Chapter 5: Shadows and Alliances

Trust was a rare currency in this city, and loyalty even rarer. I needed something stronger.

So I needed strategists—people who would go through hell and high water for me, loyal and diligent, who saw me as a worthy leader, and who shared my ambition. People to plot the country with me, to live and die together.

I must thank these terrible memories; I intercepted some future talents in advance.

I drove three nights to a remote town in Ohio, bought from a trafficker the future famous general, Marcus Han, who pledged loyalty to me and went to Texas to join the army.

The drive was long, the roads empty and dark. When I found Marcus, he was barely more than a boy, but the fire in his eyes told me he was destined for greatness.

In the back room of a casino, I rescued the genius engineer, Ethan Winters, who was being beaten to death. He was ragged and barely alive. I pulled him from the mud, found doctors for him, and cured the leg disease he would have suffered, naturally winning his loyal service.

Ethan’s gratitude was quiet but fierce. He worked tirelessly, never forgetting the hand that saved him.

After learning of my ambition, he clapped his hands and laughed, sighing that he was lucky to be born in such times and to meet a bright leader.

Ethan was escorted by the Brooks family to the Midwest, entered my father’s camp, and soon became renowned.

His inventions changed the tide of battle more than once. The old generals grumbled, but they couldn’t argue with results.

Carmen from the Crescent Club would later become the Southwest Governor’s favored partner after the war. I was unsure whether to recruit her as a pawn.

Her reputation preceded her—a woman who could charm a room and command respect in equal measure.

Disguised as a man, I played music with her. Seeing her by the railing, playing the violin, I felt such a woman should live beautifully in a peaceful era, blooming like a flower. She glanced at me and instantly saw through my disguise.

Carmen’s smile, with a tear-shaped mole at the corner of her eye, sparkled like spring water. She covered her mouth and laughed, “Audrey, how do you know I don’t have the ambition to follow the President?”

Her voice was low and rich, teasing and sincere all at once. I felt a strange kinship with her—two women playing a man’s game.

She asked me for a bodyguard, and personally went southwest.

I knew that besides me, many forces had approached her. Peerless beauty was a rare resource in troubled times.

She said, “I wanted to drift with the tide, but meeting you changed that. The world you seek is one I never dared dream of. Tell me, under a woman President, shouldn’t all women step out from behind closed doors?”

Her words struck a chord deep inside me. I nodded, feeling the weight of history shifting beneath our feet.

Besides them, I kept close contact with some young generals and civil officials. I didn’t dare approach too many political families in D.C., but I investigated their future power holders and planted some inconspicuous pawns.

Every connection was a thread in my web, every favor a promise for the future.

I was so busy, I found it hard to deal with Henry.

Uncle Mason, knowing I held the Brooks family fortune, came from Atlanta to see me after hearing rumors. At the Brooks family tea house in D.C., I dismissed everyone, and in a secret room behind layers of screens, revealed my ambition.

The tea was strong and sweet, the air thick with the scent of magnolias. Uncle Mason listened in silence, his eyes sharp as ever.

Unexpectedly, uncle only paused, smiled gently, and patted my shoulder. “Your mother was right—Audrey truly has a destiny. Then may my child be safe and successful.”

His words warmed me in a way nothing else could. For a moment, I felt like a child again, safe and loved.

I couldn’t help but tear up. The only ones I truly loved in this world were my mother and grandmother. I cherished the warmth of my maternal family. To me, uncle was my only family.

But I also knew power was a tempting thing. I feared uncle would grow resentful over it. If there was nothing but power to keep me in this world, I would not be president, only a tyrant for a time.

I couldn’t help but smile. I was overthinking; a person like grandmother would naturally raise her children to be as transparent and lovely as herself.

I told uncle my plans, and he pondered for a while, pointing out some flaws. Hearing my intentions for Henry, he said he would send me a candidate later.

His advice was sharp, his loyalty unquestionable. I felt stronger with him in my corner.