Empire of Shadows

When Chief Blue received the questioning from Mayor Williams, beads of sweat visibly appeared on his forehead. He could no longer sit still, standing by the desk, clutching the receiver, "I... shouldn't I know something?"

Mayor Williams shook his head slightly after listening. This was also an idiot, but on second thought, to Lance, even to him, there was actually no difference between an idiot and a smart person.

As a tool, whether it can achieve better results depends entirely on its user, not on itself.

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Not to brag, among the users, he, or Lance, were the best. So even if this was a stupid tool, it could still achieve the effect they wanted.

Thinking of this, his tone softened slightly, "Have you read today's 'Golden Port Today'?"

Chief Blue shook his head quickly, "I was on duty very late last night..."

"It doesn't matter, go find a copy later and take a look at the news on it."

"Mr. Hoff is an important member of Golden Port City. He has a great influence. People cannot distinguish the truth from falsehood in the news. As the law enforcement agency of Golden Port City, you must take on this responsibility."

"Announce to the public that you will immediately form an investigation team to investigate the exposed cases and restore the facts as much as possible."

"If someone tries to smear a reputable gentleman by creating fake news, we must find that person!"

"Remember the tone I just used with you. When facing the media, you must show that kind of 'unwillingness to let people be deceived' indignation, and your sense of justice. Do you understand?"

Chief Blue's mind gradually cleared up from the mayor's intimidation.

He sat back in his chair and said softly, "But the final result may..." Many words flashed quickly through his mind. Sometimes, being at a loss for words is just so inconvenient in communication, "...not satisfy everyone?"

Although the expression wasn't complete, Mayor Williams still praised him with approval, "You have talent, Chief Blue. This is what I want you to do, create a contrast."

After all, the people whose scandals were exposed in the report were all famous celebrities in Golden Port City. If you immediately and groundlessly say that they really solicited prostitutes and trampled on the moral bottom line, the public may not necessarily believe it.

The best way to deal with these prestigious people is to hold them up high.

Holding them up high is in line with the public's current attitude, which will neither offend ordinary people nor leave any loose ends for your possible failure.

If a problem is really found, then the higher they are held, the harder they will fall.

Whether it's these ordinary people, or those with status, or anyone, they all want to be deceived and don't want their kindness to be used.

These public opinions, which could have become obstacles, will be used by them at this moment.

Subsequently, when Lance exposes more evidence and scandals, public opinion will overwhelmingly stand on their side, which will be very helpful for controlling the situation.

"Now that we have started investigating these matters, it is appropriate to invite Mr. Hoff to the police station to cooperate with the investigation and let him cooperate with us to prove his innocence."

"And the other two 'victims'."

"Now they may be slandering and framing, and maybe they will use some violent means later. Arrange for people to protect them from harm, understand?"

Before Chief Blue could react, he made the final summary, "I hope they are all under control before the matter is investigated clearly. You must give people the truth and not let innocent people suffer undeserved harm!"

"But also don't let those who have done illegal things escape the sanctions of the law!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone directly without waiting for Chief Blue to say anything more.

In federal law, both parties involved in soliciting prostitution have violated the law. The crime of sex trafficking is a crime that both parties must bear.

If Mr. Hoff is saddled with this crime, then he will have a way to concoct this person!

Since they have caught Arthur, then now he will use this plan to directly control these three people in his hands.

Since Lance has decided to take action and has thrown out this evidence, the contest between the two sides will become fierce, and the possibility of escalation must be considered.

After thinking for a long time, on the one hand, he actively strengthened the security level of himself and his family, and on the other hand, he also asked Lance to arrange some people to protect them.

Those people might directly overturn the table when pushed to the limit. He must be prepared for any eventuality.

After Chief Blue hung up the phone, he immediately picked up the morning's 'Golden Port Today' and briefly read it. After reading it, his whole body was sweating!

As a local, he knew very well what this report meant.

Both sides have sounded the horn of attack, and this is not the kind of mutual probing that still exists in compromise and transaction. They are going to get real, and it's a 'checkmate' right from the start.

A politician being proven unfaithful, having affairs, soliciting prostitutes, and abusing others, although some of them may be issues of personal morality and character, they are still destructive and can directly ruin Mr. Hoff's career.

For politicians, you can hurt their family, you can take away the money in their accounts, but you must never threaten their political life!

If you lose the former, you lose it. It may even be a good thing for politicians.

But the latter is a forbidden zone that no one can touch!

He didn't know who exposed these messages, but he knew that this was aimed at the other party's vital point!

Chief Blue's heart was pounding. The situation in Golden Port City was about to undergo a huge change!

He didn't know how to deal with himself in this storm. He could only do the things that were assigned to him as well as possible. This was the only thing he could do.

He called Deputy Chief Duke to his office and roughly repeated the contents of Mayor Williams' call just now.

"I'll hold a press conference. You take people over there and see if you can invite these three people over for a routine investigation and questioning."

"Even if they find a way to refuse, keep an eye on them!"

Deputy Chief Duke glanced at the three photos lined up together on the newspaper, feeling a little pained. They were all big shots, all beings he couldn't afford to offend.

But he also knew very well that whether it was Mayor Williams or Lance, he couldn't afford to offend them even more.

This is the saddest thing about small people. They can never do things according to their own ideas.

He nodded, "I'll go now."

The two discussed a few more words and then separated. It couldn't even be considered morning yet, it was only a little after dawn when the chief of the Golden Port City Police Department publicly stated that he hoped that the newspaper and the person who exposed the information could actively contact the police department and cooperate.

At the same time, he asked everyone to try not to believe unverified information. The police department would launch an investigation as soon as possible to verify the authenticity of these news.

At the same time, Deputy Chief Duke also led police officers to the outside of Mr. Hoff's villa. He walked to the door and rang the doorbell. Soon, Mr. Hoff's butler appeared inside the gate of the villa.

"What can I do for you?"

Deputy Chief Duke said with a straight face, "We are here because of the news in 'Golden Port Today'. Someone reported that Mr. Hoff had solicited prostitutes. We have some things we want to talk to Mr. Hoff about in person."

The butler shook his head, "I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Hoff went out early in the morning."

Deputy Chief Duke looked directly at the other party. The butler also met his gaze without any evasion or retreat. The two looked at each other for a moment before the butler smiled and lowered his head, avoiding his gaze, "After Mr. Hoff returns, I will contact the police department as soon as possible."

These orders were just Mayor Williams' intention. Deputy Chief Duke didn't have a search warrant, let alone an arrest warrant. Just a sentence of "not here" really stopped him.

His brain spun wildly, and even the police officers standing next to him looked at him with surprised expressions—they could also hear the sound of his brain working!

"I'll have my people stay here. If Mr. Hoff comes back, they can contact us as soon as possible."

The butler looked up at him for a few seconds and chose to compromise, "Suit yourself."

Deputy Chief Duke left two police officers behind and then went to the residences of the other two "victims."

The butler returned to the villa from the courtyard, and Mr. Hoff was sitting there.

"...That's what they said, they want to invite you to the police station to cooperate with the investigation."

Mr. Hoff nodded with a solemn expression. Could he go to the police station?

Of course, he couldn't go to the police station. What difference would it make between letting him go to the police station and directly handing himself over to them?

He had originally planned to arrange some things properly before considering whether to leave this place.

Yes, he still had a glimmer of hope, hoping that he wouldn't have to leave here, but now it seemed that Mr. Charles was right, he had to leave.

Once he was taken to the police station, there would likely be huge trouble.

The trouble not only came from Mayor Williams' side, they might use some legal or illegal means to force him to reveal some secrets, but also from the Bay Area interest group.

He was considered one of the more core members and knew many specific things, things that were enough to ruin the reputation and lead to the arrest of more people.

To avoid this situation, they would most likely carry out an extermination program on him.

Just as when they found someone who would affect them, they, he, would all suggest starting the extermination program.

The longer he stayed here, the greater the danger. He didn't want to leave, but he had to leave.

At this moment, he felt somewhat defeated. His departure signified his loss in this game of strategy.

He could only hope that Mr. Charles and the others would hold out a little longer.

After sitting blankly for a few minutes, he called Richie. "Something unexpected has happened. I might need to leave temporarily."

"After I leave, if you have any problems, anything you're unsure how to handle, call this number..."

He gave him Mr. Charles's phone number. In principle, he shouldn't have, but he didn't care anymore.

He was out of the game. Giving Charles's number was, in a way, his expression of dissatisfaction with some of Charles's previous decisions.

He shouldn't be discarded like a pawn. He should have shouldered more important responsibilities in this game!

All losers are like this; they always feel their failure has nothing to do with their own abilities.

Richie's tone on the other end of the phone also revealed confusion. "Where are you going?"

"And when will you be back?"

"After you leave, how should we execute our plans?"

They were no longer living with Mr. Hoff. They had moved to a new location when they kidnapped Arthur.

For the past few days, Mr. Hoff had been the one contacting them. Now, with a sudden change of personnel, Richie felt a little uneasy.

Over the past few days, they had gleaned a deeper understanding of the Lance family from the sidelines. This understanding was far more reliable than the unreliable information they had gathered in the western region of Licar.

A large amount of information related to the Lance family had converged, making them realize that this was not an easy opponent to deal with.

"Call the number I gave you and ask Mr. Charles what to do."

"As for me... we'll meet again if we have the chance."

He didn't make any definitive statements. After speaking, he hung up the phone and went back to quickly pack his things.

Soon after, a car suddenly drove out of the garage in the villa's yard, seemingly about to leave.

Two police officers immediately noticed something was wrong. They tried to intercept the vehicle, but the butler and his people stopped them.

The reason was simple—

"You don't have a search warrant, you have no right to inspect this car."

It's hard to say whether the federal judicial process is good or bad. Similar things have happened more than once. Because there is no legal authorization, law enforcement agencies and personnel have more than once watched criminals swagger away without being able to arrest them.

These two police officers were quick-witted. One immediately returned to the police car and followed the car in front, while the other ran towards the outside of the community.

He needed to contact the police station and have them send more support.

But what he didn't know was that as he left the villa, a second car drove out of the villa's garage and quickly entered the internal road, heading out of the city.

The impact of the scandal exposed by *The Goldenport Today* continued to spread. The police station's timely statement also drew the attention of people throughout the city.

Except for a few who realized that the conflict between the two interest groups had suddenly begun to escalate, and that a winner was likely to emerge in a short period of time, everyone else was simply watching the excitement.

Mr. Charles breathed a sigh of relief when his subordinate told him that Mr. Hoff had left the city. As long as Mr. Hoff didn't fall into Mayor Williams's hands, that was good.

"...Wade, we've been friends for many years, our friendship has always been good, hasn't it?" After he dismissed the person who delivered the message, he picked up the phone and spoke into the microphone.

This call was to Mayor Wade, because the ledger found at Red Heels was in the hands of then-Councilman Wade.

Everyone trusted him. He was like a "big brother," always a vanguard of Goldenport's localism.

He also destroyed the ledger in front of everyone, so people didn't pay attention to it at all.

But now a "notebook" had suddenly appeared, making it hard not to suspect whether the ledger that Councilman Wade had destroyed was real or not.

Did he secretly keep it, or what?

Mayor Wade was unaware of what was happening in his old hometown. He was doing quite well in his new position, and he was capable to begin with.

He had been contending with Mayor Williams and the Goldenport celebrities, as well as the state government, for half his life without falling behind, and even faintly resembling the "number one person in Goldenport."

In the new environment, he quickly gained control of the situation and began to try to penetrate the surrounding cities.

Mr. Charles's call originally made him very happy. If he could win over Mr. Charles to invest and provide some assistance for his later campaign for governor,

then his chances of running for governor would be greater!

Once he became governor, then the "Wade family," which only locals in Goldenport knew about, would rise to a level known to people across the country.

The sudden questioning after the pleasantries made him a little confused. "We've always been friends, what's happening on your end?"

Mr. Charles didn't directly answer his question. "Are you sure you destroyed the notebook that was found at Red Heels back then?"

Mayor Wade's tone became heavier after hearing this, but he was also somewhat puzzled and curious. "I swear to God, I destroyed that thing in front of your people. You should understand that that thing is a trouble, not something good!"

Mr. Charles didn't immediately choose to believe him, but instead asked, "But why are some of the things in the notebook now appearing here?"

"Someone has exposed part of its contents. Hoff just left Goldenport. I don't know how many more people will leave after that, nor do I know how much of the notebook's contents that person actually possesses. I'm in a very passive position right now."

Mayor Wade didn't know what to say for a moment after hearing this. It was like having something warm in your pocket, and even if you say it's not shit, someone has to believe you.

"I don't know how to explain this, but you have to believe me, it definitely has nothing to do with me!"

He also asked curiously, "It seems like something big has happened in Goldenport. What happened after I left?"

Mr. Charles didn't have time to chat with him here. He briefly mentioned some of the changes here and hung up the phone.

Although it was only a few words, it made Mayor Wade very curious about all the changes that had taken place here.

The development of his little brother Williams, the Lance family that pushed the five major families to extinction, he was very curious about them!

Now was not a good time for him to call Mayor Williams to build relationships, but he would definitely call back. He felt that he, Mayor Williams, and Lance had common topics to talk about!

If they could withstand this round of attacks and defeat Charles and his people!