The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 40
After William was admitted to the hospital, Mr. Fox, having heard the news, rushed over as fast as he could. Once the doctor told him there was nothing seriously wrong, other than some malnourishment and two soft-tissue contusions, he finally relaxed a little.
Even so, Mr. Fox was still furious. He thought very highly of William. Whether out of genuine regard or a desire to draw him in, he had to make his position clear.
“We’re suing him!” Mr. Fox paced back and forth through the hospital room. “We sue until his house is shattered and his family ruined. We sue until the bastard can’t even afford a pair of trousers!”
William watched him putting on the performance. Half of it was genuine enough, but he still could not help smiling and waving a hand. “Forget it. There’s no need.”
In truth, by the time he reached the hospital, the spasms inside him had already eased. Aside from some lingering discomfort in his stomach, he had no real problem left. During that stretch of time, he had thought carefully about what came next, and he had already made his decision.
Mr. Fox lifted a brow. What he had just said was, in essence, meant to go along with William’s temper. He did not know how William had managed to send Young Michael to prison, much less make the boy plead guilty of his own accord, but he had sensed William’s vengeful streak.
Would a man like that let an opportunity like this go to waste? It was too good an opening.
Before coming here, Mr. Fox had already consulted his lawyer. The lawyer’s view was clear. If they filed suit, Michael was finished.
First, he had forced his way into someone else’s residence without the owner’s consent. Then he had used violence to coerce the owner of the room. On top of that, he was himself a public official. He had acted while fully aware that what he was doing was unlawful. Not only would he be stripped clean, he would also face no less than five years in prison.
Mr. Fox had assumed that, clever as William was, he would absolutely use this chance to destroy Michael’s reputation. So it genuinely surprised him when William said to let it go. Had he guessed wrong, or was William putting on an act?
Seeing the naked curiosity on Mr. Fox’s face, and recalling that the man had come rushing over at once, though his little performance had gone a touch off-key, William still felt grateful. And since he would need Mr. Fox’s help later, he explained his thinking.
“If I sue Michael, it will be treated as a challenge to the IRS. That’s an extremely sensitive signal. It may even produce the exact opposite of what we want.”
“The IRS will definitely do everything in its power to protect Michael, in order to ensure that the authority, sanctity, and on-site enforcement power of the IRS itself are not called into question. So they will try every possible means to nail me under the label of ‘criminal.’”
“And once it reaches that point, I won’t be crossing swords with Michael anymore, but with every tax-system official in the Federation, together with the interests standing behind them. I can’t win.”
He sounded as though he were speaking lightly, but inside Mr. Fox was shaken so badly that his face almost stopped changing. William, meanwhile, continued.
“The best option now is to use the media against them. Those reporters who are not afraid of trouble will help us deal with Michael. The whole country will know about the scandal. In order to preserve its image, the IRS will end up sacrificing Michael themselves.”
William frowned slightly. “Most likely, he’ll be suspended and investigated, then quietly frozen out. Once the storm passes, perhaps he’ll be transferred somewhere remote to begin a pensioner’s life. But that isn’t important. What matters is that we need the media.”
“Let the media do the things we want done, but cannot dare or cannot manage to do ourselves. When that happens, I’ll still be the victim, and Michael?”
William shrugged, spreading both hands. “He’ll already have become a stray dog.”
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