"Take your chopper?" Charlie looked at Julien skeptically and queried, "Where can your chopper take me?" Julien answered hastily, "Its range is about 300 miles. You can go anywhere it can fly!" He then added, "I just told the pilot to get ready to take off. You can go anytime!" "Where were you heading when you told the pilot to prepare for takeoff?" asked Charlie. Julien quickly responded, "I was planning to have Royce go home and check on the situation, to see how the others are progressing and gather some information..." Charlie replied calmly, "You're sending your son home, not outside the blockade. How can you be sure that your chopper can enter and exit the blockade?" Julien affirmed, "I'm the first heir of the family. My chopper can definitely get in and out freely. No one can stop me." "We'll see about that," Charlie smirked. He then turned to Hank and ordered, "You will accompany Mr. Royce to take the chopper for a spin. Fly directly outside the blockade area
Hank's men responded promptly, "Alright, boss! We’ve got it!" Charlie knew that there were hundreds of people watching the Cole family mansion now. He could sneak in quietly, but it was impossible to go to the gate and take the Four-Sided Treasure Stone from the lion statue. Moreover, he did not know whether he could take the treasure tower out of that place. There was no doubt that no one would be able to stop him if he forced his way out of the restricted area with the tower, but he would risk exposing himself. Currently, the big trouble with the Qing Eliminating Society hadn't been solved yet. It would only give him more trouble if he exposed himself to the Rothschild family now. Hence, Charlie needed to think of a method that was as safe as possible. He would have fulfilled Raymond's wish as long as he could quietly bring the treasure tower back to Oskia. It was now about three hours before dawn. Charlie decided to see if the helicopter route was feasible. Ten minutes l
Julien was astonished by Charlie's remarks. Upon careful consideration, Julien felt that what Charlie said made sense. Whoever took the Four-Sided Treasure Tower would be the first heir, so the only idea he had in mind was to quickly retrieve the treasure tower so that he could retain his position as the first heir. But when he thought about this crisis from another perspective, what if no one could find the treasure tower? He was the first heir, to begin with. If he cut off others' chances of advancement, he would still be the first heir, wouldn't he? The only difference, of course, was that in this case, although he was still the first heir, the treasure tower would no longer belong to the Rothschild family. But he was left with no choice now. His life was in Charlie's hands, and he was thankful to be able to survive the ordeal. Thus, he asked tentatively, "Sir, can you please guarantee that the other Rothschilds will never find the treasure tower, let alone get it home?"
Julien hastily replied, "The Four-Sided Treasure Tower originally belonged to Oskia. It would be best if it could return to Oskia..." "But your father dreams of getting it back." Charlie asked, "Why don't you share the same thought?" Julien assumed Charlie was testing him, trying to see where he stood, so he immediately responded with an air of righteous indignation, "To be honest with you, my father is still full of imperialist thinking. He believes that anything he seizes is his, but it doesn't work that way now. We're living in a civilized society! The treasure tower was obtained dishonestly back then, so it's only right to return it to its rightful owner. I've been educated with modern legal principles, so I do have a sense of justice!" With a satisfactory nod, Charlie asked, "So, even though you are the first heir of the family and even though your father, the patriarch of the family, desperately hopes that the treasure tower can return to your family, you are still willing
A roar of the helicopter came from far away. Charlie's eyes lit up as he said, "Your son is back." Julien involuntarily muttered, "I hope they're not in trouble." A few minutes later, Hank and Royce walked into Charlie's room. As soon as they entered the room, Julien asked anxiously, "How was it? Did anyone stop you?" "Yes!" Royce blurted angrily. "The National Security Agency's radar blocked the airspace in the blockade area. As soon as our helicopter arrived near the edge of the blockade area, they radioed to warn us that all non-government helicopters were currently banned from taking off in the airspace for national security reasons. They also asked us to land in the designated area for inspection. I told them my identity, and after they verified it, they did not force us to land for inspection, but told us to stay away from the boundary of the blockade area." Hank, standing nearby, added, "This level of strict control hasn't been seen since 9/11." Hearing this, Charlie
Moreover, simply leaving the blockade zone wouldn't be enough. It was possible that the Rothschild family had secretly instructed these agencies to expand the blockade. The best course of action would be to find an opportunity to leave the United States altogether. Thinking of this, Charlie asked Julien, "Your family should have many assets and businesses around the world. It should be common and usual for you guys to go abroad. If you or any family member wants to go abroad at this moment, can you avoid inspection?" "Well—" Julien muttered, "My father intends to mobilize the entire family's resources and go all out to search the Four-Sided Treasure Tower. Everything else can be put on hold for now. Given this situation, he probably won't let us leave the country. Not only that, but many key family members overseas have also started returning to the U.S. After all, the matter of the family head's successor is at stake, and no one wants to leave at a time like this." Charlie smack
Julien was a little confused by Charlie's remarks. He took a deep breath and began in a solemn tone, "Helena is the Nordic Queen. Her visit to Canada is a relatively serious political event, and such matters are usually planned well in advance. Her scheduled visit to Canada is set for next Friday, which is nine days from now. How could it be moved forward just like that?" "Don't worry about it," Charlie reassured. "Just answer my question." Julien thought for a while and began, "My father is hoping that Royce will keep in touch with Helena. It was an idea some time ago. A few days ago, he expressed his wish that Royce could represent our family to meet Helena in Canada. They can get to know each other first and then see if there is a chance of marriage. If Helena visits Canada according to the plan, he should send Royce over, but because of the special situation, I'm not sure if he will change his mind." "I don't think he will change his mind," Charlie replied. "For one, Helena
"C-Curtis?" Julien exclaimed. "Do you mean the Curtis Wade who turned my family upside down 20 years ago?! So... You're Ashley's son?!" "Yes." Charlie nodded. "That's right." Julien took a deep breath to compose himself and sighed. "No wonder! No wonder the short video platform that your family owned refused to remove and ban the freaking videos. So, you’re Curtis's son..." After that, he muttered, "You are Curtis's son, and you're here for the Four-Sided Treasure Tower, so... Bruce's exposure of Brooklyn Prison and Biden as well as the video of Malcolm's affair with Bruce's wife... Those were all your doings?" "Yes." Charlie admitted frankly, "They were all my ideas." "Tsk..." Julien inhaled fearfully. "You're incredible. Just a few smart moves have left us in disarray. You truly carry the same demeanor as your father back in the day." Charlie responded in a monotonous tone, "You can stop your flattery now." As he said this, he took out his phone from his pocket, casuall
Jimmy was sweating profusely in fear, but he argued back before he knew it, "That's impossible! Everything you say is bullshit! Gaiman simply thought he had a fair chance of winning and didn't want to pay Ares that much, and I have no idea who he partnered with, and I'm certainly not involved. Don't you try to slander me!"Nate chuckled. "Come on, Jimmy. We're all adults here, so there are things we shouldn't have to be so direct about. Mills Gaiman and your old classmate met in private many times, not to mention the private conferences you three had in secret, discussing your overall strategy and decisive points. Just so you know, Gaiman recorded every conversation, and I have the tapes with me."Jimmy's heart was left pounding as he blurted, "B-Bullshit! That's impossible!""Grow up, Jimmy," Mr.Goodman chuckled. "Every partner in every law firm always strives to rise higher, so I'm going to need as much leverage as I can. Otherwise, I'm not about to let them advance any further, e
Although the ringtone and vibration frequency were the ones Jimmy always used, this call somehow felt more urgent, leaving him exceedingly uneasy.When it abruptly stopped and left a missed call on his log, Nate Ellis soon sent a text: [Answer your damn phone this instant!]Just seeing the text left Jimmy feeling like his throat had gone dry, and as he gulped, it felt like his throat was being ripped, leaving him hurting.Still, he couldn't care less as his boss called again.Having seen the text, Jimmy didn't hesitate this time and promptly answered, watching Julien's smug face as he started tentatively, "Y-Yes, boss...?"Nate immediately yelled at him hysterically, "What the hell did you do?! Why did the Rothschilds call to complain about you?! And the complaint was from their heir apparent, at that! I worked hard for them and always toed the line for years, and I still haven't gotten a chance to meet the man, so how the fuck did you upset him?!"Jimmy's heart sank to rock bott
Fuming, Jimmy snapped at Julien, "If you insist on playing it like that, I will call my boss, and you can talk to him yourself!"Julien chuckled. "That's unnecessary. I've never met him. He would never recognize my voice."Jimmy laughed and nodded despite himself. "Impressive—you can really come up with anything! You don't have his number because he's beneath you, you refuse to call him because he's beneath you, and when I say I'll call him for you, you say he won't recognize your voice. Well, how do you suppose we should sort this out? At least prove you're a Rothschild, or anyone could claim that they are—"Julien held up a hand to stop him. "Then, how about this? I'll ask my butler to talk to your boss."Jimmy laughed even more loudly as if it were the best joke ever. "Hahaha!!! Butler, you say?! You really know how to talk! Alright, I'll wait and see what your 'butler' can do… I mean, what you can do. We'll see whether my boss calls me!"Julien ignored him and whipped out his
Naturally, Jimmy couldn't care less about Julien's suggestion, even looking at him pointedly from head to toe while smirking in contempt, "What, do you think I'd just do what any nutjob tells me to do just because they're claiming to be the Rothschilds' heir apparent?"Julien nodded, still smiling. "Good point, but don't worry—it's the same whether you call him or he calls you."Jimmy laughed. "I was offering you a way out, but you want to keep pressing your luck? Since you don't care to back off, let's see how you're going to finish this fight."Then, he shrugged while pointing at Yolden. "Well, it's the perfect chance to measure Matilda's husband, I guess."Based on what he saw of Yolden, there was no way he would buy Julien's claims, and thus labeled him an impostor in his mind.An ordinary lecturer in Aurous Hill, being friends with the Rothschilds' heir apparent? Not to mention that there had been plenty of fraudulent cases outside the States where the Rothschild name was use
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th