The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 176

176. End of Crisis (3)

“Father, are you just going to stand by and watch?”

The middle-aged man, raising his voice with his arms outstretched, was Paulo Giannini.

And the man sitting before him was Carlo Giannini, Chairman of Bank of America.

“Paulo, do you think Kani will win this fight?”

Paulo Giannini didn’t see it as an easy matter.

“Kani Paul has the support of major shareholders. She is not someone to be ignored.”

He thought they should immediately convene the major shareholders of the Giannini family.

‘We need to hold a board meeting first.’

Carlo Giannini raised his right hand and said,

“Let’s watch a little longer.”

Paulo Giannini’s eyebrows shot up.

“Father!”

“It’s alright. There’s still room to spare.”

What exactly was he saying had room to spare?

Paulo Giannini was burning up inside.

“Father, we need to act now.”

“Paulo, you cannot embrace Bank of America with an impatient heart.”

“The opponent has already drawn their sword. How can you just stand by and watch?”

Paulo Giannini couldn’t understand his father at all.

“The major shareholders want to see Kani’s abilities. If she passes their test, then the real fight will begin.”

This isn’t the real fight.

Paulo Giannini blinked at his father’s words.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“It seems there are those who think it’s right to give a chance to someone from a family other than the Giannini family. But Kani won’t be able to seize that opportunity properly.”

The reason Chairman Carlo Giannini wasn’t moving wasn’t because he trusted the major shareholders.

He knew Kani Paul’s narrow and shallow mind.

‘She has talent, but her vessel isn’t big enough to contain it. If you want to do great things, you must first find a vessel that can hold yourself. But she won’t do that, so it will be difficult for her to produce good results this time as well.’

Failure.

This was the future Carlo Giannini envisioned for Kani Paul.

“So, you’re saying we should just stand by and watch?”

“You should do what you can do.”

I won’t move, but you do your work.

“If there’s something I can do… I understand. I will move immediately.”

Paulo Giannini bowed deeply and left his father’s room.

* * *

The warmth of the West Coast was a blessing that couldn’t be exchanged for anything.

Paulo Giannini’s villa was built on that blessed land.

With a private beach of a full 2 kilometers.

Lila Marin thought it was too extravagant every time she visited this villa.

‘Our Giannini family rose to help those in need and to illuminate the world with finance. But such extravagance only undermines the intentions of our predecessors.’

She didn’t have a good impression of her maternal uncle, Paulo Giannini. But today, she couldn’t avoid meeting Paulo Giannini.

“Miss, the master is waiting inside.”

The butler’s tone was as if he had time-traveled from hundreds of years ago.

“Is he in the drawing room?”

“He is in the study.”

“Thank you.”

Lila Marin, wearing a blue blouse and an ivory velvet skirt, entered the study.

“You asked to see me?”

Paulo Giannini didn’t get up from his seat and closed the book he was reading.

“I have something to talk to you about.”

Lila Marin sat down in front of him and asked,

“What is it about?”

“It’s about our family.”

Lila Marin narrowed her brows.

“About the family?”

The reason she narrowed her brows was simple.

‘He’s going to tell me to go along with a political marriage for the sake of the family.’

Lila Marin felt like what was coming had finally arrived.

‘I won’t be so easily swayed.’

She intended to drive the man chosen as her marriage partner to the point where he would back down on his own.

Paulo Giannini sighed briefly before starting his story.

“Lila, our family is facing a significant challenge.”

Lila Marin blinked at Paulo Giannini’s words.

It was because the words coming from her uncle’s mouth were different from what she had expected.

“A significant challenge?”

“You know what happened this week, right?”

“Are you perhaps referring to the short selling of Victoria Corporation?”

Paulo Giannini nodded and continued,

“That’s right. This is not the will of our Giannini family. It is the will of those who want to push our Giannini family out.”

Lila Marin couldn’t help but pause at his answer.

“If the short selling of Victoria Corporation was done by those who oppose our family, why didn’t Grandfather stop it?”

Carlo Giannini was still the Chairman and CEO of Bank of America.

If he wanted to stop it, he could have done so.

“Father said that those who are trying to push us out will fail.”

“Are you saying he said he wouldn’t stop it because they’ll fail anyway?”

“Yes. But I thought I couldn’t just stand by.”

Maria Marin licked her lips slightly and responded to his words.

“Then you’re saying you’ll help Charlie.”

“I never said I would help Charlie Jung.”

“Isn’t helping Charlie the fastest way to stop the short selling?”

Paulo Giannini put his hands together and answered,

“I want to negotiate with him.”

He didn’t intend to simply end things by helping Jung Hyun-woo and Victoria Corporation.

‘This incident also happened because the people on Kani’s side doubted my abilities.’

If Paulo Giannini had wielded as much power as his father, Carlo Giannini, neither Kani Paul nor those who supported her would have had the same thoughts.

“You want to negotiate with Charlie?”

Paulo Giannini swirled his right hand.

“I refuse to give unilaterally.”

Lila Marin understood what he meant.

‘My uncle wants to help Charlie. But he doesn’t have enough justification to move easily.’

She put her hands on her knees and said,

“I understand. I will arrange a meeting between Charlie and you, Uncle.”

“Lila.”

“Is there anything else you would like to order?”

“It has to be before Monday.”

Paulo Giannini wanted to meet Jung Hyun-woo before the first trade began on Monday.

* * *

After scolding Caron Victor, who had flown in from San Francisco, Kani Paul boarded her private jet. Her destination was Austin, Texas.

Austin, Texas, was home to the famous hedge fund Terra.

As soon as her private jet arrived at the airport, a Cadillac limousine entered the runway.

“Here they come.”

Kani Paul waited for the limousine instead of getting off the plane. Soon, the limousine stopped, and two men wearing sunglasses got out.

“It’s not them.”

She knew that the men in sunglasses were bodyguards.

A moment later.

A young man with hair slicked back with pomade got out of the limousine.

“That’s the guy.”

The one heading to Kani Paul’s private jet was Damon Ferman, a key figure at the hedge fund Terra.

As he entered the plane, Kani Paul smiled brightly and opened her arms.

“Damon, it’s been a while.”

Damon shrugged and raised his right hand.

“Aunt Kani, it’s been a long time indeed.”

Kani Paul was one of the connections she had gained through a political marriage in the past.

“What brings you here after 20 years?”

“20 years, has it been that long?”

“To be exact, it’s been 21 years and 2 months.”

Damon seemed like a pleasant young man, but his true nature was that of a cold and cruel hedge fund itself. People at Terra called him Demon instead of Damon.

“Hahaha, this aunt has been busy.”

“Oh, you must have been really busy. Coming to see your nephew after 21 years and 2 months.”

Kani Paul was never a woman to be flustered. She maintained her smile and countered his words.

“Damon, you haven’t come to see your aunt either, have you?”

As she countered without backing down, Damon chuckled.

“Hahaha, that’s right. We’re the same, aren’t we?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. Then what bad thing shall we do today?”

Damon clearly knew that what he was doing was not an act of charity.

“Let’s sit down first.”

As Damon sat down, Kani Paul said,

“Last week was good.”

“Bluffing isn’t difficult.”

The short selling of Victoria Corporation announced by Terra was his work.

“Next week, I need you to do a real short selling, not just bluffing.”

Damon narrowed his brows at Kani Paul’s words.

“Real short selling?”

“Let’s destroy Victoria Corporation.”

“JP Morgan won’t stand still.”

Regardless of his personality, Damon was a capable hedge fund manager. He knew very well who was behind Victoria Corporation and who was supporting them.

“If you and I join forces, it’s definitely possible.”

Damon asked without unclenching his narrowed brows,

“Let’s say it’s possible. But what do I gain from it?”

He didn’t think it was worth doing, even if it meant breaking through JP Morgan’s shield.

“I’ll give you a seat.”

Damon unclenched his narrowed brows and asked,

“A seat?”

“Bank of America’s board of directors. Don’t you want to get in?”

“Ha! It seems that if you succeed in this, Aunt, you’ll get Bank of America in your hands.”

“Even if I don’t get it completely, I can at least become equal to Paulo.”

Damon crossed his legs and said,

“I’d like to hear the details.”

He was curious about the internal strife at Bank of America.

‘If I use it well, I might be able to make a lot of money.’

Terra was a place that moved a lot of money, but it couldn’t compare to Bank of America.

Bank of America moved money in the trillions, not just billions.

Kani Paul calmly began to tell the story to use Damon and Terra.

At that moment, as she was telling the story to her nephew.

Jung Hyun-woo was meeting with Aria Walton, the heiress of the Walton family.

Aria tilted her head to the side and raised the end of her words.

“Charlie, why did you send Sarah away?”

She didn’t like that Jung Hyun-woo had suddenly sent Sarah to Boston.

“I didn’t want to show Sarah to the Yankees [derogatory term for Northerners].”

Aria unclenched her narrowed brows at his answer.

“Hmm, so that was the reason.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly as she gave him a look that she understood everything.

“Aria, don’t tease me too much.”

“I’m not teasing you. I’m just understanding.”

“You’re thinking about it in a completely different way than I intended.”

Aria sat closer to Jung Hyun-woo and said,

“How could I be thinking differently?”

“Aria….”

As Jung Hyun-woo made a troubled face, Aria moved away slightly and crossed her arms.

“Tch, Charlie is going to take it all on alone again, isn’t he?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and answered.

“The situation just ended up like this.”

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“I’m not trying to demean the people working in the field, but aren’t their words a bit rough?”

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t think that Sarah, a lady like her, could handle those men.

‘It’s not the 2020s, it’s the 1980s.’

In the 1980s in America, verbal sexual harassment wasn’t even considered sexual harassment.

‘A lady like Sarah wouldn’t be able to endure it.’

Aria tilted her head at Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“Does Charlie know those people?”

She thought that Jung Hyun-woo was just as much of a model student as Sarah.

“I used to be in a drug rehabilitation center.”

Aria’s eyes widened at his answer.

“Charlie was in a place like that?”

“In middle school, I was there for a little less than a year.”

“Middle school. At that age….”

It couldn’t have been ordinary drugs.

Jung Hyun-woo quickly tried to defuse the situation as she trailed off.

“It wasn’t cocaine or anything like that.”

“Then?”

“I guess there was someone in my family who wanted to keep me locked up.”

Aria nodded her head greatly at his answer.

“Hmm, Charlie’s family affairs aren’t ordinary either.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply at her words.

“Hoo… Even if there’s too much money in the family, it can be a problem.”

“That’s true.”

Aria surprisingly admitted it readily.

“But Aria, why did you call me today?”

“To cheer you up… Actually, that’s not the reason I called you. I have something to warn Charlie about.”

Jung Hyun-woo stiffened his voice and asked,

“If it’s Aria’s warning, it must be about Wall Street.”

“It’s Texas.”

“Texas?”

“Terra has made a move, right?”

Jung Hyun-woo answered calmly to Aria’s question.

“There was such a thing.”

Aria said as she held up her teacup,

“Not all hedge funds are villains, but Terra is definitely a villain. If you’re dealing with Terra, you need to prepare thoroughly.”

Jung Hyun-woo was well aware that Terra was vicious.

‘Even in the 21st century, their reputation was great.’

He felt like a future hero who had to fight the demon king of the past.

“Charlie, I can help you if you want.”

“Aria?”

“I have money too.”

Aria Walton’s assets had been steadily increasing over the past few years. Forbes estimated her assets to be between $2.5 billion and $3 billion as of 1985.

Jung Hyun-woo wanted to politely decline.

“I’m not cornered yet.”

Aria poured tea into his teacup and asked,

“What if you get cornered?”

“When that happens, I might ask Aria for help.”

Aria seemed to be taking it for granted that Jung Hyun-woo would ask for help.

“How much should I prepare?”

“Aria, it’s okay for now.”

“It’ll be too late to ask for help when it’s not okay. I don’t have as much money as Charlie.”

Jung Hyun-woo waved his right hand and responded to her words.

“The amount Forbes is talking about is just like the foam on a cappuccino [meaning insubstantial].”

He meant that the media had greatly inflated his assets.

“It’s the same on this side.”

A somewhat tense battle of nerves.

The first to wave the white flag was Jung Hyun-woo.

“Hoo… I lost. I’ve decided to get a loan from JP Morgan, so there won’t be a need to reach out to Aria.”

He honestly showed his cards to Aria.

“Hmm, JP Morgan is definitely backing you up.”

“If we fall, they’ll also take a big hit.”

“Then I’ll just prepare $1 billion.”

“Aria?”

“I warned you. Terra is a villain. Do you think those guys attacked without knowing that JP Morgan is behind you?”

“If they started a fight knowing that JP Morgan is the background….”

“Yes, they must have something to believe in.”

Jung Hyun-woo realized that it wasn’t over just by resolving the AS division’s strike.

‘This means I need to prepare a hidden card as well.’

He couldn’t help but rethink Terra at Aria’s warning.