Chapter 14: Rumor
Esther Serena turned her head in my direction. For a moment, I was pretty sure she was looking right at me. But when I looked up, I saw her attention had already shifted back to the vagrant.
’Was I imagining things?’
Then I saw her begin addressing the people nearby, calmly instructing them to help the injured store owner and guiding the crowd to settle down.
With just a few words, she took control of the situation.
I couldn’t help but be impressed. The way she handled everything so naturally, with such authority... If it were me in her place, I’d have frozen on the spot.
But then I was reminded of her identity.
If she really was the daughter of Victor Serena, her ability to handle a crowd made perfect sense.
Her father was the head of a gang. As his daughter, she’d naturally have some experience giving orders and taking control.
Though, calling it a gang might be a bit of a stretch.
From what I could tell, the Workers operated more like a labor union than a typical criminal group. They didn’t extort protection fees from random people or businesses like most gangs did. Instead, they only collected dues from their members, and those members actually received real benefits in return.
Based on what I could piece together from my memories, membership in the Workers came with certain protections. Employers were less likely to abuse or exploit Workers-affiliated laborers.
There were probably a lot more benefits to being part of the Workers, especially considering nearly every laborer in the West Borough had joined. But the original Aiden hadn’t paid much attention to the details.