World Domination Begins With Getting a System in a Modern World-Chapter 97: The McCullens’ Crimes

James pulled into the parking lot of the café, the low growl of the Gemera’s engine turning a few heads.

He parked neatly by the curb, stepped out of the car, and noticed a handful of people — mostly women — stealing quick glances at him.

He ignored them as he didn’t have the time, and he has more important things on his mind.

He walked towards the café door and ushing it open, the smell of coffee and pastries filled his senses.

His eyes immediately locked onto Gregor, who was seated at a table tucked into the far corner of the room, away from prying eyes and ears.

James walked over casually, and took the seat opposite Gregor.

"You told me you got some solid information. Spill it," James said with curiosity and anticipation in his voice.

Gregor leaned forward slightly, with a confident smile on on his face.

"Trust me, "you won’t believe what I’m about to show you" he said, as he reached into his briefcase,

With a slight grunt, he pulled out a thick manila envelope and placed it on the table between them. His fingers gave it a small nudge, sliding it across the polished surface to James.

James picked it up, his eyebrows arching at the weight of it and its bulkiness.

"Inside that envelope," Gregor said, lowering his voice further, "is enough evidence to not just ruin the McCullens — but to turn their entire empire into dust."

He leaned back in his seat, with pride evident in his posture. He has spent the past month gathering all the information in the envelope and he’s very confident in the job he did.

"If the right authorities were to get their hands on that, Edward McCullen and every senior executive at Cullen Corp would be eating prison food for the next few decades. No amount of bribes or high-level connections will save them," he said, with a smile.

He wants to make sure James understand the value of the envelope in front of him.

James smiled when he heard what Gregor said. He could see how confident he is and he’s very curious to know what he has in store for him, as he slowly opened the envelope, pulling out the first sheet of documents.

At first glance, it looked like standard corporate papers. But as his eyes scanned the words, his expression darkened.

Meth, fentanyl, $37.6 million, 5%.

Those words practically leapt off the page.

James’ eyes widened, and he leaned in, reading the lines on the paper faster. Each line dragged him deeper into a revelation so shocking it was almost hard to believe.

Edward McCullen — the so-called respectable businessman that was exposed to be not so respectful after the wave of scandals — was laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. And he was doing this through Cullen Corp, the family company.

The company was moving millions under the guise of overseas "investments" and "consulting fees."

James curiously flipped to another page. It detailed transaction after transaction — shell companies, offshore accounts, fake invoices — all meticulously documented.

The deeper he read, the more the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Also, just as James and everyone had already guessed, the scandals that had rocked Cullen Corp months ago? The sudden regulatory investigations? The whispered rumors of corruption?

They weren’t random. They weren’t bad luck. They were payback from a rival cartel trying to destabilize their enemies.

James finished reading and slowly set the document down on the table. His lips parted into a dark smile, the kind of smile that would send shivers down the spine of anyone who saw it.

He looked up at Gregor, with gleaming eyes. There was no doubt as to how damaging the information contained in the document in his hand alone is. And to add make things even better, there’s a whole envelope worth of incriminating evidence. But there’s one tiny issue. How accurate are the information?

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" James asked, with a very solemn and dangerously, low voice.

"Absolutely." Gregor nodded without hesitation.

"I had already gotten the information before you left for your trip. But since you were away, I kept digging. I wanted to be certain and I found additional sources. Paper trails. Whistleblowers. Even internal emails."

He gestured to the bulky envelope.

"That’s why the file’s thicker now. Every single thing in there has been double-checked. It’s airtight. I’m perfect at what I do, Mr Zolomon."

James nodded slightly and tapped the edge of the envelope thoughtfully, as he absorbed the weight of the situation.

Inside the envelope in front of him wasn’t just shady accounting or insider trading. This was federal level criminal activity. Drug money. Cartel connections. RICO Act violations.

The kind of thing that, once exposed, wouldn’t just ruin a family name — it would erase it from existence.

James grinned as he thought of just how much damage he could do with the envelope’s content.

"Good," he said softly.

Everything was perfect but he wasn’t stupid. As much as the idea of obliterating the McCullens thrilled him, he understood the risks.

Cartels weren’t corporations. They didn’t sue you and bury you under tons of legal work. They will kill you.

If the McCullens found out someone was behind their downfall, and if they were still connected to the cartel, retaliation wouldn’t come through lawyers — it would come through guns and blood.

James leaned back in his chair, letting out a low breath.

He couldn’t afford to make this personal. He couldn’t let it trace back to him. Patty and Leslie’s safety came first. Always.

He glanced at Gregor.

"You understand the risks, right?" James asked curiously.

Gregor nodded solemnly.

"I do. That’s why I made sure everything can be traced back to anonymous sources. There’s no way anyone can tie this to you. Also, during my investigation, I made sure not to raise any flag."

"Good. Very good." James smiled approvingly.

He sat there for a moment, running different scenarios through his mind.

He couldn’t go to the authorities directly. That was too obvious. No, he would leak the information strategically — to regulatory agencies, news outlets, maybe even rival companies who would benefit from Cullen Corp’s downfall. Especially to news outlets, as they like juicy thing. And then, he will let the wolves tear the McCullens apart.

James tapped his finger lightly against the envelope, with a smile on his face.

"What about their board members?" he asked.

Gregor grinned like a man who had just been waiting for the question.

"They’re no better. Embezzlement, fraud, insider trading, sexual misconduct... you name it. I even found dirt on the company’s Chief Financial Officer — offshore accounts, illegal bonuses. If you want to collapse the entire board, it’s doable."

James laughed under his breath. This was too hilarious. This is no different from saying that the company was run by criminals. But should one had expected from a company which sole goal is to launder money for a drug cartel?

"They built their empire on sand." He said, with a laugh.

"Exactly," Gregor smiled.

James looked around the café briefly. No one was paying them any attention. Still, he lowered his voice further.

"I’ll handle it from here. You’ve done well, Gregor. I’ll have rest of your money and your bonus transferred today."

"Pleasure doing business, Mr. Zolomon," Gregor said, as bright, wide smile on his face.

James nodded with a satisfied smile as he watched Gregor leave the café. He was already thinking of how to proceed with envelope, but first, he needs to see Ralph.

Before leaving the café, he transferred Mr Harrington’s fee — $375,000 — and also transferred Gregor’s fee — $300,000.

Gregor’s total actual fee was $250,000 and James had already paid $50,000 upfront, but due to valuable evidence he bore fruit from his investigation, he decided to give him a total bonus of $100,000.

After he was done with that, he left the café and started driving to Ralph’s place.