The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 76
That morning, Richard sat uneasily in an office that still carried the smell of fresh paint.
The spotless, bright windows held back not a single thread of sunlight, leaving the entire room brilliantly lit.
Some time ago, when the matter between William and Michael had first come out, the Federation FBI and the IRS had found Richard almost at the same time.
As one of William’s important “claws,” Richard was bound to hold an important position in the combination between William and Fox. Only the Federation FBI and the IRS had both guessed wrong. He was nothing more than a poor bastard who did not even count as outer circle.
After being put through round after round of law enforcement by the two great Establishments, he was released after paying a sum of bail. In the end, William proved himself innocent, but Richard’s bail money had no further word attached to it.
If you thought that journey, which had nearly scared Richard’s soul out of his body, made him give up cooperating with William, then you would be wrong.
The stimulation brought by enormous profit had already bred in Richard the courage to trample the law. So long as the profit was rich enough, there was nothing he would not dare try.
He had also tried going to the employment center to find a new job. But every time he saw those jobs with guaranteed hours plus extra hourly wages, and the pitiful income they offered, he did not even have the desire to try.
Burying his head in work like a rotten piece of wood, only to receive each month a wage barely enough to keep himself alive, that was not work. That was laboring hard to murder himself, to murder his own life.
Just as he was wondering whether he should take a reckless gamble, William called him. In an instant, he felt that light had returned to the earth.
The next morning, Richard arrived at William’s warehouse half an hour early. Seeing that this boss had changed into far more High-Class clothes, Richard very humbly expressed his confidence in William’s return, and his courage to continue working under him.
Once a man grew used to making quick money, no one would be willing to bend his back again. This was also one reason many criminals found it difficult to break away from crime. They grew used to destruction, violence, and money arriving fast. Asking them to obediently work while others ordered them about?
“Seeing you is like seeing the sun, driving away the darkness and the black clouds, boss!” Richard had a clever mouth and a nimble mind. That was why William had chosen him.
Of course, he was also bold enough. At the very least, when he received William’s call, he had not said “sorry” and hung up at once like certain people had. Instead, he had come early to meet William.
William patted him on the shoulder. “Work well. We will have a future full of light. A few more people will be coming later. You’ll be half a teacher to them, help me lead them for a while.”
Richard behaved with great humility. When William spoke, he lowered his head slightly, giving the impression of listening with all his ears, nodding from time to time to acknowledge or agree with William’s words. In short, his performance satisfied William.
“Could you tell me in advance what we’ll be doing next, so I can prepare?” When he asked this, Richard’s blood began to surge and his heartbeat quickened. He was terribly afraid William would name a job that failed to satisfy him.
Fortunately, William could see straight through this young man and the greed hidden deep inside him, so he gave him an answer very readily. “A new job without base pay, but this time your commission will be much higher. So long as you have enough ability, you can earn far more than before.”
The moment money was mentioned, Richard became wholly engaged. He patted his chest and guaranteed that he would complete William’s instructions and work hard to do his job as well as possible.
Before half past ten in the morning, the people William had been waiting for had more or less all arrived.
Among them was a group of half-grown children. The oldest were only thirteen or fourteen, the younger ones twelve or thirteen. They were the children the boss had left behind.
With William’s financial aid, they did not need to worry about sitting idle until the money ran out and their guardians took them away, throwing them into a new devil’s den to have their value squeezed out again. They cherished this opportunity especially. Other than William, no one was willing to give them suitable work, and a suitable wage.
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