He was shocked and subconsciously touched it, only to find that his right ear had been shot off!The Italian-made Leta 92F pistol had always been the light weapon that the Italian Mafia was most proud of, and the power of this pistol was indeed amazing. The powerful muzzle's kinetic energy did not penetrate Antonio's right ear but smashed it into pieces directly.Antonio covered his ears and screamed in agony. Jilian also cried and covered her father's ears with her hands as she questioned Charlie angrily, “Are you crazy?! Are you a fascist?!”“A fascist?” Charlie laughed and said, “How's that possible? Unlike your father, this great Sicilian man may have some relatives with Mussolini.”After saying that, Charlie looked at Jilian with a sharp expression and scolded, “Young lady, I advise you to be more objective. It was your father who wanted to kill me first. He wanted to shoot me in the head just now. You saw it. If I didn't have some skills, I would have become a corpse beyond r
Charlie pulled Angus over and looked at Antonio as he spoke, “Let me introduce you. This is Angus. He runs a roast goose restaurant in Oskiatown, and there is a gang called Burning Angels who come to him every month to extort three thousand US dollars from him. What's your connection with the Burning Angels?”“They have no connection with me…” Antonio subconsciously tried to excuse himself, but before he could finish, he suddenly realized that this might be the reason why Charlie had come looking for him in the first place!In other words, Charlie had known all along about his relationship with the Burning Angels!Aman, who was standing nearby, was completely devastated.He thought to himself, ‘Damn it, why am I so unlucky! Charlie clearly came here today to make trouble for Antonio. How did I end up here at Antonio's place at just the wrong time?! If I had been half an hour late, Antonio might already be dead, and I wouldn't have to offend Charlie or take a bullet…’Antonio was n
In Charlie’s opinion, there were two ways to crack down on organized crime from Europe and the United States.He could either do it as he did before and wipe out gangs such as the Canadian mafia trafficking in people or the ruthless Mexican cartel forces directly—wipe them all out, kill, or capture them.Alternatively, he could treat this organized crime like a durian fruit. Firstly, strip off all its thorns and then devour the remaining flesh.Although Charlie wasn't interested in petty money, since he was here today, he couldn't leave empty-handed. Since he planned to let Angus grow and expand in the future, Antonio's family would be the first feast he prepared for Angus.Antonio did not care about the 75% profit Charlie was taking anymore. He just wanted to stay alive and preserve some family assets. If he had the chance in the future, he might seek revenge against Charlie. If not, at least he would be alive.However, when he heard Charlie say he would send him to Syria, Antoni
Charlie nodded and said, “Okay. Then, let your eldest son take over your position from tomorrow. I will let Porter of Ten Thousand Armies fly over to make a handover with him and let Porter get to know him. If he doesn't obey in the future, we will know who to point the gun at.”When Antonio heard about Ten Thousand Armies and Porter, he was even more shocked.The name ‘Ten Thousand Armies’ was known to almost everyone in the mercenary field and gang field.Antonio naturally knew about this legendary organization as well as Porter's legendary experience. However, he never expected that Charlie could call Porter to come to New York at any time, giving people the feeling that Porter seemed to be one of Charlie’s subordinates.Aman couldn't help but start to re-analyze the relationship between Charlie and Ten Thousand Armies.In the past, he thought that Ten Thousand Armies had taken half of the Wade family's assets, so it would protect the Wade family, but now, it seemed that Charli
At this moment, Antonio and Aman no longer dared to defy Charlie in any way. So, they immediately followed Charlie's request and dispersed their subordinates and families. Less than ten minutes later, all of them had evacuated from Zano Manor.Charlie released his Reiki to probe, and upon seeing that the entire manor was indeed empty, he instructed Angus, “Angus, go park the car at the entrance.”“Okay, Mr. Wade!” Angus nodded and quickly left the wine cellar.Charlie then looked at Antonio and Aman and said calmly, “Both of you, get up and go to the entrance.”Antonio looked at his crippled leg and choked up as he said, “Mr. Wade, I… I can't walk…”“That’s right, Mr. Wade…” Aman also said despondently, “I can't walk either. My right leg is in excruciating pain. I can't even stand…”Charlie said coldly, “One of you has a broken right leg, the other, a broken left leg. You can support each other as brothers since you can't be father-in-law and son-in-law anymore.”Jilian couldn't
However, they were well aware that if they didn't return within just an hour or two, their boss wouldn't suspect a thing until at least early the next morning. As they hoped for a miracle, the door was suddenly pushed open.The five men looked expectantly toward the door, only to see the last person they wanted to encounter, Charlie, stepping into the room. What shocked them even more was the two individuals hobbling in behind him, each supporting the other and hopping on one leg.However, they soon realized that these ‘peculiar individuals’ were not strange for the sake of being strange, but because both had their other legs dripping with blood from gunshot wounds. At this moment, Will, the leader among the men and the most observant, suddenly recognized one of the men with a broken leg and exclaimed in horror, “Mr. Zano?!”Upon hearing this, the other four men widened their eyes in shock and instinctively looked toward where Will was staring. As soon as they did, all four men we
Antonio was the underground emperor of all of New York, so when he summoned those gang leaders, every one of them responded eagerly and promptly.Moreover, Charlie's instructions to Antonio were quite misleading. Antonio acted according to Charlie's instructions and told the gang leaders that he had a very important business deal to discuss with them in person. He also instructed them to bring their most trusted confidant to the roast goose shop in Oskiatown for a confidential meeting.Furthermore, Charlie instructed Antonio to inform these leaders that this business was exceptionally important. That was why it was chosen to be discussed in Oskiatown, to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Antonio specifically warned them not to tell anyone else about this matter except their confidants, or they would be permanently expelled from the Zano family's territory.These gang leaders all relied on Antonio for their livelihoods. They could maintain their territories in New York not only throu
He came from humble beginnings and didn't understand much about political maneuvering. His philosophy was simple, that was, as long as his brothers worked hard alongside him, he would ensure they were well taken care of. If there was food on his plate, there would be soup for his brothers.However, Maikey was much smarter compared to him. When Maikey graduated from high school, he was the only talented student from his African-American neighborhood to be accepted into a reputable public university that year.In that neighborhood, crime and divorce rates were sky-high. Many young people learned to shoot and do drugs before they even grew facial hair. If a day passed without a gunfight in the area, everyone would have trouble sleeping due to the unfamiliarity.In such an environment, Maikey's acceptance into university was a testament to his exceptional intellect. However, once he entered university, the stark contrast between his impoverished background and the lavish lifestyles of w
Naturally, Jimmy couldn't care less about Julien's suggestion, even looking at him pointedly from head to toe while smirking in contempt, "What, do you think I'd just do what any nutjob tells me to do just because they're claiming to be the Rothschilds' heir apparent?"Julien nodded, still smiling. "Good point, but don't worry—it's the same whether you call him or he calls you."Jimmy laughed. "I was offering you a way out, but you want to keep pressing your luck? Since you don't care to back off, let's see how you're going to finish this fight."Then, he shrugged while pointing at Yolden. "Well, it's the perfect chance to measure Matilda's husband, I guess."Based on what he saw of Yolden, there was no way he would buy Julien's claims, and thus labeled him an impostor in his mind.An ordinary lecturer in Aurous Hill, being friends with the Rothschilds' heir apparent? Not to mention that there had been plenty of fraudulent cases outside the States where the Rothschild name was use
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single