Chapter 487 - 228: Alliance Meeting, Part 2
When a capitalist starts to lie so brazenly, so crudely, it can only mean one thing.
She has a purpose far more important than revealing the truth.
On the television, Evelyn was still speaking.
"This is unfair."
"Justice shouldn’t have a price tag."
Evelyn picked up a document from the lectern, holding it up for all to see.
"Therefore, the Saint Claude Family Foundation has decided to immediately launch the Judicial Fairness Aid Project."
"We will fully fund the legal defense fees for Luigi Randall."
The entire room erupted.
It wasn’t just the reporters on television. In the conference room, the mayors were in an uproar.
"What is she saying?" Joe Byers’s eyes widened. "The Saint Claude Family? Sponsoring an assassin? Has she lost her mind? Her family holds stock in several major insurance companies!"
"This is absolutely absurd!"
Even though he had been prepared for it, Ron Smith couldn’t help but gasp.
A capitalist—and a financial giant with vested interests in the healthcare system, no less—was going to pay for the legal defense of the man who assassinated an insurance company CEO?
’Is this suicide?’
But Evelyn gave them no time to think, dropping an even bigger bombshell.
"To ensure this trial is absolutely fair, and to ensure the defendant’s voice is heard in its entirety."
"We have hired the finest lawyer in the state of Pennsylvania."
Evelyn spoke the name.
"Mr. Elias Wayne."
"He will serve as lead defense counsel and have full authority over this case."
This time, the reporters were too stunned to even gasp.
Elias Wayne.
The madman known as the "legal rogue," the maniac who had once assaulted a witness in court.
’What is Evelyn trying to do?’
On the screen, Evelyn looked out at the sea of shocked faces, her expression cold and distant.
"We have faith in Mr. Wayne’s abilities, and we have faith in the judicial system of the United States."
"Thank you."
With that, she turned and left.
Her silhouette vanished behind the door, leaving behind a media frenzy and a story destined to dominate the next day’s headlines.
...
The television image froze on Evelyn’s retreating figure.
Leo opened his eyes.
He picked up the remote and switched off the television.
The screen went dark, but the shock of it all still lingered in the conference room.
The mayors looked at one another, shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
Their entire worldview had been shaken.
If Leo’s support for Luigi was just "populist madness"—a political stunt to curry favor with the lower-class voters...
...then the Saint Claude Family supporting Luigi was something else entirely.
This was a choice made by capital itself. It was a shift in the political winds.
’What did it mean when even the top-tier capitalists were starting to place their bets?’
It meant that this assassin held immense value. It meant this trial wasn’t just about murder, but about the establishment of a new order.
Ron Smith looked at Leo, his eyes filled with awe.
’He’d actually managed to persuade someone of Evelyn Saint Cloud’s caliber to join the game.’
"Gentlemen."
Leo spoke.
"This is what I wanted to show you."
"Now, I’d like to ask you a question."
Leo rose to his feet, bracing his hands on the tabletop as his gaze swept over every person in the room.
"How much longer are you going to hesitate?"
"How long will you wait before you believe that this change is inevitable?"
The conference room fell into a dead silence.
The shock was too great.
"Leo."
Joe Byers frowned, breaking the silence.
"Don’t treat us like idiots."
Byers rapped his knuckles on the table.
"Just a few months ago, it was this woman, this very same Evelyn Saint Cloud, who cut off our access to the promissory note system."
Byers gestured toward the darkened screen.
"Back then, she led us to the slaughter like pigs."
"Now you’re telling us she’s an ally?"
"Are you insulting our memory?"
The other mayors quickly chimed in with their agreement.
"That’s right. If that had gone on for two more days, I would’ve had to sell City Hall."
"She betrayed you, Leo! What if she’s just trying to use us again? What if this is just another trap?"
A chorus of doubt rose from all sides.
Once broken, trust is difficult to restore in a short time—especially after a betrayal that threatened their very survival.
Leo looked at these angry allies.
He knew he had to give them a reason.
A reason that would convince them to accept Evelyn, while also preserving his own authority.
Even if that reason was a complete fabrication.
’Time to test your acting skills, Leo.’
Roosevelt’s voice held a hint of cunning.
’One of a politician’s most essential skills is the ability to explain history.’
’You must frame that fatal betrayal as a far-sighted strategic maneuver.’
’You have to make them believe that catastrophe was not only necessary but was, in fact, something you orchestrated together.’
’As long as the logic is airtight and your interests are aligned, they’ll be willing to believe the lie.’
’It doesn’t even matter if they know you’re making it up.’
’Politicians, by their very nature, don’t believe in anything. They don’t need the truth. They just need a plausible reason, a beautifully wrapped excuse.’
’Give them that excuse. Let them take it back to pacify their restless subordinates and explain things to their skeptical constituents. As long as the excuse holds up and protects their interests, they will play along.’
’Remember, Leo, politics is a grand performance.’
’As long as you deliver your lines correctly, no one will care what’s happening backstage.’