Empire of Shadows

“Push…”

“Holy shit, it hurts so much!”

Emily sat on the delivery bed, panting heavily. She had already given birth to one child, but the second one was still so difficult and painful!

She struggled and screamed, her whole body drenched in sweat.

With a feeling as if she had been constipated for nine months and was suddenly relieved, all her strength suddenly left her, and she collapsed limply on the delivery bed.

The nurse skillfully lifted the baby like a toy, checked his physical condition and reflexes, and then gave him two slaps.

Soon, the sound of a baby’s cries filled the delivery room.

For those who had just become parents, the little baby was too small, too soft. They didn’t even dare to touch him with any force, for fear of breaking him.

But for the nurse here…, she lifted the baby by his two legs and hung him up, and then spread a soft and fine baby blanket under him.

Just like a postman packing a parcel, she packed him up in a few casual movements, and then, with a casual scoop, she carried him and left the delivery room.William, who was so dizzy from pacing in the corridor that he could hardly tell east from west, walked over in pleasant surprise. A charming smile also appeared on the nurse’s face.

“Councilman Lawrence, it’s a boy.”

William pumped his fist and said “fuck” with a powerful, explosive sound, but he quickly realized that he couldn’t, or at least shouldn’t, say this word the first time a baby saw his father. While repenting for his rash action, he looked back at Patricia. “Sorry, I can explain.”

What he wanted to explain was his excitement at this moment, which showed that he was full of a longing for this boy!

On the contrary, it could also be said that Patricia, in a certain aspect, could not satisfy William’s needs for the future changes of the family.

The inheritance and succession of political power.

Patricia pursed her lips, a smile on her face. She took Lance’s hand and came to William’s side, her attention focused on the child.

“He’s so cute!”

The nurse thought that Patricia wanted to hold the child and was about to hand the child to her. She, like a startled little animal, took several steps back. “No, no, no, I… I can’t touch him. I’ll hurt him!”

The little thing looked very interesting. In his eyes, he was also really too fragile.

The nurse smiled and looked at the two men. “Do you want to hold him?”

“If not, I’ll have to take him back. He needs to eat something now.”

William wanted to touch him with his finger, but then felt that his finger was not clean and withdrew it.

Just looking at him already made him feel very happy, very blissful. “Take him to see his mother.”

The nurse carried the child back to the room. Perhaps because he had sensed the smell of his mother in the room, the little boy began to cry.

Although Emily was exhausted, she still held him in her arms.

The little fellow, having found his food, soon quieted down. His instinct made him full after not eating for long, and he even choked a little.

The nurse who was tidying up the delivery room saw this and reminded Emily, “You have a lot of milk. If the flow is too fast, it may cause harm to the little baby.”

“So if you feel your breasts are full before you feed him, you’d better squeeze it out, or…” she smiled, giving Emily a look that she could understand.

A married young woman is like this. She dares to say anything when she is with the same sex.

Emily nodded. “That bastard got lucky.”

She looked down at the little baby again. He hadn’t drunk too much. After all, he had just been born, and his stomach was only that big. He still needed time to clear the meconium before he could really start to eat.

Soon the mother and son were pushed out. The high-end midwifery package, which cost sixty dollars a day, made everyone here smile at them.

Of course, if William could let Emily stay for a longer period of time, their smiles would be even more sincere.

The first moment he saw Emily, William ran over. He hugged Emily and kissed her on the forehead. “You are so great, you have lit up my life, my dear!”

After hearing this, a smile spread across Emily’s cheeks. “You are so sweet, sweetheart!”

“But you have to let me rest now. And, there’s something only you can do. Come over later.”

Seeing her parents so loving, and a new life, the birth of a little brother, a layer of mist covered Patricia’s eyes. “This feeling is so good, Lance.”

“The birth of a new life…” she turned to look at Lance, “I want to be as great as Emily.”

Lance understood her thoughts and held her in his arms. “No problem, I’ll work hard!”

The birth of William’s younger son was also a not-so-small piece of news in the upper-class society of Golden Port City.

The three old uncles had discussed it at home for a long time, and in the end, they still did not deprive William of the right to name his younger son.

“Victor!”

“His name is Victor!”

Victor Lawrence, ignoring the few letters in the middle, this was his short name, simple, direct, the winner of the Lawrence family. Of course, this was a more beautified way of saying it. If you were to interpret it directly, it would be a bit too stiff.

This also showed how much William valued Victor.

The reason why this matter was not so small, and was still news, was because Arthur had come to visit little Victor with a gift. According to the “seniority of friendship,” he and little Victor should be of the same generation.

It was a bit messy, but who the fuck cared about this?

Arthur’s appearance had made more of the “old nobles” and “new nobles” of Golden Port City also flock to the hospital. The “old nobles” referred to the wealthy people in the Bay Area who had been cleaned up once.

They were now attached to Lance’s command and continued to enjoy everything that the power in their hands brought.

And the “new nobles” referred to the speculators behind the New Port District and the new Bay Area who had come here with Sidney before. They were re-entering this city and competing with the Bay Area.

Whether it was the old nobles or the new nobles, they were all very dependent on the support of Lance and Mayor Williams. If they did not support them, these people would be forgotten by this city in an instant.

So for a person like William, who was not actually a core member, to have a child could still alarm so many people, precisely because of Mayor Williams’s clear statement.

He had also shown his stance that no matter what, he would advance and retreat with Lance.

There were many reporters at the entrance of the hospital. They were standing outside the sidewalk, taking pictures of the cars that were constantly stopping at the entrance of the hospital, and the people who were getting out of the cars.

Some of the reporters, after taking pictures for a while, felt a little numb, and were amazed. All the people who came were prominent figures, and everyone had prepared one or several gifts.

This was the beauty of power.

In your world, all the ruled people will rise and fall with your actions!

In fact, these people didn’t have much to say when they came here. It was just a simple, less-than-five-minute pleasantry, and then they would leave a gift of at least a few hundred, and at most a thousand, or several thousand, and then leave in a hurry.

No matter how rational and calm William was, at this moment, he was also a little carried away.

During this period, he had gone to the ward twice to help Victor solve the problem of high milk pressure. Of course, it was definitely not to compete with him for anything, because in this matter, he was the real winner!

Every time he came out, his mouth had a faint smell of milk. At first, Patricia didn’t know what was happening, until Lance told her.

“How do you know so much?” The girl looked at Lance with admiration, stars shining in her eyes. But this question was indeed not easy for Lance to answer.

Fortunately, William came out again. As he walked, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his lips and the area around them.

Lance stood up and signaled that his cheeks were actually not stained. He wiped his cheeks again.

“He’s already asleep. I feel that just by looking at him, I can forget about time!”

This guy was smiling so hard he couldn’t close his mouth. Patricia’s attention was quickly drawn away. “Then can I go in and see him?”

“Of course, why not?”

“You are his older sister. In the future, he will need to rely on you and Lance more than on me and Emily!”

There was no problem with this sentence. No matter what, they would both be gone forty years earlier than Victor. This was an unavoidable matter.

When William was in his sixties, Victor might just be starting college, or just graduating from college.

Lance took out a cigarette. “Want one?”

William nodded repeatedly. “I need this right now!”

The two of them left the room and walked to the balcony. This was the room for the accompanying person, which cost fifteen dollars a day, more outrageous than a hotel. Of course, the decoration was naturally also very luxurious.

Lance closed the French windows of the balcony and gave William a cigarette. William leaned against the railing and lit his cigarette. He rested his elbows on the railing, his head tilted back, and exhaled the smoke from his lungs towards the sky.

His whole person, at this moment, seemed to be complete!

“What are you going to do with that woman?” Lance suddenly asked a disappointing question. William was stunned for a moment, and then quickly “cooled down.”

He changed his posture, his eyebrows knitted together. “I’ll give her a sum of money and have her leave.”

“She’s only been with me for a little over half a year. You know Emily… so, if I give her thirty thousand, that should be enough.”

Lance nodded. “I won’t interfere in your affairs, but you have to make it clear to her. It’s impossible for you to divorce Emily for her.”

“Let her give up her unrealistic fantasies.”

“By the way, when you were together, you didn’t leave any ridiculous evidence, did you?”

William shook his head. “No, I’m not that kind of person.”

Lance looked at him for a few seconds, and then nodded noncommittally. “That’s for the best. Cut it off cleanly, to avoid trouble in the future.”

“I can help her find a job on the Manteno side.”

With Lance’s current power, arranging for a person to work in a certain government department, or a certain enterprise, was just a matter of a phone call.

William did not agree directly. “I’ll talk to her first.”

(End of a Chapter)