Empire of Shadows

The fact that Bandi was silenced in the police station was not concealed by Chief Blue, who directly disclosed the matter to the public.

Although it brought much discussion, as the police chief, as long as the mayor doesn't decide to remove him, his power will not be shaken.

The mayor won't remove him; the mayor has other deals with Lance, and he will soon lose his authority.

Once he loses the power in his hands, some of the "counter-trend" things he's doing now might be retaliated against him after he loses power.

So he has no intention of replacing the police chief, and Chief Blue also stated that the police department has been infiltrated, so the cleansing of the police force is necessary and must continue.

Lance gave him this little idea, and he used it very smoothly—

This is not his responsibility; it is the responsibility of the previous police chief, who filled the entire police station with those who were bought off.

So his job is to find these bribed people and then cleanse them from the police force to maintain the purity of the police force.

In his public speech, he used "This is a war between good and evil" to summarize everything that had happened from the beginning of his tenure to this moment.

Who represents justice and who represents evil is clear at a glance.

The public is actually quite receptive because, along with the selective disclosure of the purged police officers and their evidence of corruption, the citizens of King's Harbor City were stunned!

They couldn't believe and dared not believe that these guardians who should have been protecting their lives and property had become executioners harming them!

Severely punishing corrupt police officers has become one of the recent trends in King's Harbor City and even Riccrai State.

But in any case, Bandi is dead, the Keene family has fled, and the Tita family is also packing their bags.

The era of the five major families has come to an end at this moment.

But the influence and subsequent changes resulting from all of this are still ongoing.

Compared to Stone's silence after learning that Bandi had been silenced, the Kodak family did not seem so sad.

As soon as Bandi died, they couldn't wait to hold a family meeting, seemingly wanting to discuss who would be the next family head to lead the family through the difficulties.

But in reality, they were discussing how to divide the family property.

Excluding those that were transferred, the licenses of just the five casinos alone made it impossible to conceal their greedy desires!

They were more aware than outsiders of how profitable these casinos were!

When Bandi and Gauri, the two brothers, controlled the family, they only allowed three casinos to be opened, and most of the profits were sent by Bandi to other places under various names.

Laundering money, befriending dignitaries, he always had various reasons to find outlets for these funds.

This led to the family receiving only about fifteen percent of the casino's operating profits, and the rest of the money was all sent to those powerful figures.

And this fifteen percent was certainly not evenly distributed to everyone in the family; not everyone was so important, and not everyone was qualified to receive dividends.

For those who played a relatively large role in the family, such as those who worked in the casino or followed Stone in the gray industry, all of them together could share about twenty-five percent of the total revenue as bonuses.

And the others who worked in other family businesses could only share about fifteen percent, and this group was the largest.

Not everyone is willing to fight and kill, and casinos are not so easy to get into.

In order to whitewash himself and the family, Bandi also acquired many companies, which required family members to keep an eye on them, even if they didn't interfere in the specific work, at least some family members had to be there to watch them not mess around.

Compared to becoming criminals, many people are willing to engage in legitimate work.

However, they get less money, fifteen percent.

In this way, about forty percent of the total annual profit has a destination, and about forty percent of the remaining sixty percent is added to the family fund.

The family fund is an institution used to develop family businesses, such as acquiring companies, acquiring factories, or other things that require money but are under the family's name.

Then this part of the funds is used to bear it.

Finally, there is about fifteen percent left, which is divided between the two brothers, Bandi and Gauri.

As for the remaining few percent, it is awarded to those who have contributed to the family.

In short, everyone in the family is dissatisfied with the current profit distribution method.

What they are dissatisfied with is that the Bandi and Gauri brothers occupy too high a percentage, the family fund's percentage is too high, and the money they can get is too little.

This is actually not just a problem that a large family has to face; many startups have to face such problems.

If the profit distribution method cannot meet people's demands, then there will inevitably be contradictions and conflicts.

In the past, Bandi and Gauri firmly controlled everything in the family, and their word was law. Even if they had opposing opinions, they could only hold them in their stomachs.

But now, Bandi and Gauri are both dead, Fleming has run away with some money and family members, Stone has become a tainted witness, and the entire line of the family head is finished!

They didn't even have time to feel any sadness; their minds were full of interests!

The interests of the casinos!

There is still a lot of money in the family fund!

Every branch of the family was arguing endlessly in the family hall built by Bandi. One side said that they were very close to a certain former family head in terms of bloodline.

The other side said that they were cousins with Bandi and Gauri, and it was obvious that he should be in charge of the family.

Some people also said that they had worked in the casino for twenty years and had very rich experience in operating casinos. He believed that he should be the general manager of King's Harbor Casino.

Everyone has their own demands, their own opinions, and some people even proposed to govern the family in a way similar to a "parliament."

Anyway, everyone can't come to a conclusion now.

The Kodak family's family head is "inherited." The old family head designates an heir of the family, so this system often leads to the position of family head being continuously inherited within a family.

Now that Bandi is finished, everyone thinks they are qualified to become the next family head, and they are also very clear that if they don't fight at this time, their line may never have a chance again in this lifetime, or even in the next few generations.

So everyone's arguments are very fierce, and that's why there is the idea of "governing the family through parliament."

It has to be said that the person who proposed this suggestion is indeed a smart person.

If they can't always argue to a result that can satisfy everyone, then it is very likely that they will establish an institution similar to a parliament within the family to jointly rule the family.

Some people were arguing with red faces, and some people were sitting in the corner, watching all of this coldly.

After arguing for an unknown amount of time, the noise in the hall was much lower. At this time, someone suddenly pushed the door and walked in.

They all knew this person. He was a member of the family and was responsible for the security of King's Harbor Casino.

He ran to the stage in the hall in a panic, grabbed a microphone from someone, and shouted, "Everyone be quiet!"

The people in the hall were quieted for a while by his shouts, but then some people started yelling at him.

His seniority was not high. There were many uncles or grandfathers here. They clamored that this junior was not qualified to stand on it.

But he couldn't care so much anymore. "King's Harbor Casino has been sealed off, and the other two casinos seem to have been asked to suspend business…"

In an instant, the arguing hall finally fell completely silent.

At the same time, Lance gently patted the armrest of his chair, holding the telephone receiver in his other hand, crossing his legs, and looking at the scenery outside the window.

In fact, the scenery here is not so good. You can't see the seaside here, let alone the sea level. You can only see the surrounding buildings.

The buildings in the Empire District are not so beautiful. After all, this is not the city center or the bay area, which are all magnificent buildings.

This is one of the poorest areas in King's Harbor City. It is already very difficult to have some tall buildings around, so he focuses more on the sky.

The weather has been good these two days. The approaching summer has suddenly made the weather better, and the temperature is constantly rising. Everything has become as pleasant as people remember.

The afternoon heat and sunshine make people feel lazy and unable to muster any energy. The old men on the roadside will also choose to take a nap after lunch.

The whole city seems to be filled with a lazy energy.

"…That's the situation now."

"Bandi is dead. Before he died, he transferred the licenses and operating rights of the casinos to me."

"In other words, all five casinos in King's Harbor City are now my property."

"This month may not be very good. We still need some time to rectify and clean up the internal problems of the casinos."

"We should be able to officially open for business starting in July."

"July, August, September, then October, November, December, two quarters."

The person on the other end of the phone listened very carefully, and of course, his face was full of smiles.

"You've done very well, Lance, much better than I imagined."

"You haven't gotten yourself into trouble. Some idiots helped you solve the most troublesome thing. You are a smart man!"

"Okay, I'll have Tom give you an account number, and you can just transfer the money directly into this account."

"Our expenses have been quite high recently, money is needed everywhere, but you've done a fantastic job."

This sentence was actually a hint, implying that Lance was currently experiencing financial strain, and Lance naturally understood these things.

Lance nodded. "No problem, should I transfer some funds to you for immediate use?"

After hearing this, the tone from Senator Cleaveland's receiver didn't change emotionally. "Didn't you say you'd wait until after July to officially take over the business?"

No one ever thinks they have enough money, and he was currently in the phase of expanding his power in Congress, needing money in many places.

Although he had other channels for funneling benefits, funds were constantly being transferred into his hands.

However, compared to the millions of dollars in funds from the Golden Port City casinos each quarter, those funds were indeed somewhat insufficient.

Lance said with a smile, "I believe the Coda Family would be happy to cover that part of the money first."

Senator Cleaveland was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then laughed. "Should I thank them for their 'willingness'?"

Lance also said with a smile, "They are good people, not seeking anything in return, so I think… it's not really necessary!"

Senator Cleaveland was very satisfied. Getting money ahead of time was always better than not having it. But he also sensed something else in these words.

Lance wouldn't unconditionally obey him. He originally thought Lance would take the money out himself, but now it seemed the money would be squeezed out of the Coda Family.

However, Senator Cleaveland didn't feel any guilt about any of this. It wasn't him doing it, it had nothing to do with him, and the money would enter his hands very cleanly. How could it make him feel the slightest bit guilty or even uneasy?

Only poverty, not having money, would make him uncomfortable, not having money.

"I have other matters to attend to, discuss the remaining matters with Tom."

"You can come to Gold State during the New Year. We have an end-of-year party, you understand what I mean."

Lance didn't refuse, "I will come."

"Okay, talk to you later."

Not long after, Tom called, giving Lance an account number. "In the future, just deposit the money into this account, and we'll take care of the rest."

Then he congratulated Lance on resolving this big problem before quickly hanging up the phone.

He was also very busy. As one of the senator's aides, he had more work to do every day than those congressmen!

Lance put down the phone, stood up from the chair, and walked out of the room.

Many people were already standing in the corridor, all with excited expressions, waiting for a signal.

Lance nodded at them. "Let's go see our casino!"

The corridor suddenly became lively and vibrant, with whistling, cheers, and, most of all, laughter.

Soon, a large convoy headed towards the largest casino in Golden Port City. Before this, Lance had already ordered the casino to be closed.

His people, along with some police officers, used the reason that the casino and the license were now his property, and he was officially taking over, so operations had to be temporarily suspended to complete the handover of the casino before it could reopen.

This was also a normal request.

There weren't many gamblers in the casino during this period, and Bandi's death had made even fewer people frequent the casino. They were afraid to gamble in the casino without knowing how things would develop in the future.

Afraid of being caught up in some kind of gang vendetta.

The news of the casino's temporary closure spread throughout Golden Port City in an instant. Not only did internal calls within Golden Port City become frequent,

but calls to Manton (the capital of Ricallie State) also increased. Many people wanted to know who held these licenses now!

Over the years, the Coda family had used these licenses to monopolize the city's casino business, earning countless amounts of money.

If Bandi's death and the decline of the Coda family allowed these licenses to be released, it would definitely be a great opportunity for many people.

Even many wealthy politicians in the Bay Area were calling to inquire about this matter, to see if there was an opportunity to obtain a license or do something else.

At this time, the long convoy finally stopped outside the Golden Port Casino. Many people had already arrived, arguing with the police at the casino entrance.

Lance was still sitting in the car, not having gotten out yet, when someone took the initiative to find out the situation. "It's the Coda family. They say closing the casino is illegal, and they're confronting the police."

Hearing this, Lance wasn't too surprised. After all, only a few people knew that Bandi had transferred the casino and licenses to him.

But soon, everyone would know.

He then pushed open the car door and got out of the car.

The Coda family members confronting the police on the scene also noticed these "outsiders," and their eyes were warily focused on these people.

Lance walked in the middle of the crowd. The police officers who originally didn't let the Coda family members in and didn't say much to them actually took the initiative to make way for Lance and his people.

"Why are they allowed in?!" a Coda family member suddenly shouted.

Lance paused slightly, stopped, and turned to look at the shouting guy.

Being stared at by Lance and even more fierce-looking eyes, he suddenly felt a tingling in his scalp, and a sudden urge to urinate rushed to the top of his head!

The arrogant and domineering aura on his face also became restrained.

Lance shook his head slightly. He didn't plan to explain to these people. He started walking again. This time, no one stopped him, and no one said anything about what was reasonable or unreasonable.

"That's Lance…"

The Coda family members looked at Lance's departing back, their eyes showing different expressions.

Some were disdainful, some were suspicious, some were indifferent, some were curious, and of course, some had dissatisfaction and disgust hidden in their eyes.

But no matter what emotions they had, they ultimately couldn't affect Lance, only themselves.

From the moment he stepped into the casino gate, the word "magnificent" appeared in Lance's mind.

This wasn't Lance's first time at the Golden Port Casino, but it was the first time he had come here as the owner.

Regardless of his identity, everything here gave him the same feeling, which was decadence!

Looking at the flashing gambling machines, the chips placed in the quiet counters, and the gambling tables in the distant gambling hall.

Everything was filled with the fascinating scent of money!

Lance walked around the casino and then came to Bandi's office.

"I don't like the decor here," he didn't sit in Bandi's chair, but stood at the office door and shook his head. "Find someone to redo this place in the next few days, as well as the floors and walls."

The Coda family's initials are on it, highlighting the "bloodline" here.

It was okay to do this before, but not now.