A Bumpy Road to Power

Back then, Benton Fletcher was quite famous in Ronan City.

He had a nickname called "Iron-faced Secretary." The reason he was given this nickname was that Benton Fletcher was impartial and selfless in his work; no matter who committed wrongdoing, he would enforce the law impartially.

It was precisely because of this.

That Helen Fletcher chose to enter the Commission for Discipline Inspection after becoming a civil servant.

Because in her mind, her father had always been her idol.

At that time, Helen Fletcher had just started working at the district's Commission for Discipline Inspection and was just a junior staff member.

Before Benton Fletcher was murdered, he told Helen that the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection had recently received reports that many shops were openly selling smuggled cigarettes.

So.

Benton Fletcher conducted an undercover investigation.

Through secret visits, he learned that these cigarettes didn't come through illegal channels; rather, they were distributed by the Tobacco Bureau, asking the shops to help sell them.

Upon checking the records, Benton Fletcher discovered.

That the imported cigarettes sold by the shops were not on the list of cigarettes allowed for import and sale domestically. Thus, he concluded that someone within the Tobacco Bureau was involved in tobacco smuggling.

This was no small matter.

Benton Fletcher immediately formed a task force to investigate the tobacco smuggling case.

After one or two months of thorough investigation.

Benton Fletcher suddenly discovered that the line of investigation unexpectedly involved the then-executive deputy mayor, Chad Perry.

Just when Benton Fletcher was preparing to dig deeper into the investigation.

Chad Perry took the initiative to visit Benton Fletcher. No one knows what they specifically talked about; Helen only remembers that after the conversation, Benton called her to his study and told her if one day he was murdered, the one who killed him would definitely be Chad Perry.

At that time, Helen Fletcher was young and did not realize the seriousness of the issue.

She just thought her father was being overly sensitive.

That night, she was on duty at the district Commission for Discipline Inspection and didn't return home. Early the next morning, she received a call from the police asking her to claim the body.

At this point.

Helen choked up.

One can imagine how devastated she must have been when she saw the horrible sight of her family.

"Didn't you report this matter later?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Helen shook her head and said, "No, that was something my father told me, without any evidence. Even if I came forward to testify against him, it wouldn't do any good and would likely ruin myself instead."

Soon after Benton Fletcher's death.

A new head of the Commission for Discipline Inspection arrived.

The tobacco smuggling task force was disbanded on his first day in office.

Being just a small cadre in the district Commission for Discipline Inspection, and a woman at that, seeking revenge was incredibly difficult.

But Helen couldn't do nothing.

She mustered courage and resolutely approached Chad Perry's son, Easton Perry.

She used many means to make Easton fall in love with her, and eventually, she married into the Perry Family as their daughter-in-law.

"If it was indeed Chad who made the move, there's no reason for him to let his son marry you."

Dirk Carter scratched his head and asked.

Helen gave a slight smile and said, "He would definitely let his son marry me."

"Why?"

Dirk asked.

Helen sighed and said, "Even though later on, the murderer of my family was found and the case was completely closed, there were always rumors within the Ronan City bureaucracy at the time that my dad's death might be related to the tobacco smuggling case. After all, the task force back then didn't just involve my father. For the Perry Family to distance themselves from any connection, marrying me into the family was the best choice, wasn't it?"

Dirk nodded and said, "Indeed, by normal logic, the perpetrator would never let the victim's daughter enter their own family."

Helen continued, "There was another benefit to their actions. Even though my father was impartial and selfless, he had many resources. Whether it was his leaders or his former subordinates, they all respected him a lot. Once I entered the Perry Family, Chad could take over those resources. So, letting me in was all gain and no loss."

After entering the Perry Family.

Helen had been trying to secretly investigate their connection to the tobacco smuggling case.

However, also due to her special status.

Chad was very wary of her.

Easton, though he loved her dearly, was only a junior staff member at the Tobacco Bureau at the time and couldn't access many key parts.

Upon hearing this.

Dirk asked, "I heard that you and Easton never had children. Was this intentional on your part?"

Helen nodded.

And said, "His impotence was also caused by me."

Although she married into the Perry Family, Helen said she would never have a child with them. She only used Easton and had not the slightest bit of love for him.

Even every time she had relations with Easton, she did it gritting her teeth.

She realized that long-term, this was not a solution.

So, she conceived a vicious plan.

She exhausted every effort to find a certain herb. Consuming this herb for a short time posed no problem, but if taken long-term, it would greatly impair sexual function, inevitably leading to impotence after years.

After spending a lot of money obtaining this herb.

Helen slipped it into Easton's food. Because of this, his sexual function deteriorated year by year, eventually resulting in impotence and premature ejaculation.

A decade passed after entering the Perry Family.

Chad was transferred to another province and became the Secretary General of the State Committee.

Meanwhile, Easton was promoted to a leadership position in the state's Tobacco Bureau.

The Perry Family's power grew bigger and bigger, becoming a towering tree, while Helen's hope for revenge seemed more and more slim.

Just when revenge seemed hopeless, she received Dennis Vincent's complaint letter.

She sensitively perceived that this case might be her only hope in this lifetime.

So she used her father's former subordinates' connections to transfer to Kenton County.

Unfortunately, this line was too well-hidden. There was a Templeton Quill left initially, but now that he's gone, hoping to uncover the tobacco smuggling case again seemed impossible.

Of course, she wanted to lead the investigation herself.

However, her identity was too sensitive.

Once she truly investigated deeply, the Perry Family would immediately become alert.

From then on, no matter what, the truth would never come to light.

At this moment.

She turned all her attention to Dirk Carter.

Dirk was determined, persistent, and he was very wise, even smarter than her. If Dirk could help her continue investigating, it would be just perfect.

For this reason.

She utilized all her connections to get Dirk into Ardmore City's customs.

The story reached this point.

Dirk completely understood.

To be honest, he always thought Helen deliberately exposed those humiliations in front of him just to spark his sympathy and make him help her escape the Perry Family's control.

Now it seems, that's not the case at all.

She could have left the Perry Family at any time; she endured the humiliation and stayed with them all for the sake of avenging her murdered family.

How different is this from his own situation?

"Drink?"

Dirk suddenly asked.

Helen was taken aback.

Dirk stood up, opened a cabinet, and took out a bottle of baijiu.

He said, "Drink a little?"

Helen decisively said, "Then let's have a little."

They each poured half a cup.

Dirk raised his glass and boldly asked, "Bottoms up?"

Without thinking, Helen drank all the liquor in her glass.

She smacked her lips.

Her face instantly turned a rosy hue.

"Dirk, am I beautiful?"

Helen suddenly asked.

Dirk nodded and said, "Beautiful, very beautiful."

Upon hearing this.

Helen said, "I can be even more beautiful. Do you want to see?"

"I do!"

Dirk nodded compliantly and said.