The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 39
From the police handling the case, Michael obtained the original incident report, the one William had filed after reporting that his residence had been broken into. It contained not only William’s address and the reason for the report, but also notes from the scene.
It had to be said, the IRS was a very useful department to belong to. Michael paid no more than the price of a favor, and he not only saw the report, but also the important evidence that should have been sealed away, the gold ring with the inscription inside it.
Michael swore he had never seen that ring before, much less taken it from William’s room.
At most, the thing was worth two or three hundred dollars. He had no reason to run such a risk for such a small amount of money. But not only had it appeared on his “territory,” it had also ended up in Young Michael’s hands, and gotten him arrested while trying to fence it.
That fool did not even know how to dispose of stolen goods properly. How could he possibly have been the one to steal the ring?
That only made Michael more certain that the whole thing was a frame-up. He came looking for William immediately.
He had meant to talk to William properly. But the moment he saw the man, a nameless fury flared up and nearly burned his reason to pieces.
This was the fourth time he had fallen to the same person, all within less than a month. Such a thing had never happened to Michael in his life before.
It made him angry.
It also made him afraid.
His temper was rotten. His character was worse. Yet he was still valued by his superiors, not because he was sufficiently “bad,” but because of his ability. He had more than enough flaws, but when it came to work, he was undeniably a capable man.
And yet a man that proud had lost to some nameless little upstart.
No, not nameless anymore. William had a name now, he just did not know it yet. “William’s Method” was a gray procedure officially recognized by more than a dozen departments, including the IRS, the Federation Police Department, the Federation FBI, the Federation Department of Homeland Security, and others besides.
It was cleverer than the tricks people had used before. More discreet. Harder to control. Faster. More damaging. More difficult to stamp out.
There was far more to it than merely exchanging money into small bills. Under William’s suggestions, the laundries under Mr. Fox’s control had nearly transformed themselves. Inside, they now offered dozens of categorized options.
Depending on the kind of garments being washed, the quantity, the detergent, the fragrance additives, whether they were spun or tumble-dried, and a long list of other variables, washing a single garment could cost dozens of dollars. With manual intervention added on top, it became even more expensive.
Never mind how they managed to make a single standard washing machine provide so many elaborate options, or whether the clothes thrown into it might come out ruined. In any case, they had done it. Without breaking any law, they had resolved certain weaknesses and made the speed of their laundering operation faster and faster.
In a certain sense, William counted as a kind of talent too, a rather strange and ill-formed one.
Now that he was facing him again, Michael still could not suppress his vicious temper. This time he did not hold back. He fixed William with a savage stare. “Tell me exactly what happened, from beginning to end, or you won’t have an easy night of it.”
William smiled once.
Michael punched him in the upper part of the stomach, just like last time, hard enough that the place where William’s abdomen met his chest began to cramp. He bent slightly, pulling harsh breaths to settle the spasms in his diaphragm.
He spat to one side. His mouth was hanging open, slick with saliva churned up by the cramp and nausea.
“You’d better speak. Don’t force me.” Michael did not move in the slightest. His eyes had gone bloodshot.
His son was about to go to prison and serve time. His whole life would be ruined because of it. An entire life, destroyed.
No government department would ever hire someone with a burglary conviction. Nor would any major conglomerate or financial dynasty entrust important work to someone with a record like that. The boy would spend the rest of his life scraping along at the bottom.
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