Chapter 150: Comprehensive Impact

[Chapter 150: Comprehensive Impact]

At the grand villa in Montecito, Gaskill's face was filled with sorrow.

He sadly looked at Ian. "I'm sorry, Ian. This time, it's my fault. I'm getting old, and I'm outmaneuvered by those who are more cunning than I am. I never thought those I considered good friends would betray me..."

His tone was tinged with despair and helplessness, while Lena silently shed tears at the side.

Despite their grief, Ian smiled.

The sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Ian's face and bringing forth a growing confidence and ease within him. He softly said, "I'm lucky, Gaskill."

Gaskill looked at him in surprise.

Ian continued, "How many good friends can a person have in their life? Having a friend like you is my greatest fortune."

"But it's also because of me that you ended up in this predicament."

"No, no!" Ian shook his head. "You taught me how business is done. If you want to grow quickly, the path you laid out for me is right. My overconfidence led to this outcome, not your fault."

As he spoke, he maintained his confident smile.

Seeing Ian's bright and confident expression, Gaskill began to understand.

This lightened his mood considerably. "What do you plan to do?"

Ian chuckled, "I'm going to invest in Lino!"

"What did you say?" both Gaskill and Lena exclaimed in astonishment.

Ian replied earnestly, "You heard me right. I want to buy shares in Lino! Lino is currently just a regional bank, but it has the potential to grow much better! My original plan was to center around media and then reach out into other industries. What could be more suitable than the financial industry? This is helping you and helping myself!"

As he continued, he scoffed, "This incident taught us that just being the chairman isn't enough; one must have absolute authority! A bank with absolute authority can provide me with unrestricted funding."

The old man was taken aback for a moment but finally smiled, "You're planning to borrow money from Lino and then invest in Lino?"

Ian waved his hand dismissively, "Isn't that how the world works? I have enough confidence to earn money and develop Lino, which in turn will provide me with more funding! You have capital, I have media, and together we'll reach into other industries. We could be the kings of America, or even the kings of the world!"

While Lino Bank was undoubtedly Ian's biggest supporter, Ian was also a supporter of Lino Bank: as long as he made money, he could give Lino Bank a hefty return.

It was foolish for the bank's directors, incited by Madoff, to abandon Ian!

Then Ian turned to Gaskill and said, "We have a shared son. I can't just focus on my own development; I need to develop the Bronte family and Lino! The growth of Lino is also my growth. I apologize, Gaskill, for not being more caring in the past, but this incident has made me realize that walking on two legs is more stable! For you and for myself, we must make Lino great!"

Lena gently came over and hugged Ian, "You're getting a bit too excited, Ian."

Ian lightly kissed Lena's cheek, "I am a bit excited, but my thoughts won't be wrong! What do you think, Gaskill?"

Gaskill pondered for a moment and replied, "I don't have a problem, but where will you get the funding?"

Ian chuckled, "You still don't get it, Gaskill!"

He looked at the old man seriously, "I'm not a good person! I have plenty of underhanded methods at my disposal! It's you who guided me onto the right path, minimizing those down-and-dirty tactics! But that doesn't mean I won't use them, nor does it mean I'm afraid to use them."

Lena gasped, "Oh my God, you're not thinking of assassinating Madoff, are you?"

Ian laughed, "No, no, how could I do that? Don't worry, I won't. You know what my fortune is? It's because of Gaskill that I figured this out ahead of time. It's only January; I still have time to resolve everything. If you had told me in March that I couldn't borrow money, I would have panicked. At that point, I might actually have resorted to robbing a casino!"

The old man chuckled, "I'm not so useless as to let it get to that point."

Loaning money couldn't be calculated so strictly. Many preparations had already been made, such as Etna Insurance having an agreement ready for Ian's funds, just waiting for him to withdraw them.

And since Gaskill had been removed from his chairmanship, some things no longer needed to be covered up.

At that moment, Ian said, "After deducting the necessary operating capital, I still have 100 million available, and I can part with that 8% stake in CBS, but CBS has room to appreciate, and I don't want to sell that quickly. Also, the Italian Lira should come to an end now."

At this point, the drop in the Italian Lira wasn't very noticeable, having only declined by about 2%. However, with a thirty-fold leverage and a capital of 200 million, Ian made approximately 120 million, and after deducting interest from borrowing and bank fees, he still had over 100 million available.

Ian stated, "January 16th is the scheduled date. By then, the Lira may decline further, and I estimate the actual yield can stabilize around 120 million. Without selling the stocks, the available funds will be 220 million, so I need you to lend me some more money."

Gaskill replied, "I can't loan you from the bank anymore, but personally, I can provide you with 80 million. That's all the money I have right now."

Ian nodded, "300 million should be enough."

"What's your plan?" Gaskill asked.

Ian grinned, "I need to first understand the investment status of Madoff's firm."

Gaskill nodded, "I can help you look into that."

"I also need to know if there are others involved in this matter."

Gaskill smiled, "As long as they act, they will definitely expose themselves."

Ian nodded lightly.

Gaskill said earnestly, "But I won't allow you to use those dark methods, Ian. Business matters must be resolved with business methods!"

"What's your definition of dark methods?"

"Erasing people from existence."

Ian laughed, "Then you can rest assured; I won't do that."

And so, things were happily decided. Once they weathered this crisis, Ian would fully assist Gaskill in developing Lino Bank.

That might not become his empire, but it was destined to become his children's legacy, and the bond they shared as parents would tighten their connection even more.

---

When Ian returned, he first visited Lino Bank.

He expressed his anger, pounding the table, shouting, "My business is running well; you can't treat me like this!"

The new chairman of Lino Bank, Brad, merely offered apologies; his tone was friendly and sincere, but he gave not a cent.

On that day, Ian acted like a defeated dog, helpless and despondent.

When he walked out of Brad's office, people looked at him as if he were a falling star, about to crash down.

In America, such occurrences were never in short supply.

Ian remarked, "Indeed, everyone has acting talent."

...

On the same day, Ian also discovered who else was after him.

ABC, CNN, FOX, NBC, as well as New York Daily, Star Island Daily, USA Today, and even The Wall Street Journal were all relentlessly reporting on Ian Carr's liquidity crisis, indicating that Lino Bank, which lent to him, was likely to recall the loan ahead of time, and the newly formed Carr Media Group was on the verge of collapsing before its first year was finished.

Carr Media was not publicly traded, so such negative news didn't affect its stock price.

However, it greatly impacted advertisers! Especially now, at the start of the year, when annual advertising contracts were being signed.

What advertiser would put their money into a company on the brink of bankruptcy? Even if you said, "I'm going bankrupt, but the company won't fail," that still would not work, as it could very well mean your sales would plummet.

At the same time, this would severely impact CBS's stock price, since CBS's rise was directly linked to Ian.

Everyone began to doubt Ian Carr's ability to weather the storm, and even the politicians started to sit on the fence -- when they took advantage of Ian, they didn't hold back at all, but if he became a homeless person, they wouldn't owe him anything for all his past efforts!

Political investments were small in the beginning, but the rewards were high, and just a bit of risk was normal, right?

You could say that the newly established Carr Media Group, which hadn't yet matured into a towering tree, faced an impending storm.

Even Hollywood started to mock Ian Carr, even pulling back on some collaborations.

They weren't the conspirators, but who could blame them? Ian had exposed many of Hollywood's scandals over the past year, so even if they weren't conspired against, they wouldn't mind kicking him when he was down.

To this, Ian merely responded with a dismissive smile.

"Very well, I'll remember you all. When I strike back, don't come crying for mercy."

...

Two days later, Ian obtained the information he sought.

Looking at the details, Ian couldn't help but smile.

Nomura Securities!

This was a large Japanese brokerage firm with an extensive business operation, and they had a close partnership with Madoff Investment Securities -- Nomura had invested nearly 500 million in Madoff's firm.

Furthermore, Nomura Securities also had close ties with Sony Corporation!

The world is vast.

The world is small.

When you look from the top, you realize how intricately connected many big figures are, and everything is related.

Madoff's actions had tightly united media, film, and finance.

To this, Ian thought: "Great, this is exactly what I wanted!"

*****

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