131: Chapter 131 The Manor is Under Control, and the Wealthy Family is Forced to Reveal Secrets

Then, Raymond's phone rang.

He glanced down at the number, answered it, and after listening for less than a few sentences, his expression shifted from taut to livid, then from livid to a pallor somewhere between shock and disbelief.

When he lowered the phone from his ear, his fingers were trembling slightly.

Rockefeller III and Samuel maintained their relaxed and comfortable posture; Samuel even picked up his whiskey and took a small sip.

"Let me guess, the call you just received was to inform you that the other armed strongholds of the Warren Family in Nevada have been completely controlled by our people."

"Reno, Carson City, the old district of Las Vegas, and the three backup safe houses you have hidden in the desert—all of them."

Samuel set down his glass and pointed at Raymond with his cigar,

"Everyone you Warren Family members deployed in those places is now just like you: guns still in hand, but not a single one dares to pull the trigger."

The reason Rockefeller III and Samuel brought only a small number of armed attendants to Spring Mountain Manor was that the majority of the armed forces of The Five Great Families, under the leadership of Isabelle DuPont, William Vanderbilt V, and Jacob Rothschild, had simultaneously controlled all the armed strongholds of the Warren Family distributed across Nevada within the same hour.

No one would come to support Spring Mountain Manor.

All of the Warren Family's armed forces throughout Nevada had been suppressed by The Five Great Families this afternoon.

Raymond's lips moved.

He wanted to say something, but his throat felt as if it were blocked by something.

He had followed Edward for over a decade, from Silicon Valley to the political arena, from data analysis to intelligence operations; in his heart, the Warren Family was the sky of Nevada.

And today, not only had this sky collapsed, but the person who had shattered it with a single punch looked incredibly relaxed, as if they were casually doing something so trivial it wasn't worth mentioning.

Rockefeller III looked at him, took the cigar from his lips, and gently flicked off the ash.

When he spoke, his tone remained unhurried, as if he were chatting with Raymond about some inconsequential matter.

"You just said that Nevada is the Warren Family's territory."

Rockefeller III rested his cigar on the edge of the ashtray and looked up at Raymond,

"Then I'm telling you now, the entire Lighthouse Country is the territory of The Five Great Families."

"So you should know what to do."

Raymond was silent for a moment, then slowly stepped aside, moving the body that had been blocking Link.

His movements while clearing the position in front of Link were slow and heavy, like a chess player who had been checkmated, personally pushing his own king down on the board,

then he raised his hands to shoulder height, palms open, took two steps back, and signaled for the surrounding Warren Family loyalists, who were still holding their guns in bewilderment, to put down their weapons.

He was a smart man, a Silicon Valley genius, an intelligence veteran, and a political aide.

One of the hallmarks of a smart man is not wasting anyone's life in the face of absolute power.

The Warren Family loyalists, who had just been glaring fiercely at Rockefeller III and Samuel, now had their expressions completely changed.

They watched Rockefeller III and Samuel sitting on the sofa, continuing to sip their whiskey as if nothing had happened,

they watched the small number of attendants brought by these two old men easily control the young master they had been dying to protect,

they watched Raymond Carter, who had just been imposing and swearing loyalty, now bowing his head with his hands raised high,

these loyalists, who had been devoted to the Warren Family for three generations, finally realized that the two people before them were not the usual competitors of the Warren Family; they were completely different from senators, casino owners, or gang leaders.

In the face of a true behemoth, loyalty could not change the physical gap in strength.

One by one, they lowered their guns.

Rockefeller III stood up from the sofa, walked over to Link, bent down, rested one hand on the armrest of the sofa, and took out his phone, handing it to Link.

His movements were kind and gentle, like a neighbor's grandfather showing family photos to his little grandson.

"Come on, young master, make a call to your Dad."

...

About two hours later, Edward Warren rushed back to Spring Mountain Manor in Nevada from the Starship Base in Texas.

On the way, he had already received calls from both Raymond and Link, roughly understanding what had happened:

The armed forces of The Five Great Families had simultaneously controlled all of the Warren Family's strongholds in Nevada; Link was under their control, and they had made no ransom demands, only asking him to return to Spring Mountain Manor to talk in person.

When he pushed open the French floor-to-ceiling window of the manor's main building and walked in, his mind had already automatically arranged several contingency plans,

from armed rescue to political negotiation, to intelligence exchange, each with different costs and odds of success.

Then, all his plans were scrapped when he saw the actual scene in the living room.

Rockefeller III and Samuel Astor were sitting on the sofa, chatting while smoking cigars and drinking whiskey; a few documents were spread out on the coffee table, along with a barely touched cheese platter.

Link was sitting properly on the single sofa next to them, like a primary school student kept behind by their homeroom teacher to finish homework, with both hands on his knees, his back straight, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

Seeing Edward push the door open, Link instinctively wanted to stand up and rush over,

but Rockefeller III just casually set the whiskey glass in his hand onto the coffee table.

The bottom of the glass tapped against the walnut tabletop, making a very slight, muffled sound,

Link immediately straightened his body again, head bowed, not daring to look at anyone.

Edward stood at the doorway, looked at his son who was scared like a quail, and then looked at the two old men on the sofa who showed absolutely no posture of coercion, and was silent for a moment.

He walked into the living room, sat down on the single sofa opposite Rockefeller III and Samuel, rested his hands on his knees, and spoke in a tone as calm as an opening statement for a routine briefing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Rockefeller, Samuel, I already know the purpose of you Five Great Families coming to Nevada."

"On the way here, my chief of staff and my son already told me the general situation; you are looking for the Fourth Prince of Zeta Star, Prince Dao Dun."

"I can tell you everything about Grey Alien, as well as matters regarding the Deep State."

Rockefeller III and Samuel simultaneously stopped their wine glasses.

The relaxed and comfortable arc at the corners of their mouths disappeared, replaced by a quiet and focused scrutiny.

The two said nothing, just rested their cigars on the edge of the ashtray, leaned back against the sofa, and just watched Edward quietly.

After waiting for so long, this was what they had been waiting for.