Empire of Shadows

In the Tita family manor's enormous study, once Sarif's favorite place, bookshelves lined the walls, packed with books, making it feel like a small library.

He fit the stereotypes and prejudices perfectly—those without higher education often favored appearing cultured.

He hadn't received a higher education, and he did enjoy appearing cultured, which wasn't a problem.

The study also contained numerous tables, chairs, and sofas, as he liked family members to sit together and discuss matters.

Now, his eldest son occupied his former seat.

Sarif's cousin, Boson, sat beside him.

A large family was like a super-complex conglomerate, dealing in more than just one type of criminal enterprise.

Families of this scale often managed several, even dozens, of criminal ventures, involving so much that one person couldn't handle it all.

Therefore, core family members would each shoulder some responsibility.

Like Francisco's uncles and aunts, even when Paulo was around, he only oversaw some core businesses, leaving the rest to his siblings.

Boson held a position akin to second-in-command and steward within the Tita family, showing little ambition to inherit the head of the family position.

Sarif was a family head who wasn't so particular about hierarchy, so there wasn't a clear class structure within the Tita family's core.

Everyone was family, and although Sarif took the lion's share of the income, they still received considerable benefits, leaving them with no complaints.

"Bandi is telling us to stop, and his attitude is very firm. If we don't, we're likely to be targeted."

"So, I want to hear your thoughts."

The Tita family's losses over the past six months had been quite severe.

People always say the business world is a battlefield, but gang warfare is a true battlefield in every sense.

Boson chimed in from the side, "If it were just dealing with the Cassia family, those sons of bitches, we wouldn't have much of a problem, because Francisco and Alberto would work with us."

"But if we add the Bandi family, the pressure will be immense. They have a great deal of influence in Jinguang City, and we could face attacks from multiple directions."

"So, we discussed it and decided we needed to see what everyone thinks."

In the past six months, many of the family's peripheral and core members had been wiped out, and replenishing them would take at least three months to half a year.

With winter approaching, replenishing manpower wouldn't be easy, so they wouldn't have the ability to withstand pressure until late spring or early summer next year.

Sarif's son said with a somber face, "My father's death has caused me unbearable pain. Every night when I close my eyes, my mind is filled with thoughts of revenge!"

"But our current situation isn't good. Many of the people my father took with him to the negotiations also died. We now…"

He glanced at Boson, who continued, "We can only mobilize about a hundred people at most now."

"If this group is wiped out, then we'll have no resistance left!"

A family member in the room said, "I can transfer some more people from other places, about twenty."

Several others also mentioned they could spare some manpower. They were united in their desire to avenge the Cassia family.

Boson shook his head, "I have an idea that I need to discuss with you frankly."

"The Cassia family is currently embroiled in internal strife. I think if we put too much external pressure on them, it could end their internal conflict prematurely."

The others nodded in agreement with his idea.

External pressure is often the best way to divert internal problems. In times of family survival, abandoning personal grudges to collectively overcome difficulties is inevitable.

Seeing them all nod, Boson continued, "The Cassia family's gunmen are cheaply hired from Yalan. Their losses are only money. If we're determined to continue the war with them, the pressure on us will be great."

"It will cause heavy losses to the family!"

"After all, the losses after the war will not only be our people, but also our industries."

"So our idea is to let them continue their internal strife. As long as their internal strife doesn't end, they will fight each other, and their strength will continue to decline."

"We, on the other hand, can regain our strength through recuperation and become stronger again."

"They are weakening, and we are getting stronger. The gap in strength will soon be erased, and we may even surpass them."

"Moreover, a temporary truce can also deal with Bandi. Once we become strong again, Bandi won't be able to continue demanding us to do this and that like he does now."

The others fell into thought. Boson and Sarif's son exchanged glances, believing they were likely to accept this outcome.

There was definitely hatred, but it wasn't necessarily something they couldn't wait for.

Sarif was indeed dead, but Rick was also dead. To some extent, it seemed they had made a profit?

Of course, that wasn't the right way to think, after all, the leader of a family had died, but from a higher perspective, that was indeed the case.

A weak leader of the Five Families had been exchanged for a strong leader of the Five Families. Wasn't this the weak taking advantage?

A relentless fight required a target. Rick was already dead, so there was hatred, but it wasn't that strong.

The others quickly reached a conclusion, and they accepted the idea.

Sarif's other cousin asked, "Then next year or the year after, what reason will we use to restart the war?"

Boson curled his lips, "Maybe by then they will have weakened beyond recognition and will be finished without us having to do anything."

"If we still need to take action, we can create an attack, such as me being attacked."

"That way Bandi won't be able to stop us. As for whether it's real or not, it doesn't really matter, because he will understand that this is our attitude!"

When a person is willing to harm themselves to start a war, Bandi has no choice.

"At the same time, I will contact Alberto and Francisco. We will act at the same time. This time we will solve them all at once!"

The others nodded, indicating there were no problems.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. A family member went outside the study, and after about a dozen seconds, he came in, looking incredulous, "The people at the cemetery called and said they accidentally damaged Sarif's tombstone."

Everyone in the room was stunned. Sarif's son stood up, his mouth wide open, unable to believe it!

For the people of the Federation, the tombstone itself is the last proof and sustenance of a person's existence!

If this tombstone was damaged, for some superstitious people, it would definitely be the worst news!

"Why was Sarif's tombstone damaged?" Boson was very angry, but the person didn't know.

He immediately made a decision, "I'll go see what's going on. He needs me at this time!"

However, Sarif's son stopped him, "Uncle Boson, the family needs you more. Let me handle this."

"After all, it's my father lying below. I will definitely handle it properly."

Boson considered for a while and agreed.

Sarif's son immediately gathered a dozen people and took four cars towards the cemetery.

In the past, some of these large families liked to bury their dead in the family cemetery, which was behind the manor.

However, this habit is gradually disappearing, especially in situations like gangster families, where people die at every turn. No matter how big the manor is, it can't bury so many people!

Therefore, most of them eventually choose a plot of land in a public cemetery and buy it as a whole to house family members.

However, some forces still bury family members behind the house, especially some consortiums, who still follow this tradition.

Because they believe that doing so can bring them good luck—

It sounds ridiculous, but they believe that if their dead family members continue to be with them, they will bless them with success in everything.

The Tita family bought a large plot of land in the cemetery, and Vito gave the cemetery management company unified management. Usually, cleaning the ground and wiping the tombstones require someone to do it.

In fact, no matter how many people like a person when they are alive, as long as they die and are buried in the ground, people will soon forget them.

They will no longer look at him, nor will they clean up his sanitation and clean up the environment for him, so this matter still needs to be done by the management personnel.

Maybe it was the management staff who accidentally damaged the tombstone while doing something.

Sarif's son and his party brought weapons, but they were not too nervous, because Bandi's request for them to negotiate was also the idea of the Cassia family.

They were busy solving internal problems and had no time to continue the war, so they were unlikely to act casually.

The convoy quickly left the downtown area and arrived at the public cemetery next to the Xigu District.

Before the mayor had fallen out with everyone, he had considered continuing to expand the city limits, so there was a high probability that this place would eventually be incorporated into the city's internal environment.

Some people had protested, arguing that enclosing a cemetery within the city limits would disturb the peace of the dead.

This is actually a very strange phenomenon. On the one hand, they believe their relatives have gone to heaven, and on the other hand, they believe they are sleeping in coffins. It can only be said that the people of the Federation are careless when it comes to matters of faith.

The convoy arrived at the dedicated small cemetery without incident, and they also saw a bulldozer and a partially damaged tombstone in the cemetery.

Salifu's son's eyes immediately turned red. He cursed and rushed towards the tombstone, so much so that he didn't notice how eerily quiet it was nearby!

The cemetery was on a hillside. The people of the Federation didn't care about the orientation of the tombstones, nor did they care whether they were exposed to sunlight. Many cemeteries were exposed to the sun.

Just as this group of people entered the cemetery, several gunmen suddenly jumped out from behind the bushes on the hillside and unhesitatingly pulled the trigger on the people below.

Slaughter erupted at this moment!

Salifu's son never dreamed that they would be attacked here, and they immediately began to organize a counterattack.

But because many people were shot in the first moment, their counterattack was actually very limited.

Watching the family members around him fall one by one, the young man hiding behind the bulldozer could only accept this fact!

His face was pale as he was brought to his father's tombstone. Father and son would be reunited at this moment!

A gunshot rang out, and a lot of blood splattered on the remaining half of the tombstone. The young man, who had lost his life, fell on the protruding coffin lid.

He lay there, just like when he was a child lying in Salifu's arms.

On the other side, Vittorio was on the phone in his villa, talking to Bandi.

"A child simply doesn't understand the difficulties of managing a family. He only does things recklessly based on his emotions."

"Alberto is not a good person. Who can believe that he is doing all this just to repay Paul's past favors to him?"

"Anyway, I don't believe it, but there's nothing I can do. Cisco is willing to trust an outsider rather than trust me."

"Letting them mess around will only make the family worse and worse!"

Bandi on the other end of the receiver constantly agreed with his views, giving him more desire to confide.

In fact, everyone has the desire to confide, to complain and vent some of the dissatisfaction they encounter in life and at work.

But the world lacks a good listener who can patiently listen to all your complaints and soothe your emotions.

No one can do these things, so when someone is willing to do these things, it will make people feel close.

"Vittorio, from an outsider's perspective, you are the most suitable successor to the Pasreto family."

"You have rich management experience, are familiar with family affairs, have a lot of influence between us, and we are very familiar with each other."

"Although Francisco is Paul's son, he lacks experience, he still needs to learn, and he is too young!"

"Do you know how absurd and ridiculous it is for me to sit at the same table with a child to discuss things that can change the格局 of this city?"

"You should really discuss it carefully to see if there are other opportunities for you to take on this role."

Vittorio felt like he was melting when he heard Bandi say these words. He loved these words, they completely spoke to his heart!

"You understand me, Bandi. They always think I have a lot of problems and am an ambitious man."

"God is above, I am doing all this without any selfish motives, all for the family!"

"Isn't all of this going to be his in the future anyway?"

He was completely acting like a loyal member of the family, but both he and Bandi on the other end of the phone knew he was lying.

This would allow him to have great power. The more promising Francisco was, the faster he would die.

While they were chatting, someone suddenly said that Francisco was coming over, and Vittorio directly ended the call.

"I have to talk to him again, we'll contact each other later."

Bandi called him not only to get him to persuade the Pasreto family to give up the idea of continuing to fight, but also to hope to facilitate some cooperation with him.

The days of the five major families sharing the world are over. Now the Coda family is dominant, and he will not give other families a chance to rise again.

He will find ways to make them continue to fight internally, or destroy their chances of rising again.

He now understands that Golden Port City doesn't need so many voices, one is enough!

Soon, Alberto and Francisco came to him. When he saw Alberto, Vittorio's face was as ugly as it could be.

However, he still maintained a superficial politeness, asked the two to sit down, and even asked people to bring fruit and drinks.

The house was full of their people, Vittorio's people, and Alberto's people.

Vittorio was now very impatient with these two people appearing in front of him. He barely suppressed the thought of telling them to get out, and tried to make his tone as gentle as possible.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"My dear grandson?"

Francisco said, "I've come to talk to you about the Cassia family."

Vittorio frowned slightly, "I don't think there's anything to talk about, we need time to recuperate, Cisco."

"We have to re-recruit some people to fill the ranks of those we lost, and we have to consider our relationship with the island, and then there are many other problems to solve."

"Starting a war will only make us decline faster, not better!"

Francisco glanced at Alberto before facing Vittorio again, "This is not the tradition of the Sumuli people. We repay revenge, not endure it!"

"The Cassia family is about to be finished, we can completely give them a fatal blow!"

"I believe the family members will understand my thoughts, this is sacred revenge!"

Vittorio's gaze also turned to Alberto, "Is this what you told him to say?"

He believed that Alberto was behind all of this, and his tone was naturally very impolite, "This has nothing to do with you, Alberto, you have nothing to do with the Pasreto family!"

"Whether on the island or here, you are an outsider, and I don't like your attitude of interfering in family affairs!"

Francisco raised his voice a little, "This is my idea!"

Vittorio directly raised his voice impatiently, "Your idea?"

"You have never been involved in family affairs, and you have always been in school before. What ideas can you have?"

"Cisco, face reality, you don't understand these things at all, and you don't know how to deal with the family's problems!"

"You should go back to school and study hard. Paul wanted you to go to college, wouldn't it be good for you to fulfill his last wish?"

"Why do you have to get involved in these adult things?"

"And be controlled by an outsider who has no blood relationship with us, to oppose these relatives who have been so good to you since childhood?"