bChapter /bb573 /b

Bryan didn’t answer right away. Worried he might be unhappy, Santiago quickly added, “Mr Wilson, there’s no need to make it so nobody gets ba /bpiece of the pie, right?”

Bryan knew that after guarding the gold mine for so long, there was no way the vige chief’s family would be satisfied with just being bought off with a lump sum

He’d drawn such a hard line on purpose as he was waiting for the vige chief’s family to name their own terms, so he could keep the bupper /bhand.

Getting half the profits bwas /balready more than generous. Besides, the Wilson Group’s real objective wasn’t even the gold mine.

In the end, he raised his ss and agreed, “Here’s to a sessful partnership.”

Back at the hotel, Carmen pushed open the door and could just make out that there was someone sitting on the sofa.

From the bshape /bof the figure….

Carmen gasped, “Alvin?”

Sure enough, it was Alvin.

s Alvin.

He turned to look at herb, /bcalm and unhurried as he questioned, “So, what did you all talk about today?”

Carmen filled Alvin in on everything they talked about today.

As she spoke, she recalled matters concerning the gold mine and how Alvin had told her from the bstart /bto wait for Bryan and push him to work with the vige chief.

“That was my guess, Carmen thought.

Alvin didn’t exin further, but he probed, “What do you think about Bryan teaming up with the vige chief?b” /b

“Isn’t that a good thing?b” /bCarmen replied.

With the vige chief on their side, they’d have a bgreat /bshot atnding the project.

But Alvin didn’t help bher /bbjust /bso the Wilson Group could beasily /bsnag the bdeal/b.

“You fool!” Alvin snapped. “If the project bgets /bsettled this way, what does it have to do with you? All the credit will go to Bryan, and you’ll just end up

worse off.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Carmen asked, feeling lost.

No matter what kind of personal grudges she had with Bryan, at the end of the day, they were still family.

There’s no way she could bjust /bsit back and let Aubree snatch the project for herself.

Alvin let out a coldugh and uttered, “Mining without a permit is against thew.

“Bryan would never let himself get exposed to something like this, but if someone tips off the authorities and the vige chief gets taken down, Bryan might not be in real trouble, but he’ll have to face an investigation.”

“Once Bryan gets tied up in the investigation, you’ll be the only one left to speak for the Wilson Group. With the vige chief out of the way, and bI’ve /balready dealt with the toughest holdout in the vige,nding this project will be a walk in the park,”

Carmen was tempted by his suggestion.

She inwardly reasoned, ‘Alvin was absolutely right. If Bryan pulled this off, not only would he secure the project and an extra 50% of the gold mine’s profits for thepany, but when it came time to hand out rewards, I wouldn’t even get a taste of the benefits.

But if I went with Alvin’s n, I would be the hero who turned things around after Bryan’s blunder. That would put me in a whole different league.’

“At the end of the day, it’s your call,” Alvin said.

He wondered, ‘Which option would Carmen choose?

‘She was already working with me, and with something so clearly in her favor, of course, she’d agree.

3.42 PM

Carmen gave a charming smile band /bbagreed/b, “bIsn’t /bbit /bobvious? Of course I’m with youb. /b

“bI /brecorded btheir /bconversation btoday/b. Once bI’ve /bhad it edited, I’ll send it in as an anonymous tip.”

Alvin nodded in response, b“/bbYou /bneed to move bfast/b. Aubree’s probably making bprogress /btoob./bb” /b

“bA /bgold mineb?/bb” /bAubree blurted bout/bb, /bher beyes /bwide in surprise as she listened to what Bowen had just told her.

It was Bowen who had asked Ethan to look binto /bthis matter. Since bnone /bof them were in the vige bright /bbnow/b, Ethan was the only one who could move around bfreely/b.

b“/bWhen ites bto /btreasures hidden in the mountains, if it’s not ancient relics, it’s gotta be minerals,” Bowen exined.

‘Otherwise, the vige chief wouldn’t have just sat on it for years, too scared to make ba /bmove, he thought.

Aubree’s brow bfurrowed /binstantly as she murmured. This isn’t good!

“From what I bsaw /bin that bcar /btoday, Bryan must have gone straight to the vige chief to cut a deal. The vige chief can’t do anything with the gold mine, but Bryan definitely can!

Once they get past the vige chief, the rest is nothing.”

“Even if they tried to report the vige chief, there’s nothing anyone can do for now, especially with the county chief covering for him, ‘Aubree thought.

“Don’t worry about it, Bree,” Bowen said with a sly smile. “Just focus on persuading the other vigers. There are people who will deal with the vige chief and Bryan for us.”