Chapter 33: What’s Passing and What’s Coming

Rushing into someone else’s life isn’t wise. It’s like feeling discomfort in your nose and someone suddenly tries to pick it for you. Regardless of whether they hit the right spot or if it feels good, your first reaction is disgust—because they’re using their fingers in your nostrils.

Feelings, life, and family are the same. Lynch gently hugged the drowning Vera and let go, asking with concern, “Are you okay? You look really bad right now…”

Her face and lips were pale, as if shocked. She looked up at Lynch, quickly looked away, and began packing. “I have some things to handle and want to take a leave. I hope you’ll approve…”

Wiping tears while fiddling with her belongings, Lynch nodded and agreed. “Of course, it’s your right. Also…”

Vera looked at him, and he looked back. “If you need any help, call me!”

Grateful, she squeezed his arm once, then quickly left. Gap had a social engagement today, and she felt some things were better seen with her own eyes. Maybe… she needed an excuse to fool herself and keep going.

Or maybe she wasn’t ready to admit the truth and needed evidence to deny it.

After Vera left, Lynch waited about three hours. Richard and his team came twice during that time, with more money and faster exchanges each time.

Whether the other two gave Richard favors or for some other reason, Richard revealed how he quickly turned all the money into small change. This made transactions between Lynch and Mr. Fox more frequent.

After 3:30 PM, Lynch told them to keep collecting and come back tomorrow morning to exchange. He checked the money and handed it to Mr. Fox’s people, then chatted on the phone with Mr. Fox.

“Lynch, many people in Sabin City are now using your method to get money into banks, you know?” Mr. Fox spoke calmly, simply stating a fact.

As Mr. Fox’s money flowed faster into the banks, others in this business learned how he did it. They started doing the same—turning money into small change, declaring taxes, and depositing it.

But unlike Mr. Fox, they had no middleman and paid no extra 10% fee.

Some under him asked why Mr. Fox kept good relations with Lynch instead of bypassing him to save the 10%. That percentage on hundreds of thousands or millions was a lot.

Mr. Fox was tempted but hadn’t tried it himself. He told Lynch and wanted his opinion.

Lynch said Mr. Fox fit his name perfectly. After a pause, he said on the phone, “It’s hard to find a mosquito among a thousand flies, but easy to find a fly among a thousand mosquitoes.”

“When only we do this, no one cares. We’re a minority. But when everyone joins in, they will pressure some to act.”

“That will trigger a war. My only advice is…” He chuckled softly, “Don’t take money from others. Soon, you’ll understand why I say that.”

Mr. Fox worried, “Should we pause for a while?”

“No, no need. We’re doing legal business. Why stop? I even hope they inspect our transactions to clear our names.”

Lynch didn’t say the rest: if the tax bureau inspects and finds nothing, it’s free advertising, making more people want to work with him. But Mr. Fox didn’t need to know that.

After some trivial talk, they hung up. Lynch shook his head, took over some work Vera was supposed to do.

Vera taught him how to register income. The empire’s business is simple, so it’s not complicated.

He took the money to the tax office for certification, then to the bank. With tax registration, this money could easily enter the legal banking system.

When Richard and team come to exchange small change tomorrow, Lynch will just issue a cash check. Carrying too much cash is unsafe.

This avoids possible loopholes and improves bank and personal transaction records, boosting his credit rating later.

Later, he returned to the tavern’s second floor.

The hot summer was finally arriving. Without air conditioning or fans, the street-facing room almost became a steam chamber.

With rising temperatures, more customers came for cold drinks at night. The dancers performed harder, so the tavern stayed open until eleven or twelve at night.

The noisy environment was wearing on Lynch. With so much money, he considered buying a house—much safer and more practical than here.

While thinking about what kind of house and prices, there was a knock on the door.

He sat up, took a screwdriver, stood by the door, and quietly asked, “Who’s there?”

“Police, sir. We need to talk with you.” Lynch put the screwdriver in his pocket and opened the door slightly. Two officers stood outside in uniform.

They impatiently showed badges and said they were Sabin City police, or SC for short…

Lynch opened the door fully and let them in. They looked around casually but stayed by the door.

“Lynch?” one asked. Lynch nodded. The officer took out a notebook and pen and continued questioning, “There was a burglary here a few days ago?”

Lynch nodded again, gave the exact time and police station involved, matching the officers’ info.

“I saw the report. It said you lost a silver ring…”

“No, a gold ring, officer!” Lynch interrupted firmly and added, “Inside the ring it’s engraved ‘My Beloved Katherine.’ It was for my girlfriend.”

The officers exchanged looks, basically sure Lynch had no problem. The trouble was with the kid they caught.

They had identified young Michael and his family. They hadn’t expected Michael to be the only child of the tax investigation team leader, making the case tricky for the precinct captain.

They’d reported the case to other precincts and state police, including Michael’s ID and photo.

The information spread fast; nearly all state police had updates on the case.

Sabin City’s assistant police chief—an administrative deputy chief—wanted to persuade Lynch to settle privately. It wasn’t that they feared Michael, but wanted to avoid conflict.

He even hinted the officers that if Lynch dropped the case, he could get some compensation for losses. That was why the two officers showed up.