My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin-Chapter 32: Dirt Empire

The next morning, members of the Dominion filled the buffet.

With their numbers, they had mostly occupied all the rooms in this small hotel. Because of that, others had to stay in a nearby hotel since they couldn’t all be accommodated at once.

At one of the tables, Red and the four men with him ate their pancakes with strange blank looks plastered on their faces. Not just them, but everyone looked utterly confused at the moment.

The usual nonsense banter and careless chatter were nowhere to be heard.

Instead, there was only silence, as if no one was inside the buffet at all.

"Is she actually a lucky charm?" One of the men couldn’t take it anymore and muttered to himself. "That walking bad luck actually saved us from disaster."

Still in shock, he looked around the table. After a second, he laughed. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Hah... no way!" He shook his head. "Her tantrum saved us this time, but that doesn’t change the fact that the main deal we came for fell through."

But at this point, the nonsense laughter and consolation they were telling themselves were just excuses.

Many of them had joined Gustav last night, and they could all attest that things would’ve gone badly for them if they hadn’t moved first. Even a few of them had been injured as they raided several locations, and the mercenaries retaliated.

But nothing fatal on their end.

Just a few scratches here and there.

Most importantly, they discovered that these people had been waiting for the perfect chance to ambush them. And their main goal was Lucian’s head. Even Tommy was on their list.

With the armory they found there, it wouldn’t be impossible to assume that it would’ve ended in a huge disaster.

And they had avoided all of that because of someone petty—someone who chose a smaller hotel over a grandiose one.

"Was it really just a coincidence?" Another man at Red’s table lowered his head. Unlike the others, he was meek, deep in thought. "Is it just me? Or for some reason... it feels like she chose this district and this hotel for a reason?"

Everyone—even those at the other tables—turned to look at the man.

They all knew Ashley was the one who chose where they were staying. It wasn’t like she had specifically named this hotel, but from what they knew, she had been the one instructing them to take turns here and there while they searched for a hotel that would "suit" her taste.

"Somehow... it felt like she specifically led us all here," the same man muttered, though his voice was loud enough to reach the others.

Then, like everyone else, they lowered their heads again, deep in thought.

If this were merely a coincidence, Ashley was surely lucky. Her whims had accidentally saved them.

But for some reason, they couldn’t shake off the feeling that this wasn’t a coincidence at all.

Not to mention, this hotel just happened to be owned by Tommy’s wife, Liza.

While everyone was deep in thought, Ashley’s voice rang through the buffet.

"Good morning, everyone~!"

Everyone turned their heads toward the entrance, watching her skip inside. All eyes followed her, studying the bright energy around her until...

She reached the end of the table, only to trip and land face-first on the floor.

Everyone: "..."

"Ahh... hahaha," one of the men laughed, shaking his head as he looked at the others at the table. "There’s no way. We just got lucky this time, for sure."

Others nodded, chuckling.

"Very lucky, you mean? We’re just overthinking it since the outcome could’ve been disastrous for us. But we got lucky—the heavens are on our side."

One after another, they chuckled and dismissed the thoughts that had been bothering them.

After seeing that klutz of a woman—who knew nothing but how to cause trouble—there was no way she had done everything on purpose.

Well... they weren’t entirely wrong.

Ashley had specifically led them to this district, knowing it was the safest place for Dominion to be in. No one would touch this district, no matter what.

It was why Tommy didn’t need guards. The loyal people who had vowed to protect him until the end of time were also living in this district as ordinary citizens.

However, meeting Liza and ending up at this hotel was purely a coincidence.

She had simply chosen it because she liked the exterior.

It had a real homey feel.

"Ouch..." Ashley pushed herself up from the floor, dusting off her arm as she looked up at everyone eating heartily.

No one even approached her to help.

But that wasn’t surprising.

I knew these guys had really sharp instincts, she thought. Good thing one clumsy trip and a bounty full of hate are enough to cloud their judgment.

Ashley heaved a sigh of relief, knowing she had already erased the traces of her involvement in how things played out.

Lucian had already gotten what he wanted—actually, he had gotten more, she told herself as she rose to her feet, just in time for the staff to reach her.

I didn’t know Uncle Tommy’s connection involved the current president. He really is a veteran!

She blinked, staring in confusion at the staff who were talking to her.

"Wait a minute. But doesn’t that... feel a little scary, though?" she wondered aloud, confusing the staff even more.

"Miss Ashley?" the staff member called, puzzled as Ashley kept mumbling to herself. "Are you... alright?"

Did she hit her head that hard?

The staff’s eyes widened when Ashley lifted her gaze, revealing the small red bump on her forehead.

"Miss, your forehead—"

"Don’t mind me," Ashley waved at her and walked away from the buffet area, still muttering to herself.

As she walked away, she kept tilting her head from side to side, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Then, the moment she stepped out of the buffet, her eyes slowly lifted as her expression twisted.

"Holy cow," she gasped, her jaw dropping. "Did I overdo it?"

All she wanted was to avoid the disaster that would create cracks in the supposedly unbreakable fortress of Dominion.

But since she had avoided that disaster, Lucian had gained a formidable ally, and Dominion now had a much stronger and more stable political backing than before.

Lucian had a few politicians and government officials on his payroll.

But nothing of this caliber.

In other words, Dominion had just leveled up—and Ashley might’ve accidentally started a much bigger dirt empire.

Not exactly the kind of business she had ever imagined, though.

"That’s all good and all, but at the same time..." she trailed off, staring up at the ceiling. Her face twitched slightly.

"...doesn’t that mean we just threatened a few more formidable people with this alliance?"

"God damn it, Ashley," she mentally screamed. "Lesson learned!"

As she scolded herself, in some people’s eyes—especially those coming out of the buffet—there she was again, seemingly losing her mind for whatever reason.

*****

Gustav looked back at Lucian in the backseat.

"Sir, didn’t you say your business with Mr. Tomas fell through?" Gustav asked. "Shouldn’t we prepare to leave now?"

"After this meeting."

Deep lines appeared on Gustav’s face as he tried to figure out where they were heading.

"We have another meeting so soon?"

"Eyes ahead, Gustav."

Lucian stared at the passing scenery, his expression as distant as ever.

"That’s where the failed deal led us."

As soon as Gustav looked ahead, he caught sight of the distant white building of the country’s capital.

His brows drew together as he instinctively held his breath. He turned back to Lucian in shock.

"The — the president?!"

Lucian stared out of the window for a moment before lowering his gaze.

The corners of his lips curled into a faint smile.

"She really is my lucky charm." He paused briefly. "Maybe... I can trust her a little more."