Family Plot (Seventh Update, Fire’s Ten Thousand Reward Bonus Update, Seeking Full Subscription!!)

Los Angeles.

The City of Angels, the second-largest city after New York, but in terms of tourism, the number of visitors to Los Angeles each year is slightly higher than to New York.

Hollywood is here. If getting a visa to New York is hellish, then if you’re lucky and Hollywood notices you, getting rich overnight isn’t a dream.

Of course.

It’s just a possibility.

However, none of this has anything to do with Lake. He came here on vacation with Rachel, and to take care of some personal matters.

His car.

Boom!

Lake, wearing sunglasses, walked out of a building expressionlessly. The moment he stepped out, a boom echoed, and an orange fireball from an explosion instantly shot into the sky, causing alarms to blare.

Still not here.

Lake sighed. This was the third car recovery organization he had checked, but his car wasn’t taken by this organization.

However…

This didn’t affect Lake’s plan to double-cross them at all.

He had to admit, these organizations that bought and sold luxury cars had more cash than the small-time operations he used to run. Including this third one, Lake had now topped up his cheat system’s balance to five hundred thousand. Fifty thousand more, and he could get another ten draws with a bonus one.

This was good.

Back at the hotel.

Rachel, drowsy, felt Lake get into bed. She turned over and naturally hugged him. "Where were you?"

Lake looked at Rachel, who didn’t even open her eyes. "Went out to buy some cigarettes."

Rachel’s nose twitched. "You smell really good."

Lake said thank you.

The next day.

This time, Lake and Rachel’s destination was Olvera Street, the birthplace of Los Angeles. The street was only about two hundred meters long, but Josie, just like the previous few days, showed no sign of losing interest. She looked around the street, exclaiming in wonder from time to time.

At noon.

A Mexican restaurant.

Rachel took George to the counter to order. Lake, sitting at their table, took out a piece of paper he had with him. He looked at the paper, where three names had been crossed out, leaving only the last clue.

Racing Edge.

This seemed to be a shop specializing in high-performance car parts, with no connection to the three car recovery organizations above.

Lake tapped the table.

This information was all retrieved from the Los Angeles FBI database. Lake hadn’t asked his assistant, Tiffany, to contact the Los Angeles FBI.

After all, it wasn’t something to be proud of that the car of a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security was stolen less than half an hour after purchase.

A moment later.

Ding dong!

Lake took out his phone. It was a message from his assistant, Tiffany. She had sent him the detailed address of the Racing Edge shop.

"Lake."

"Yeah."

After Lake picked up the food tray, Rachel sat down with Josie and said, "Shall we go see my sister this afternoon?"

Lake replied, "Sure."

It wasn’t like meeting his parents, so Lake felt no pressure. Besides, it seemed that none of the three women he had gotten involved with so far had parents.

Emilia, undoubtedly, even if she did, her remains would probably be considered ancient artifacts by now.

Seifer, like Lake, was an orphan.

Rachel?

She had family – two younger brothers and a younger sister. But after their parents passed away early on, their contact gradually decreased.

Since they were in Los Angeles this time, it was only natural to go back and see them.

Lake ate the food on his plate and looked up at Rachel. "By the way, you said your brother and sister are here. What about the other brother?"

Rachel asked, "You mean Jacob?"

Lake shrugged.

How would he know who was who? He wasn’t dating Rachel’s brothers and sister, so he hadn’t bothered to ask for their names.

Rachel thought for a moment. "Jacob seems to have joined the army."

Lake asked curiously, "Seems?"

Rachel replied, "Our contact wasn’t very deep before. I was in Washington, and it was a long distance. However, my brother and sister here have a very good relationship."

Lake nodded. "Okay, so what’s your full name?"

Rachel blinked, looking at Lake with a strange expression. "You don’t know my full name?"

Lake chuckled. "How could I not?"

Rachel put down her fork and looked at Lake. "Oh, so what’s my last name?"

Lake smiled faintly. "Toledo?"

Rachel finally gave Lake a roll of her eyes. "I thought you didn’t know."

Lake smiled. "That’s a pretty unique last name, hard to forget."

After all, it was the family’s exclusive surname.

Rachel tilted her head. "Unique? That surname is quite common in Italy."

Lake shrugged. "But it’s special in the Federation. Still, your brother’s name is Jacob. If your other brother’s name was Dominic, then that would be truly special."

Jacob Toledo?

That name was ordinary. Even after hearing it, you’d forget it by the next day. But Dominic Toledo, that was different. He was a representative figure of the family.

But still…

Rachel blinked. "You said you didn’t investigate my information."

Lake looked at Rachel. "Your information? No, I never investigate my women."

"Then how do you know my brother’s name is Dominic? Or do you know him?"

"…Dominic Toledo?"

"Yeah."

"…What’s your sister’s name?"

"Mia. Mia Toledo."

"…"

Lake looked at Rachel as she spoke and took a deep breath.

Good heavens.

Lake inwardly exclaimed "Good heavens!"

…Wait.

This didn’t match the plot from the movie. If Rachel was a surprise addition, Lake could accept that. But who was that Jacob Toledo? Did he even appear in the movie?

Was he a buy-one-get-one free bonus?

Rachel looked at the stunned Lake. "What’s wrong? You don’t actually know them, do you?"

Lake snapped back to reality and shook his head. "I’ve heard of them."

Forget it.

Even if they were the real Toledos, they had no direct connection to him. He and Rachel were here for a vacation, not to find relatives.

Rachel found it amusing. "You’ve heard of them? Are they that famous?"

Lake opened his mouth, looked at Rachel, who seemed eager to know more, thought for a moment, and then looked at Rachel. "Last time I was at a security conference in Washington D.C., I overheard some colleagues from Los Angeles chatting. I vaguely recall it."

Rachel was taken aback. "Colleagues?"

What did Lake do?

National security.

Simply put, he was a law enforcement officer. His colleagues were undoubtedly also law enforcement officers. He heard his brother’s name from a few Los Angeles law enforcement officers?

Was this…

A good thing?

Rachel frowned. "What did they do?"

Lake shrugged and looked at Rachel. "Maybe I misheard."

Rachel didn’t believe him. "Los Angeles, Dominic Toledo. In Los Angeles, how many could there be?"

Lake said, "Should I make a call and ask?"

Rachel thought about it and waved her hand.

What if something really happened after that call? Who knew what kind of situation it would be.

Rachel thought this, told Josie next to her to hurry up and eat, and then urged Lake to finish his meal quickly so they could leave. She planned to go directly to her brother’s place to ask him why he was inexplicably being targeted by law enforcement agencies.

Soon.

On the way to their destination, Rachel, sitting in the front passenger seat, introduced Lake to the situation with her brother and sister.

Her brother, Dominic Toledo, and her sister, Mia Toledo, were the closest and most frequently in contact among the four siblings. Rachel had gone to Washington D.C. earliest, Jacob had joined the army, while Dominic and Mia had moved to Los Angeles, where they opened a small shop selling snacks, coffee, and burgers.

Rachel said, "I still don’t quite understand why he’s gotten involved with the law enforcement bureau again."

Lake raised an eyebrow, "Again?"

Rachel nodded. It was around the time Dominic turned seventeen. Rachel, who was already twenty-four and living in Washington D.C., received a call from her sister, Mia. Mia was very anxious, telling Rachel that Dominic had been arrested.

The charge was car theft, and not just simple car theft, but a whole operation: theft, dismantling, and fencing. He was caught red-handed by the law enforcement at the time.

Even after Rachel returned and pulled some strings, Dominic was still sentenced to three years in prison. He was released on parole after one year. Once his full sentence was complete, Dominic and Mia moved from their original location to Los Angeles to start over.

Counting the days, it had been about seven years since the two of them settled in Los Angeles.

After Rachel finished speaking, she rubbed her forehead, her temper flaring slightly. "Damn it, if he’s really gone back to his old ways, I won’t help him. Not this time, absolutely not."

Lake chuckled and comforted Rachel, "Don’t worry. Maybe it’s just a coincidence of names. From another perspective, it’s precisely because of these unknown used car dealers that people who can’t afford luxury cars can drive them."

Rachel blinked, "Sometimes, I really suspect they’re fake law enforcement."

Lake shrugged, "I always judge people, not actions."

In this world, what was truly black and white? History was written by the victors, so things had two sides. If he had to pick a side, Lake chose to stand with people.

Lake continued, "You know your current situation. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I can handle it."

"Handle my ass!"

"…"

Rachel said impatiently, "If he really goes back to his old ways, I absolutely won’t help him, and you’re not allowed to either. Do you know who I borrowed his bail money from back then?"

Lake thought for a moment, "Ray?"

Rachel nodded expressionlessly.

If she hadn’t borrowed the bail money from Ray for this matter back then, would she have accepted his pursuit?

Lake: "…"