Shadow Empire

Chapter 689 Kidnapping and Negotiations Failed
"What a wonderful dinner!" Mrs. Charles said as she put on makeup in the mirror while sitting in the car.

Today is the second day of the New Year, and the lively upper-society socializing has begun. Because Mr. Charles is away, Mrs. Charles needs to hold more "ladies' socializing" to maintain their family's popularity in upper society.

In fact, being a powerful person also has many troubles, such as:

If you or your family are not there for people during key holidays, they may wonder if your family is in some trouble that caused you not to show up when you were needed.

But if you show up too often and too frequently, they will start to suspect that you are plotting something and become suspicious.

Mrs. Charles has been out socializing all day today, and in the morning she attended a high-end fashion salon.

Some ladies who were on good terms with the upper-class ladies in Jingang City gathered together. Managers and art directors of some fashion brands were also present. They brought brochures of new products for this spring and promoted this year's fashion trends to them.

Also invite them to attend this year's spring fashion show. Who knows, someone might get excited and order a set of flashy fashion.

Their main job is to compliment each other, then appreciate the picture albums of those new products with each other, and finally end it.

The entire fashion salon took two hours, and then she immediately went back home to change her clothes and accessories, and then attended the "New Year's Lunch", which was also a social circle for ladies.

Some other ladies who were on good terms with each other or had the same status gathered together to dine in a sunroom, surrounded by blooming flowers. The rich fragrance made her feel a little nauseous.

Fortunately, the dishes were not too greasy and the red wine was pretty good. Everyone chatted while eating, talking about some meaningless and unnutritious topics, which lasted until 1:30 in the afternoon.

Then she rushed home, changed into another set of clothes and matching accessories, and attended the afternoon tea party.

It’s also about ladies’ socializing, but it also takes into account another group of people - these circles have some overlap, but also some non-overlap. It’s possible that just with the addition of a few more people, several circles have evolved.

Women are always very complicated, especially when it comes to the question of "Are you mine?"

Fortunately, the "flower date" in the sunroom at noon left her with no appetite. She ate some pastries at the tea party. They were too sweet, but the coffee was good and neutralized the taste a little.

The tea party started with some serious discussions, such as international forms and domestic forms, but as the discussion went on, the topic shifted to how long something should be in order to satisfy an elegant lady.

Mrs. Charles also offered some of her own opinions. She believed that it was not just the length that mattered, but also the hardness and heat, which were all important.

Of course, a young body and handsome appearance are also important factors.

These women with messy private lives were full of energy when talking about this. Some of the ladies kept swallowing their saliva with thirst. It can be imagined that they must need to release some energy after the tea party.

Mrs. Charles was also a little thirsty, but she had no time to solve her hunger problem because she had to go home as soon as possible, change her clothes, accessories, and even her hairstyle, and then go to a dinner party with her son.

She wanted to curse, but she enjoyed it because it was something every lady had to go through and would go through again.

The dinner was very sumptuous, with dozens of dishes, and this time it was not just a dinner for the ladies, but also for the gentlemen.

Mrs. Charles was not comfortable attending such an occasion alone, so she came with her son, Charles Jr.

After a busy day, she was finally able to relax for a while. She put away her makeup mirror, took off her high heels, rubbed her ankles, and felt exhausted.

Little Charles, who was sitting opposite her, just nodded in boredom. He was still in the "playboy" stage of his life.

Mr. Charles' wealth and power made him stand at the finish line of others from the moment he was born. Even if he did nothing and just squandered his money, his money would only increase.

He just needs to enjoy himself.

It was obvious that these dinner parties held by his father were not a good place for enjoyment. There were impatient rules and etiquette everywhere. He was fed up with these things, as well as the faces and their names that he could never remember.

He replied perfunctorily, "It's OK!"

Mrs. Charles glanced at her son and said, "I heard that you have been hanging out with the little girl from... your family a lot recently."

Her expression was calm, and she did not have the desire to explore her son's new girlfriend. "You can play with her, but you can't marry her. I don't want to repeat this, and I don't want to repeat what happened last time. Do you understand?"

This sentence made little Charles even more dissatisfied!

He glared at his mother, then turned to look out the window and lit a cigarette.

He was once madly in love with a girl and he wanted to marry her very much, but Mr. Charles warned him that for a person as inferior as him, there would be only one outcome, which was to give birth to more offspring for Charles' family.

If you are born in such a family, unless you are outstanding enough, you can only become a reproductive machine, whether you are male or female.

But even if he is a reproductive machine, he cannot just find anyone. He must obey the family's interests and marry someone he has never seen or whom he does not like, and then have children crazily.

Only the combination of interests can make the family continue to grow.

A few years ago, when he was still young, he always felt that he could defeat Mr. Charles and pursue his true love, so he made the girl pregnant.

He had wanted to wait until the baby was born before telling Mr. Charles and making this a fact.

But he underestimated his father's "protection" of him, and soon the matter was known to Mr. Charles. One day when he went to find his girlfriend as usual, he saw the girl lying in a pool of blood.

He was stabbed in the stomach and then his neck was cut. At that moment he felt no anger, only endless fear!
He started shaking, then vomiting!

He was taken home and thrown in front of Mr. Charles with a pale face. Mr. Charles sat calmly on the chair, with his legs crossed, looking down at him, his biological son.

"I asked her to abort the baby, but she said she would rather die than do it."

"I granted her wish."

He looked at little Charles and said, "You are not good enough in academics and family management. If you cannot bear the responsibility in this area, you will have to bear the responsibility in other areas."

"I don't want to hear about any more illegitimate children until you're married and have two or three children. Do you understand?"

From that day on, little Charles became more...indulgent.

Anyway, his life has been decided.

He didn't want to talk, so Mrs. Charles continued, "Don't blame your father. I, your father, we all went through this."

"When you grow up, you will understand this."

"You are our child, we won't harm you!"

Little Charles didn't say anything, but just continued to look at the scenery outside the window.

When he was about to pass an intersection, he suddenly squinted his eyes. The glaring light made it impossible for him to open his eyes. He subconsciously raised his arm to block the direction of the light source, then squinted his eyes and looked over.

Just when he saw what was happening, his mind went blank!

A truck hit the car directly, and the huge inertia pushed the car directly to the side of the road.

It happened so fast that the bodyguards in the bodyguard vehicles had no time to react. Then several cars rushed into the intersection where the accident happened at a very fast speed. Those who leaned out of the car windows with submachine guns in their hands quickly dealt with the bodyguards in the two bodyguard vehicles in front and behind.

The whole process took less than thirty seconds. Then two people came to the car and pulled the door hard, but it didn't open.

One of them raised his weapon and pointed it at the car window and pulled the trigger, but the bullet only caused a crack in the window but did not penetrate it.

Mrs. Charles, who just reacted at this moment, suddenly screamed in shock, while little Charles held his head and looked at the cracked glass window with new bullet holes appearing one after another in a daze.

The driver was still able to remain calm at this time. He turned around and said to Charles, "There is a box under your feet that can be pulled out. There is a gun inside."

Little Charles immediately pulled open the box under the seat, and in a panic, he took out a pistol, and pointed it out of the car window with trembling hands.

Then he pulled the trigger.

The driver cursed loudly "Fuck" and lowered his body with his head in his hands. There was a sound of "piu" and some sparks appeared. Little Charles hugged his thighs and screamed with a flushed face.

In such a small space, you shot at the curved bulletproof glass. You are such a fucking genius!

Mrs. Charles calmed down because of her son's injury. She turned to look at the driver and said, "He was shot. You have to help him!"

While the people outside were still trying to break the window, the driver climbed from the front to the back. He tore open Charles' pants and looked at the wound with a bad look on his face. "The wound is very deep and the amount of bleeding is not right. I'm not sure if any blood vessels have been torn. We have to go to the hospital immediately."

"Otherwise he might die!"

Mrs. Charles stared at the driver in amazement. After a while, she looked at her son who was trying to awaken her maternal love by saying "Save me, Mom".

She stared blankly for a while, but finally nodded with gritted teeth, "Open the door."

Only when the door is open can you go to the hospital.

But as long as the door is opened, people outside can come in.

The driver breathed a sigh of relief. He pressed a button on the door and a built-in vent opened, allowing his voice to be heard. "Don't shoot. I'll open the door right away."

The person outside the door really stopped shooting. After waiting for a few seconds, he slowly opened the door.

It is worthy of being a luxury bulletproof car that cost more than 100,000 yuan to customize. Even after being hit by a truck, the door did not become deformed and could not be opened.

After a few kicks, it was easily kicked open.

The driver was the first to get out. He got out of the car with his hands raised high. "Mr. Charles Jr. has been shot. He needs a doctor."

The two people outside the car door looked at each other, confused. They didn't break through the glass? !
The driver explained awkwardly, "He fired a shot inside and shot himself."

The people around couldn't help laughing, but they still showed respect to Mr. Charles Jr.

He and his mother were dragged out of the car, stuffed into their own car, and quickly disappeared into the street.

The police car that had arrived at the scene a long time ago sounded the alarm and rushed into the crime scene. They had arrived a long time ago.

If the Lance family fails to intercept these people, they will take the initiative to intercept them.

reason?

That's too easy, overdrive!
As for kidnapping?

Sorry, didn't see it!

Soon all the vehicles and bodies at the scene were taken away. The residents of Jingang City have become much smarter now. They are smart enough to understand one thing.

If this kind of barely concealed exchange of fire were to occur in the city right now, it must be the work of the Lance family!

The news of the kidnapping of Mrs. Charles and little Charles soon reached Charles Manor, and Mr. Charles's housekeeper immediately made the call.

The Speaker of the House conveyed this matter.

After he finished speaking, Mr. Charles closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, rubbed his face vigorously with his hands, and exhaled slowly.

Everyone's attention was on him.

After about four or five seconds, he suddenly clenched his hands, which were covering his face, into fists and slammed them hard on the table. He glared at Mayor Williams fiercely, and then looked at Lance.

Everyone knew that this must have been done by Mayor Williams and Lance, only in this way could they disrupt this "palace coup".

"I... need to leave for a while.", he said, using his hands on the table to support himself to stand up.

This matter is very troublesome.

Once his son dies, he will most likely have no heir, and his brothers and sisters will not miss this opportunity.

In this way, his property would have no heirs and could be divided up by them.

The bigger the family, the more profit-oriented it is, the more indifferent and indifferent they are to family affection, and all they care about is profit.

After so many years of hard work, what is the purpose of your struggle?

Just for your own pleasure?
If it was just for his own pleasure, he could have stopped long ago. The status and wealth he has gained are enough to keep him happy for the rest of his life.

After all, isn't it for the purpose of passing it down from generation to generation, so that people will always know that there is such a "talent" as Charles in the family.

The Speaker of the House couldn't stop him on this matter, so he could only nod. He picked up his coat and put it on while walking outside. When he went out, he could still be heard cursing outside.

The Speaker of the House couldn't help but glance at Lance and Mayor Williams, both of whom had expressions that said, "It has nothing to do with me."

In the absence of evidence, the Speaker of the House of Representatives can’t say anything. What if it really is a coincidence?

Once Mr. Charles left, mediation became difficult to proceed, and he also realized that there was a high probability that he would not be able to deal with these people.

He tidied up the things on the table and shook his head. "It seems that we can't reach an agreement on these things tonight. We can talk about it after Mr. Charles's affairs are dealt with. It will also give us some buffer time and consideration."

"Well..." He stood up with the documents in his hand. Lance, Mayor Williams, and some other gentlemen sitting opposite him also stood up.

The Speaker of the House looked around at the two groups of people and put the documents into his briefcase. "That's it for now. I'll let you know later!"

After he finished speaking, he nodded, then left with his briefcase, led by his secretary.

Mayor Williams also had a faint smile on his face. He showed a regretful expression and walked outside with Lance.

Just as they entered the elevator and were about to return to their room, Mr. Charles ran over from somewhere and was about to rush into the elevator, but was stopped.

He stood outside the elevator, looking at the bodyguards who put their hands behind their clothes on their chests, his expression particularly ugly.

Through these people, he looked at Mayor Williams, "Is this your plan?"

Mayor Williams shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s mine and yours?”

Mr. Charles took a deep breath. “You’ve crossed the line, Williams.”

Mayor Williams snorted, "Why didn't you say that to yourself when you kidnapped Arthur?"

He didn't give Mr. Charles any chance to continue communicating, "Well, it's getting late, I need to rest."

"Instead of spending your time talking to me about these meaningless things, why don't you think about how to find your family or give birth to a new one?"

A sneer appeared on his lips, and then he asked someone to close the elevator.

The elevator slowly rose, and Mayor Williams faced the elevator door. "Do you think he will go back?"

Lance curled his lips, "Can he not go back?"

Mayor Williams finally showed a happy smile on his face, "This is the best news I have heard so far this year!"

With the ding of the elevator door, the two walked out of the elevator, said a few simple words, and went back to their rooms.

On the other hand, after the Speaker of the House returned to his house, he called Congress and reported the situation in detail, adding his own opinions.

"I think it's pointless to continue forcing them to sit down since both of them refuse mediation."

"My idea is... just let them do it. As long as the situation doesn't escalate, someone will always win."

"Even if we get them to give up their conflicts now, they may break out again in the future. If problems arise at that time, the damage will be much greater than resolving them now."

"We have to take into account the situation during war."

The senator who answered the phone thought for a while and did not answer him immediately. "Let's discuss it. Your mediation work will be temporarily suspended. I will inform you when there is news."

(End of this chapter)