CHAPTER 934: CHAPTER 934 THE TRUE SUCCESSOR

Leo was genuinely surprised by how much Hera knew. He had assumed she only knew about his identity as Black Puma and nothing more. After all, information about the underworld wasn’t something outsiders could easily access unless they had their own factions operating within it.

But the fact that Hera, without her own mafia ties, had still managed to uncover this much left both Leo and Luke stunned. It could only mean one thing: Hera’s people had already embedded themselves somewhere deep within the underworld, gathering intel from the shadows. And if that was the case, then maybe... working with her wasn’t just a good idea, it was a necessary one.

This only further proved the skill and efficiency of Hera’s subordinates. But it wasn’t just thanks to Gerald’s people and their competence; it was also because Hera cleverly used the novel as a guide to direct her people to where they needed to be.

Her strategic foresight, along with her constant reminders to monitor the underworld closely, played a major role in their success. After all, Hera was still trying to get to the bottom of the case involving the missing women, an incident that had deeply implicated Minerva.

She had a strong feeling that this mystery held significant weight in the overarching plot. Uncovering the truth could either help Minerva clear her name or confirm that she was never meant to escape punishment.

Either outcome would lead to the second female lead’s downfall, just like what had happened to Alice, or being saved, and for her to finally escape her role in the storyline.

Leo’s head snapped toward Hera, his eyes wide with disbelief. He hadn’t expected her to know this much, especially not about his past and the truth involving that man."How do you know all this?" Leo asked, stunned.

"Well, remember the missing women linked to Minerva? Those cases were serious; if they were ever officially pinned on her, she could face life imprisonment or even execution, considering the number of crimes involved and the fact that many of those women turned up dead. Since we didn’t have any concrete leads, I asked Gerald to closely monitor the movements of each faction. I had him focus particularly on the Western and Southern ones."

"So when the new boss from the Northern faction made contact with the other two, Gerald was tipped off. That’s where we started, and from then on, we tracked every move they made."

"At first, like Gerald mentioned before, the people he sent out didn’t come back with much. But due to the ongoing turf wars and thanks to the recent actions from Luke and Dave, it became easier for Gerald’s people to infiltrate the underworld. They were able to take over some smaller gangs and criminal groups in the chaos."

"I’m also pretty sure Luke took advantage of that commotion to slip some of his people into both factions, too." Hera then turned to Luke with a knowing smile. Luke smiled back, wordlessly confirming her suspicion.

"And so, even though we didn’t manage to dig deeper into the missing women’s cases, we ended up uncovering other things, like this..."

Hera shrugged with a small smile.

At first, she believed the crowned boss whom Leo eventually overthrew was the real Black Puma. After all, in the novel, Black Puma was portrayed as ruthless and cold—a true villain. And that man fit the description perfectly.

More than that, the novel mentioned that when the old mafia boss of the Northern faction was ready to retire, he passed the mantle to Black Puma, who happened to be his godson. Black Puma accepted the position because he needed influence from both the light and dark sides of society, a strategic move to attack his enemies from all angles.

He might’ve succeeded, too, if Luke hadn’t been involved in the underworld as well.

Remembering these details from the storyline, Hera was convinced that the previous boss, the one who inherited the position from Black Puma’s godfather, was the real Black Puma.

But only now did she realize that she was wrong.

Maybe the reason Leo didn’t accept the mantle back then, unlike in the original plot, was because she didn’t die this time. Instead of keeping his distance and consolidating power like the original Black Puma, Leo chose to stay close to her, orbiting her at every possible chance.

And so, Leo gave up the position of Northern faction boss, and that man quickly seized the opportunity to take it. As soon as the old boss retired, he wasted no time reaching out to the Western and Southern factions, aiming to expand his illegal operations.

After all, being just an arms dealer wasn’t enough, not when compared to the massive profits from the drug trade. While smuggling weapons still brought in money, it couldn’t compete with the sheer scale and market of narcotics.

But the former Northern boss had always strictly forbidden involvement in such ventures. He believed in maintaining a certain code, treating their organization as a "better kind" of mafia. To the new boss, however, that mindset was limiting. He saw it as a wasted opportunity to grow into something far more powerful, an empire that could dominate all other factions.

In his eyes, the old boss simply lacked ambition.

Honestly, the reason Hera suspected Leo of being Black Puma wasn’t just because of her earlier deductions. In the novel, Black Puma, despite being cold and ruthless, never resorted to illegal methods, nor did he harm civilians. He couldn’t be considered evil or inhumane. His cruelty was reserved solely for those who had wronged him, and he was never unreasonable.

In contrast, the man who took over the Northern faction after Leo stepped aside had no bottom line and was clearly power-hungry. His actions didn’t align with the Black Puma described in the novel. That difference stood out to Hera.

Then, when she learned that Leo was the heir to the Hendrix family and her fiancé, everything started to make sense. It gave Black Puma a reason why he wanted to avenge her family’s downfall. Considering Leo’s personality and principles, it only reinforced her suspicion that he was the true Black Puma.

After all, he might act ruthless and cold, but he never stooped so low as to deal in narcotics, human trafficking, or anything that would ruin the future of the country just for the sake of power.

Yes, he is the villain, someone capable of burning the world and acting unhinged at times, but even he had a line he wouldn’t cross. And that, at least, was true to the character portrayed in the novel.

And maybe now, the reason he’s reclaiming his original position might be because he realized that being the heir of the Hendrix family alone wouldn’t give him enough power. Hera has too many enemies who want her dead, and if he wanted to protect her, he couldn’t rely solely on lawful influence; he needed authority in both the light and the dark sides of society.

Using all the information she had gathered, both from her own efforts and from what she remembered from the novel, Hera had managed to piece everything together. After spending so much time with Leo, she had come to understand him on a deeper level, which made her confident that her reasoning was sound. That’s why she dared to bring it up now. And sure enough, Leo didn’t deny anything she said, which only confirmed that most of her deductions were right.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Leo asked suddenly, his tone almost like a test.

But Hera simply smiled, unshaken and unwilling to back down.

"Since the position was originally offered to you, that already means you’re the rightful successor. Your ideals likely aligned with the former boss, and maybe that’s why he chose you instead of the man who now sits in your place. Perhaps the old boss had already seen through that man’s ambition and unsavory nature, which is why he never even considered him for succession."

"That also means the older boss’s loyal, long-time subordinates might still be on your side, quietly resisting the current leadership. But given how ruthless the new boss is, he’s likely silencing opposition through fear."

"He may have already killed some dissenters as a warning and is possibly holding the former boss hostage to keep the remaining loyalists in line. Killing all of the old subordinates would weaken his own faction too much and leave it vulnerable to being swallowed by rival factions. So instead, he uses the former boss as leverage, forcing obedience from those who would otherwise never follow him."

"And I believe you took advantage of that, too, to stir chaos within the Northern faction and spark infighting. That way, the people who were still loyal to the old boss would start pushing back and rally behind you. And just as expected, the other two factions seized the opportunity to fan the flames even further. Then, with Dave and Luke launching continuous attacks, things only worsened for them."