Chapter 222: Arthur Meets Mary Again
Preparations for the garment factory were progressing steadily.
Davey himself didn’t have much to handle. Whether it was recruiting fashion designers from the East or purchasing state-of-the-art equipment, he neither had the right connections nor much room to intervene. All of it was being handled by Stella.
Colleges also had fashion design departments. Stella only needed to get in touch with the schools to secure a large number of outstanding graduates.
After all, the salaries Davey offered were noticeably higher than those at other companies, along with very attractive benefits. Even in the more developed cities of the East, such pay was considered exceptional.
Beyond the garment factories, Davey had also purchased more than a dozen commercial properties in Saint Denis. Whether used for rental income or other business ventures, they were clearly solid investments.
The security company had hired another group of employees as well. Davey’s workforce had now grown to around three hundred people.
Although income from the moonshine business was steadily increasing, rising expenses meant it still felt somewhat stretched.
Fortunately, production at the slaughterhouse was about to begin. Once the Saint Denis moonshine operation was fully underway, money would start flowing in without end.
Saint Denis, at the Land manor.
Davey lit a cigar and looked at Elisa.
“Elisa, I can trust you, can’t I?”
Faced with Davey’s question, Elisa replied respectfully, “Mr. Land, no matter what it is, I would never hide anything from you. You can always trust me.”
Hearing this, Davey nodded. “Good. Then there are some things you should know. Your brother Abbas, and my brother Mac—what exactly have they been doing lately?”
“Don’t hide anything from me. Tell me everything, Elisa.”
Ever since arriving in Saint Denis, Davey had felt that Mac was keeping something from him.
Because more manpower was needed here, Elisa’s brother Abbas had also been transferred over from Valentine.
“Mr. Land, Abbas and Mr. Mac… they’re involved in some business. Not a very good kind of business—it’s moneylending.”
“At the Saint Denis Grand Hotel, there’s a lot of gambling going on, and when people lose, many of them need cash.”
“My brother Abbas thought it was a good opportunity to make money, so he brought Mr. Mac along and started doing that business.”
Elisa hesitated only briefly before laying everything out in full.
For gangs—or rather, for most gangs—moneylending was nothing unusual. It certainly wasn’t something unique to the Van der Linde Gang.
Gambling and loan sharking were extremely profitable trades, as long as the money could be collected.
Davey looked at Elisa deeply and said, “So it was Mac who pulled Abbas into this. How did they even get access to that business? The Saint Denis Grand Hotel is Bronte’s territory.”
“I don’t believe those Italians would be happy to share that kind of business with us.”
Elisa thought for a moment before replying, “I heard Abbas mention that it was because of Mr. Martelli that they were able to lend money at the Saint Denis Grand Hotel. There might be some cooperation happening behind the scenes, but I don’t know the details, Mr. Land.”
Davey was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Martelli—Bronte’s second-in-command—to be involved.
It was obvious that Martelli had deliberately drawn Mac in and handed over a portion of the moneylending business.
Davey keenly sensed that Martelli and Bronte might not be as united as they appeared.
Bronte presented himself as a legitimate businessman on the surface, while most of the Saint Denis Mafia’s underground dealings were actually handled by Martelli.
It was entirely possible that Bronte himself wasn’t even aware of Martelli’s cooperation with Mac.
That made things very interesting.
…
Shady Belle camp.
Arthur woke up to find a letter on the table in front of him. It was from his former lover, Mary.
Ever since he had helped Mary’s brother last time, Arthur hadn’t had any further contact with her. He hadn’t expected to receive a letter from her today.
It was probably brought back from the post office by one of the gang members.
“Maybe I shouldn’t open it… but I can’t not open it.”
Arthur sighed, and in the end, he still opened the letter.
In it, Mary asked for Arthur’s help once again. She couldn’t find anyone else who could help her, and the only person she could think of was Arthur.
The letter included an address—the Saint Denis Grand Hotel.
Faced with Mary’s request, Arthur naturally couldn’t refuse.
He went downstairs, mounted his horse, and headed for the Saint Denis Grand Hotel.
“Arthur! Arthur! Up here!”
From the second-floor balcony of the hotel, Mary spotted Arthur riding below and recognized him at once, calling out loudly.
Arthur dismounted and looked up.
“You came!”
“Yes, I’m here… so, uh, what do you need?”
Seeing Mary again, a smile appeared at the corner of Arthur’s mouth. He could never forget the woman he had once loved so deeply.
“Wait there, I’ll come down right away,” Mary said happily.
As Arthur waited below, he caught sight of a mirror nearby and instinctively tidied his appearance, even checking whether there was any leftover food stuck between his teeth.
Mary came down quickly.
“Arthur… you’re here.”
“Yes. As long as you need me, I’ll be there.”
Both of them were visibly emotional upon seeing each other again.
“Oh… Arthur.” Mary hesitated, as if unsure how to continue.
“What is it, Mary?” Arthur asked.
“It’s my father…” Mary said, finding it hard to go on.
The moment Arthur heard that word, anger surged up inside him, and his voice rose sharply.
“Your father? Looks like I’m even more foolish than I thought!”
With that, Arthur turned and walked away.
Back then, he could have been with Mary. It was her father’s interference—his disdain for Arthur as nothing more than a cowboy—that had torn their love apart.
When it came to Mary’s father, Arthur’s heart was filled with nothing but resentment.
Author's Note
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