Chapter 102 — Before Leaving, Karen's Request
The restaurant wasn't far from the safehouse. The four women only walked a few minutes before returning to the building.
They opened the door—
and immediately saw William in the living room, leaning back on the couch, calmly smoking as if nothing in this world could trouble him.
"Boss."
All four of them greeted him respectfully.
Of course, Nastya and Tasha only bowed—they didn't speak.
After all, in front of outsiders, they still had to keep up the act of being deaf-mute.
William tapped ash into an empty tray and stood up.
"Everyone's here? Good. Then we'll skip the small talk."
He turned toward the stairs.
"Come with me. Basement."
---
William led them downstairs.
The basement was large—
but the pile of weapons occupying nearly a quarter of it made it feel even larger.
It wasn't just a stash anymore.
It looked like a small-scale arsenal.
Svetlana's eyes widened so hard they almost popped out of her skull.
Her heart instantly turned cold.
Because she'd been down here that same morning.
She remembered clearly—
none of this had been here.
Which meant…
All these weapons had been moved in while they were out eating.
And that was what terrified her the most.
This much firepower—pistols, rifles, crates upon crates—
even if evening wasn't exactly "daytime," the streets outside still had plenty of pedestrians.
So how the hell did William move all of it in so openly…
without attracting police attention?
The more she thought about it, the more horrifying William became.
This wasn't just a "connected guy."
This was someone operating in a dimension above her.
---
As for Nastya and Tasha—
they didn't question anything at all.
To them, the man who could heal their disabilities with a touch wasn't human.
He was divine, and divinity didn't need explanations.
Mandy, on the other hand, was pure lovesick loyalty.
William said it, therefore it was true.
She never doubted him—never even considered doubting him.
---
William gestured toward the stacked crates.
"As you can see, this is the inventory you'll be selling for a while."
He paused, eyes calm and cold.
"I'll be leaving Chicago for a bit."
"How long? I don't know."
"So before I go, I need everything to be steady."
He scanned their faces one by one, letting the weight of his words settle.
"During that time… you'll be handling everything."
Svetlana swallowed hard and nodded immediately.
"Yes, Boss."
With this, Svetlana's side of things was essentially settled.
William was about to turn back upstairs—
when Svetlana hesitated, then spoke carefully.
"Oh—Boss… there's something I think I should warn you about."
Svetlana swallowed hard as she spoke.
She was terrified of saying the wrong thing—terrified of offending William.
"What is it?" William asked.
"Well… here's the thing. We've accumulated a good amount of cash now. But none of it can see the light of day."
William glanced at her. "So? You want to launder it?"
Svetlana nodded. "Exactly. My suggestion is we open a business that handles lots of cash payments—like a diner, a laundromat, or a bar. That way we can run the money through the books and make it legitimate."
She paused, then added carefully:
"Of course… only after paying the IRS its share."
When she finished, Svetlana looked at William with a cautious, almost hopeful expression.
She was gambling.
Gambling that whatever organization stood behind William wasn't already laundering for him—meaning her plan would make her indispensable.
If she controlled the ledger…
then she would hold leverage.
And leverage meant she wouldn't be casually discarded when she stopped being useful.
William studied her for a moment.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Good idea. Since you brought it up, you handle it."
He said it calmly, as if assigning someone to buy groceries.
"I assume you wouldn't have suggested this unless the cash on hand is already enough to get it started."
"…Right?" His gaze sharpened slightly.
William was correct.
Svetlana did have enough cash to do it.
In fact, she'd been thinking about it for a while—because if she could turn dirty income into clean income in America, her green card plan would become much easier.
She had no intention of living as an illegal immigrant forever.
Svetlana had ambition.
She wanted to climb. She wanted to win.
---
But after agreeing, William's mind shifted to another issue.
Svetlana was smart—smart enough to think beyond street-level cashflow.
Which also meant she was smart enough to become dangerous if left unchecked.
And right now, among the women in front of him, none of them could match Svetlana intellectually.
William would need someone—someone equally sharp—to keep her balanced.
To restrain her.
To counter her.
But I'm leaving soon, he thought. I'll deal with that after I get back.
---
With that, the arms operation on the South Side was properly arranged.
The business would continue even while William was gone.
Now came the remaining task:
his women.
But there wasn't much to "arrange," really.
All he needed to do was notify them that he'd be leaving Chicago for a while.
Mandy and Fiona already knew.
So he still had to inform Bianca, Amanda, and Karen.
As for Veronica Donovan and Theresa?
Those were strictly casual—no notice needed.
---
That night, William went back to campus and told Amanda he'd be leaving Chicago.
He used the gun business as his excuse.
The next day, he visited Bianca.
After he explained things, she only told him to be careful.
She didn't ask what he was really going to do.
---
That evening, William showed up at Karen's house.
Maybe because of his interference, Karen remained the same old Karen.
William couldn't lie—he felt a slight sense of regret.
He wouldn't get to see Karen with black-dyed hair.
---
They lay together in Karen's bed.
"Daddy… again?" Karen murmured, eyes half-lidded.
William shook his head. "No. I'm not trying to kill you."
He pushed himself up from the bed.
"By the way—tomorrow I'm leaving Chicago for a while. During that time, behave."
Karen smiled sweetly at him. "I know. You already told me."
"I did?" William frowned. He genuinely didn't remember.
The past few days of planning had left his mind a mess.
"Mhm~ You did. Don't worry. I'll be good~"
And this time, it wasn't even a lie.
After getting used to William's… intensity, she honestly didn't think other men would even interest her anymore.
They all felt weak.
---
Seeing her so obedient, William didn't hesitate.
He pulled out his wallet, removed a thick stack of bills—around one or two thousand dollars—and tossed it to her.
"Here. Spending money."
Karen's face lit up. "Thank you, Daddy~"
To her, being kept like this wasn't bad at all.
Honestly?
She could live this way forever.
Then she hugged his arm again, voice turning soft and pleading.
"Daddy… can you do something for me?"
"What is it?"
Karen blinked. "Can you give me a gun?"
William narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you want that for?"
For a split second, an absurd thought flashed through him—
Is she about to shoot her own father?
But with Karen, nothing was impossible.
She was the kind of girl who would pee on her dad's grave without blinking.
So killing Eddie?
William wouldn't even be surprised.
"I just want to scare Eddie," Karen admitted honestly.
William's presence had softened her emotional breakdown compared to canon—but she still hated Eddie.
She just hadn't crossed the line into wanting him dead.
William sighed. "No. Don't. If you mishandle that thing, you'll end up in prison."
"As for Eddie…"
He leaned back onto the bed and wrapped an arm around Karen's waist.
"I'll deal with him."
Karen's eyes sparkled. "You will?"
William's lips curled slightly.
"How do you want him punished?"
Then, half-laughing, half-serious—
"Want me to… make him and impotent?"
Karen's face brightened instantly. "You can do that?"
At that exact moment—
A system notification flashed into existence.
[Ding! Detected mission: Eddie Jackson—an irredeemable pervert. A creature like this deserves castration. Host must capture Eddie Jackson and perform the punishment.] [Reward: Master Swordsman Experience.]
William's face twitched.
"…Karen," he said slowly, "let me teach you something."
"Sometimes… if you want something done, you don't have to do it yourself."
"Now that you've got money, if you want revenge, there are plenty of people out there willing to do ugly things for cash."
Karen still looked uncertain.
After all, she was just a girl—
if she got too close to those kinds of people, what if they turned on her?
What if they robbed her instead?