Lord Protector novel (Zeke Williams) novel Chapter 1770

“Lacey told me her husband isn't a business owner, nor does he own any other assets. What else could he be other than an average wage-earner, then?” replied Josephine matter-of-factly.

“What the f*ck!” Charles cursed angrily. “You came to that conclusion just because he isn't a businessman and doesn't own any assets? Did it never cross your mind that he might very well be a high-ranking government official instead? I'd be a dead man if that were the case, and you bet I'm not going to my grave without you!”

Trembling with fear, Josephine stammered, “I-I'm sorry, Charles. I made a mistake—”

“Cut the nonsense! Now go ask Lacey if that d*mn husband of hers is a senior official at the provincial level since they're the only ones who are in command of provincial governors like Big Back!”

Josephine nodded. Ashen-faced, she hurriedly turned to Lacey, asking, “Tell me honestly, Lacey. Your husband isn't just an average wage-earner after all, is he?”

“No, he isn't. Haven't I already mentioned that to you before?” came Lacey's reply.

Gulping nervously, Josephine went on asking, “Oh, so he must be a s-senior official of this province, then?”

“Not at all,” answered Lacey without hesitation. “We're only visiting this place for the first time. How could he possibly be a senior official here?”

“Are you sure?” asked Josephine again.

“What are you talking about? Zeke is my husband, Josephine. How could I not be sure about that?” Lacey responded, torn between amusement and exasperation.

Phew!

“Thank God,” Josephine muttered under her breath.

Then, twisting her head toward Charles, she reported, “I just asked. This is only the first time that Williams fella is visiting Corleon, so there's no way he's a province-level senior official here. I guess the provincial governor simply gave up his seat for him since he had to rush off to deal with some official matters anyway. Besides, it would help him create the image of a humble and caring government official as well, wouldn't it?”

Charles' panic instantly subsided.

However, he was not a man who would easily let his guard down.

He was not going to act rashly before he obtained concrete proof of the matter.

Thus, he ordered the bodyguard standing beside him, “Go find out what that provincial governor is up to. I want to know if he had indeed left to deal with urgent business.”

Only if the answer came back affirmative would he allow himself to fully relax.

“Yes, sir!” The bodyguard immediately left to carry out the order.

Meanwhile, Big Back had run back to his car.

Heart racing, he was sweating profusely. His mind was filled with two words that repeated themselves over and over again—Great Marshal.

Climbing into the car, he was so heated up with excitement that it was as if he had just come out of a sauna.

“Is something wrong, sir?” the driver asked cautiously.

“Will you leave me for a moment, Harold? I need to make a phone call.” Big Back waved his hand dismissively.

“Yes, sir.” The driver nodded and exited the car promptly.

He preferred to know as little about what his boss was up to as possible. After all, having that knowledge benefited him in no way.

As soon as he caught his breath, Big Back took out his phone and started to type several texts.

Have you gone blind, Walt? Didn't you see that the Great Marshal is here? Get your a*s out here right now.

The Great Marshal has arrived, Blake. Come assemble with the rest of us now.

Grab Sean and come over here, Sid. Did you blind fools not see the Great Marshal has arrived?

He typed and sent a total of nine texts at one go.

At that moment, nine men seated in the VIP zone of the ceremony dug out their phones in unison and glanced at the text they had just received.

They instantly broke out in a cold sweat, their expressions changing dramatically as they left the ceremony in a hurry.

There were initially only about fifty guests in the VIP zone.

After the nine of them left, the floor suddenly seemed rather empty.

Besides, the nine men who had just left were all high-ranking officials of the province and were the highlight of the room.

Now that they had left, the atmosphere in the venue instantly became dull and lifeless.

As Big Back sat in his car, memories from ten years ago began to flood his mind.

Ten years ago, he and those nine other men were soldiers on the battlefields of the North.