Chapter 11: The Drake Family

"Billions in assets? Chicago's underworld? I think you've got something wrong."

Leo casually tossed the gun on the ground and slowly walked up to Vito, looking down at this underground emperor who had ruled Chicago for thirty years.

"I came here for one reason only. To get justice for Luke."

Looking into Leo's eyes, Vito finally understood that this young man wasn't here for money or power.

He really came here to kill!

"You... you're insane!"

Mario shouted, trying to sound tough but clearly scared, "You think you can just walk away after killing us? The Romano family has thousands of core members across the country! You can kill us, but can you kill them all?"

"Let's find out."

Looking at Leo's emotionless eyes, Vito took a deep breath.

After all, he was a tough guy who had controlled Chicago's underworld for thirty years. The shock in his eyes only lasted a second before turning into the ruthlessness and determination of a cornered animal.

He knew there was no way this would end well today.

Since this guy dared to throw away his gun, he couldn't blame him for being brutal!

"Get justice? On my turf?" Vito sneered, "Young man, you're too arrogant!"

Before he finished speaking, Vito suddenly pulled out a gold-plated Browning pistol from inside his coat!

As a veteran who had fought his way up from the streets, his movements were surprisingly fast. Without hesitation, he aimed the gun at Leo's forehead and pulled the trigger hard!

"Go find him in hell!"

But Leo was faster.

The moment Vito raised his hand, Leo kicked his foot, and the gun he had just tossed on the ground instantly flew up, landing precisely in his hand.

Raised it, fired, without a moment's hesitation.

A deafening gunshot echoed through the underground garage.

Vito's finger hadn't even finished pulling the Browning's trigger when his movement completely froze.

A bullet hole had appeared right between his eyebrows.

This underground king, who had ruled Chicago for thirty years, fell straight backward, crashing heavily onto the cold concrete floor, dead on the spot.

"Father!"

Mario screamed and collapsed on his knees beside the pool of blood, shaking violently with fear.

"Leo... Leo..."

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Alice completely broke down. She put on a pitiful expression, her voice trembling uncontrollably, "I was forced too... If I hadn't done that back then, the Romano family would have killed me... I'm a victim too..."

"Please, for the sake of the love Luke and I once shared, let me go..."

"I'll give you one chance. Tell me everything about what happened back then, from start to finish."

Leo lit a cigar and took a deep drag, "If you explain it clearly, I'll let you die quickly. If not... even dying like him will be a luxury."

Mario's whole body trembled. To save his life, he didn't hesitate to point at Alice and scream shrilly, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! It was her! This bitch did it all!"

"What?" Alice whipped her head around to look at Mario, completely shocked.

"Shut up!" Mario barked at Alice like a mad dog, then turned to Leo with pleading eyes, "Mr. Ashford! Two years ago, Alice came to me on her own initiative with a perfect plan. She used her position as his fiancée to gain Luke's trust and get his financial passwords."

"She worked with us to short Luke's family stocks, creating the illusion of a broken capital chain. We tampered with Luke's father's medication to make it look like a sudden heart attack. Finally, she staged a kidnapping, making Luke go bankrupt trying to save her... Every single step was designed by her!"

Mario got more and more worked up as he spoke.

"In the end, when Luke was completely broke, standing on the 68th floor of the Empire State Building, calling her for one last goodbye..."

"She personally told Luke, 'Luke, I never loved you'!"

"Half an hour later, Luke jumped from the 68th floor!"

By this point, Alice was sobbing uncontrollably.

But these weren't tears of regret—they were tears of fear.

She was afraid of dying.

The veins on Leo's clenched fists bulged.

So Luke never knew until his death.

The woman he protected with his life was the murderer who killed him.

Leo opened his eyes and looked up at the garage ceiling, as if seeing through layers of concrete and steel to the distant sky.

"Luke, did you hear that?"

"Don't worry..."

Leo lowered his head and looked at the two people collapsed on the ground.

"Olivia."

"Yes, sir!"

Olivia emerged from the shadows and saluted.

"Take these two to Lake Michigan, to Luke's grave."

"Yes, sir!"

Leo walked out of the underground garage.

Behind him came Mario's desperate wailing.

"No! You can't do this! You promised to let us live!"

"Did I?"

Leo didn't look back.

"I only said if you explained clearly, I'd let you die quickly."

"But I never said... I'd let you die right now."

"Take them away."

Two shadows flashed by, and Mario and Alice were covered with sacks and dragged out.

Lake Michigan shore.

The autumn rain started falling again.

Leo stood alone in front of Luke's gravestone, holding a bottle of whiskey.

Not far behind him.

Mario and Alice knelt in a row, gagged, hands tied behind their backs.

Leo opened the whiskey, poured a glass, and placed it in front of the gravestone.

"Luke, I'm sorry I came back too late. If I could have returned earlier... If I could have seen through this woman sooner..."

"You wouldn't have died."

He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of liquor, letting the cold rain hit his face.

"But now..."

Leo turned around, took a gun from Olivia's hand, and walked up to the two of them.

He pulled the cloth out of Alice's mouth.

"Any last words?"

"No—"

Just as Leo's finger was about to pull the trigger.

"Wait!"

Alice screamed.

"I still have something important to say! Don't you want to know how Luke's family's billions of dollars in assets were laundered in just two months?"

Leo's eyes narrowed slightly.

This was indeed a question.

Luke's family business spanned finance, real estate, energy, and many other sectors, involving dozens of companies and thousands of accounts.

Even for a gang like the Romano family, completing such a massive asset transfer and laundering operation in two months was nearly impossible.

"Go on."

Leo didn't lower the gun.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Alice immediately spoke:

"The Romano family alone couldn't do it... We had another family helping us behind the scenes. A family with real power."

Mario's face changed drastically, "Alice! Are you crazy!"

Leo fired a shot at the ground by Mario's feet.

Concrete fragments flew.

"Did I ask you to speak?"

Mario trembled all over and didn't dare make another sound.

Leo looked back at Alice, "Continue."

"It's... It's the Drake family."

Alice said the name, trembling.

"The Drake family from New York."

Olivia frowned in the shadows.

That was a real giant.

The Drake family's influence in New York was ten times greater than the Romano family's in Chicago.

They not only controlled the underworld but also had a legitimate business empire as cover—multinational investment groups, private banks, offshore funds...

To launder billions of dollars in assets, you really would need that level of resources.