Creating America: My campaign manager was Roosevelt

Chapter 227 Private Request

Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill.

A black Lincoln sedan slowly drove into the gates of St. Cloud Estate.

Elias Wayne sat in the back seat, fidgeting restlessly.

He tugged at his loosely tied tie, rolled down the car window, and greedily inhaled the humid air outside.

"This place smells fucking good," Wayne muttered. "It's all the smell of money, the smell of money that makes you jealous."

Leo sat next to him, staring blankly out the window.

"When you see Saint Cloud later, try to speak as little as possible," Leo reminded him, "especially avoid swearing."

"Don't worry, Mayor." Wayne grinned. "I'm always very polite to the rich."

The car was parked in front of the glass conservatory next to the main building.

The butler was already waiting at the door.

Wearing white gloves, he opened the car door and his eyebrows twitched very slightly when he saw Wayne's wrinkled, cheap suit and stained shoes, but he said nothing and simply gestured for him to enter.

The three of them entered the greenhouse.

The moist scent of tropical plants wafts over you, mixed with the delicate fragrance of orchids.

Evelyn St. Cloud stood in the center of the greenhouse.

She was wearing an ivory-white silk shirt with the cuffs rolled up, and in her hand she was holding a pair of exquisite silver scissors, trimming a pot of Phalaenopsis orchids.

Evelyn did not turn around when she heard footsteps.

"Click."

She cut off a slightly withered leaf.

"Leo, you're five minutes late," Evelyn's voice came through. "I thought you'd be more punctual."

"There's a bit of traffic," Leo replied.

Evelyn put down the scissors, took a hot towel from the waiter beside her, carefully wiped her fingers, and then slowly turned around.

Her gaze passed over Leo and landed on Elias Wayne.

Wayne stood there, his hair a mess, and he reeked of a hangover.

Evelyn's expression remained unchanged.

"Is this your choice?"

Evelyn looked at Leo, her tone devoid of any emotion.

"I told you, as long as you ask, I can get whoever you want."

"You've been looking for two whole days."

"So this is the gentleman you found?"

Evelyn's gaze lingered on Wayne for a second.

"I hope this drunkard who just crawled out of the garbage dump will live up to your trust."

Wayne grinned, not angry at Evelyn's words, but rather with a kind of roguish, unruly air.

"Miss."

Wayne took a step forward.

"The orchids here are indeed very beautiful."

Wayne pointed to the flower stand behind Evelyn.

"They are delicate and elegant, with each leaf growing perfectly, but they have a fatal weakness."

"Just turn off the temperature control system, open the roof, and let the cold wind blow in all night."

"They will die."

"Expensive lawyers are like these greenhouse orchids."

Wayne took a cigarette out of his pocket and twirled it in his hand.

"They are polite and know the rules; they are indeed invincible in a greenhouse."

"But this time is different."

Wayne stared into Evelyn's eyes.

"This time, you're not fighting a respectable commercial lawsuit, but a bloody battle."

"Your opponents are the entire health insurance consortium, those behemoths that control trillions of dollars in assets."

O

"They will use every means at their disposal, legal or illegal, above and below ground."

"Faced with such a raging storm, your orchid lawyers would be blown apart before they even got a chance to play."

Wayne patted his chest.

"And me."

"I am a weed."

"I grew out of the cracks in the cement, I survived by the sewer."

"I'm not afraid of the cold, I'm not afraid of being stepped on, and I'm not afraid of getting dirty."

"Give me just a little bit of space, and I can push the stone off my head."

Evelyn turned to look at Leo.

"Is that your reason?" Evelyn asked.

Leo nodded.

He walked over to Wayne and reached out to pat the dust off Wayne's shoulders.

"Evelyn, I've looked at all the lawyers you recommended."

"Leo said."

"They are indeed very outstanding, with impressive resumes. Harvard graduates, editors-in-chief of Yale Law Journal, and former clerks for Supreme Court justices."

"If we were to engage in a corporate merger or a patent dispute, I would choose them without hesitation."

"But now, what we're doing is very different."

"We want Luigi, the one who shot and killed, to stand in court and denounce the evils of this country's system."

"Those elite lawyers can't do that."

"They are too protective of their reputation."

Leo's voice turned low.

"They will try to persuade Luigi to confess, to reconcile with us, and to try to downplay the seriousness of the matter and make it disappear altogether."

"Because they still need to stay in this industry, they don't want to offend the insurance company's bigwigs, or the big shots in Washington."

"The person we need must be someone with no way out."

Leo pointed at Wayne.

"Those who have no way out are either truly incompetent and have been eliminated by the world, or they are so capable that they frighten this mediocre system and are thus trapped."

"Ilias Wayne belongs to the latter."

Leo looked at Evelyn, his attitude firm.

"I know what we're going to do, Evelyn. I know what a behemoth it is, so I'm not joking."

Leo pointed at Wayne.

"He's right up my alley."

"

"That's exactly what we need."

Evelyn was silent for a moment, then said, "Leo, your appetite is getting stranger and stranger."

"However, this is your choice."

She pressed the call bell on the table.

A few dozen seconds later, the butler who had been waiting outside the door came in, carrying a silver tray with a document and a pen on it.

Evelyn picked up a pen, signed her name on the document, and handed it to Wayne.

"The Saint-Cloud Charitable Foundation will immediately establish a special fund to assist in judicial fairness."

"Having obtained the formal authorization of the client, Luigi Randall, we will appoint Mr. Elias Wayne as the foundation's chief special legal counsel to fully represent Luigi Randall in his defense."

She turned around and looked at the disheveled lawyer.

"Mr. Wayne."

There is no upper limit to the cost.

"How much money do you need to conduct investigations, hire expert witnesses, bribe informants, or even resort to underhanded tactics?"

"Just ask, and the check will be delivered to you."

Wayne whistled.

He took the document from Evelyn without any hesitation and glanced at the authorization terms on it.

"generous."

Wayne commented.

"I've never fought such a rich battle in my life."

Don't get too excited yet.

Evelyn stared at him coldly.

"I'm not paying for your jokes; I want results."

Wayne folded the document and stuffed it into his suit's inner pocket.

Then, he took a flat flask out of his pocket, unscrewed the lid, tilted his head back, and took a swig.

"Don't worry, ma'am."

Wayne wiped his mouth.

"This is what I'm best at."

Wayne turned around and waved to Leo.

"Let's go, boss."

Now that I have the money, I need to prepare some big equipment.

See you in court.

Wayne strode out of the greenhouse, his mud-splattered leather shoes leaving a trail of dirty footprints on the marble floor.

Evelyn frowned as she looked at the footprints on the ground.

"Have someone clean the floor," she instructed the housekeeper.

Then, she looked at Leo.

"That's all I can do."

"I've found you a lawyer and paid for it. The rest is your own battle."

"I hope you win in the end."

Evelyn picked up the scissors again and continued pruning the orchid.

"Only if you win will my reward be substantial enough, and only the future of all of Pennsylvania is worth such a heavy bet."

"But, Leo."

"You need to understand the difference between us."

Evelyn looked up.

"If I lose, it's just another failed investment for me."

"I will write off a bad debt on the financial statements. Although it will hurt, it won't break my spirit. The Saint-Cloud family will still be the Saint-Cloud family."

"And you."

"You will be doomed, Mr. Mayor."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Leo looked at her.

"I'm ready."

"From the moment I decided to declare war on that massive healthcare system, I had no intention of coming ashore dry. Either I drown them, or I sink to the bottom myself; there is no third option."

Leo reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

He pulled out a folded document, which he had taken from Wayne; the paper was wrinkled and had a faint smell of cheap whiskey on it.

Lily Walker's autopsy report.

He placed the report on the marble tabletop, pushed it in front of Evelyn, and pressed it down on the pruned orchid branches.

"Now that we're in the same boat, there's one more thing I need to ask you."

"Use your connections to help me look this up."

Leo's finger touched the name of the surgeon, his nail leaving a mark on the paper.

"I want to know everything about this hospital, this doctor, and the medical group behind them."

"It's not the kind of publicly disclosed financial report, nor is it the kind of accounting done to appease the tax authorities."

"I want the dirty stuff they've hidden in the safe. I want to know how many more children like Lily they've put on the lab table, and I want to know where the samples taken from those unstitched wounds ended up."

Evelyn glanced at the title of the report and raised her eyebrows slightly.

She looked at Leo with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Is this also part of the deal?"

Evelyn asked.

"Is this related to your grand medical mutual aid plan? Or is it to provide ammunition for that madman Wayne?"

'

"No."

Leo shook his head.

"This has nothing to do with politics or interests."

"This is a private request."

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