Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 51: Building a New Empire.

Days went by, and nothing out of the ordinary happened until they sat down to discuss the plans.

They gathered in James’ office, sitting around the table with plans in front of them.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

James was already stressed because he knew that his original plan was no longer going to work as intended. Hans and Hector had overcomplicated everything.

His only choice was to act, act as if everything had gone exactly as he wanted, even if it meant blood.

"So, what are you saying?" James looked at Hector. "That you’ve already sold all the White Magic?"

"Yeah." Hector smirked and slid a paper across the table.

James picked it up, scanning the numbers and names. His eyes narrowed as he quickly ran through the figures, what he saw only confused him more.

"1.1 billion?" He looked at Hector in shock.

"Yeah. I raised the price as you said and spread a whisper that we were leaving the market, only to our biggest buyers, of course. They panicked, thinking they’d never get their hands on this pure and rare product again. So, they started stress-buying, even placing money down in advance for the next shipment."

He leaned back, tapping the table with satisfaction. "Meanwhile, the market started shaking. What was once just a monopoly became an absolute monopoly. But don’t worry, it’ll stabilize after the last shipment arrives in three weeks."

James’ eyes widened as he studied the list. The wealthiest people in the country and even those from neighboring nations had bought it all up as if it were black friday.

"But you said the plants take weeks to bloom before they can be harvested…"

"Yeah, but like I told you before, they also grow in the jungle. So, workers are out there gathering whatever they can find, until the military reaches them"

James exhaled looking through the list and then, something caught his attention.

"And what about the resellers? I mean, Ivan Hurcs alone bought over a hundred kilos, I refuse to believe he’s sniffing all of that himself." He let out a short laugh.

Hector’s smirk didn’t fade. "That’s the second phase of the plan. Once we’ve sold everything, the resellers will start distributing what they bought. They think they’re in control now, but they’re still playing by our rules."

"But our camps in Dennus are middle of a warzone. If they cut off supply lines, it won’t matter how much stock the resellers have, eventually, the market will dry up."

"That’s exactly the point." Hector leaned back. "Once the resellers run out, demand will spike even harder. People will scramble for whatever’s left, paying insane prices."

"Alright, I get it. We squeezed the market, pushed demand to the breaking point, and got out before the collapse. But let’s be real, this won’t last forever. The moment people realize there’s no more supply, they’ll start looking for alternatives. How do you plan to re-enter?"

Hector smirked, tapping the table with his fingers. "We don’t need to Dennus. That place is a warzone now. But supply? Supply is never the real problem. It’s control that matters."

James narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

"First, we’re already working on shifting operations." Hector explained. "Dennus was just convenient, not irreplaceable. There are other regions where we can grow and refine the product, places where the government isn’t breathing down our necks. Our contacts are already securing land."

James nodded slowly. "And the distribution?"

"That’s the best part." Hector leaned forward "The resellers don’t realize it yet, but they’re about to become our new supply chain. Once their stock runs out, they’ll have no choice but to turn to us, and beg to us to came back. Except, instead of dealing with us directly, they’ll be working through shell companies and offshore routes. They won’t even know they’re back under our control."

James exhaled. "So, while the market thinks we’re gone, we’ll be the ones feeding it from the shadows."

Hector grinned. "Exactly. And since supply is low, we set the new price however we want. Higher than before."

James drummed his fingers on the table, his expression unreadable. "And what about the slums?"

Hector chuckled. "I was wondering when you’d bring that up." He leaned in. "The slums are key to our long-term strategy."

James raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"We can bring a new product into our portfolio, the Green Weed." Hans said.

James frowned. "Green Weed? Explain."

Hans leaned back glacing at Hector then started. "White Magic made the family rich, but it has limits. It’s expensive. It’s exclusive. And the slums are where desperation meets opportunity. Right now, everyone sees them as nothing but trash heaps filled with beggars and criminals. But for us? They’re the perfect distribution network."

James nodded slowly. "And Green Weed?"

"Green Weed is different. It’s not an elite product, it’s a culture. White Magic for the wealthy and powerful. Green Weed? It’s for everyone. The slums, the workers, the students the everyday people." Hector smiled.

James took a slow sip of his drink, his mind turning. "How safe is it?"

Hans shrugged. "Addictive, but if it’s pure, like White Magic, there’s no real risk. The problem is always contamination, not the product itself. That’s why the street dealers get people killed. They cut it, lace it, ruin it. But if we control the entire supply chain, Green Weed will be seen as something clean, something safe, something trusted."

James was starting to see the bigger picture. "So while the government is busy fighting White Magic, Green Weed spreads quietly, infecting every level of society?"

Hector nodded. "Exactly. And the best part? It’s legal in some places, or at least in a gray area. We don’t need to hide it like we did with White Magic. We infiltrate the supply chain, set up farms in the slums. We don’t sell Green Weed like a drug, we sell it as a lifestyle."

"So while the White Magic empire collapses under its own weight, Green Weed rises in its place… more stable, more widespread, and untouchable."

"Exactly. The world won’t even realize what happened until it’s too late. By then, we won’t just control the market, we’ll control society itself."

James leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the polished wood of the table. His expression was firm, his eyes calculating.

"And the plan to get the slums’ loyalty? How much money do we need to pour in?"

Hector smirked, expecting the usual conversation about market manipulation and supply control. "Not as much as you’d think—"

James cut him off. "I don’t want them to rely on drugs. I want to give them something real, food, housing, jobs. Hope."

Hans and Hector exchanged glances.

James continued, his voice firm. "White Magic made us rich, but it never made us anything more than suppliers. This time, we’re not just selling, we’re building. I want the slums to see us as the ones who gave them a future, not just another group taking from them." He leaned forward. "How much will it take to fix Sierra Slum?"

Hector exhaled, rubbing his chin as he did the calculations in his head. "Sierra Slum has about 20,000 people, right? If we want to run proper food programs, we’d need enough to feed them every day. That’s around 30,000 to 50,000 dollars a day, depending on quality. Monthly, that’s 1.5 million."

Hans nodded. "Housing’s the real problem. The slum’s infrastructure is falling apart. If we renovate existing buildings, we could work with about 100 to 400 million, depends on how bad it is."

James processed the numbers, then asked. "Total?"

Hector leaned back. "If we want real change, around 400 million."

James didn’t hesitate. "We do it."

Hans raised an eyebrow. "That’s a lot of money to pour into a place no one cares about."

James smirked. "Exactly. No one cares, except the people living there. And when we’re the ones who gave them a future? They’ll never forget."

Hector chuckled. "We make them depend on us?"

James shook his head. "No. We make them believe in us, but don’t want our name attached to any of this."

Hector nodded, already understanding. "So we funnel the money through a front, some humanitarian organization, a real estate firm, maybe even a trade group. On paper, it’s just another development project."

"And behind the scenes, we bribe the right people, grease the wheels, and make sure everything runs the way we want." Hans added.

James tapped the table. "Exactly. We don’t need the spotlight. What we need is control. We put the money in, we build the infrastructure, we hire the right people, but the public face of it? Completely clean."

Hans leaned back, thinking. "Alright, then we’ll need key players. Officials to approve the projects. Contractors to build. Local leaders to sell the vision to the people." He smirked. "We’ll make them think it’s their idea."

James nodded. "And the workers?"

Hector chuckled. "Easy. The locals. We hire from the slums, make them feel like they’re part of something bigger. That way, they’re invested. They protect what they build."

James exhaled. "Good. Pay off inspectors, city officials, whoever stands in the way, make them move." He said and pushed his chair back and stood up. "Let’s start after Charlotte’s birthday. Until then, I want to relax a bit."

"We will do our best." Hector stood up to.

"Yeah, by the way, what are you going to buy her?" Hans asked switching the heavy atmosphere they were in.

"A horse that can outrun the IRS." James said laughing.

Hector looked at James. "I need a lot of them."

After a shared laughthey all went outside to the garden, where Rafael was sitting with Charlotte, a brush in hand as he carefully painted on a canvas.

"Like brother and sister." Hans mused, stretching as he observed the two.

"Yeah." James said with a small smile, watching them for a moment.

James clapped his hands. "Come on, Charlotte. Let’s go get some ice cream."

Charlotte’s eyes lit up as she immediately jumped to her feet and ran over to him. "Let’s go, Daddy!" she said excitedly, grabbing his hand.

Hans chuckled. "Ice cream, huh? What a good life. Meanwhile, I gotta go see Sophia…"

Just as he was about to leave, Rafael suddenly spoke up. "Can I go with you, Hans?"

All of them turned to look at Rafael.

"To Sophia?" James asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well," Rafael scratched his head, "if you’re talking about Sophi Conti I’m pretty sure she lives minutes away from a library."

James thought for a moment then said "You can."

"I actually came with my own car… you know, the coupe." Hans scratched the back of his head

James sighed, realizing the issue. It wasn’t armored.

"I’ll take the coupe with Charlotte." James decided." He glanced at Hans. "You take the SUV with Rafael."

Hector and Hans exchanged looks, it was too risky. They had just shaken up the market, flipped everything upside down, and now James wanted to go out without security or an armored car?

"You can’t step out without security, you know why…." Hector tried not to say too much before Rafel and Charlotte.

James glanced down at Charlotte, who was still holding his hand, beaming up at him with excitement.

He sighed. He wanted a chill ride and a father and daughter moment. But he also knew Hans and Hector were right.

"I still go with the coupe, and one car follows. That’s it." James said firmly.

Hans clenched his jaw. "James—"

James raised a hand, cutting him off.

"I’m not walking around like some paranoid dictator. I go with Charlotte in the coupe, and a single security car follows at a distance."

James knelt down to Charlotte’s level. "Ready to go?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

So they did. Hans gave James the key to his coupe while he got into a black SUV with Rafel.

But before they drove off, Hector did what James didn’t want and ordered the guards to follow him with two cars.

And Hector’s decision saved James life.