Power... is fascinating.

Mrs. Tracy stood by the window with a glass of red wine, looking at the scenery outside, her mind filled with images of Hicks voluntarily withdrawing from the election.

She knew better than anyone how terrifying her opponent was, yet this rival who had once left her hopeless was... withdrawing!

The moment she got the definite news, she trembled with excitement.

It was a very strange feeling, she knew it was a climax, even though she rarely had such life experiences these years and didn’t have a boyfriend, she wasn’t an ignorant young girl.

For a male politician, having a stable family can add to their political image, adding a lot of points.

But for a female, to go further in politics, she cannot have a stable family.

It seems contradictory, but in reality, it’s not contradictory at all, it’s very realistic.

The reason people use family to tether male politicians is that men are inherently more outstanding in ambition and ability, and to prevent them from "derailing," solid rules must regulate their behavior.

Females are different, their gender adds many different points of attention than male politicians.

When they get slightly closer to certain people, rumors are inevitable, and this cannot be stopped.

Family becomes a burden for female politicians, and other male politicians also try to avoid excessive contact with female politicians who have families; they don’t want to hear any rumors connected to them in society.

Think about it, policy decisions are always made after hours; wanting to join means you must give up something...

Mrs. Tracy didn’t have a family, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have a life, and because she didn’t have a family, she could have relationships with any law-abiding Federation citizens, that was her freedom.

"I’ve already found out, Hicks’s withdrawal might be related to the tax case, he’s involved..."

Mrs. Tracy’s father sat on the sofa, discussing some of his insights; he was a Mayor and had his own circle, able to get some information.

Plus, he also had a Shepherd brother; this family perhaps didn’t hold great power, but their connections were extensive.

Mrs. Tracy nodded, "I know, he has never disappointed anyone."

But Mrs. Tracy’s father still couldn’t understand something, "You don’t understand, dear, the Tax Bureau is a vertical organization, they’re not controlled by local government, in other words, only the Federal Tax Administration Bureau or even the President’s Cabinet can mobilize them!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Lynch invested money for you twice, now he sold such a big favor...", his expression was somewhat grave, "I think this will become a problem in the future."

"You owe him too much, and we don’t even know what he really wants..."

Mrs. Tracy turned and walked back to the room, elegantly took a sip from her glass, then placed the glass back on the table, jokingly said, "He definitely won’t want me..."

Her father still looked at her seriously, not amused by her cold joke.

She sighed and comforted, "You don’t need to worry too much, he must be after that girl Catherine."

"She’s already chosen as city Legislator, if nothing unexpected happens, she can probably run for Mayor in four years, by then, if I haven’t left that position, I’ll certainly have to pay some price!"

Mrs. Tracy saw things very clearly; four years later Catherine would be twenty-nine, just the right age.

A Mayor around thirty years old fits the public’s expectations for female politicians, young, beautiful, capable, plus four years of political experience—who would dislike her?

No, nobody would!

But to be safe, Mrs. Tracy was just a backup plan.

Sometimes Mrs. Tracy would feel very jealous of Catherine, she knew she shouldn’t have such emotions, but she just was.

She always felt lucky, her father was a successful politician, a city’s ruler, within this city, her father’s voice was the loudest.

Her uncle was a Shepherd, within a state or even two states, her uncle was a leader in the realm of Faith!

But now compared to Catherine, she wasn’t that proud.

"There’s still a month left, we already have no opponents, even if someone wants to compete now, there’s no time.", Mrs. Tracy seemed to be admiring the gem ring on her finger, continuously adjusting her hand position and viewing angle.

That ring valued at tens of thousands; this money wasn’t a burden for her, as all campaign expenses came from supporters.

Politicians rarely spend their own money to run for office because they don’t need to bear these costs, and they must send out plenty of friendly signals.

Getting donations from capitalists is already a friendly signal; only when capitalists and these candidates make a "deal" are they true allies!

Those people gave money, and after politicians win, they must return in policy, etc.

She looked up at her father, "I’ll be heading over to your side next week to hold a speech, and I hope we can take the stage together. People will be interested in seeing us appear simultaneously..."

A father-daughter duo, especially with the daughter’s achievements surpassing the father’s, is a scene that pleases the people of the Federation.

If your children are never better than you, human society would have long been destroyed.

On the contrary, when people discover that their child’s achievements surpass their own, they are only filled with comfort!

The entire state’s election became clear when Hicks withdrew at the last critical moment.

With possible changes in some candidates for Governor, various industries in different regions are also undergoing corresponding adjustments.

The replacement of a Governor is no simple matter. For example, the new Governor of the Industrial State is an advocate for environmental protection, which is an absolute blow to the industrial enterprises in the whole state.

As people busied themselves for money, someone reached out, hoping to have a conversation with Lynch.

Mr. Wycliffe.

Regarding this person, Lynch did not have much of an impression.

Mr. Pato said he would certainly recover some losses from Lynch, but so far, he had done nothing, which made Lynch think he might not be as strong-willed as Mr. Pato imagined.

This isn’t surprising; not everyone can maintain their toughness when facing Lynch. Private armed forces and a massive amount of capital are his best and most effective methods to counter enemies and protect himself.

If people cannot break Darkstone Security’s armed forces, cannot destroy the capital flow and various capital methods behind Darkstone, they simply cannot bring Lynch any big trouble, let alone squeeze money out of him.

After careful consideration, Lynch decided to meet the person.

The Security Committee had already begun monitoring Mr. Wycliffe internally, so the meeting itself was safe, and the location was right in his hospital room.

As soon as he entered the room, Lynch glanced at the environment, "I didn’t expect the medical facilities to be so complete nowadays. Do they have standalone villas?"

"Sometimes I don’t like being crowded together with many people, especially concerning medical issues."

Mr. Wycliffe chuckled. He sat up from the bed and, after pausing for a few seconds, stood up with someone’s help. Even just this made him somewhat breathless.

His hand pressed against his chest, a look of pain on his face. Heart failure, even with medication, has very limited effect on the progression of the failure.

There was approximately a dozen meters between him and Lynch. Lynch saw the pained look on his face but remained still, standing at a distance.

After standing up, Mr. Wycliffe almost sat back down again, his legs weakening and trembling. Recently, the doctor informed him that his kidneys were failing, with many causes.

Perhaps "getting old" is a common reason, or there might be other incentives, but whether he knew or not doesn’t matter anymore.

He rested for quite a while before being helped by someone to walk up to Lynch.

A distance of a dozen meters took several minutes, and Lynch with a friendly smile raised his hand to shake with Mr. Wycliffe, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wycliffe. I heard you wanted to see me?"

He let go of the handshake and walked to another door, where he saw through the window that it was a parlor room. He directly opened the door and walked over.

Standing in the parlor, he looked at Mr. Wycliffe in the hospital room, "I don’t quite like the smell of disinfectant, though it calms one’s nerves. Let’s talk over here?"

He was making it difficult for Mr. Wycliffe, but the latter was very aware of this. However, no choice, he was now seeking Lynch. He also knew that Scarface accidentally killed an employee of Darkstone Security while trying to capture Charlie (the sister).

He bit his lip, turning somewhat blue, as a nurse hurriedly carried a small oxygen tank and fitted him with an oxygen mask.

With this, he got slightly better and slowly, with assistance, moved to another room.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Lynch, my current situation..." He spread his hands with a bitter smile, "You must have noticed, if there’s anything offensive, I apologize!"

Lynch nodded, "I’m sympathetic to your plight, but I can’t do anything for you, as I’m not a doctor."

Mr. Wycliffe sighed, "I understand, I’ve invited you here to discuss a business deal."

"Honestly speaking, I’m extremely short on money lately. After the silver case, most of my funds..."

"Now my illness requires a huge amount of money to maintain. I’ve considered it, and I think only you can help me!"

He appeared very sincere, with no intention of hiding, and couldn’t hide it either.

Lynch felt that figuring out why he needed money might just be a phone call away and a short wait, so he decided to say it directly, at least showing his sincerity.

Lynch raised his eyebrow slightly, "I’m not sure we can cooperate; at least I haven’t discovered a way."

Mr. Wycliffe rested for a while longer before saying, "Charlie siblings’ treasure..."