Empire of Shadows

“Help me notify a few people,” Mr. Charles said, naming a few names. He believed that with his lawyer’s status in the legal industry of Golden Port City, he would have heard of these people.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I want to reduce unnecessary trouble,” he looked at the lawyer. The lawyer, looking at the names he had written down, recorded them.

In fact, when lawyers handle cases, they often encounter this kind of situation. They are not averse to double insurance. They even hope that the people Mr. Charles mentioned can directly help him handle this case.

This way, the lawyer only has to do a little of what he should do, but he won’t get a penny less of the money he should get. It’s a big win.

After recording these names, he prompted, “I can’t be by your side during the questioning at the prosecutor’s office. If you encounter any questions you are not sure about, you can refuse to answer and ask to see me.”

“I will not leave before the questioning is over. I will be waiting for the result of your questioning in the main hall.”

Mr. Charles nodded. In the end, the lawyer turned and left the room.

The prosecutor from outside walked in and signaled for Mr. Charles to follow behind him. They passed through a corridor and came to a room that looked to be of a slightly higher grade.

There was a table in the room, and some chairs on both sides of the table.

A staff member signaled for him to sit in the chair facing the door, and then left.After about four or five minutes, several prosecutors came into the room.

“Mr. Charles?”

Mr. Charles nodded. His gaze lingered on these several prosecutors for a moment, memorizing their appearances.

As a person at the very top of this city’s pyramid, even though for these prosecutors they were just doing their job, for Mr. Charles, he had suffered the greatest, most malicious offense in his entire life!

He looked at these people, and couldn’t see any negative emotions, or fierceness, or the like, but his eyes revealed a trace of a heart-stopping aura.

These prosecutors, as if they had not noticed, sat behind the table in front of him.

Then the prosecutor sitting in the middle opened the document bag he had brought with him and took out some documents from it, including photos and some paper records.

“Do you know this girl?” He first showed a photo of a girl.

“A little familiar,” he said, as his lawyer had told him, saying whatever came to mind.

Although soliciting prostitutes was a “crime,” for a rich person like him, a member of the privileged class, this crime was like singing in the shower at night. It would not bring him irreparable consequences.

Of course, he didn’t say that he knew her as soon as he came up, and that he had even ordered her at least twice.

The prosecutor nodded, and then showed another piece of material, and handed it to the staff next to him.

The staff member took the material and came to Mr. Charles’s side, showing it to him.

It was two pages from a notebook. Each page could only show a part of the content, and the rest of the content was covered by white paper.

On it was recorded the time, and the content related to his soliciting prostitutes, for example, what kind of girl he had requested, and who the manager had chosen.

How long he had played in total, what state the girl was in when he left, and how he had paid for the prostitution.

Although the content recording these events was very concise, without any literary quality, let alone storytelling, just a few straightforward words formed a piece of content.

But it was enough to present the matter as it was in front of people.

Looking at these words, Mr. Charles couldn’t help but curse a few times.

He was not cursing the prosecutor, but the damn managers of the Red High Heels, and that girl!

At the same time, he also felt a little horrified and afraid. If the Red High Heels had a notebook, would other similar companies that provided entertainment for the Bay Area also have similar things?

“Do you admit that the content above is a fact?” the prosecutor asked again.

There was a tape recorder at the scene. Mr. Charles hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still nodded. “I admit that what is said on it is all a fact.”

They then listed some more actual evidence of his soliciting prostitutes, with photos of the girls, specific notebook content, and even a check!

Looking at his own signature on the check, the prosecutor also said that his fingerprint had been extracted from it. He really didn’t want to say anything more.

“I admit to all the crimes you have accused me of…”

He was very cooperative. There was no need to make a big deal out of a minor crime that was not at all conspicuous.

After the several prosecutors had discussed for a while, the prosecutor sitting in the very middle asked, “Mr. Charles, your attitude is very cooperative and friendly. We will write this in the report submitted to the court. Now there is a problem.”

Mr. Charles nodded. “Can you give me a cigarette?”

The prosecutor had a staff member give him a cigarette. He took a puff and relaxed a little. “Please speak. What is the problem?”

“Because you have already pleaded guilty, according to our current procedure, the next step is to be tried by the court and given the punishment you deserve.”

“The problem now is, do you want us to submit the case to the fast-track court, or to the city’s number three court?”

The number one and number two courts were used for the trial of serious criminal cases. Criminal cases, or some special cases, would introduce a jury system, where the jury would decide whether the defendant was guilty or not.

This required the layout and decoration of the court to be different from that of an ordinary court. They needed to arrange for the jury’s work and rest, and needed to build a confidential and soundproof room for the jury, so that they could discuss freely and without external influence.

But not all cases require the intervention of a jury.

For example, non-criminal cases, those special cases with a huge impact, will not introduce a jury, so there are special courts for these cases, and at the same time, the choice of judges is also different.

Besides this, there is also a fast-track court.

According to the regulations of the Federal Department of Justice, cases with a maximum sentence of one year can be tried by a fast-track court.

Of course, a fast-track court can also have a defense lawyer, and most of the cases that go to a fast-track court are those with conclusive evidence and where the defendant has already pleaded guilty, so the trial will be very fast.

The judge may just look at the case file, ask a few questions, and then make a verdict.

Mr. Charles knew a little about these, but not much. He shook his head. “I need to discuss it with my lawyer.”

The prosecutor’s side agreed to his request. Not long after, he met with his lawyer again and recounted what the prosecutor had just said.

The lawyer instinctively sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn’t say what was wrong.

“For the fast-track court, you can choose a time. The procedure can be completed very quickly. For example, if you have time tomorrow, you can go to trial tomorrow and be sentenced in court.”

“If we go to the city’s standard court, we need to schedule a date. If we are lucky, we can go to court next week. If we are not lucky, we may have to wait for two or three weeks, or even longer.”

“And it is possible that the sentence will not be pronounced in court. We have to continue to wait for the procedure. It’s not clear about the things in here.”

For example, if the prosecutor suddenly says that he wants to supplement the evidence, the judge will definitely choose to adjourn the court and set a new date for the trial, to give the prosecutor enough time to supplement the evidence.

“This process may be relatively long. Because you have already pleaded guilty, they will detain you until the verdict comes out.”

Mr. Charles frowned. “Can I be released on bail?”

“I don’t want to stay here for a single day!”

The lawyer shook his head. “When you were being questioned just now, I have already asked. They have temporarily refused your bail.”

Mr. Charles was very dissatisfied, but he also knew that he shouldn’t lose his temper at his lawyer. “After you get out, immediately contact the list and numbers I gave you. Have them make a move too.”

As he spoke, he paused for a moment. “If we go to the fast-track court, will I be able to get out soon?”

The lawyer was a little hesitant this time. “Theoretically, yes.”

But what the actual situation was, he did not know.

Mr. Charles walked back and forth a few steps. He thought for a long time and finally decided to go to the fast-track court.

If Mayor Williams’s ability could affect the fairness of the city’s judicial department, then whether it was the fast-track court or the city court, the final result would be the same.

He turned around and looked at his lawyer. “If we are dissatisfied with the result, we can appeal, right?”

The lawyer nodded again in agreement. “As it happens, the appellate court in this area is in Manteno.”

“If we choose to appeal, we can go to Manteno and fight a lawsuit with them.”

Mr. Charles no longer had any problems. He had many connections in Manteno, and those people could help him solve this small problem.

In his, and in the lawyer’s words, this was just a fucking “soliciting prostitutes” crime. It couldn’t even be considered as doing evil!

“Then we’ll go to the fast-track court.”

With this decision, the prosecutor’s side immediately began to help him arrange it. Of course, he could not leave here tonight. He would be detained at the prosecutor’s office until the day of the trial.

Soon the prosecutor brought over the things for the night and took him to an independent room.

Looking at the small and simple house, he cursed a few times, sat on the bed board, and closed his eyes.

He had thought that this was just a small trick of Mayor Williams to disgust him, but what he didn’t know was that he was not the only one who had been arrested for the same crime as him.

Just in a room not far from him, there was another small wealthy man from the Bay Area sitting in the interrogation room.

The reason why it was an interrogation room, not an office, a questioning room, or the like, was because his case was more serious.

“…We have already found the buried body in this place. Do you want to see her final appearance?” The prosecutor held up one of the photos with an expressionless face.

The wealthy man under interrogation did not really want to look at that photo, but he instinctively raised his head.

A pale white skeleton was laid flat on a metal table. These bones were pieced together, although only the bones were left.

But in his mind, he thought of everything that had happened that day.

He had not intended to kill anyone. He just wanted to try some of the games he had heard of, but the girl had resisted desperately, and had even bitten his thigh hard.

His thigh had been bitten and bled. Until now, there was still a scar where he had been bitten.

Under the effect of various lusts and emotions, he had crazily beaten the girl and accidentally killed her.

He had accidentally killed a… prostitute. At first, he was very scared. After all, he had killed someone.

He didn’t know how to handle this case. In a panic, he had called his friend.

But what made him feel incredible and surprised was that his friend had told him to call the manager of the Red High Heels, and the manager would help him handle these things.

Then the facts were indeed as his friend had said. The Red High Heels had arranged for three strong men to come over. They were wearing the kind of one-piece rubber suits that you would only wear for farm work.

After entering the basement, they saw the corpse as if they were looking at an animal carcass, without any emotional fluctuations, and they didn’t even ask him what had happened.

Then he saw that those people, with the tools in his room, had skillfully disassembled the girl and put her into two suitcases!

The memories of the past washed over him like a tide. He squinted his eyes slightly and showed a trace of a pained expression.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The prosecutor shook his head slightly. “Do you think we can find the tools that were used to dismember these bodies?”

“Maybe they are in the basement of your villa, or buried under a piece of turf in your villa?”

When these words were spoken, the eyes of the wealthy man under interrogation trembled slightly.

Those tools were still in his basement to this day!

The prosecutor saw that he was no longer speaking and raised his hand, signaling for everyone else to go out.

After the door was tightly closed, the prosecutor said, “Actually… whether there is evidence or not is not important. What is important is whether we want to convict you.”

“If we say it’s valid evidence, then it’s valid evidence. Can you understand what I mean?”

The wealthy man under interrogation seemed to have realized something. He immediately said, “What do you want?”

“Money?”

“Women?”

“Or something else?”

“You name a price. I can give you anything!”

The prosecutor shook his head. “It’s not what I want, it’s what Mr. Lance wants!”

He paused for a moment, and then took out two more documents from the file bag and held them up. “Here is a share transfer agreement for the Golden Port Docks Investment Company. As long as you sign this agreement, you will only be tried and sentenced for the crime of soliciting prostitutes.”

“The sentence will most likely be only three months. If you spend a little money, make some connections, and arrange for a private prison, it will be like going on a vacation.”

“It’s a very good deal, isn’t it?”

“If we find out that you have killed someone, there is a high probability that you will not be able to get out for the rest of your life!”

The wealthy man under interrogation fell into silence. He understood why this trouble had suddenly found him.

He didn’t want to sign, because once he signed, he would lose the most correct investment and the greatest wealth of his life.

Although he was still very rich, after losing the shares of the investment company, this money would become like dandelions, with no risk resistance at all. A gust of wind would blow it away.

But… if he didn’t sign, he wouldn’t even be able to get through the current crisis.

Life is like this, making choices at one crossroad after another, and then coming to the next.

The prosecutor saw that he was still not speaking and added, “You are a capitalist. You should understand better than me that the sooner you transfer your equity, the better it will be for you.”

“After Mr. Lance has gathered enough equity, whether you sign or not will be of no significance to him.”

“You think about it carefully!”

“I’m going out for a cigarette. you have one too. I’ll be back after one cigarette. If you haven’t made a choice, the conditions I gave you will all be void.”

“If you don’t sign, your family will. Your wife will.”

“If your wife doesn’t, your son and daughter will.”

“If they don’t, your brothers and sisters will too. Someone will always sign, right?”

He placed a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches in the hands of the wealthy man under interrogation, and then turned and went out.

Five minutes later, he came in from outside, still with a smell of smoke. “Have you made a decision?”

“Sir?”

The wealthy man under interrogation looked extremely haggard. In just five minutes, he looked much older.

He nodded. “Give me the agreement…”

Soon he had signed the equity transfer agreement. Before he was convicted and sentenced, this agreement had full legal effect.

The interrogation process soon ended. When the prosecutor had written the report and was prosecuting this wealthy man under interrogation for “soliciting prostitutes,” his apprentice by his side suddenly asked, “Is that it?”

His voice was a little muffled, and he looked unhappy. The prosecutor looked at him. He seemed to have raised his chin with some defiance. “We all know that he killed someone, but we are not pursuing his responsibility for murder?”

This prosecutor couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He put down his pen and looked at his intern with a smile, laughing even as his intern’s face turned red!

His intern couldn’t help but slam the door shut and said loudly, “We are prosecutors, we…”

The prosecutor raised his hand to stop him from continuing. “I know.”

“Many years ago, I was just like you. I thought we could judge evil, but the facts told me that we can’t.”

“Without external interference, his lawyer will show the court and all sectors of society the charitable work he has done over the years.”

“He will tell people how many poor people his company, his enterprises, have fed, and how many families have been able to fill their stomachs and have a place to live.”

“His lawyer will tell people that he has repented, and will continue to repent, and is willing to take out more money to atone for his sins.”

“He can even bribe the victim’s family, and have the victim’s family forgive him for the crimes he has committed!”

“Guess how the judge will rule?”

His intern’s brain was already a little unable to turn under the continuous impact of information. He asked subconsciously, “How will he rule?”

“The jury will believe that although he is guilty, it should not be a capital crime. The judge may sentence him to ten years in prison.”

“He is very rich. He can find someone to make some connections, go to a private prison, just like living in a villa, and stay there for two or three years, and then get parole for his outstanding performance.”

“A human life, for these rich people, is just a matter of spending some money and then losing two or three years of time.”

His intern’s three views had become unstable, and he was also a little confused, and even didn’t know what to say.

The prosecutor lit another cigarette and slowly inhaled. “But now, although it’s only three months, he has no chance of getting out for the rest of his life…”

He turned his head to look at his intern. “Someone will take care of him!”

(End of a Chapter)