The ticking of the pendulum clock seemed to magnify the silence in the office.

Leo sat in his chair, a whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.

’Something’s not right.’

Leo suddenly broke the mental silence.

"Mr. President, the logic doesn’t add up."

Roosevelt’s voice was quick to respond.

"How so?"

Leo stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, Pittsburgh was shrouded in the deepest darkness before dawn, with only a few scattered streetlights flickering against the gloom.

"If the Democratic National Committee really wants to destroy Murphy and destroy me, aren’t they afraid I’ll flip the table?" Leo stared at his reflection in the glass. "I’ve told the White House before: if they push me too far, I’ll take Pittsburgh’s votes and jump ship to the Republican Party."

"That would be a devastating blow to the Democratic Party. They should be afraid of that leverage."

"Even if only to keep me in line, they shouldn’t have issued an ultimatum in a way that’s tantamount to burning bridges."

"Unless..."

Leo paused, his gaze sharpening.

"Unless they’re certain the Republican Party would never take me."

"Bingo."

Roosevelt snapped his fingers. Though it was only a crisp sound in their mental space, it sent a shiver down Leo’s spine.

"Kid, you’re finally seeing things clearly."

"A few months ago, who were you? You were the political rising star who burst onto the scene with a historic seventy-two percent of the vote."

"You were clean, a hero to the workers, the young dragon-slayer who drove the corrupt mayor from office."

"Back then, if you’d said you were jumping ship, the Republican Party would have rolled out the red carpet for you. Because you represented the will of the people, you represented victory."

"But now?"

"Look at the state you’re in now."

Roosevelt’s words cut like a knife.

"You’re saddled with a federal antitrust lawsuit, accused of colluding with oligarchs and selling out the city’s sovereignty."

"Your own base is online calling you a corporate stooge."

"You’re mired in rumors of corruption. Your political credibility is on the verge of collapse."

"To the Republican Party, you are now a toxic asset."

"If they took you in, they’d be taking on a ticking time bomb, a scandal-ridden mess."

’So that’s how it is.’

With just a slight nudge from Roosevelt, Leo immediately understood the crux of the matter.

That’s why the lawsuit was timed so precisely, and why public opinion erupted all at once.

It wasn’t just about smearing his name; it was about cutting off all his escape routes.

This one-two punch had turned him from a political asset who could play both sides into a political pariah nobody dared to touch.

"Moreover..."

Roosevelt’s voice grew deeper.

"Based on my assessment, the reason the Democratic Party leadership is so confident—daring to issue you a direct ultimatum—is that they have a solid intelligence channel."

"They know, with one hundred percent certainty, that the Republican Party will not have you."

Leo frowned. "Why?"

"Think about it. What did Murphy say on the phone just now?"

Leo recalled the conversation.

"He said... as long as Murphy drops out of the race, the antitrust lawsuit will be over."

"Right, that’s the line." Roosevelt seized on the key point. "Who is the plaintiff in the antitrust suit? The Pennsylvania Free Trade Promotion Association."

"By what right can the Democratic Party speak for the plaintiff? How can they guarantee the lawsuit will be dropped?"

"There are only two possibilities."

Roosevelt held up a finger.

"First, as you just said, this is an internal purge within the Democratic Party. The association is a front organization set up by Monroe or the National Committee. If that’s the case, they can naturally have the suit withdrawn whenever they want."

Leo nodded. That fit perfectly with his earlier suspicions.

"But, Leo, I’ve given it some careful thought." Roosevelt’s voice was firm. "And that possibility is actually quite low."

"Why?"

"From a big-picture perspective, it doesn’t fit the Establishment Faction’s logic. Yes, they want to purge dissidents, but they want to win the general election more."

"Using the Sherman Antitrust Law to attack a major infrastructure project in a city governed by their own party? That’s not just a slap in your face; it’s a slap in the face of the Democratic Party’s entire economic recovery platform."

"If this lawsuit really blows up and proves that the Democratic Party’s star mayor is involved in monopolistic practices and corruption, then come the general election, the Republican Party will use that indictment to obliterate every Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania."

"Handing the enemy party a knife to kill you with, just to take out an internal challenger? The Establishment Faction may be arrogant, but they’re not stupid."

"That’s a scorched-earth tactic—killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own men. Only a madman would do that, and what those bureaucrats in Washington excel at is risk management."

"To pull a stunt like that for an internal purge, in a key swing state... it’s far too risky."

"So, that possibility is highly unlikely."

Roosevelt held up a second finger.

"Which leaves only the second possibility."

"You were sued by the Republicans."

"And in all likelihood, it was Russell Warren."

Leo’s pupils contracted sharply.

"Warren?"

"Correct. Only Warren has both the motive and the means," Roosevelt analyzed.

"The Democratic Party’s actions right now are just damage control."

"But..." Leo’s thoughts were a jumble. "If Warren is the one who sued, how can the Democratic Party promise that the lawsuit will be dropped if Murphy withdraws? It’s not like they can order Warren around, can they?"