Empire of Shadows

Chapter 358 Self-Preservation [666+12]

Seeing Dover's pale face, Alberto shook his head and walked towards Paul.

Dover had always been well protected by Paul, and sometimes he wondered if the rumors were true.

Paul took special care of Christopher in order to establish some positive image for himself.

That kind of enviable indulgence made many people willing to risk their lives for Paul!

Risking their lives for him at least guaranteed their families' well-being; if they also had a child, and if their child could have such a future because they took a bullet for Paul, they too would stand up at a crucial moment and block that bullet for him!

But thinking about it, if he could really do these things, whether it was real or fake, did it still matter?

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So many eyes were watching, and what made him feel a little uncomfortable was how good Paul was to Dover; he wasn't even willing to say a perfunctory word.

He shook his head and walked to Paul's side. Paul also saw what had just happened, patted Alberto's arm, and then began to arrange the next steps.

From what he had heard, Dover's body was trembling slightly; he had never experienced such a situation!

From the time he was sensible, someone had been protecting his safety.

When he grew a little older, he often followed Paul's side. No one would disrespect him, and no one would bully or hurt him.

Everyone knew that Paul was very good to him; offending him was equivalent to offending Paul.

Especially during the heyday of the five families, even if those people dared to have bad ideas about Paul, they were unwilling to casually mess with Dover.

Firstly, in choices that could affect the future of the family, Paul would definitely abandon Dover and then kill those people to avenge him, so kidnapping him to deal with Paul and force Paul's hand would not be very meaningful.

Although Paul was very good to him, everyone knew that Paul would not sacrifice his own life or harm the family's interests for Dover.

Secondly, he didn't actually have much practical value; he didn't come into contact with the core affairs of the family and didn't know those high-level information.

Whenever discussing matters with the family core, Paul would ask him to leave first.

When he was young, he would give him a few dollars to go out and play; when he was older, he would directly tell him that he had to go out and do something.

Perhaps this was also one of the reasons why Dover hesitated in the choices Owen provided; although he was well protected by Paul, he had never truly entered the core circle of the family.

If he was still hesitating before, and felt that Owen's rhetoric was a kind of intimidation, that the great Pasreto family would perish, it was something that made him laugh!

Then, at this moment, he didn't think so.

He was actually in the front yard when the explosion happened. The shockwave from the explosion directly threw him heavily to the ground, and a cabinet in a corridor pressed down on him.

Although it didn't cause him serious injuries, it caused him a great psychological shadow.

Especially when he went to those collapsed places, being pulled to rescue people.

Watching the pieces of corpses and stones being carried out of the ruins, and people being crushed into minced meat by the heavy collapsed buildings!

He vomited, and he vomited more than once. Paul told him to go back to the rear, lest he affect everyone's mood.

Those who died were all family members, and everyone had a grudge in their hearts, but he was vomiting beside them, which was too damn demoralizing.

It was also because of this scene that Dover began to truly think about what Owen said: Could Paul hold on?

He walked somewhat numbly in the corridor, surrounded by some hurried people. The way these people looked at him was not very friendly.

Most people looked at him as if they hadn't seen him, glancing over him, while some people showed disgust.

He returned to his room, sat in a chair, and looked at the sunset outside the window.

The fiery red sunset fell on the clouds, making the red layer red, looking like fire, but this fire was not scorching or intense.

Unlike the morning glow of Qingcheng, which was golden and dazzling, giving people a feeling of tenacious vitality.

The redness of the sunset gave people a feeling of about to go out; it wouldn't shine for long!

If the family was really gone, what would he do?

He was a little dazed. He had his own villa, bought many luxury cars, and all his happy life was built on the fact that his uncle was called Paul!

Without Paul, he was nothing.

As Paul's nephew, he was very clear about the cruelty of the five families, or rather, the underworld.

He didn't have the power to possess those fortunes. He was not a socialite or politician, nor was he the actual head of a gang or leader.

He didn't have any power that would prevent people from moving forward when facing such a considerable sum of wealth. He couldn't protect those fortunes and would even cause trouble because of them.

Without Paul, not only would he become penniless, but the people he had offended before would come to him for trouble.

He hugged his head and hummed painfully twice. This was not the life he wanted, nor was it the future he longed for!

His hand, as if disobedient, slowly pressed on the phone. A demon in his heart was telling him that calling Owen now was the most correct choice.

He had to protect himself, protect the Pasreto family, had to… let everything continue!

His thoughts struggled fiercely, and with fear and unease about the future, he finally picked up the phone and dialed Owen's number.

Owen was processing some documents. In fact, the mayor was already awake, but not many people knew about it.

Now, it seemed very reasonable for him, the mayor's secretary, to temporarily handle some documents on behalf of the mayor.

The state government seemed to be unsure of how to deal with these situations. After discussing it, they were already able to send a team over.

Although Owen's "rule" would not last too long, he had already felt the happiness that the mayor felt in this position!

His signature could determine whether a decree was implemented, which would change the work, life, and destiny of many people!

He didn't feel it so strongly when the power was in the mayor's hands before, but now, he felt it.

"This is the mayor's office," he said, tilting his head and holding the receiver with his shoulder, his eyes still on the documents in front of him.

No voice came from the receiver, but he could faintly hear breathing. "If you don't speak, I'll hang up."

After waiting for about ten seconds, Owen put down the work in his hand, picked up the phone, and said.

"It's me, Christopher…"

"Dover?" Owen leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms. "Have you figured it out?"

Dover responded, "What should I do to protect the family?"

Owen rubbed his wrist, "If you want to protect the family, first you have to become a weighty figure in the Pasreto family."

"But you, I, we all know very well that as long as Paul is alive, his brothers are alive, that role will never be yours."

"Dover, sometimes I think that choosing to cooperate with you was a wrong decision. You are the least likely person of all."

"But you are a little smarter than them, at least you can see the future developments and changes."

He was silent for a while, "I want you to get rid of Paul and a few core figures, and I will give you a group of people to help you control the Pasreto family."

"Then you pledge allegiance to the mayor and me, and the Pasreto family will be able to survive."

"Time is running out, Dover. What you are facing and experiencing now is just an appetizer."

After the intense bombing case spread to the state government, they would not consider using peaceful means to solve the current problems in Goldport City.

With the major explosion and the mayor arranging for some people to sabotage the city, and the gang wars so frequent, it was inevitable that the state government would send in the militia.

When the time came, whoever the mayor said to get rid of, the militia would get rid of them. All the forces in the city that did not stand on his side would be purged.

Strictly speaking, he was not lying!

Leaving the Pasreto family, or rather, leaving a puppet, was actually very simple, because he and the mayor would eventually leave here.

They needed to leave something to continue controlling this city, even if they couldn't achieve decisive control, they had to maximize control of a part, so that they could have the capital to negotiate with others here in the future!

These were his backup plans.

Whether it was the Cassia family, the Coda family, or the Pasreto family led by Dover in his plan, these were all his backup plans.

They held the power to instantly destroy these families, and they had to serve them.

Dover on the other end of the phone didn't know so many things. He only knew that he had to make a choice.

"I… I agree."

The secretary smiled very satisfied, "A very correct choice, Dover. Although you are not smart, you and your father have a talent for making multiple-choice questions."

This sentence was actually full of sarcasm, but Dover pretended not to hear it.

His father chose to become a hero, and he chose to become a traitor.

Everything was for the sake of survival.

"You go outside first, I will arrange for someone to contact you, and then you don't have to do anything, they will find a way to get rid of Paul."

"All you have to do is bring people in."

After saying these words, he told Dover to leave the manor first, go to a bar or his own villa, and hung up the phone.

Then, immediately following that, he made a call to Rick (the head of the Kasha family).

"Dover has agreed to my plan. See to the arrangements."

"It's best to make it lively. I really liked today's explosion!"

Rick's voice was a little hoarse, "Has anyone ever told you that you're just as much of a mongrel as he is?"

The secretary didn't care at all about Rick's words. He would quickly replace people like this, who were obedient but clearly impolite to him.

"Even if I am a mongrel, you're still licking my boots, Rick."

"Don't do anything that will displease the Mayor and me. Just do what you're supposed to do!"

"I await your good news!"