old baby and was willing to agree to any request he made.

There were also big changes when entering and leaving. People would stop, stand in a position that would not block him, take off their hats and shout "Mr. Bolton".

Those people who once treated him like shit would now come over to greet him enthusiastically and chat with him about finance and politics, which he actually knew nothing about.

People don't laugh at his shallow knowledge. Instead, they listen carefully and think that what he says is very profound.

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

It's just because he is a member of the Lance family and is a small leader.

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

Those newly emerging gangs will cause trouble for him, those ordinary people will cause trouble for him, and even his current subordinates will cause trouble for him.

Only in this way can we draw a clear line between ourselves and him.

So he might also be one of the people who least wants anything to happen to Lance.

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

"Thank God you're okay!"

Lance nodded slightly, motioning him to stand aside.

"After the death of our brothers, we must follow our rules and take good care of their families."

Melo nodded and said, "I know what to do." He has always been in charge of the compensation part.

The families of these deceased people can receive a pension from Melo every month based on the federal average wage, even decades later!
Their children can get better opportunities for training, whether it is joining the family or studying, Lance will cover all the expenses during their growth.

In addition, the dividends and profits they earn from the gang will also be given to their families in one lump sum.

Even ordinary gang members can enjoy similar treatment, and their families can receive at least 20 years of average income, which completely solves their worries for many families.

"Find a professional undertaker to clean them up and let them leave in a dignified manner."

"Then!" Lance changed the subject. He leaned forward, with his arms on his thighs, as if he could shoot out like an arrow at any time. "Find those people!"

He looked at Morris and Bolton, "We killed a lot of people today. Go to Bruna and ask him to 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 whether they are ready to pay a heavy price for it!"

"Tell the brothers to be careful and distribute the weapons. The atmosphere in the city has been very bad recently. I suspect it will soon become chaotic."

"I still say the same thing. We brothers finally came to the Federation and finally found a place to stay here. We finally have enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear, and can see the most prosperous side of this world."

"I don't want to be left with only a few people at the end, I hope each of you can stay with me!"

"If anyone is careless... I don't want to say this, then you must focus on saving your life, don't resist, and wait for me to save you!"

He reached out and patted Erwin on the shoulder, "Get to work!"

This sentence was said to Erwin and to everyone else as well. People quickly dispersed, leaving Lance alone in the room.

Lying on the sofa, closing my eyes slightly, rubbing my cheeks, I gradually relaxed...

(End of this chapter)