Kathleen promised, "Don't worry, Mr. Wade. I won't tell Mrs. Wade about this."She quickly added, "I haven't heard about Biden's arrest. Don't worry. I'll have someone to gather information and inform you when I get it.""Alright." Charlie thanked her. "Thank you, Miss Fox."After ending the call, Charlie told Janus, "Miss Fox will investigate it, and it may take some time. Let's go back to the hotel in New York to have breakfast and rest.""No problem." Janus nodded and smiled. "It's just that the hotel is a distance away from here, and the news may arrive in less than half an hour if Miss Fox is efficient enough. Why don't we just grab a bite over there?" he pointed at the cafe across the street and suggested. "Just give me a cup of coffee and I'll stay awake all day."Charlie considered his option and nodded in agreement. The two of them went to the cafe across the street and ordered some food and coffee. Kathleen called Charlie before they finished their coffee.Kathleen's
"Send someone in?"Kathleen blurted at first and gasped in bewilderment, "M-Mr. Wade! Are you implying that you want me to send you in?""Yes." Charlie nodded. "Please help me get a fake ID and send me to Brooklyn Prison. I want to meet Biden."Kathleen thought for a while and cautioned, "It's not a problem to send you in, but I can't guarantee you can meet Biden. After all, his case is so special that it's worth the core member of the Rothschilds going to great lengths for him. No matter what he did, it must be a great deal, so he must be given special attention in prison. I don't think it's easy to see him.""Don't worry about it." Charlie chuckled. "I'll see what I can do when I'm in there.""Okay. When do you plan to go in?""As soon as possible, preferably before noon. Can you do it?"Kathleen affirmed in a crisp voice, "No problem. I'll arrange it right away."When Charlie ended the call, Janus asked, "Are you going to see Biden in prison?""Yes." Charlie nodded. "He had
"I will."-After breakfast, Charlie drove to the Shangri-La Hotel in New York. He had booked a luxury suite for Janus since he was going to Brooklyn Prison today. They were resting in the room when Kathleen called.Kathleen's voice echoed through the phone. "Where are you now, Mr. Wade? I'm almost done. If it's convenient for you, I will come over now and walk you through the details.""I'm at Shangri-La," Charlie informed. "Come over here."Kathleen arrived at the hotel ten minutes later and bowed respectfully at Charlie. "Mr. Wade, here's the thing you requested."She then handed him a passport. "This is a Malaysian passport. You can claim to be a Malaysian Oskian. There is no entry record in the States, and this will increase the security of this identity from being discovered."With a nod, Charlie took the passport and flipped it open. It was his photo, and the name on it was Charlie Curtis. It didn't stand out since many Malaysian Oskians put their names as such on their
At noon, as Charlie was having a meal alone in a restaurant in Oskiatown, the sound of sirens echoed across the street, and two police cars from the Immigration Bureau screeched to a stop at the door of the restaurant.Charlie observed everything silently. He donned an indifferent expression and continued eating with his head down. Several policemen rushed into the restaurant with a picture in their hands and compared it with the patrons in the restaurant. Suddenly, they strode toward Charlie and asked loudly, "Are you Charlie, who smuggled into the United States from Malaysia?""What?" Charlie raised his head and shook it in confusion. "No..."The policeman checked the photo, sneered, and notified his colleagues, "Guys, it's him. Take him!"Several policemen rushed forward, grabbed Charlie's arms to the back, and handcuffed him.Charlie struggled as they grabbed his arms but immediately stopped resisting when a policeman made a gesture of going for his gun.After handcuffing h
"Yes, but by boat."The buzz-cut man sighed with a hint of disappointment. "The boat is indeed the better option. You can get on the boat from your country, and it will take about a month. Damn, the road option is so hard! It's like hell! I thought I would die at some point."Someone in the crowd muttered, "Bullshit. Taking a boat is not as good as you think. You were at least walking on earth. If you took a boat, you might have to swim the last stretch. There were about 60 people on the same boat, but only half of us got ashore. I bet the other half were swept away by waves."The buzz-cut man shuddered slightly and lamented, "Anyway, I'm freaking regretting this. They said that America is a paradise. Fuck them! It's nothing but hell! The fucking agent told me that I could make at least seven to eight thousand dollars a month even if I just washed dishes. When I got here, at least a dozen people fought to wash one plate in a restaurant!"After that, he turned to look at Charlie and
"Yup, he's calling me." Charlie nodded at the buzz-cut man. "See ya.""Are they releasing you now?" The buzz-cut man blurted with a disappointed expression on his face. "But you just got in." The officer looked at the buzz-cut man and announced in a flat tone, "He's being transferred to Brooklyn Prison.""What?!" The buzz-cut man yelped in shock and jolted. He then shouted toward Charlie's back, "Bro, what did you do?! Did you kill someone? I heard that American prisons are worse than hell. You’d better be careful!""Don't worry." Charlie waved his hand without looking back. "Goodbye."The officer took Charlie to a quiet corner of the office area and whispered, "We've already taken the fast-track procedure and will send you to Brooklyn Prison soon. I have an informant there. His name is Leandro, a Brazilian. He is a know-it-all about Brooklyn Prison. You can go to him when you get there and ask him about the situation in the prison. Just tell him that Andrew introduced you,
The prison guard led Charlie to the door of cell number 8.The prisoners inside were laughing and chatting. As soon as the prison guard shouted through the door, all the prisoners stood in a line in the middle of the cell.Two guards stood at the door and checked the number of prisoners through the iron bars. Then, they used the intercom to inform their colleague to open the door. Next, they went inside to check the cell. After confirming that everything was clear, the guards signaled to the prison guard behind Charlie. The guard nudged Charlie and gestured for him to go in.An awful stench hit Charlie's nose as soon as he entered the cell and made him frown in disgust. He could smell a sour and rusty odor, body odor, and foot odor mixed with the odor of bedding in addition to the smell of the toilet, which was disgusting.Charlie's wrinkled expression was a stark contrast to the other prisoners who didn't seem to care about the stench at all.Among them, a muscular and beard
The prison guard nodded and left the cell with the other two guards, ignoring Charlie.Then, the gate closed on its own.As soon as the guards left, the dozen men who were standing in line relaxed their shoulders and moved away casually. The muscular man named Dean glared at Charlie and sneered, "Hey, new guy! I'll walk you through the rules of the cell."Charlie ignored him and walked straight to his bed, number 16.Enraged by Charlie giving him the cold shoulder, Dean grabbed Charlie by the collar, clenched his fist, and gestured to Charlie. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you fucking deaf?!"With an annoyed frown, Charlie huffed, "Your mouth is foul, and so is your body. The whole cell smells awful. It seems like we’ll have to do something about the hygiene of the cell."Then, he brushed Dean off and started to make his bed. Dean was taken aback and confused by Charlie's audacity in talking to him in such an indifferent manner. He was concerned that Charlie had some background
Raymond may have worked abroad for years and was a veteran in antiques, but he was still lacking when it came to reading between the lines.Taking Mick's words at face value, he promptly shook his head, "No, you really shouldn't. I wasn't planning to come back here to work, so you mustn't mention me to Ms. Moore either."And unlike Mick, he really meant what he said, while Mick was saying the complete opposite of what he was thinking.Naturally, Mick didn't believe Raymond, even presuming that Raymond was a liar like himself.The more Raymond said he didn't want to return to Vintage Deluxe, the more he thought he was.Hence, he asked despite knowing the answer, "Well, what are you planning to do now that you've returned to Aurous Hill?""It's been years of traveling for me, so I was just getting a little tired," Raymond admitted. "I'm planning to set up a small business in Aurous Hill, most likely here in Antique Street. That's why I'm visiting—do be neighborly when I set up shop
Meanwhile, Raymond had no idea that he was being targeted as soon as he returned to Antique Street.He had reached the middle where rows of three-floored buildings stood, the largest on the street, and where Vintage Deluxe was. It was not closed yet as tradition on Antique Street was for stalls to open in the morning and close in the afternoon. In comparison, shops opened later and closed later.With the difference of two to three hours, they could afford to have customers who had lower purchasing power or were just window shopping to stroll through the outdoor stalls. Then, when they were gone, customers with actual purchasing power would come on their own time.As Raymond arrived outside Vintage Deluxe, Mick just finished his meeting with his employees, summing up, "So, does anyone have anything to do tonight?"They all shook their heads, answering as one, "No!!!"Mick nodded. "If there's nothing else, stay back for overtime. Ask for some spicy crayfish and beer for dinner."
However, Raymond had accomplished the assignment Curtis had given him years ago, so he had no intention of staying at Aurous Hill and remained unrepentant despite Jasmine's pressure. That was why he could ask to resign without hesitation, even urging her to let him go despite the pain.That was why Mick was now worried that Raymond would return to reclaim his position as manager."Keep an eye on him for me," he told Trippy. "Tell me if anything comes up right away—I will make it worth your while.""Alright!" Trippy agreed to it. "Don't worry—I'll call right away if anything comes up."Once Trippy hung up, Mick gathered the handful of Vintage Deluxe employees.They were all his close allies he had groomed after he took over Vintage Deluxe. Even if Mick hadn't been succeeding in his business, he was succeeding in building his own forces. Anyone who didn't obey his orders had since been removed, and the remaining ones were basically his co-conspirators, embezzling a considerable am
As it turned out, the bean counters of the Moore Group had been suggesting that Jasmine axe Deluxe Vintage and other antique-related businesses.After all, Aurous Hill was hardly the heart of the nation's antique business—not even a hub, and Vintage Deluxe wouldn't grow on such soil.Moreover, their revenue wasn't optimistic.While the business wasn't exactly falling off after Mick took charge, the lack of experience amongst the management team meant they were struggling to break even.And for the bean counters, keeping Vintage Deluxe meant no profits—even net losses in the immediate future. Right now, they might still be able to package it nicely and sell it off, and selling a fixed asset coupled with brand value would more or less turn a profit. But once Vintage Deluxe started incurring losses and the brand value diminished in turn, it would be reduced to zero completely.In other words, the value of Vintage Deluxe was on a springboard—sell it anytime now, and the value would be
The Mr. Crane from the other end of the call was Mick Crane—the current manager of Vintage Deluxe, and a man whom all of Antique Street fawned over.Mick was the assistant manager to Raymond back then, and his skill in the antique trade was at best moderate. However, thanks to his friendly personality, he had managed to secure himself many decent connections down Antique Street.As such, once Jasmine had fired Raymond, Mick had taken over his position as caretaker manager. She was also aware that Mick didn't have the skills to do well as a manager, and her plan had always been to keep him as a caretaker before she found someone better.As her ties with Charlie had strengthened and he had started helping her, her position in her family had skyrocketed. However, that also meant she couldn't watch over most of Vintage Deluxe's operations.Now that she was the head of the Moore family and the leader of a dynasty worth billions, a small business like Vintage Deluxe was even less signifi
Moreover, Raymond's old identity had various occupations connected to antiques. So, his plan now was to head over to Antique Street, find a place to rest his legs, and then get a shop of moderate scale and cheap rent to start a business in Aurous Hill.He headed to the precinct at Antique Street to register his face and other details into the database, reinforcing his legal certification. The precinct then issued him a visa so that he would have clearance to stay at a hotel for a while.Most of Antique Street's stalls were closing shop by the time he left the precinct, but he picked up his backpack and went for a stroll.It was not that different from before, though he thought he would never come back at the time…Still, he hadn't been there for long when a vendor recognized him and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! Aren't you Mr. Cole? From Vintage Deluxe? When did you come back?"As things hadn't changed down the street for the businesses or the environment, Vintage Deluxe was stil
Jacob shrugged. "If Hannah's debt is cleared, then she's fine now, no?""Yeah," Elaine replied. "I heard from an old friend not two days ago, saying that the document of her non-arrest… non-prosecution or whatever was sent in. Once it's approved, she's free to go home.""Most likely non-prosecution," Charlie replied."Right, I think that's it!" Elaine nodded repeatedly and sighed unhappily. "She's really been let off easy. She should be arrested and jailed for at least ten years."Jacob couldn't help sighing. "Come on, dear—Mom and Chris were out of line, but things are terrible for them now as it is. There's no reason to hope for the worst for them since Harold and Chris are still too hurt to work. It's thanks to Wendy's income that they have a living, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to survive."Then, worried that Elaine would get upset that he might be siding with his brother and mother too much, he quickly added, "I'm not taking their side or trying to get their case reinvest
Charlie actually had to change his opinion of Elaine after seeing her ready to kill Jacob earlier but getting all clingy now.Despite her many flaws, Elaine was the one half of their marriage who was earnestly in love.As for Jacob, he didn't seem to have any genuine feelings for Elaine at all.The mere mention of his past with Elaine always left him grumbling and complaining, but now, it was clear that Elaine was his best choice. With his attitude and the way he did things, he and Matilda would have split up by now even if they had gone to the States together.In the end, Jacob simply had too many of the flaws common amongst men his age, but while others would have no more than five out of twenty of those flaws, he had eighteen.As such, from another perspective entirely, the only woman who could tolerate Jacob now was Elaine and only Elaine. Coincidentally, her straightforward personality and tendency to get violent was the perfect counter against all of Jacob's flaws, reducing
Elaine nodded, emotional as well. "Well, Claire's finally home after being in the States for so long. Let's stop being clowns already—let's go home!"Jacob nodded, utterly relieved and teary-eyed. "Yes! Let's go home!"Meanwhile, Claire was left dumbfounded even as she watched while Charlie was left wiping the sweat off his brow—they had really just snatched victory from the jaws of defeat there!And it looked like they had truly succeeded in clearing any suspicion Elaine had of Matilda, and she most likely would do her best to avoid running into Matilda as well.That way, all the nonsense he had said wouldn't be exposed.Still, as Claire came to her senses, she told Charlie, "Darling, that was amazing! You somehow managed to talk your way out of that!"Charlie chuckled in embarrassment. "I had no choice but to sacrifice my pride for the peace in the family."Claire hugged his arm and giggled happily, "There's no victory without sacrifice. You're the best, dear!"-Meanwhile,