Empire of Shadows

Chapter 93: Getting Closer to the Truth... and the Wealth in the Warehouse

[Writing this, I hope readers remember our domain name: Taiwan Novel Network → 𝒕 𝒘 𝒌 𝒂 𝒏 . 𝒄 𝒐 𝒎]

Another rain shower fell in the afternoon, roughly like... *crack*... *crackle*... *whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh*... *drip*, and then it stopped, just like that.

Some say this is the last thunderstorm, but who knows?

In an apartment in the Bay Area, a woman in her late twenties stretched lazily as she woke from her nap. Wearing only her underwear, she pushed open the window.

The boy smoking on the next-door balcony inadvertently glanced at her and didn't even notice when he burned his finger on the cigarette he'd already finished.

This made the woman giggle and give the boy a flirty wink before returning to her room.

As a kept woman, she lived a life that everyone envied.

No need to work, no need to deal with the complicated and nauseating workplace relationships. She could sleep whenever she felt tired, wake up whenever she wanted, and get something to eat whenever she was hungry.

Every month she had several hundred dollars in living expenses, and all she had to do to get it was make a simple contribution every so often.

It was just sex. As those feminist fighters said, a woman's body is her own wealth. They have the right to choose who can use it, who can't, when, and how.

No one can condemn them for using what belongs to them. That's discrimination against them.

She liked this kind of life. If she could, she hoped someone would keep her for the rest of her life.

Back in her room, she took a shower. Summer naps made her sweat, and most Federation people liked to shower in the morning and not at night, which was a strange phenomenon.

Even those who had just returned from the factory could eat dinner, lie on the bed or curl up on the sofa covered in stinky sweat, and fall asleep, then take a shower the next morning when they woke up.

But this woman was different. She liked to shower, anytime, as long as she wanted to, she would do it.

Sometimes she felt empty, after all, the person who gave her money was a little petty, but for the sake of so much money and such a good life, she could endure it.

Only this time was a bit strange. That man hadn't come around for a while, and some of the things he had promised her hadn't been done.

Because he was always the one who contacted her, she couldn't contact the man either, and she didn't know what had happened.

She wouldn't take the initiative to contact him. Who the hell wants to get laid for no reason? She wasn't addicted to that, and the man's skills were only so-so.

While she was showering, the doorbell suddenly rang. She shouted "I'm on my way" wrapped in a towel, but the person at the door didn't seem to hear her.

From ringing the doorbell to banging on the door, she was a little angry.

The rent in this apartment wasn't cheap, or rather, the apartments in the Bay Area, even the most remote ones, weren't cheap, because this was the Bay Area, the representative of the wealthy area.

Since it was a wealthy area, people's quality was relatively higher.

She didn't take off the safety chain, but opened the door a crack. Several men were standing outside the door. "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm Kent's brother, my name is Will," the man standing in front said, giving her a strange sense of unease.

Kent was the man who was keeping her. She knew he just wanted something new, attracted by her looks and figure, but for the sake of the money, she didn't care.

"I haven't seen him for a while," she said, but she had no intention of letting him in.

Will looked at her, "Are you sure you want to talk to me at the door, about the things between you and my brother?"

The woman was still very vigilant, "I can't confirm your identity, maybe you just heard about these things from somewhere, I can't…"

Will took out a photo of him and Kent, "How about now?"

The woman hesitated. Will continued, "He's dead. I need to know some things."

"Oh my god!" the woman said in shock, "I can let you in, but your friends…" she looked at the other muscular men who looked like "I'm not to be trifled with."

"They'll stay outside."

The woman didn't insist anymore, and pulled open the safety chain. Kent walked in.

"My brother's rented apartment," he said definitively, because he had found this apartment and learned that there was a woman being kept by his brother here.

He knew before that his brother was keeping a woman, but he didn't know the specifics until recently.

He sat on the sofa. The woman was a little embarrassed. She was only wrapped in a bath towel. "I'll go change."

Will didn't stop her. Soon she came out in a set of casual summer clothes. Honestly, they were a bit revealing, and her nipples were showing.

"How did he die?"

"Someone burst his stomach with something, and he died from blood loss."

"Around the beginning of last month, did he call you and say anything?"

The woman thought for a while and shook her head, "I don't have any impression."

Will frowned, "Listen, I don't want to waste time with you. This is related to whether I can find the murderer. You better think carefully."

Kent's death made the woman a little irritable. It meant that she would have to move out of here soon, and she wouldn't have several hundred dollars in living expenses every month.

She had no advantages other than being pretty. It was too difficult to find the next man who was willing to spend so much money on her!

How could such a good person die?

These anxieties and frustrations affected her. Her mind was now full of who could become her next sugar daddy, rather than Kent and his phone calls, and what he said.

Will had a violent impulse in his heart. He suddenly leaned forward, grabbed the woman's hair, and slammed her head on the coffee table!

With a thud, she screamed, and a big bump rose on her forehead.

Will bent down and looked at her, "Now, tell me, did he say anything to you?"

The sudden attack made the woman panic. She began to feel scared, "I don't know, I don't know anything!"

"You spend his money, live in the house he rented for you, and everything you eat and wear is his. Now that something has happened to him, you don't know anything?"

Will punched the woman's face hard a few times, making her beg Will to let her go.

These noises also alarmed the neighbors. The young man next door put his ear to the wall and listened for a while, hearing the woman's screams.

He remembered the woman's charming appearance just now, and his blood and courage began to churn. He took the baseball bat of the Hornets, the baseball team from the neighboring city, and pushed open the door, then saw three strong men standing in the corridor.

The three of them looked at him. One of them lifted his shirt and put his hands on his waist, revealing his gun holster just right.

The boy's blood suddenly ran cold. He looked at the baseball bat in his hand and threw it back behind the door. "I just…" he pointed to the door and then to the elevator, and ran back to pick up the baseball bat, "Going out to play baseball."

"Go back, close the door, take a dirty magazine to the toilet and give yourself a handjob, don't call the police, don't tell anyone, forget everything that happened today, I've already remembered your face, don't make trouble for yourself."

"Also, don't leave your house until you've come."

The boy squeezed out a smile and then returned to his room, locking the door.

He honestly picked up a magazine and went to the toilet, but no matter what, he didn't feel anything.

On the other side, the woman, whose face was already swollen, suddenly thought of something. She waved her arms, "Don't hit me, I remembered, I remembered!"

Will stopped the violence, sat back on the sofa, and lit a cigarette, "You better have really remembered."

The woman said with a look of horror, "The last time Kent called me, he told me that he met a fool and extorted 1,500 from him. He was going to take me out shopping…"

Will breathed a heavy sigh, rebuttoned the shirt cuffs he had just unbuttoned, "Do you know who he extorted?"

"I… I don't know."

Will shrugged, letting the clothes that had been twisted by the large movements return to their original position, "Tell me the time."

The woman said a time, and he remembered it.

Two minutes later, the boy, who was still working hard in the toilet, suddenly faintly heard screams coming from outside the balcony. He put down the magazine, pulled up his pants, and ran out. A large group of people had already gathered downstairs, and the charming lady next door was lying on the ground.

Will sat in the car, watching the blood gradually spread from under her, and then told the driver to drive.

Since she was his brother's favorite toy, he would send her to hell to accompany Kent, at least so he wouldn't be too lonely.

The woman's death quickly attracted the attention of the police. The police knocked on the boy's door, but the boy curled up in the corner, not daring to move.

In the end, they could only confirm that there was no one in this household now.

The next day, the rumor that a woman in the Bay Area with depression jumped off a building spread in society. This kind of sensational news can indeed attract people's attention and be spread.

Almost everyone doesn't care what the truth is. They only care whether they have participated in this social event and what role they have played.

Regardless of whether this role is glorious or not.

Returning to the Empire District, Will, who was collecting information, knew that he was one step closer to the truth.

In those days, Kent was still running the casino. That bastard had one good thing, that is, he was willing to listen to him.

Will told him to stay put as long as his casino was open and if he wanted to go out, he should shut the damn place down first.

And when he did go out, he should be careful not to cause trouble. Will knew very well how many tough characters there were in this city, and Kent wasn't the kind of person who could deal with them.

If he could shake anyone down, it would only be in his casino.

As long as he knew what happened in the casino, he could find the person who killed Kent. He believed that day wasn't far off!

Meanwhile, Lance, dressed in new clothes, arrived at Alberto's office. Alberto had asked him to meet.

Although Lance didn't yet know what he wanted to say, he already had a rough guess—the liquor!

The price of those Gold Label Napoleons had skyrocketed. At the current market price, they would be worth half a million.

This was an amazing fortune, and if they were left for a while longer, the price might be even higher!

And in fact, that was indeed the case...