Chapter 1274: Tracking

Hearing this familiar voice, William inexplicably fell silent.

In the end, he did not count as a qualified politician—a qualified politician would never hear these voices again in their lifetime, just like those people in the Gold Port City Bay Area who once controlled the city and the future trends of certain sectors across the entire state.

When they realized that something posed a threat to their identity, status, power, or possessions, the first thing they thought of would not be how to peacefully resolve the trouble, but to resolve the trouble itself.

There were many oil drums under the water of Angel Lake that had to do with them, those victims.

Previously, Lanse had also asked William how he intended to handle this matter, whether he needed—to send her away, whether to a foreign country or to God's side, but William said he could handle it well.

He gave her a sum of money, then arranged a job for her, and the matter was considered settled there.

But, was it really settled?

Before, it was the little secretary who kept silent; this time, it was William's turn.

After speaking up, the little secretary on the other end of the receiver seemed to possess more courage: "Why aren't you speaking?"

William's emotions at this moment were beyond words; he coughed, "I'm listening."

"They said—you have something to ask me?"

Women are sometimes like this; they can change instantly between being conservative and aggressive. She immediately became very combative: "I need a recommendation letter, it's—a recommendation letter for my son."

"I applied to several better private schools for him, but because we don't have any prominent background, we were rejected."

"They gave him some questions, and those questions were a bit difficult."

"You know, the situation with public schools is very unstable and terrible right now. I only have him, and I want him to have a better future. I've looked for many people, but there has been no way at all. Only you can help me, in this matter."

Hearing such a long speech, William's dantian tightened, making him feel a bit pained. "No problem, the recommendation letter is no problem, but, that child—"

The word "child" was like a "keyword"; the little secretary's emotions became even more unstable. She almost shouted, "He has nothing to do with you, don't you dare have any designs on him!"

This somewhat hysterical defensive expression made William fall into silence once again.

He seemed to have realized that, besides Victor, he might have another child.

"He—is a boy, right?"

"I just heard you say 'him'."

Lanse had only told him that the little secretary had a child, not whether the child was a boy or a girl. When he heard that he had another son, he felt a very strange sensation.

Reason told him that the best thing he should do now was to stabilize the little secretary and then call Lanse to tell him that a situation had arisen, which would pose problems for his subsequent campaign for Mayor of Manton and his run for Governor.

The best way was to nip this threat in the bud while it was still a "seedling," not letting it have a chance to grow strong. This was also the best choice.

Whether sending them to heaven or sending them abroad, while no one was paying attention to this mother and son, it was the best choice.

But William was, after all, not a bad person, not a completely qualified politician.

For most of the first half of his life, he had been holding coffee in his office, reading newspapers, and complaining, rather than thinking about climbing to higher rungs by stepping on someone's corpse or eating someone else's flesh and blood.

To be able to reach this point, this height today, honestly, had nothing to do with him; it was entirely Lanse pushing him from behind.

So, to make him harden his heart and kill this mother and son, he was slightly unable to do it.

The guilt in his heart toward this mother and son, and some—men are always like this.

When they have greater power, higher status, and more wealth, they always want to take care of more people, more family members.

The little secretary's irritable mood seemed to improve a bit; after a moment, she replied softly, "Yes, a cute boy."

"What is his name?"

"Herman, Herman Bliss."

Bliss was the little secretary's surname; this little boy followed his mother's surname, not his former father's surname. This was an even stronger indication.

William was now a bit at a loss. "How do you want me to help you?"

Perhaps some emotions had been vented in that hysterical roar just now; the little secretary's mood had stabilized. "Listen, I need a recommendation letter that can get him into that damn good school."

"Also—if you aren't too tight on cash, you can give me a sum of money. It's a bit difficult for me to raise him alone."

"Although the federal government's treatment of us is not bad, you know, I still need a nanny, and he hasn't had a private tutor yet."

"I watched the television; Victor is performing very well. He must have hired a very good private tutor."

Although these words were spoken without much tone or emotion, they gave William even more guilt. He agreed immediately, "No problem, I will help you prepare these things—"

He paused as he spoke, "I have to find a way to get these things to you."

"You can mail the recommendation letter and the check to me," the little secretary said.

She had been away from William and his work for a long time; now, her current job did not involve contact with the movements of the state's high-level officials. She had no idea that William was going to run for Mayor of Manton, or that he was preparing for a subsequent run for Governor.

If William were always just a Mayor of Hucheng and didn't consider going higher, then mailing would indeed be a good choice, at least they wouldn't need to meet.

But the problem lay in the fact that William still had to continue climbing higher. Checks are archived; if someone were to investigate this check, it would cause him some trouble.

You write a recommendation letter for a former employee, a single mother with a child born after she left your side—well, society's tolerance would allow you to do all this out of soft-heartedness and gentlemanliness; of course, there would be some slight discussion.

But it would be explainable after all. However, if—you also give a large sum of money, then that would be a bit hard to explain.

So, no checks; only cash. It would be best if not many people knew about this.

Now he had another headache; he didn't know how to tell Lanse about this, or how to continue handling it.

In his heart, he was already thinking of letting things go on like this; perhaps everything would be solved with time.

After considering for a while, he asked, "Are you free these next two days?"

"I'll give you the recommendation letter and the money."

The little secretary didn't care much; she gave an "um," "I get off work at six, and then I have plenty of time."

William thought carefully, "Tomorrow, tomorrow evening I will wait for you at the—café on—Road, to hand the things to you."

"You work over there, right?"

Outside the state government, there is a very busy commercial street. Many people come to the state government to handle affairs; they need things that can express their intentions, and at the same time, they need places where they can talk quietly.

So there are many restaurants, gift shops, luxury shops, banks, parks, and of course, good cafés on this street.

"I know that place. See you tomorrow then."

After hanging up the phone, William had a headache. He wanted to call Lanse several times, but in the end, he didn't make the call. He still hadn't figured out how to tell Lanse about this.

Subsequently, he called his own Terry and asked Terry to help write a recommendation letter. The reason was also very simple.

He had already arranged for his own child and Lanse's child to go to school; if he were to recommend someone else's child to go to school, it might—look a bit unsightly.

After all, this was the best private school in Manton, and he didn't want to be seen as—that kind of person who abuses his privileges.

Yes, in federal society, writing a recommendation letter is also a kind of "privilege." If used too frequently, it's not very good.

Although Terry didn't know why William was so cautious, based on the core principle that everyone was on the same boat, he still easily wrote a recommendation letter for William, recommending a friend's smart child to "give it a try."

The letter was written in a standard way, but this "give it a try" was definitely not a common expression, but a declarative sentence—you must admit him!

This is the importance of federal recommendation letters. Sometimes, girls about to enter society, for the sake of a recommendation letter that would allow them to intern at a large enterprise, would even go to bed with those forty or fifty-year-old men, and not just once.

The letter was quickly sent over by Terry's trusted aide. William expressed his gratitude, and then he went to the bank to withdraw fifty thousand dollars.

Although it wasn't much, it was enough for her to take the child and use it for a period of time; one or two years should be enough.

After a year or two, perhaps he could find a better way to get along.

In the evening, Emily chatted at the dinner table about some things regarding visiting the school. She noticed that William was always distracted. "Are you not feeling well?"

William came back to his senses; he shook his head, "No, I'm fine, just considering some work matters."

Emily reached out and grabbed his hand, "If you feel tired, you can rest. People can't always be running. If you run for too long, you also need to rest. We aren't cars; we can't keep running just because we have fuel."

William held her hand back and revealed a smile.

At night, he hugged Emily, burying his head in her chest, and fell into a deep sleep like a child who had made a mistake.

The next day, he was busy with work all day. Until evening, when he passed by the street outside the municipal government, he had the driver stop outside a café.

"I want to rest for a while; you wait for me in the car," he said, then entered the café and found a relatively hidden corner to sit down.

At the same time, in a car diagonally across the street, a reporter was continuously taking several photos of William's back as he finally entered the café.

"We've been following him for several days now, and there hasn't been a single piece of valuable material. Are you sure we still need to follow him?"

The driver sitting in the driver's seat was the reporter's partner; he couldn't help but complain a few times, "If we went to follow someone else, we might have already dug up some valuable news, just like a few days ago!"

He was talking about the mayor who had withdrawn from the program because of a scandal. Although it didn't cause any obvious and serious consequences, that mayor's path of ascent could be said to have been cut off.

The reporter who broke this news gained huge attention. This kind of attention can be transformed into "value" at any time, and it is also the reporter's most important "wealth."

The reporter shook his head, "William's level of attention and popularity is very high. If we can dig up a scandal on him, the entire nation's audience will know us!"

His partner didn't see it that way, "Those gangs will also come looking for you. Don't forget, they all say William has gang connections."

The reporter licked his lips, "Compared to dying anonymously in a basement, would you still choose to die with a big shot under the spotlight?"

Although the driver didn't speak, this was precisely his best answer!

Soon, a woman dressed exquisitely also followed into the café. The reporter hurriedly took several photos.

The driver sat on the side and asked a bit boredly, "What's the use of shooting these?"

The reporter shrugged, "It doesn't need to be of any use to us; the audience will make up stories themselves. We just need to provide some things we've seen."

"Of course, it would be best if the two of them could have something going on—" he said, looking at his watch: 6:17 PM.

The little secretary who entered from outside the door soon saw William sitting in the corner. She walked over with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

She had dressed up specially for today's meeting; the hat she wore was also the kind with a layer of black veil draped over it.

This was a style that had recently become fashionable. In fact, it couldn't cover a person's face, but it could give people a—special aesthetic feeling.

"Long time no see," she spoke first, casually placing her handbag on the chair, then taking off her lambskin gloves.

William looked up at the little secretary; he was somewhat amazed. After all, a young lady who could move his heart couldn't be too ugly.

"Long time no see," he stood up and wanted to shake hands with the little secretary, but the little secretary hugged him instead.

However, this hug came very quickly and went very quickly. He only smelled a burst of fragrance, and then the person was gone.

Subsequently, the two sat down. The little secretary ordered a cup of coffee. She looked William up and down, "You look much better than before; your spirit is very full, and you've also become much stronger. It can be seen that your work and family are very happy now."

Talking about one's career and family in front of a former lover is somewhat awkward.

Because the happier his work and family are, the more it sets off his—ruthlessness in certain aspects, and the terrible situation the little secretary is in now.

He gave two dry laughs, then opened his handbag and took out the recommendation letter and the file bag containing the money. "There is fifty thousand dollars in here, and the recommendation letter, which can help you let Her—"

"Herman."

"Right, let Herman go to school. If the money isn't enough, tell me again."

The little secretary was somewhat surprised when she took these things. She thought William might only give her ten or twenty thousand; she didn't expect it to be fifty thousand.

Her handbag couldn't hold so much money!

But she wouldn't return it to William just because it couldn't hold it. "Are you in a hurry? Do you have to leave now?"

William glanced at his watch and fell silent for a while, "I have other social engagements in the evening," he found a reason for himself.

The little secretary had already achieved her goal; she knew how to act, "I still wanted to have a good chat with you!"

"Since you have other things—then we'll have a chance to meet again," she said, standing up again to hug William, "You go first; I have to go back too. The child is still waiting for me."

William nodded with some complex emotions. He put on his hat and soon left the café.

The moment he came out, the reporter across the street immediately started pressing the shutter. He noticed that when William was walking, the handbag that had seemed a bit heavy was now much lighter.

Just as he was still thinking about what had caused all this to happen, about two minutes later, the woman who had just gone in also came out.

In her hand, she was carrying a file bag, which looked like it contained quite a few things. The reporter subconsciously pressed the shutter continuously, recording the entire process, including the shallow smile on the lady's face.

He subconsciously looked down at the watch on his wrist: 6:19 PM, a little bit more.

The second hand ticked away, but it suddenly gave him a jolt; he even peed a little.

The reason he was so sure was because he felt a heat flow with an obviously abnormal temperature appear in his crotch.

But now, he didn't care about these things anymore; he realized that he might have caught a big story!

"We're going to make it big!" He grabbed his driver's arm and shook it hard, "We're going to make it big!"

Although the driver didn't know what had happened, he knew that the reporter's emotions were very excited, "Do we need to keep following?"

"Follow?"

"No!"

"Now we need to figure out who that woman is!"

"Follow that woman, understand?"

"Follow her; if you lose her, I'll kill you!"

For others, this might be slightly troublesome, but for reporters, it wasn't difficult for them to figure this out.

The little secretary didn't know she was being followed. She drove home, and after saying goodbye to the nanny, she hugged her son tightly.

The little boy could feel his mother's joyful mood at this moment, which also made his mood very good, following along with a silly laugh, "Did something worth us being happy about happen?"

The little secretary kissed his cheek hard, "We've settled the matter of you going to school!"

"Tomorrow, tomorrow I will take you to the school to report!"

This sentence caused the little boy's expression to solidify rapidly. He didn't know how he had messed up his entrance exam that day, but that place, that examiner, had left him with a huge shadow, even though the examiner was actually a nice person.

Perhaps feeling Herman's fear, her face was full of excitement, "Watch!"

"My dear, this time I'm going to let them understand that that was absolutely not an obstacle to your future, but a starting point. 'How they rejected you, they will have to accept you!'" ===== CHAPTER 1275 =====