Chapter 708: The Out-of-Control Waterworld

Simon left New York around 5 PM and returned to Los Angeles, where it was still not quite 7 PM West Coast time.

At Dume Point Estate.

As Simon's car entered the estate, it passed by an armored transport vehicle that was just leaving.

Janet waited for Simon in the small square in front of Shell Villa. When she saw him get out of the car, she affectionately approached and kissed him. Linking arms with him, Janet led Simon into the villa, smiling as she asked, "How much was it this time?"

Janet held up two fingers, swaying them slightly, and said, "Dinner will be ready in a little while. Let's go down and take a look together."

Simon nodded.

The two walked through the hall and entered the underground level of Shell Villa from a room on the east side.

The underground vault in Shell Villa covers over 200 square meters and requires passing through three security doors to reach it.

The rectangular vault is divided into three rooms, from the outermost to the innermost.

Upon entering, Simon saw a large pile of cash stacked like a small mountain on one side of the outer room. On the other side, shelves were filled with a golden hue—the latest delivery of two tons of gold. This vault now held a total of 20 tons of gold.

Since finalizing certain plans earlier this year, many things have been proceeding methodically.

Although the main location for hoarding gold is the underground vault at the Johnston Holdings Group headquarters in Melbourne, Simon decided to store some at Dume Point Estate, including $100 million in cash, for contingencies.

Storing large amounts of cash and gold at home isn't ideal.

However, if someone could reach this place, it would mean a significant upheaval in the Westeros family that even Simon couldn't control. Otherwise, if it were just some thieves targeting the vault, Simon wasn't worried at all.

The ongoing expansion of Dume Point Estate was not only because Simon enjoyed having more living space but also to strengthen the estate's defenses.

At this stage, not only the vast land surrounding Shell Villa but also the waters within a mile offshore are privately owned by the Westeros family. Any unauthorized intruder would be intercepted or even attacked by the estate's security team before they could approach Shell Villa.

After an incident earlier this year, Simon further reinforced the security at Dume Point Estate.

The estate now has a permanent security team of 150 people, with 50 guarding the interior and 100 spread around the estate.

Given Shell Villa's seaside location, the security team is equipped with maritime and anti-aircraft firepower. The scene from Simon's memory of Iron Man's house being bombed by a helicopter will never happen at Dume Point Estate. Any unidentified flying object that approaches will be shot down by the security team within a minute if it doesn't heed warnings.

As for ordinary criminals trying to break into Dume Point Estate, that would be pure fantasy.

In the vault, Simon picked up a 10-kilogram gold bar, examined it briefly, and playfully held it up to Janet's face, joking, "Come on, take a bite to see if it's real."

Janet obediently grabbed the gold bar, bared her small white teeth, but then mischievously shifted her target, biting Simon's wrist instead. After letting go and inspecting the teeth marks she left, she grinned, "It's real."

Simon chuckled, weighing the gold bar in his hand, and asked, "How much did this batch of gold cost?"

Janet replied, "The current international gold price is $395 per ounce, but the Russian government gave us a discount, $380 per ounce. Two tons of gold, totaling $24.5 million."

To avoid attracting too much attention, the Westeros family didn't make a big deal out of purchasing gold on the international market. Instead, they discreetly bought directly from some gold mines or national governments.

Through the Johnston family's extensive network, they've secured deals from various sources. In Eastern Europe and Latin America, many countries are currently relying on selling off large amounts of gold reserves to stay afloat, which provided the Westeros family with opportunities.

Compared to dealing with gold exchanges and paying high commission fees, these Eastern European countries preferred to sell directly without intermediaries.

Of course, there aren't many buyers in this market, and the purchase volumes are usually small.

Simon had been very restrained in his actions. Over the past six months, he had quietly acquired only 20 tons of gold.

At the current gold price of $350 to $400 per ounce, the Westeros family spent about $230 million in cash on these 20 tons of gold. This amount is just a small portion of the vast cash reserves of the Westeros system.

With the vault in Melbourne becoming operational, Simon plans to increase the pace of gold purchases next year, aiming to buy 50 to 100 tons of gold annually.

At that point, this operation can no longer remain hidden.

However, since the decision has been made, it's inevitable that they will eventually have to make it public.

After discussing some follow-up plans with Janet in the vault, Simon was about to leave with her when she stopped him, pointing to a door leading to the inner room. "I've compiled another batch of files recently, including those six little vases you liked so much in Livni. Want to take a look?"

The vault is divided into three rooms. The outermost room stores gold and cash.

The inner room holds Simon and the two Jennys' various expensive watches and jewelry, as well as the files on many people within the Westeros system, including executives of the family's companies, members of the family's service team, and Simon's women outside. Janet is in charge of arranging the family's service team, so she's fully aware of Simon's activities outside.

Simon never intended to hide anything from Janet.

In the innermost room, behind a hidden door, are the files of the Westeros family's intelligence team and the sensitive information they've collected over the years.

Sensing Janet's mock jealousy, Simon wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out, saying, "Don't bully them. You know I have other plans for them."

Janet walked with Simon, but didn't relent verbally, "Sometimes I'm tempted to help you get rid of a few."

Simon played along, looking contrite, "If you do it quietly, maybe I'll forget about it."

Janet hummed in mock threat, "Let's start with that Yekaterina. Don't think I don't know—you secretly sent a private plane full of gifts to those vases, and Yekaterina got the most. Hmph, you've never given me that many gifts."

Simon felt even more guilty, "Can we pick someone else? Besides, what's mine is yours. Even I'm yours, so isn't giving yourself gifts a bit odd?"

Hearing his excuse, Janet pinched him on the waist.

As they left the underground vault and returned upstairs, Aria was waiting by the door and informed them that dinner was ready.

Janet responded and sent Aria ahead, then leisurely walked with Simon through the hall. Suddenly, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "How do you feel about those three women?"

Simon pretended to think for a moment but didn't answer. Instead, he lightly tapped Janet on the head and said, "Don't treat other women like that."

The previous night, when Grace was the last to leave the car, she whispered in Simon's ear that Janet had insisted that the three women in the East 92nd Street villa undergo sterilization.

Whether it was temporary or permanent, Simon didn't investigate further.

He understood that Janet's arrangement was correct.

It was a mistake on his part.

If something unexpected happened, it would be a colossal joke.

However, Simon didn't want Janet using this method on other women around him.

Janet sensed the seriousness in Simon's tone and nodded slightly, not pressing the matter further. Instead, she changed her expression and, with a playful tone, said, "Sophia told me about that matter, and I'm warning you very seriously, Mr. Westeros, that Jenny and I will absolutely, absolutely not take care of other women's children for you."

Simon knew what Janet was referring to and understood the underlying message in her words. He leaned his head against hers and said, "If you don't want to, I'll just refuse Sophia's request. She might just be acting on a whim, and she already has Danny and Gemma."

Janet enjoyed the feeling of Simon's head resting against hers and gently rubbed against him, her tone softening, "Little rascal, I understand what you're thinking. But with Mel and Nick, I don't plan to have more children. You can have a few more with Jenny. As for the others, I really won't be involved."

Simon straightened up and continued walking towards the dining room, saying, "I know, and I wouldn't trust you to handle it anyway."

Hearing this, Janet pinched Simon again, saying, "And about the future inheritance, I'll decide. If they don't turn out well, they won't get anything from the Westeros family, not even the surname."

Simon nodded, "Alright, it's all up to you."

When they reached the dining room, dinner was already served, and Jennifer was sending the maids away.

Melbourne was the first to greet them.

The little boy held a small box in his hands and approached Simon, showing it to him while calling out, "Daddy, Daddy."

Noticing the anticipation in his son's eyes, Simon bent down to pick him up and looked at the small house model in his hands, smiling warmly as he asked, "What's this?"

Melbourne carefully held the box and said

, "A house. Inside are Daddy, Mommy, Mommy, NANA, Sia, Nick, and Mel."

Simon sat down at the table with his son in his lap, helping the boy place the small house model on the table. He looked at the open side of the model, where a long table was surrounded by 'people,' representing his family, and patiently asked, "So, which one is Daddy?"

Melbourne immediately pointed to the largest figure in the center of one side of the long table, "This one is Daddy."

Simon smiled, "And Mommy, and Mommy?"

At first, the assistant had only taught Melbourne to call Janet Auntie, but the little guy had a hard time speaking clearly, unlike Seattle. In the end, it was Janet who couldn't take it anymore and had Melbourne call the assistant Mommy as well, which simplified things.

The little guy didn't find anything wrong with it.

So now, there were two mommies at Dume Point Estate.

The father and son talked quietly for a while, and Simon promised his son that they would make a bigger house together over the weekend. Just as they were about to start dinner, Melbourne tugged at his father's shirt, "Daddy, when will NANA come back?"

Veronica had returned to Australia due to issues with BHP and was then sent to Europe to handle some business matters between Johnston Group and the UK.

She was still in London.

As for when she would return, Simon could only look to Janet.

Janet shot Simon a look, then mischievously told their son, "NANA won't be coming back. Mel is a big boy now and needs to take care of himself."

Hearing this, Melbourne pouted and looked hopefully at his father.

Simon knew that Janet's tone was partly directed at him and could only reassure his son, "Mommy's just teasing you. NANA is busy right now, but she'll definitely come back soon."

Janet wasn't giving up, "Daddy's lying. She's not coming back."

Nearly one-year-old Nick and Seattle had already started weaning. The assistant was feeding Nick but couldn't help but intervene, "Alright, enough teasing. Let's eat."

After quietly assuring his son once more and promising to video call Veronica after dinner, Simon placed the little boy in his seat.

There's no strict "no talking while eating" rule at the Westeros family's table.

As everyone picked up their utensils, the assistant brought up a topic that had been circulating in Hollywood again: Daenerys Entertainment's plan to collaborate on ten projects. "Sherry Lansing came by the other day. She wants to know what you're planning."

Simon was straightforward, "There are too many major studios in Hollywood. I plan to reduce the number by one or two in the next few years."

Janet said, "If that's the case, MGM is the most suitable candidate for elimination."

Even though MGM had shown some improvement in the past two years, especially with hits like *Speed* and *Species* this summer, it was still the weakest of the seven major studios. Without considering other factors, it was indeed the most suitable and easiest to eliminate.

However, things aren't always that simple.

Simon said, "MGM is our own company. Do you think that's appropriate?"

Janet shrugged, "Then it's Columbia. At this rate, if they don't secure any of Daenerys Entertainment's projects, the Japanese won't last long. But Columbia isn't likely to go bankrupt; the best outcome would be getting acquired by another studio." At this point, Janet realized what Simon was planning and looked at him, "Can MGM take over Columbia?"

Simon's plan was clear, and he didn't hide it from Janet. "A cash acquisition is unlikely, but a stock swap merger is very feasible."

A stock swap merger wouldn't completely remove Sony from Hollywood, but the new company would certainly be controlled by the Westeros system.

After Columbia, the remaining four—Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount, and Disney—made Simon's next target very clear: Disney.

After a brief discussion, Jennifer, despite having become a full-time housewife, still had her ear to the ground regarding Hollywood gossip. She brought up another hot topic: "Simon, I heard Kevin Costner's *Waterworld* project is spiraling out of control?"

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