The first order of business in the wake of the battlefield's silence was the massive undertaking of absorbing the Gilt Rats' empire. It was only during this process of deep forensic accounting and asset seizing that Max and his inner circle truly realized the staggering scale of the Gilt Rats' influence. Their fingers weren't just in the underworld; they were woven into the very fabric of Notting Hill City.
They owned various stakes in legitimate businesses, from logistics to local infrastructure, but more importantly, they held a terrifying currency: a vast database of blackmail. They had leverage on high-ranking officials across nearly every major industry. Seeing the sheer volume of sensitive data, it finally made sense how they were able to manipulate even a member of the Stern family into a corner. It also explained why someone would go to such violent lengths to ensure those secrets stayed buried forever.
