Empire of Shadows

“I’m a little nervous!” Patricia squeezed Lance’s hand, her palm slick with sweat.

Lance soothed her from the side, “William and Emily will be here soon too. Besides, you should know many people here. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

Patricia looked at him, “But that’s a senator!”

“My God, do you have any idea how shocking this is for me?”

“I’m actually going to a party that a senator is attending. God, I’m going crazy!”

She was indeed going crazy, and Lance was about to go crazy too, because she had spent more than two hours just picking out her clothes.

If it weren’t for the fact that time was running out, she might have continued picking.

She had to try on every single dress and then try different combinations. She didn’t want to lose face at the party.

Her own, and Lance’s.

Actually, from Lance’s perspective, her purity and beauty surpassed everything else.“No one will be harsh to a beautiful girl.”

Patricia rolled her eyes, “Do you think the senator has never seen beautiful girls?”

“Those girls from the Special District are more elegant and more beautiful than me!”

Lance squeezed her hand, “But there’s one thing they can’t compare to you in.”

Women seemed to be very interested in similar topics. They wanted to be unique, or better than others. “What can’t they compare to me in?”

Lance said with a smile, “Only you are in my heart.”

“God!” Patricia quickly covered her cheeks. Although she rolled her eyes at Lance, she still felt sweet in her heart. “You’re making me blush, Lance. They’ll think my makeup is a failure later.”

Lance laughed heartily, “It’s okay, because in my eyes, you are always perfect.”

Although the girl kept rolling her eyes, it had to be said that her mood gradually stabilized.

The luxurious convoy arrived at Councilman Williams’s estate. They were actually acquaintances. Councilman Williams and Senator Cleveland had at least had contact before.

Before they even got close to the estate, there were already police on duty by the roadside.

Some say that Federation politicians never abuse their privileges. In fact, it’s not that they don’t abuse them, it’s that ordinary people are simply not qualified to see it.

The convoy was stopped by the police. The police officer bent down and glanced at Lance sitting inside, gave a salute, and then stepped aside.

They didn’t have the guts to ask Lance to get out for an inspection or questioning, and he was indeed on the list.

Further on, there were police on duty at regular intervals. Today, anyone not on the invitation list was not even allowed to use this road, just to ensure the quiet and safety here.

Lance’s car slowly entered the estate gate and stopped at the main entrance. When James saw Lance, he immediately ended his conversation with the person next to him and walked over with a smile.

“Lance, you’re here!” He held Lance’s arm and shook his hand, then his gaze fell on Patricia. “Is this beautiful young lady Miss Patricia?”

He bowed slightly and did not reach out to touch Patricia, because Patricia was not married to Lance and was still an unmarried lady.

Unless she allowed it herself, no one could touch her on their own initiative. It was very impolite.

Patricia also returned the courtesy, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jam… uh, I mean Mr. Williams.”

James burst out laughing after hearing this. “No need to be so formal. You can call me James. Lance and I are very good friends.”

Lance also nodded slightly, which made Patricia’s rapidly heating cheeks feel a little better. “Sorry, I might have made a fool of myself, James.”

Lance turned his head to look at her, “That’s your privilege. No one will blame you.” He then turned his head to look at James, “Will you blame her?”

James quickly raised his hands in front of his chest, “No, no, of course not!”

After joking for a while, he briefly mentioned the people who had already arrived, then entered the estate with Lance.

Actually, Lance didn’t really know the people here, but many people here knew him.

Councilman Williams was also chatting with others. He raised his glass in a toast when he saw Lance, and Lance also nodded in return, which made more people’s gazes focus on Lance.

Councilman Wade had already taken office as mayor. He had taken everyone he could with him. Now, the only political figures of note left in the entire city were the mayor and Councilman Williams.

The mayor was finished. He hadn’t even been invited to such an important occasion today. You have to know, today’s main guest was a United States Senator!

There were the Secretary of State, the State Attorney General, and some officials from the state government.

In addition to the local celebrities, it could be said that all the recognized socialites and upper-class figures were here today.

People from all of the Five Families were here, but the mayor was conspicuously absent.

He had been abandoned. He had messed everything up. Congress had communicated with the governor, and their tone was very stern, because they had almost triggered a nationwide general strike.

The sudden appearance of the Federation of Labor, and the news revealed by Lance, showed that they were indeed preparing for a nationwide super-general strike.

Regardless of whether this general strike was avoidable, at least for the governor, it should not have happened in his state.

So he also felt a strong dissatisfaction with the mayor. He felt that he had been deceived by the mayor. The mayor had told him that the purpose of the militia entering the city was only to suppress those gangs!

But now, they were telling him that he even planned to have the militia suppress the strike.

Although the governor himself thought this possibility was not very high—they were all political figures and understood the stakes—politics is not always one plus one equals two. There is a connection, but not necessarily a certainty.

In other words, even if the militia did not suppress the strike, they would publicly claim that they had suppressed the striking workers.

These things should not be put together.

You come out of your sister-in-law’s bedroom with your pants undone, and you happen to be seen by your brother who has come home from work unexpectedly. You just can’t explain it.

In short, he was finished.

Councilman Williams had even announced in private that he was going to run for mayor. This was basically a done deal.

The Likalai State Committee of the Social-Democratic Party would definitely nominate and support him. Within the city, people would also be more inclined to have a local ruler take power, because he would protect the interests of the locals more than others.

Lance was now very close to Councilman Williams. It was very likely that they would form a complementary force.

Councilman Williams would handle the daytime work, while Lance would help him handle the nighttime work.

It was foreseeable that once Councilman Williams became mayor, he would definitely be the most powerful mayor in recent years.

With Lance’s help, they would definitely be able to control the entire city to the greatest extent.

This made people have to take a second look at Lance.

This is power.

The kind of power that makes people take notice.

It was the first time Patricia had been stared at by so many people. She was so nervous her body seemed to be trembling slightly. Lance tried to raise his arm a little to support her.

“Imagine them as pigs in a pigsty, and you won’t be so nervous,” he whispered. Patricia couldn’t help but laugh after hearing this.

She had already imagined that scene, because her family really had a pigsty.

Or rather, the Lawrence family, this big landlord, farm owner, and ranch owner, still had large tracts of farmland and pasture to this day.

There were cattle, sheep, and pigs. She had seen them when she was a child playing at her grandfather’s house. She could imagine those scenes.

Once she pictured these people as pig heads, she seemed to be not so nervous anymore.

She nudged Lance, “How could you?”

“If they found out, it would be too offensive.”

Lance laughed twice, “Offensive or not, at least my princess won’t feel nervous anymore.”

Patricia’s eyes on Lance were practically sparkling. If it weren’t for the crowd, she would have wanted to kiss him. “Darling, you’re too sweet.”

The two of them talked as they entered the party. The senator had not yet arrived, but his entourage was already there.

Although these people did not have any specific party or government positions, they were still surrounded by many people.

Tom took the initiative to walk over when he saw Lance and handed him an envelope. “This is the senator’s business card. You did a great job on this matter. You are a capable person, Lance.”

Tom was now acting very “equal,” and the arrogance from their first meeting was gone.

Capable people deserve respect everywhere, and the Lance Family’s execution was very strong. In cooperation with the police, they had resolved a riot of thousands of people in one day. This was ability.

Lance put the envelope in his pocket. “Thank you for the senator’s recognition. It is my honor to be able to work for the senator.”

Tom couldn’t help but laugh out loud after hearing this. “Has anyone ever told you that it’s obvious when you’re lying?”

Lance blinked, “Is it that obvious?”

Tom nodded and said, “I can’t see any awe in your eyes.” He paused, took out his own business card, and handed it to Lance. “This is my business card. If you have any problems in the future, you can call me.”

Lance looked at his business card, a little confused, but Tom just smiled and said, “You’ll know.”

He patted Lance’s arm and then turned to leave.

Actually, Senator Cleveland was also one of the “beneficiaries” of this incident. A portion of the benefits delivered from Golden Port to Congress would go to him. This was one of the reasons why he had come to Golden Port.

Councilman Williams’s side would certainly not personally handle such a large transfer of benefits. It was a bit… not good. If it was discovered, it would be a big trouble.

So this part would most likely be done by Lance in the end. He would be responsible for delivering this money into everyone’s hands.

Obviously, Senator Cleveland would not personally receive this money either. It would be left in the hands of someone he trusted. So it seemed that Tom was the person to handle this matter.

This involved the transfer of several million or even more in funds each year. They would definitely have dealings with each other again, and many times.

A little later, William and Emily also arrived. They were completely basking in Lance’s glory.

Because this time the invitation list was handled by Councilman Williams and James, Lance had them add William and Emily’s names. This was to facilitate William’s campaign for municipal councilman, as a warm-up and to build momentum in advance.

It could be seen that the couple was also a little nervous. After all, from this moment on, they had truly entered the upper echelons of Golden Port society.

Everywhere were well-dressed gentlemen and ladies. In the midst of Prohibition, everyone held a wine glass. This was the most enviable and eye-catching life. Here, they had everything they wanted, everything.

“You look absolutely beautiful today, dear,” Emily hugged her daughter, and then Patricia affectionately linked her arm with hers.

“You don’t know, Mom, I’m scared to death.”

“I’ve only seen these people in the newspapers.”

“It’s all like a dream.”

Emily stroked the girl’s hair, “You have to get used to all this.” She glanced at Lance. “In the future, Lance will often appear at occasions like this and socialize with the people here. A female companion is also a very important part of social life.”

“If you don’t get used to this, other bad girls will snatch your position.”

Her eyes, as if they could speak, stared at Lance, her purpose self-evident.

Lance quickly raised his hand, “I only have Patricia in my heart.”

Emily shook her head, “Some things are difficult to change by human will, Lance.”

“Ahem… I don’t think this is a good place to discuss this issue,” William knew that if this continued, it would be his turn.

Patricia might not have known what they were talking about, but Lance could understand. He glanced at William with a “your life is so fucking exciting” expression.

William rolled his eyes and said nothing.

Emily took the initiative to say, “Pat, let me take you to meet the ladies here. They are actually more eager to meet you than you think.”

“Let’s give the men some space.”

After the two women left, Lance nudged William with his elbow. “Are you having an affair?”

William took out his cigarettes and gave one to Lance. “It was for work, entertainment. The client specified going to that kind of place. I couldn’t just not take them, could I?”

“Once you’re in, you can’t just watch them play while you don’t.”

“Sometimes being sober is a sin, you know?”

Lance struck a match. The two of them huddled together to light their cigarettes. He squinted and smoked, while flicking the match to extinguish it. “Yes, I understand.”

“You weren’t there to supervise them, you were there to play with them. But I’m curious how Emily found out.”

William shook his head, “I don’t want to talk about this.”

But Lance really wanted to know. “Then I’ll go ask her later.”

“Holy shit, is your curiosity really that strong?” Facing Lance’s inquiring gaze, he sighed. “A bitch stuffed her underwear into my pocket, and I didn’t notice.”

A drunk person never knows what’s in his pocket, nor does he care.

Then he went home drunk, and Emily found a pair of underwear that wasn’t hers in his pocket.

The couple had a cold war for a few days and then made up. This is also the most common situation in the middle class. Their understanding of “loyalty” is somewhat different from that of the lower class.

For the lower class, the body is the only thing they can be loyal with.

But for the middle class, family and career are the core of loyalty, not just the body.

If William sleeping with another woman could bring about a class leap, making them richer and more powerful, Emily wouldn’t care at all.

When Lance heard this, he patted him on the back. “Next time you go out for entertainment, remember to wear clothes with no pockets.”

Some handmade suits have pockets that are sewn together and cannot be used directly. To use them, you must cut the thread with scissors.

The purpose of this is to ensure that the shape of these clothes will not change because the pockets are opened.

For some clothes, if you put something in the pockets, it will deform them.

This is also why many people put small things in their jacket pockets instead of their outer suit pockets.

William nodded, but then suddenly looked at him. “Damn it, what the fuck are you talking about?”

Lance laughed and put his arm around his shoulder. “You’re going to be mayor in the future. Do you think these temptations will be any less?”

His expression froze for a moment, then became somewhat indescribable. After a while, he said, “You have to protect Patricia. She is my angel. Don’t hurt her.”

“Otherwise I won’t let you go, even though I might not be able to beat you.”

Lance nodded and said, “Actually, you didn’t have to say the last sentence. It sounds like you’re compromising with me in advance.”

As they were talking, Senator Cleveland arrived. Everyone gathered around, including Lance and William.

He was the absolute core of tonight’s party. Councilman Williams stood by his side, chatting with him about some things first. Everyone had a fawning smile on their face.

This is the value of peak power. Everyone is a good person, and you are the focus of everyone.

Lance stood in a relatively peripheral position. As a “gang leader,” he was clearly not in a position to have a close conversation with Senator Cleveland in such a public setting.

Even if he wanted to, the senator wouldn’t agree. This involved many issues, so he didn’t take the initiative to go over or anything.

He stayed on the fringes.

“Just now I was talking with Councilman Williams. We are both very happy to be able to resolve this thrilling crisis and rescue it from the hands of evil!”

“Golden Port has a very long history and plays a very important role!”

“In politics, economy, and international influence, it’s all the same.”

“I am very honored to be able to stand here today, to stand among you all and say these words. I also hope that it and you can become better, and I hope the Federation can become better!”

He raised his glass. “To the ever-improving Federation and its people!”

The people all raised their glasses, as if Prohibition didn’t exist at this very moment.

“To the Federation and its people!”

“Cheers!”

(End of chapter)