Mercenaries, I Will Be King Chapter 687 - 629: The Troubled and Misty Penma Estate

Wisconsin, the outskirts of Ma Keite County.

A black Lincoln sedan approached the entrance of the Benma Estate.

The estate here is vast, with its surroundings including forests and the shores near the harbor, all part of the private realm.

In the United States, trespassing on private property is prohibited, and due to the Castle Doctrine, being shot dead for doing so without permission is a distinct possibility.

The road at the Benma Estate's entrance is also a private section of land, owned by the estate, leading solely to the estate's front gate.

This estate is considered a top-tier one within the United States, its architectural style rich with French Renaissance features, constructed by the Curtis family in the late 18th century as a symbol of their status and honor in the United States.

Wisconsin is a purple state.

So-called purple states are also known as swing states.

"Swing state" is an Arican political term, often referred to as "battleground state," indicating that the support gap between the Democratic and Republican candidates is small.

In past elections, swing states often tilt towards different parties, swinging frequently. As opposed to "safe states" where one candidate has a clear advantage, swing states are crucial battlegrounds both parties strive to secure for victory.

Therefore, the Curtis family, deeply entrenched and established in the state for many years, naturally beca a target for courting by both parties.

The Curtis family's political spectrum leans toward conservatism, with the family's early rise to prominence during the Civil War by selling arms. Today, their business spans across comrce, politics, military, and other domains, with family mbers achieving significant accomplishnts in various industries.

Today is Sunday, and by tradition of the Curtis family, it is a Family Day.

Due to the family's conservative nature, the house rules are very strict, currently under the steerage of Jamie Curtis.

However, today is different.

On past Family Days, the garden of the Benma Estate would be filled with long tables adorned with alcohol and food, servants would set up barbeque stoves in the garden, light up the charcoal, and let the fragrance of at drift into every corner.

Today, however, the silence is so profound that even the sound of a fly buzzing and flapping its wings can be heard, the entire estate imrsed in an atmosphere of solemnity and sorrow.

On the third floor of the main building, Congressman Ralph Curtis is currently pacing in circles with an ashen face in a massive study.

His wife, a lady past her fifties, half-collapses on the sofa adorned with gold-engraved embroidery and crafted from bay crocodile skin, weeping inconsolably.

"Enough! Stop crying!"

Ralph could no longer bear his wife's crying.

Since she arrived here this morning, she has been weeping for several hours straight without a single break.

Ralph is in a state of agitation.

Seven days ago, he was shocked to learn that his incompetent only son, while on duty with the US Army, defected to the Ata Organization with the rank of an officer and took a batch of classified docunts related to the operation, which also involved reports about the US Army's covered-up mass killings and torture of civilians during their military actions over the past few years.

As a traitor's father, Ralph Curtis's first thought was not of sha, but of how to retrieve his unworthy cherished son from Ata's grasp.

The difficulty of getting this operation underway seed insurmountable to outsiders.

Yet, in the eyes of the Curtis family, it wasn't impossible.

Ralph made a phone call to his brother Jeff.

Jeff is the current helmsman of the Curtis family as well as a magnate of the Arican chemical industry. Moreover, he holds another stature as the main financier for the occupant of the White House.

Back when Xiao Bu was running for office, the outside world wasn't optimistic.

However, Jeff, perceiving genuine worthiness, went all-in supporting the seemingly foolish young candidate with terrible college grades, even thought to be simple-minded by so, and invested a huge amount of money into the campaign.

Ti proved Jeff to be right.

Xiao Bu comfortably settled into the White House, becoming its master.

Hence, the power of the Curtis family could reach directly into the White House.

At the sa ti, Ralph also exerted his influence in Congress Hill to pressure the military.

He knew the military's tend to dispatch Special Forces for a decapitation operation or to proceed with a targeted elimination when dealing with these types of situations.

It was only at the age of forty that Ralph had this unworthy offspring, and for so reason, that was the only child produced over the years—maybe his wife, coming from a similar noble lineage, had played a little too much in her youth, or maybe it was his own frivolous youth that had left a lasting ailnt; his family had only Little Curtis.

Originally, Ralph held high hopes for his son.

A major reason for the Curtis family's enduring success stemd from their deep understanding of the synergy between politics and business.

The family needed mbers in business, and naturally, in politics as well.

While his brother Jeff wielded control over the family's business empire, Ralph took the path of politics.

One in business, one in politics—united, they safeguarded the family's prosperity.

In order to prevent his son from being decapitated by the military, Ralph spared no effort and discarded all his reservations, directly contacting several influential Congressn on the Military Committee. He communicated with the Pentagon through them, negotiating a "discreet resolution" to the matter.

In the end, Ralph's proposal was to ensure Little Curtis returned alive; as long as he was alive, everything else could be managed. After all, the news of defecting to Ata was not widely known yet and remained controllable.