Taking the Bait

A moment later, the Fills Family butler arrived at the top floor.

As he stepped out into the corridor, he happened to see the young lady chatting and laughing with an unfamiliar man.

Ever since the fallout with the Kenny Family, the Fills Family had protected Lily extremely well... this top floor belonged exclusively to the Fills siblings.

Who was this man?

When had he arrived? How had he gotten up here? The old man's hand holding the tea tray trembled slightly... but seeing the smile on the young lady's face, it seemed she knew this person and was in no danger.

"David... let me introduce you. This is a blood relative of the Fills Family. His name is Oboro."

Lily's hearing was sharp, and she sensed the butler's arrival before introducing him.

A relative?

"Mr. Oboro, hello."

The old man was also dressed in a suit, complete with a bow tie. Even his beard appeared meticulously groomed, giving him an elegant air.

He respectfully bowed to Oboro.

David had followed the old patriarch since his youth. He knew the Fills Family's circumstances very well... where had this supposed relative come from?

"Starting today, he will take my brother Fills Garu's place as the new family head," Lily said softly.

David stared at Oboro. "Yes!"

"Please... contact the family's upper management and have them come here for a meeting." Oboro smiled at the old man.

"Very well!"

David set down the tea, bowed to them both, and turned to leave.

"He seems to trust you very much..."

Watching the butler's retreating back, Oboro remarked.

"He watched my brother and me grow up... to me, he is no different from a father."

Lily replied, then asked, "You're purging the family's upper ranks because you're worried they might reveal your secret, aren't you?"

"Not just that... I looked into your family's situation a little. With Fills Garu dead, the people under him will definitely grow restless. Some may even start entertaining thoughts of rebellion and usurpation... isn't that sort of thing common among the Mafia? Aside from inheritance within the family, plenty of people rise through internal conflict... can you guarantee that every one of them is safe?"

As Oboro spoke, he walked away and waved a hand. "If you can't see it, then don't look. Listen to some music instead. It's getting late... good night."

"Good night."

Meanwhile, Butler David was truly efficient. Within a few hours, the managers overseeing the Fills Family's various businesses had all arrived at the group headquarters.

Quite a few luxury cars were parked outside the building, and the place bustled with people. Groups of Mafia members continuously greeted and escorted the leaders toward the conference room.

"David... why did you call us all here this late? What happened?!"

"Is there still no word from the boss?"

"Old man... I heard that... Boss Garu..."

Inside the brightly lit room, more than a dozen people sat around a long table, talking among themselves. They kept speculating about the family head's intentions and the bits of rumor they had heard. This time, the butler had summoned them in the family head's name.

So, they assumed Fills Garu had returned.

However, rumors had been circulating these past two days... they had not only been unable to contact Fills Garu, but even Kuga, Sam, and the others had vanished without a trace. They knew the boss had gone to Tandon to deal with someone... someone rather troublesome.

After waiting for a long time, the doors were pushed open. When they saw Butler David appear, the group immediately began clamoring with questions.

There was only the butler, with none of the familiar figures like Fills Garu in sight! "Everyone, please quiet down."

David walked to the seat at the head of the table and raised a hand to calm them. "This meeting was indeed called at the family head's instruction... but... it was the new family head."

"The new family head?"

The executives looked at one another in bewilderment.

When had they gotten a new boss? How had they not known? At that moment, footsteps sounded from the doorway.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw an unfamiliar man walk in.

"Who is he?"

Someone asked in a deep voice.

"Allow me to introduce him. This is Fills Mabor, a junior relative of the old patriarch and the new family head... Mr. Oboro. As the only remaining direct descendant of the Fills Family, Miss Lily made this decision a few hours ago," David explained.

"What kind of joke is this?!"

A fat, big-eared man immediately slapped the table and rose to his feet, his face filled with anger. "How can a decision like choosing the family head be made so carelessly... without even informing us!"

His small eyes darted rapidly.

No one present was foolish. David's words had already revealed one piece of information... Fills Garu was dead!

The rumors had indeed been true!

Though they were shocked, what they cared about more at the moment... was the choice of family head.

That meant... they all had a chance!

"Exactly!"

Other executives echoed their dissatisfaction.

"Are you questioning Miss Lily's decision?"

David's expression was blank. "With Young Master Garu gone, Miss Lily has absolute authority over the family!"

"What does a woman know? Are we supposed to hand the fate of the entire Fills Family to a blind girl... and bring in an outsider to be the boss!" The fat man sneered. In the past, he would never have dared show the young lady such disrespect, but now...

The butler's expression turned cold.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down."

Oboro, who had remained silent until then, was already standing beside the butler. He abruptly clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Everyone, please settle down!"

After speaking, he looked over the hostile faces around the table and casually said, "We called you here today... not to let you voice your opinions, nor to seek your advice. We merely wanted to inform you all, and incidentally... see you off."

See them off?

Before they could fully process Oboro's words, a swift black shadow had already leaped onto the table. Like a ghost, it flashed between the two rows of executives. The butler heard only a string of crisp cracks. By the time he regained his senses, Oboro was once again standing at the far end of the table.

As for the dozen or so family executives... without exception, their necks had been twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, their heads wrenched backward. They had stopped breathing.

Their expressions from the instant before death remained frozen on their faces.

"Find replacements for their positions from below. Preferably people who want to make a name for themselves, have ambition, and are reasonably capable... you definitely understand better than I do. I'll leave it to you!"

As though he had done something utterly insignificant, Oboro yawned and headed straight out the door. "I'm going to sleep!"

"Yes."

David came back to himself and bowed to accept the order.

On the top floor, Fills Lily followed Oboro's suggestion and had a maid play music in the room.

The music was gentle and relaxing... yet tinged with faint sorrow.

It reflected her current mood... though it was impossible to tell whether she was mourning her brother, Fills Garu, or paying tribute to the family managers who had suddenly died downstairs.

Butler David was indeed highly capable. After all, he had served the old patriarch. Within just a few days, he had stabilized the family situation, and the new executives had begun handling their affairs.

The change in family head and Fills Garu's death could not be concealed.

Oboro simply released the news.

He intended to announce it openly... while pinning Garu's death on the Kenny Family.

The feud between the Fills Family and the Kenny Family had not begun just yesterday. Lily's injury and her father's death had both been caused by the Kenny Family... so no one would doubt it if they said the Kenny Family had killed Garu as well.

This was utterly normal in the Mafia. The Kenny Family's territory bordered the Fills Family's, and everyone in the underworld knew the Kenny Family had coveted the casino business for a long time, eyeing it greedily.

And after the Fills Family suffered such upheaval, the first people unable to sit still would naturally be their neighboring "friends."

Less than a day after the news spread, Mafia forces throughout the region had heard about it...

"Have you found out?"

Inside an office, Kenny Family boss Gole held an expensive purebred cat in his arms as he questioned the subordinate who had entered after knocking.

"We found out... Fills Garu and the bodyguards around him are all dead... they also lost quite a few men, and their upper management has all been replaced. Their family has been severely weakened. That new family head, Oboro, is supposedly a distant relative of that old bastard Mabor... but something seems off. The Fills Family's upper ranks were all removed overnight. For an outsider like him to become family head without any warning, he is most likely not simple."

The subordinate analyzed the situation.

"As for the killer who took out Fills Garu... there are currently no clues. Their family has kept the matter tightly sealed, and few people know the truth... but they have continuously been spreading rumors that we were the ones who killed Garu..."

"Hmph. The one in the Fills Family with real brains is that woman... Garu only charged ahead on brute force and ruthlessness. Besides, the bodyguards around him were quite formidable too... casinos are places that make serious money. With money, the people he could hire would naturally be no slouches... but now... this is a rare opportunity."

"Interesting... if it were you, would you shelter the killer or your enemy?"

The subordinate shook his head.

Kenny Gole stroked the cat's back. "But... announcing a new family head so quickly, isn't that exposing their weakness? Or do they think... the Ten Dons will stand up for them? I'm afraid... even if the Fills Family were mentioned, the Ten Dons might not remember them..."

"Boss, do you think this is a trap?"

The subordinate caught his meaning.

"The Fills Family has been moving frequently these past few days. Most of their people have been stationed at their casinos to guard them, likely as a precaution... there are only a few left at the group headquarters..."

"There aren't many people at the group headquarters?"

Gole's eyelid twitched. The pet cat he had been fondly holding just a moment ago was suddenly seized by the neck and violently thrown away.

The cat let out a miserable cry.

"So Fills Lily and that butler called David may have already slipped away in secret, relocating their residence... even if they ran, the Fills Family's main businesses are still there... they are merely trying to prevent us from finding them! That building is the symbol of the Fills Family... abandoning even their headquarters, they truly are at the end of the line, utterly pathetic..."

"That new family head is only a scapegoat... someone put there to take the bullets, hehe! No wonder..."

Gole interlaced his fingers and pondered.

"Their family has a huge cash flow from the casinos, so we cannot delay... otherwise, they will soon use that money to replenish their manpower and restore morale. Even if we cannot completely swallow them, taking the Fills Family's group headquarters along with some casinos and biting off a nice chunk of meat would still be good..."

No matter what tricks they were playing, it was worth a try! "Go gather our men!"

"Also notify the people in Koke City. Tell them the Mafia will be conducting business tonight!"

"Understood!"

The subordinate nodded and hurried off to carry out the orders.