Empire of Shadows

Today, Dover clearly didn't bring his usual lackeys. He was alone today.

He drove around the Sumuri district for a while, then found a street cafe and sat down.

He ordered a coffee and a pastry, watching the ordinary pedestrians walking along the roadside, just like their ordinary and uneventful lives, without any waves.

Everyone hopes that their life will be wonderful, magnificent, and full of stories to tell young people when they get old.

But how many people can achieve that?

Dover grew up in an environment where "his father was a hero." At that time, he even asked his mother—

His mother committed suicide when he was eight years old. He didn't know why, but he knew that when he returned home from school, he saw the woman hanging from the fan in the living room.

Her head was drooping, her face was blue and purple, and she stared at Dover, who came in from the door, with an unspeakable sense of weirdness, which frightened him.

Before his mother died, he often asked her a question: Since his father was a hero, a good person praised by everyone, why did he die?

"Heroes don't die," that's how children perceive the world, but his father died.

Before this question was answered, his mother also died.

He was alone.

He couldn't tell whether the praise of his father from the people around him was true or false, just as he couldn't tell whether the emotions expressed by people when they said "Poor woman" were true or false. He was too young to tell.

The only thing he could feel was the care from Paul, but he resisted this care. For him, who was still young, the person who really killed his father was not the gunman, but Paul.

If his father hadn't blocked a bullet for Paul, his father wouldn't have died.

If it had been any other time, his father could have completely avoided the fatal injury, and there wouldn't have been a gunman to deal with him in the first place.

So, the person who killed his father was Paul, not the gunman.

Paul, not the gunman, was also the cause of all his misfortunes.

Even with Paul's care, a child who has lost his parents is inevitably bullied at school.

This has nothing to do with his identity and background. Older children of the same age don't understand the difference between a "gang leader" and a "great father." They only know that Dover is a child without parents, and they can bully him without being held responsible.

Dover, who was often bullied, was actually unwilling to expose his weakness in front of Paul. Over time, the way the two got along developed a distorted relationship.

Paul felt that Dover was immersed in the pain of losing his father and couldn't get out of it, but Dover thought that Paul was being nosy.

Wouldn't you go crazy if the person who killed your father was always wandering around in front of you and often disciplining you?

Dover wasn't crazy, but he was close.

His life was arranged clearly by Paul. He was very annoyed by this, but he couldn't resist or break free.

Sometimes he would do some crazy or absurd things, the purpose of which was to declare war on Paul in his own way.

He wanted to anger Paul. He even wanted Paul to beat him up so that he could tell everyone that Paul was not as good as they thought.

The older he got and the more mature his thinking became, the more painful he became!

He could feel that Paul seemed to be using their family.

Using his father's death to shape him into a hero to highlight his importance to the entire Pasreto family.

After all, the person who died to save him became a hero of the family, so he must be a more important role to the family than the hero!

Using his mother's death, he even once suspected that Paul had arranged for someone to hang the woman on the electric fan so that he would lose all of his guardians.

In the end, he used him to make Paul look like a family head, leader, or even spiritual leader of the family who was full of human touch and worthy of people's lives!

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to anger Paul and make him tear off his disguise and beat him hard.

Grab him by the collar and tell him that everything is just a game for those in power!

But he couldn't really anger Paul and fell into a dead cycle.

The more he couldn't achieve his goal, the more he wanted to achieve his goal. He himself didn't realize that he was already obsessed.

He was like a fish about to drown in the water, absurd, ridiculous.

And laughable.

He thought a lot. The coffee in the cup disappeared little by little, and some of the things he had cultivated over the years gradually made the balance in his mind begin to tilt.

He took out a business card from his pocket. There was only a name and a phone number.

"Owen..."

He read the name, but there was no last name. Below was a string of numbers.

He hesitated again and again, took out a dollar and put it on the table, pressed it with the coffee saucer, then got up and walked to the phone booth on the roadside and dialed the number.

"Owen?"

"Who is it?" The voice from the receiver was a little familiar, but soon the other party seemed to remember something, "Christopher!"

"How about it, want to chat with me?"

"I won't do anything to you, and I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, just chat with you."

"I may have the answers you have been looking for here."

"Of course, provided you dare to do it!"

"If your uncle finds out, he will spank you again!"

Owen knew very well how to anger Dover. Dover's face suddenly turned a little red, which was caused by a rise in blood pressure.

"I will go to see you, but you must understand this, I am not going because you provoked me, I just want to see what tricks you are playing!"

Owen's laughter was hearty and revealed a kind of thing that he had seen through his lies, which made Dover even more annoyed, "Stop fucking laughing, give me a location!"

Soon, he drove to the agreed location, a strip club.

After parking the car, he came to a small room inside. This was a place where wealthy bosses spent money privately. A young man was already sitting here.

Yesterday he hadn't seen it clearly, but now that he saw this guy, he had an urge to leave immediately!

Because he knew this person!

He often appeared by the mayor's side!

"You seem very surprised?" Owen stood up and motioned for him to sit down, "This place is very safe, don't worry about anyone finding out."

"Even if you stay here until night, your uncle will only think you are a waste who can never be reused."

"Just like you have always shown."

Perhaps the last sentence worked. Dover, who had planned to leave, sat down.

He knew that the Pasreto family and the mayor were not on the same side, but were still enemies facing each other, which made him not trust the guy in front of him.

But this guy could always say something that made him go against his own ideas. He clearly didn't want to stay.

Owen was very good at communication skills. Even though they were two opposing camps, he could easily talk to them.

"Paul must be very tired recently, right?" He found a very suitable entry point.

This entry point made Dover a little unhappy, and at the same time he was a little wary, "I won't reveal anything about him to you."

Owen smiled, not very concerned, because all of this was within his expectations.

"The current situation is actually very dangerous for the Pasreto family. Has Paul told you this?"

Dover didn't speak, and Owen continued, "Look, he is very busy every day, busier than ever before, but he never tells you that the Pasreto family has reached a moment of life and death. You have never become a real core, Dover."

"Even if your father lost his life to save him, even if you are the child he raised, he still didn't treat you as the core of the family."

"You don't know such an important thing at all. This is the evidence!"

Dover was a little embarrassed. Being told by an "outsider" that he was not the core of the family made him feel a little embarrassed, "I know!" he quibbled.

Owen shook his finger, "No, you don't know."

"The Cassia family and the Koda family have already compromised with us, and Rick will also deal with you with us."

"The Tita family and the Keane family already have our people. Although the war has not yet started, it is actually over!"

Owen's smile made Dover feel annoyed, but he was still taken aback by what Owen said!

He felt a little short of breath.

Although he always wanted to make trouble for Paul, he essentially still hoped that the Pasreto family could survive. He was considering whether to tell Paul about this.

Just as he was thinking, Owen asked, "Are you thinking about telling Paul about this?"

Looking at Dover's eyes that couldn't hide his thoughts, Owen smiled like a forty-year-old fox, "Then how are you going to tell him? You suddenly know these secrets that ordinary people can't possibly know?"

"Dover, your uncle Paul can't even find out the news, how did you, a marginal figure, find out?"

Dover fell into silence. He hadn't considered this question just now, but now that Owen reminded him, he suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem.

If he told the truth, would Paul believe him?

He couldn't guarantee it!

But without saying…

Owen watched him struggle with his hesitation for a good while without arriving at any answer, before continuing, "Actually, the decline of the five great families is inevitable, because you are just thieves, while the Mayor represents the Federal Government."

"Dover, you are a smart man, you should know that a family, a gang, cannot stand against the machinery of the state!"

"When this country decides to deal with you, you will have no room to resist!"

"Otherwise, why do you think the Coda and Cassia families have leaned in so quickly?"

Dover seemed to find a point to refute him, "The Mayor doesn't represent the entire Federation!"

"I'm going to take back what I just said!" Owen took a deep breath, which brought a hint of a smile to Dover's face, not for any other reason, but simply a desire to win.

But then, Owen's words quickly changed his expression, "I'm going to take back the 'you are a smart man' part. Dover, you're not smart at all!"

"The Mayor certainly doesn't represent the Federal Government, that's the business of the gentlemen in Congress."

"But he represents the actual rule of the Federal Government over the lower levels. From the moment this battle began, you were already defeated."

"Because what you are challenging is not the power in the Mayor's hands, but the rule of the Federal Government."

"If there was a chance, do you think Paul would really go to war with us?"

"No, he would become another Cassia or Coda family. He doesn't want to go to war, and he knows he can't win."

"Perhaps this year will be the last year for the five great families. After these few months, the order of Goldport City will be rewritten by its true master."

"You. You all, will be swept into the trash heap!"

Owen took out a pack of cigarettes, "Want one?"

Dover took one from him, without saying a word.

Casually striking a match and lighting the cigarette, he flicked the match, throwing the extinguished stick into the ashtray, "I admire you, Dover."

"So I'm giving you a chance, a chance to continue the Pasreto family."

"Replace Paul, pledge allegiance to us, and you will become a hero of the Pasreto family, just like your father!"

"But this time, what you have to do is not sacrifice for Paul, others, or the family, but to sacrifice others, preserve the family, and become a hero!"

"You can prove to your father that his choice was not necessarily the right one."

"And your choice is not necessarily wrong!"

These words struck Dover's head like a thunderbolt. He was completely stunned, even forgetting to take a drag of his cigarette.

Owen knew his plan had succeeded.

Sometimes he thought Paul was very interesting, maybe he had played certain roles for too long and really thought they were himself.

He is a mob boss, he shouldn't have such obvious weaknesses, but he not only has them, but lets those weaknesses run around!

Perhaps the Pasreto family really should be destroyed!

After a long while, Dover came back to his senses. He looked at Owen with a somewhat complicated expression. He didn't expect that the person who understood him the most was actually an outsider!

He didn't know what to say, just lowered his head and smoked his cigarette.

"I won't force you to make a decision right away. I'll let you see, see the Pasreto family step by step towards destruction."

"Before it is completely wiped out, you can make a decision at any time, but not at the very end!"

"Enjoy the remaining peaceful time, Christopher Pasreto."

Owen stood up and buttoned his jacket. It was actually quite hot, but he was still wearing a full suit.

Perhaps this is some of the price that the upper class has to pay!

When those people can wear floral shirts and large shorts, they still have to maintain their proper appearance, and this is all the fault of a fool!

It is said that a fool would wear all his attire, including a wig, even in the hottest weather.

And his reason was that a well-known and reputable public figure should not allow the external environment to make his appearance look improper at any time or place.

So this trend eventually swept the world!

You should know that before this, those big shots were not as proper as people imagined, wearing strange clothes, defecating anywhere…

Owen straightened his clothes and smiled down at Dover, who was still sitting on the sofa, "I've already paid the bill here. Two girls will come in to serve you later. Enjoy the last bit of pleasure!"

He showed a disagreeable smile, "To be reborn in destruction, or to head towards complete destruction, is entirely up to you!"

After speaking, Owen left. Not long after, two girls walked in, but this time, Dover had no interest at all!

On the way back, he noticed that the city had indeed become more chaotic.

In just three kilometers, he saw no less than three robberies in broad daylight, and people looting roadside shops. He thought of what Owen had said to him, and happiness left him!

These two days may be the time when emergency calls are most frequent. Some people have discovered that even in the Starlight District, the police are not arriving as quickly as they used to. Even the homeless on the roadside have developed some greed!

Theft, robbery, looting, ransacking shops…

The city's security is deteriorating.

Only three districts in the entire Goldport City are still peaceful.

The Imperial District, the Bay Area, and the Industrial District.

Even in Xilin District, where elderly people live, many elderly people have reported that someone has pulled out their yellowed gold teeth…

"Someone was caught robbing on Phoenix Street. Two guys stabbed a passing pedestrian and stole three dollars and seventy-seven cents."

"Should I hand them over to Blue, or what?"

Borton made a call to Lance. The security in the Imperial District is actually becoming unstable. Although there are people patrolling, there will always be places that are not patrolled.

Lance stroked his eyebrows, "Has the person been sent to the hospital?"

"Yes, the doctor said they need surgery."

"Pay the bill, don't hand the people over to Blue, I'll be over later."

Lance hung up the phone and frowned.

After packing some small items that he carried with him, making sure there were bullets in the pistol, he left the office.

The motorcade quickly arrived at Phoenix Street. Phoenix Street is located in the eastern part of the Imperial District, at the junction of the Port District and the Prussia District. Because the three districts converge here, it is also relatively prosperous.

Almost all the shops are on the roadside. Sometimes some middle class people from the Prussia District will drive here to buy some cheap goods.

When Lance arrived, many people had already gathered here. Two young men were being held down and kneeling on the ground, and there was a pool of blood not far away.

"Mr. Lance is here!"

Someone didn't know who first discovered Lance, and soon people took the initiative to make way so that Lance could walk in…