Helena waved her hand dismissively. "You don't have to. As you mentioned, procuring the hardware for the AI models comes with its own costs. I'd rather take a loss myself than let you suffer. After all, you're already of such an age, and having had a stroke once before. If you end up losing something and it affects your mood, leading to a relapse, wouldn't that make me the bad guy?" "No, no, no!" Harrison, ignoring the subtle mockery, hurried over to Helena with great urgency and reassured, almost desperately, "Buying the hardware for Your Majesty is something we should do. Please accept it." As he said it, he lamented with regret, "Your Highness, I'm old, and my mindset is molded in the conservative mode because of decades of experience, and bargaining is one of them. Nevertheless, please rest assured that we will never again bargain when doing business with you." After experiencing the powerful effect of the Healing Pill, Harrison keenly realized that the pill must be a life-sa
After confirming the receipt of 20 billion dollars, Helena smiled at Harrison and said, "I've received the money, Mr. Rothschild. Thank you for your generous payment. It's been a pleasure working with you. I'll be returning to Northern Europe in a couple of days, and I hope your AI team will arrive there at the same time." "Of course, Your Majesty!" Harrison immediately responded. "I'll have them prepare right away and head over as soon as possible to take care of the preliminary planning and arrangements." While Helena was successfully selling the Healing Pill for 60 billion dollars plus a set of AI models, Julien, who was 20 meters away from the door, and Royce, who had just arrived, anxiously watched the time. In his view, the meeting between Harrison and Helena was taking a bit too long. It wasn't that he had any objection to their meeting. He was just worried it might delay the upcoming family meeting. After all, the meeting was set to start promptly at ten, and that mome
'Even if he actively participated in the best rehabilitation in the world, he would only be able to recover slightly better than he is now. It would be God's blessing if he could recover to the point where he could walk with crutches!' As he thought of this, Julien turned his head to look at the attending physician, his face full of confusion and bewilderment. In fact, the attending physician was even more baffled. He felt as if his whole brain and spine had been fried at the same time. He felt as if all his years of medical training had been for nothing. In his whole career, over half a lifetime in medicine, he had never seen someone just recover from a stroke and immediately get up and walk around effortlessly. More importantly, Harrison was now politely chatting with the queen, gesturing animatedly, speaking fluently, and looking full of energy—more lively than even he was! All the doctor could do was nudge his glasses, astonished, confused, yet delighted, exclaiming
Julien was completely overwhelmed at this moment, but Harrison, having already heard Helena speak highly of Julien, felt a mix of gratitude and guilt toward him. He didn't suspect that Julien harbored any rebellious thoughts. Seeing Julien looking completely devastated, Harrison thought Julien was simply too emotional. He quickly stepped forward, gave him a hug, and patted his shoulder, beaming, "My good son, thank you! Thank you for everything you've done for me!" Julien, being hugged by Harrison, leaned on Harrison's shoulder and looked at Helena with red eyes, his eyes full of doubt. With a faint smile, Helena said, "Mr. Rothschild, I'll take my leave now so as not to interrupt your sweet moment with your son. I have some other business to tend to." "Come on, Julien. See Her Majesty off!" Harrison instantly urged. Julien thought, 'Oh, great! I was just looking for an opportunity to ask her what's going on!' Hence, he quickly replied, "Okay, Dad! I'll see Her Majesty off.
With a faint smile, Helena said, "Maybe it's for your sake that Mr. Wade saved your father. After all, you are his friend. It's normal for him to help his friend's sick father, isn't it?" Julie was like a bear with a sore head. Shaking and pointing at Helena with trembling fingers, he roared, "I would have believed it had it been anyone else, but I don't believe Charlie! I'm sure he was the reason why my dad had a stroke!" Helena smiled and said, "As an objective third party, I don't think there's anything wrong with Mr. Wade. The main reason your father had a stroke was because the Four-Sided Treasure Tower suddenly returned to Oskia. But if I remember correctly, you were the one who sent the tower out of New York, right?" Julien was so shocked that the blood drained from his face. He quickly waved his hands, panicked, and whispered, "Your Majesty, you must not say that!" Helena shrugged slightly and said, "Am I wrong? I seem to remember that it was your helicopter that carrie
"I—" Helena's words made Julien wince. If the earlier statement had been a warning to him, the last remarks were a threat, through and through! Just a few words, and he could feel the intense intimidation! Julien was no fool. Figuring out the gravity of the current situation, he mumbled to himself, "Now that Dad has experienced a miraculous recovery from the elixir, he'll inevitably develop a strong dependence on it. The next time he gets sick or faces a life-threatening situation, he'll stop at nothing to get another one to extend his life." "Once he is in that 'at all costs' mindset, any rules will become meaningless to him." "Take the last incident with the treasure tower, for example. He didn't even consult me before issuing a decree—whoever finds the tower and brings it back would become the next heir. That was downright outrageous!" "With that precedent set, it's obvious that if he ever needs an elixir and can't obtain it, he'll make a similar decree—whoever brings him
Julien said rather respectfully, "Then, Your Majesty, I won't be accompanying you back to Canada." Helena gave a slight nod and responded with a graceful smile, her every expression exuding elegance, and her royal demeanor evident in every gesture. Seeing this, Julien felt a shiver in his heart. It wasn't that he was moved by Helena's beauty or poise, but rather, the more dignified she appeared, the more sinister she seemed in his eyes. She was only in her twenties, yet every word she spoke carried a murderous aura—this wasn't something just anyone could possess. However, Julien dared not show any dissatisfaction. He watched Helena board the helicopter and only breathed a sigh of relief once it had flown off into the distance. As he turned around to head back, he ran into Royce, who had come looking for him. "Dad!" Seeing his father, Royce hurriedly said, "Grandpa said for you to head straight to the conference room after seeing off the Queen. The meeting is about to start."
Royce felt very hurt. Despite that, he chose to purse his lips shut and not say another word to the angry Julien. Thus, Julien and Royce came to the meeting room one after the other quietly. Nearly all the family members had arrived at the meeting room, which resembled a medieval European palace. However, Harrison had not yet arrived. Everyone knew that today was the day when Harrison would pass the throne to Julien. Once Harrison made the announcement, Julien would officially become the head of the Rothschild family. Therefore, despite their agitated grimace, they were all thinking to themselves that they must find every possible way to flatter Julien as much as they could. From now on, all their resources, income, and their future would be in Julien's hands. As soon as Julien and Royce arrived, everyone, without exception, rose from their seats. The coordinated movement felt very much like the solemnity of military leaders standing at attention when they saw their comma
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