21 Little Patterson and Gravelle 1

Ci-ci's eyes narrowed. "Alleman…"

"Do you have some history with them too? Kid, don't cause us too much trouble. The Allemans aren't something we can handle."

On the Earth, there were two major continents. The one they resided on was West Continent. All of the history and laws Ci-ci knew pertained to West Continent as he knew very little about East Continent. Although they both shared this Earth together, the two might as well be completely separate planets of their own.

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This was all to say that West Continent had its own set of elites and its own system. Within that system, much of the power was held by various group of families, but there were forty-five families above the rest. Or, rather, forty-four as the Grandbell family had fallen out of their ranks.

There were two major divisions among these families. Eight stood above the rest, while the remaining thirty-six held power in their own right, but not as much as the top families.

That said, small-time places could be crushed without a burial ground by any one of these families, and the Alleman family happened to be one of those thirty-six.

Of course, Ci-ci cared next to nothing for this. What he truly cared about was the fact that the Alleman family was the very same family attempting to arrange a marriage with his Frae. How could he have any love lost for such a family?

That said, it wasn't to the point of irreconcilable hatred. It wasn't as though his relationship with Frae was public knowledge, in fact, it was very much a secret because he didn't want to implicate her. In a way, it was only as Lucius Grant that he could have open relationships, Ci-ci Bell had no such right.

"Why would the Alleman family be involved in this?"

"You know better than to ask that question, that's above our paygrade kid. That said, this isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Ci-ci thought for a bit before nodding. "A family on the levels of the Allemans wouldn't get involved to pull underhanded tricks. They're likely trying to legitimately get a feel for which one of our firms is the better investment. But, that'll bring trouble in the future…"

A family like the Alleman family definitely had their own high-rung firm, or even higher, at their back. In fact, they might have cultivated talented lawyers from within their own bloodline. They would never need to raise up a middle-rung firm like theirs for normal reasons. There was another reason they wanted elevate them, and whatever that reason was, it definitely wasn't out of the kindness of their hearts.

"I'm glad somebody else thinks so too." Mr. Grant slammed his hand onto his desk to vent his frustration.

"I can always lose on purpose old man. Being blinded by short-term benefits will only bite us in the ass."

Mr. Grant sighed. "Unfortunately, the big brass have already decided to take the risk."

"They can't possible be that stupid, can they? Even if they can't back out for fear of offending the Alleman family, losing on purpose shouldn't be too hard as long as it's done right."

"It turns of that Little Patterson has caught the eye of a young man of the Cox family. The Senior Partners believe that this will be enough protection to stop the Alleman family from doing anything outlandish."

"That's a bold assumption." Ci-ci frowned. "If it's a branch member of the Alleman family, it's enough protection. But, if it's the main Alleman family making a move on us, that 'protection' is as good as wet paper."

"That's where the difference of opinion is." Mr. Grant sighed again. "I'm a mere Junior Partner, and at my age, I've already lost hope of advancing any further. I don't have much sway, not to mention that even the sound of what we're saying is overly paranoid."

Normally, Ci-ci would agree. The idea of the esteemed Alleman family involving the main branch with their small firm was ridiculous. However, Ci-ci knew something the heads of the firm didn't know: The Alleman family was attempting to build firmer ties with the Mortlock family. The timing of everything was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

If Ci-ci's gut was right, then no young master of the Cox family was good enough. This was only made worse by the fact that Isabella likely met him at her university. Any member of one of the thirty-six families who attended a mere 22nd ranked university was either trash of the main branch, or a member of a small branch. Either way you slice it, it wasn't enough.

For context, the Mortlock family wasn't of the thirty-six families. No. They were of the former nine, now eight, that ruled over the continent. Even if this fiancé of Isabella's attended Grandbell University, it might not be enough to block this pressure. If the Alleman family was ready to form an alliance with such a powerhouse, what did a mere Cox family mean?

The worst part was that a family on the level of the Mortlock family would never marry their most talented young mistress away for a marriage alliance to a family beneath them. They were definitely being pressured into doing so, and the only families who could pressure the Mortlocks was obviously the only families on their level.

All of the walls seemed to be closing in from every direction, but Ci-ci saw this as an opportunity. If he became one of the center chess pieces of the Alleman family, who in turn were the puppets of whatever looming family was pressuring the Mortlocks, just imagine the trouble he could cause.

It seemed that this small Algood City would soon become a battle ground.

Ci-ci suddenly grinned. "Don't worry old man. I'll wipe the floor with them."