District Chief's Office
George Hughes's phone suddenly rang. Without taking his eyes off the documents in his hand, he reached over and picked it up.
As soon as he answered, an anxious voice came from the other end:"George, what kind of death wish is your son trying to make?"
George froze. "What do you mean by that, Ethan?"
Ethan said, "You've heard about the Starlight Bay project, right? You know how much attention and backing it's getting?"
George replied, "Of course I've heard. That's probably the biggest project in City for the next few years."
"This is normal—it's tied to the city's entire tourism redevelopment plan. If tourism flourishes, it'll massively boost GDP."
"My Riverside District is right next to Midtown, and the new infrastructure—roads, transit lines, power grids—all require my district's cooperation. How could I not know about this?"
"But what does that have to do with my son? Don't tell me that idiot actually tried to get involved in it?"
"That fool—no matter how much trouble he wants to cause, he can't be this reckless. That project isn't something he can even touch!"
As George spoke, he was already reaching for his desk phone to call his son. If the boy really tried to meddle in that project, he had to stop him immediately before he did something irreversible.
But then Ethan chuckled grimly over the line. "Get involved in the project? The kind of death wish your son's making is far worse than that."
George's heart sank. Worse than trying to compete for the Starlight Bay project? What could possibly be more suicidal than that?
Ethan continued, "Your son didn't just try to meddle in it. He used his connections in the Commerce Department, the Tax Office, and even the Economic Crimes Division to try and investigate Jason Carter—the man in charge of the Starlight Bay project."
George's breath caught, his face instantly draining of color.
He was the District Chief of Riverside—he had no direct authority over the Commerce Department, the Tax Office, or the Economic Crimes Division. His son, who had only recently joined the City Legal Affairs Office, had even less authority.
Using so-called connections to interfere with those departments was already a blatant abuse of power.
If it were just a minor issue, maybe George could have used his political ties to suppress it, make it disappear quietly.
But his son had overstepped in the worst possible way—he'd used influence to go after the developer of a project personally endorsed by the Mayor.
In other words, he had used his position to act against the Mayor's interests.
No wonder Ethan had called asking what kind of death wish his son was signing.
George's vision went dark for a moment, and he nearly dropped the phone. The problem was catastrophic—he didn't even want to imagine the consequences.
The position he had worked decades to secure, the influence he had carefully built over the years—it could all crumble in an instant.
And if this blew up, it wouldn't just be a demotion or reassignment. He might be outright dismissed from public office.
After that, he'd never hold another government position again—not even a remote chance at recovery.
But George Hughes had a strong mental fortitude, honed over years in politics. Forcing himself to breathe steadily, he asked,"Ethan, where did you get this information? Has it already reached your department? Tell me—is there still a chance to contain this?"
Ethan said over the phone, "I happened to be at the Economic Crimes Division earlier today and found out about it by accident. Fortunately, they already know who Jason Carter is and stopped the investigation before it escalated. The Commerce Department and the Tax Office have both suppressed their reports too."
"Those who worked with your son on this are probably in serious trouble. But since your boy isn't officially part of those departments, they're not touching him for now."
"If the matter stays buried and no one stirs it up again, then maybe—just maybe—it can still be salvaged."
"But the real problem," Ethan's tone turned grave, "is that the person your son offended hasn't spoken yet. If Jason says even one word to the Mayor, your son's career is finished. And you, George, won't be walking away clean either."
For the first time in hours, George Hughes saw a flicker of hope—like a drowning man grabbing a floating branch. His mind raced as he said quickly, "Then the most important thing right now is to earn Jason Carter's understanding."
Ethan replied, "Exactly. He's not only leading one of the Mayor's key development projects, but he also went to City Hall the other day with William. You should know what that means. The only way out for you is to plead for mercy."
George froze. Jason Carter went to City Hall with William? That name alone said everything, he was the Mayor's closest political ally and the front-runner for the next mayoral race.
Who exactly was this Jason Carter?
But that didn't matter now. Whoever Jason really was, he didn't even need to flaunt his background—one casual remark to the Mayor could destroy everything George had built.
Ethan added sharply, "And another thing—rein your son in. Now. If he keeps acting like this, you won't have a chance to fix anything. The boy clearly hasn't been disciplined properly."
Being told that stung, but George didn't dare argue. He gritted his teeth and said, "Thanks, Ethan. Really. I owe you one. I'll deal with this right away and call you later."
The moment he hung up, George dialed his son, Rick Hughes.
Rick answered casually, unaware of the situation. "Dad? What's up? I'm still at work. Didn't we agree not to mix family and department stuff dur—"
"Shut up!" George's roar made the windows tremble. "You idiot! Do you have a death wish? How many times have I told you not to cause me trouble? There's always someone higher up—and plenty of people we can't afford to offend! If you want to ruin yourself, fine, but don't drag me down with you!"
Rick was stunned. His father had scolded him before, but never like this—never with that kind of panic in his voice. "Dad… what's wrong? I haven't done anything lately."
George's chest tightened with fury. He couldn't even bring himself to explain. Instead, he directly forwarded the city's latest policy memo about the Starlight Bay Development Project.
Rick skimmed through it, confused at first—until he saw the bolded name listed as Project Director: Jason Carter.
The color drained from his face. He felt his knees weaken and gripped the edge of his desk to stay upright.
Even with his limited political sense, as a new staff member in the City Legal Office, he understood what this meant.
He had tried to investigate Jason Carter. The man behind the Mayor's flagship development project.
George's next words hit like a hammer: "Word is, Jason Carter personally went to City Hall with William that day. Do you have any idea what that means?"
RIck's face turned deathly pale. He couldn't even form words.
He had just wanted to impress a female streamer—show off a little influence.
And somehow, that idiotic move had ended with him offending the Jason Carter.
If he had known who he was dealing with, forget the streamer—even if she had been a goddess, he would've dropped her in a heartbeat.
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