Chapter 213: Whitewashing
"Frank, what's up?" Karen asked as she got home.
"Let's talk upstairs," Frank replied, leading the group up so they wouldn't disturb Sheila's livestream downstairs.
These days, Sheila was a popular streamer with close to a million followers. Every livestream drew in a substantial audience.
Worth mentioning—Karen, being Sheila's daughter, often appeared on stream. Her sweet and adorable looks quickly gained her a modest following of over a hundred thousand fans. Occasionally, she even did yoga livestreams on her own.
Once upstairs in the bedroom, Frank pulled out a backpack and opened it, revealing stacks of cash inside.
"You—" Pinkman's expression changed at the sight of the money.
"Relax, this is my cut," Frank clarified quickly.
"So much money?!" Karen and Svetlana gasped in unison.
Although Sheila was now a well-followed streamer with monthly income, the industry was still in its early stages—livestreaming didn't pay as much yet.
Sheila focused on cooking and science content, and unlike future influencers, there were no sponsorship deals or product placements. Most income came from viewer donations.
She wasn't one of those streamers who relied on looks or body to attract fans, nor did she have a wealthy benefactor or connections to gain exposure. Occasionally, she'd get invited to events, but the appearance fee barely scratched a few hundred dollars.
So, seeing 200,000$ in cash on the table was a shock to Karen.
As for Svetlana, who had to service over a dozen clients a day just to make 200–300 bucks—this kind of money was completely outside her world.
"Dad, where did you get all this?" Karen asked once she regained her composure.
"This is all dirty money. I need to clean it," Frank admitted.
Initially, he wanted to hand it all to Fiona—she'd managed the household since childhood, working eight jobs a day just to keep the family afloat. Frank knew she was frugal and responsible.
But Fiona rejected the money, which caught Frank off guard.
Soon enough, though, he understood her concern: this money was illegal, dangerous, and came with serious risks.
That's when Frank decided—he had to launder it.
To put it bluntly, laundering is turning "dirty" money into "legal income" using various methods.
There are many ways to do this. For example, through art auctions: a painting that looks like random scribbles sells for hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions.
Does anyone really believe those "masterpieces" are worth that much?
Truth is, art auctions often serve as money laundering fronts.
Not just art—film production, casinos, even retail shops are used for this.
And laundering money is far more common than most people think. It's not just a crime-world thing; it happens all around regular folks, unnoticed.
Ever seen a retail shop in your city with almost no customers, yet it stays open for years?
That's textbook laundering.
Through creative accounting, the shop can report "100 sales a day" on paper, pay taxes accordingly, and—voilà—the dirty money is now clean, legal income.
This is what Frank wanted to do.
If it were just this 300k, he wouldn't bother with all this. He could slowly spend it in cash.
But his operation with Walt and Pinkman wasn't a one-time deal—it was just the beginning. The money would only increase, and he'd need help laundering it. Otherwise, he'd run out of places to hide the cash.
Police busts often uncover boxes of cash—money too dirty to be banked, just stashed at home.
But laundering money isn't easy.
There are many methods, but trust is the most important part.
This isn't like washing clothes—this is washing money. Even monks who've sworn off worldly desires would smile at a corrupt official handing over a donation in crisp bills.
So Frank needed someone he could absolutely trust.
And the best option? Family.
But Frank's family situation was complicated. He couldn't drag Fiona into this—she'd never agree anyway.
So, he turned to Karen.
Over the past few days, Frank had learned a lot about how much Karen had changed in the past six months. Especially the way she handled that foster mom who tried to keep Debbie and extort money—it impressed Frank.
Still, this was a big job. Karen couldn't handle it alone.
No matter how mature she'd become, she was still a high school kid.
That's where Svetlana came in.
Frank had seen her potential. She'd be perfect for the job. Plus, he helped free her from her previous "work," so she had reason to be loyal.
Frank's plan was clear: Svetlana would lead the laundering, Karen would manage the books, and the two of them would handle the operation together.
After explaining everything, both Karen and Svetlana agreed.
"But what exactly are we going to do to launder the money?" Frank asked. "Maybe... open a store?"
The room fell silent. Everyone exchanged glances, but no one had a solid idea.
They weren't experts, after all.
Still, the team was in place. The details could be worked out later.
"Well, you bought me," Svetlana said with a shrug. "I'm yours now—you can have me do whatever. But just a reminder: I'm still undocumented. If immigration catches me, I'll get deported."
"That's a small problem," Frank replied calmly.
(End of Chapter)
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