The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 11: Smiles Behind the Badge
Michael strolled into the room with a faint smile of triumph on his face. He glanced at William, who was sitting beside the bed, lifted the corner of his mouth, and gave two low chuckles.
He did not know why he suddenly laughed aloud. Perhaps it was a kind of boasting.
He did not know. Casually, he pulled open the front of his trench coat, revealing the leather badge wallet clipped inside his pocket, with his identification on it. “IRS. Someone reported that an illegal transaction just took place here. We need to inspect the premises...”
This time, it was not only Michael and his partner. Several others had come as well. At Michael’s signal, they immediately began searching the room.
Michael walked over and sat down beside William. Looking at this young man who had once made him feel a brief flicker of fear, he said with a half-smile, “The last time I sent a kid about your age to prison, he was still arrogant enough to say it was just a vacation to him.”
“He thought prison wasn’t frightening at all. Do you know what happened to him afterward?” Michael said those unsettling words as a warning to William.
As he spoke, Michael suddenly closed his mouth, because he realized that the young man in front of him showed no unease or fear after hearing any of it.
He remained as calm and steady as he had been from the beginning. That made Michael feel as if he were the one being humiliated. Like a clown saying things that only made people laugh. He had been looked down on again.
His expression gradually worsened. He gave a cold snort and decided not to speak anymore. Once they found the evidence, they would make this bastard cry.
Only ... why had they found nothing yet?
Watching his men begin searching again from the doorway, Michael suddenly felt his scalp tighten. He realized something, glanced sideways at William, and immediately rushed into the inner room.
The apartment was not large. Strictly speaking, it only had two spaces: a corridor connected to the front door and bedroom, and a washroom with a wardrobe.
There was not much in the washroom, and nothing complicated. A completely open wardrobe, an ironing board that his men had already lowered, a small storage box holding miscellaneous tools, and a basket for washed clothes.
Farther inside was a small shower space, and finally the toilet. A handcart sat casually across the middle of the washroom.
“Where’s the money?” he demanded sharply. Earlier, each of those children had claimed William had put the money into a box and pushed it into the washroom with the cart. But from the look of things now ... that did not seem to be the case.
The two men shook their heads awkwardly. “Sorry, boss. We didn’t find anything.”
“The wooden box?” he asked, making one last effort. “Is the wooden box here?”
One of them pointed at the wooden box on the ironing board. It was empty. There was nothing inside.
Michael pressed both hands together and rubbed his face hard, then tugged at his hair. He stood with his hands on his waist and paced back and forth a few steps. Then, almost hysterically, he strode over, grabbed the wooden box, and smashed it violently against the floor.
The shattered box reminded him of William’s eyes, which seemed to be laughing at him. He rushed out, grabbed William by the collar, and hauled him up. “Where’s the money? Where did you hide that five thousand dollars?”
He roared, fury eating away at his reason. Twice. He had been fooled by this kid twice. No one had ever dared treat him like this.
William wore a faint smile. He looked at Michael calmly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything I have on me doesn’t even add up to five hundred dollars. I don’t know where you got this information, but clearly it’s wrong.”
Fuck your mother. He had watched those newsboys deliver the money with his own eyes. In such a short time, less than two minutes, William had not even left the room. Where had he hidden the money?
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.