American tax officials

"Mr. President, your brother, nephew, daughter-in-law... they've arrived!"

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat tense, a White House staff member walked in to offer a reminder.

"What are they here for?"

"I don't know, they said they need to see you immediately."

Padden paused for a moment, then finally spoke, "Let them in!"

Soon, a large number of Pat family members were brought into the presidential office.

"Lanny, what brings you here?"

Paiden immediately looked at a tall man who resembled him.

This is his younger brother, Lenny Paten.

"Robbennett, the scandal surrounding you is spiraling out of control. If this continues, our family will be finished. So we're here to advise you, whatever your thoughts may be, that you should stop!"

It is true that almost everyone was in awe of Patten's power as president.

But as Padden's brother, Lanny naturally didn't hold back like others and spoke very frankly.

Padden was somewhat displeased upon hearing this, but since he was his younger brother, he couldn't show it too much. He could only frown and reply, "Lani, do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know, things are different now, Robbennett. David is powerful now, with many henchmen, and you've offended him, so we think..."

At this point, Lanny hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What do you think?"

Lanny glanced at the group of family members behind him, then gritted his teeth and said, "We believe that, given the current situation, there is no point in you clinging to the presidency any longer. You might as well step down sooner rather than later and perhaps enjoy a peaceful retirement."

"Otherwise, David is so ruthless; he will definitely not let you off the hook. President Nicholas's example is a perfect example. Besides, this could implicate our entire family!"

The reason he dared to speak so bluntly was mainly because David's methods were too ruthless.

This guy might not dare to kill Paiden outright, but if he were to target the family members, they wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Therefore, for his own safety and that of his family, he gritted his teeth and uttered these rather "treasonous" words.

Upon hearing that he was to give up the presidency, Paden was instantly enraged. He retorted fiercely, "Lanny, do you know how many years I've worked for this position? I haven't even finished one term, and you want me to give it up?"

"Waaaaah..."

After Paden finished his roar, a cry suddenly rang out in the office.

"Don't cry, don't cry..."

At that moment, a white woman in her thirties in the crowd quickly comforted the child in her arms.

Her name is Serame, she is Padden's daughter-in-law, and also the wife of the unfilial son whose scandal broke earlier.

After soothing the baby in his arms for a while, the baby finally stopped crying. At this moment, Seramei stepped forward and said, "Dad, I think Uncle Lanny is right. Given the current situation, we should back down. Even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about our family. Our 'Shaw' is only a little over a year old. He can't grow up without his father and grandfather's company!"

Upon hearing this, Paden no longer became angry; instead, his feelings became incredibly complex.

He has many grandchildren, but this grandchild named "Xiao" has special significance for him.

His eldest son was named Shaw Paten, but he died of cancer in 15.

The grief of a parent outliving their child is naturally immense.

The name "Xiao" was chosen specifically to commemorate his eldest son.

The current scandal is already very serious for him, and his son, with his long history of misconduct, is practically on the brink of disaster.

If things continue like this, regardless of what will happen to him, the public will definitely force him to put aside his own family and send his son to prison.

But once his son goes to prison, his grandson will lose his father's company. Thinking of this, Paiden did feel a little reluctant.

"Uncle Biden, let go. As long as you stop fighting with David, he definitely won't target us anymore."

"Yes, Uncle, our family has made enough over the years. There's no need to keep fighting with that bastard David. Let him fight the three major corporations!"

"..."

While Paden was still in a state of shock and despair, the other family members present also spoke up and pleaded.

They weren't fools; they all knew perfectly well that David's actions this time weren't actually aimed at the Paten family. It was just that their President Paten had done something recently that angered them.

As long as the other party achieves their desired goal, their family will naturally land safely.

Otherwise, given their previous illicit activities of profiting from their president and engaging in illegal activities, the entire family would inevitably fall apart.

So, while Padden himself might have concerns about how to choose, his family members wouldn't care so much in order to protect themselves.

The most important thing is to keep the wealth you have now and avoid going to jail!

Faced with the pleas of so many family members, Paiden slumped into a chair, looking as if he had aged ten years.

Yes, he's old enough to not care about himself and continue fighting with David, but if he thinks about it carefully, he doesn't want to see such a large family get involved and implicate so many descendants.

After all, nothing in this world is more important than family and relatives.

Perhaps retiring now and enjoying a peaceful retirement would be a wonderful thing for an elderly person of his age.

Just as Paden showed a slight change, Wilder suddenly leaned over and said, "Mr. President, we still have a choice."

"Oh? What choice?"

Paiden, who had been looking worried, perked up upon hearing this.

"Um……"

At this point, Wilder suddenly found it difficult to speak.

"Now that things have come to this, just say what you want to say!"

Wilder turned his gaze to Lanny and his group.

Padden understood what he meant and immediately said to the group, "Lanny, you take them back first. This matter is of great importance, and I will consider it carefully."

"But……"

"There are no 'buts' about it. I said I would handle it!"

Seeing that Paten was so determined, Lanny and the others could no longer persuade him and could only leave the office.

Seeing that the group had left, Wilder organized his thoughts and said, "Actually, from the beginning, neither the President, nor you, nor I, approved of directly confronting David. After all, we already knew last time that this guy had collected dirt on us, so I think this is Sullivan's fault; he was too arrogant!"

Paten remained noncommittal in response to this.

"So what I mean is, we need to talk to David and get Sullivan to take the blame!"

"Pushing Sullivan forward?!"

Padden considered the possibility for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Given his personality, even if Sullivan is pushed out to take the blame, it probably won't stop him."

"That's natural. So, besides that, we can assure him that no matter what kind of purge he carries out in New York or Texas, we won't interfere anymore. We can even directly express our support for him, as compensation for this incident!"

"If we support him in everything, then we can no longer muddle through the waters; we'll have to go head-to-head with the three major conglomerates..."

David's purge of the bureaucracy in New York was actually aimed at undermining the Freemason group's influence in the state.

If he then gets his hands on the core areas of the Illuminati and the Ansar, the White House will have to step forward and express its support, which in a sense might make him a true vassal of David.

But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that, given the influence of the three major groups, they can interfere in many things that happen in the White House.

"Mr. President, Pinkman's articles have infuriated the public. To resolve this, we must get David to stop and even obtain his help!"

Padden frowned slightly and asked, "So, to get his help, you really want me to become his vassal?"

If it weren't for David, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

So when he heard Wilder's meaning becoming increasingly clear, he naturally felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Whether it's a vassal or a partner, it's just a title. Think about it, Mr. President, you've worked so hard to get to this position, do you really want to just hand it over to someone else?"

"So if they want to keep this position, this is the only way!"

"Moreover, many people are speculating that David will most likely target the Federal Reserve next. If you also stand up and express your support, and it ultimately succeeds, that will be a great achievement. And if you were president during this period, that achievement would certainly be attributed to you!"

"In that case, all your previous scandals pale in comparison to this absolute achievement!"

Wilder's vigorous lobbying efforts were certainly not just for Padden's sake.

As Paten's chief of staff, once Paten steps down, he will naturally have to step aside as well.

So the reason he's lobbying like this now is to keep his position!

Regardless, Wilder's words had completely won over Padden.

Indeed, after spending so many years to finally become the most powerful person in the world, who would be willing to give it up so easily?

I was just forced into it before.

But now that we have such a solution, even though it is somewhat infuriating and shameful, what does it matter if we can continue to hold power?

Furthermore, if the Federal Reserve were to be nationalized with his support, it would be something even President Kennedy couldn't do.

Such a tremendous achievement can indeed offset his current scandal!

This has potential!

"What you say makes sense, but if we do that, what about the three major corporations...?"

Paiden was still somewhat worried about the impact of breaking ties with the three major groups and standing on the opposite side.

"Mr. President, David is no longer the same as before. He now controls a majority of members of both the House and Senate, some of the most powerful law enforcement agencies in America, local families in various states, and a bunch of 'thugs' from the Kennedy and Thompson families."

"If we add the White House to that, it would be an overwhelming force. With such a powerful combination, do you think even the three major corporations, no matter how strong, could cause much trouble?"

Padden held his chin.

David has already taken control of powerful American agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and NSA, as well as local powerful families in various states and the Senate and House of Representatives.

As for the three major groups, apart from their enormous influence in the military and finance sectors, they are not much of a threat in other areas.

After weighing the pros and cons, Paden made up his mind and immediately instructed, "First, send a message to Obadiah Vertonghen and the others, saying that I'd like to invite them to come and discuss things!"

Because of the previous purge and the involvement of the FBI that angered David, if we directly pass on the message to him, he might put on airs and refuse to come, which would put us in an awkward position.

Therefore, the best approach would be to first find Obadiah and Wellington, two high-ranking IRS officials, and negotiate with them so that they can then communicate with David. This would be the wise choice.

"Understood, Mr. President."

……

In an office at the Manhattan branch of the New York Police Department.

"Inspector General David, President Patrick is being incredibly unreasonable. Not only is he interfering in your affairs in New York, but he's also daring to cause trouble for the FBI. We can't continue to let him get away with this. If he dares to interfere with the FBI today, he might dare to directly target the CIA or even your IRS tomorrow!"

Seeing David continuously releasing Patten's scandals, Kacilla could no longer sit still and immediately took a private jet to New York to find David.

In the last bill, Patten ultimately signed it, which dashed her presidential ambitions.

As retaliation, she was subsequently snubbed by the White House and barred from appearing in public on various occasions, leaving her feeling extremely frustrated.

Now that she sees David and Biden clashing directly, she is overjoyed and wishes David could crush Biden so she could take office immediately.

"Vice President Kachira, I will continue to decide based on the situation. If you are truly needed, there will definitely be no other choice."

"Inspector General David..."

"Beep beep beep..."

Just as Kachira was about to say a few more words, the ringing of the phone on the table interrupted her, and she had no choice but to patiently shut her mouth.

"Alright, Vice President Kachira, regardless of whether you can take office this time, I promise you that you will never be neglected again. Consider this my compensation to you. Let's leave it at that for now."

Although he had previously stated that the agreement to help the vice president take office would be put on hold as long as Patrick was willing to sign.

But after all, they did play a role, which led to them being snubbed by the White House, and David has to bear some responsibility for that.

……

……

P.S.: Happy National Day everyone! Also, just wanted to mention that this book only has a little bit of plot left, and it should be finished in October if nothing unexpected happens. Thank you to everyone who has followed and supported me all this way. (End of Chapter)