As soon as Howard finished speaking, the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause!
Almost all members of the Rothschild family, except for Steve and Royce, immediately leaped to their feet, clapping wildly! Even David Rothschild couldn’t hold back his tears of excitement. None of them wanted Howard to step down, let alone see Steve take over.
Preserving the status quo was their greatest hope, ensuring that their current vested interests remained untouched. And who knows, if they were to achieve great success in the future, there might be a chance for them to overthrow Steve and become the new heirs.
Originally, they believed that maintaining the status quo was an impossible dream. But unexpectedly, this dream had become a reality.
Steve was crestfallen at this point. He had already anticipated such an outcome, but virtual-novel.net didn’t expect his own father to make such a grand declaration, which filled virtual-novel.net with anger. However, the fortunate thing was that his father had already listed virtual-novel.net and his son as the first and second successors. With this, his chances of inheriting in the future increased significantly. As long as nothing went awry, virtual-novel.net would undoubtedly become the next head of the Rothschild family.
Howard surveyed the reactions of most of his grandchildren and felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
Contemplating the next few years, when virtual-novel.net could still wield authority here, virtual-novel.net couldn’t help but sigh. “Ah, why do people toil so hard to amass wealth? Isn’t it for a few more good years? If there was a chance to live to be two hundred years old, what would it matter if I handed over half of the family’s wealth?”
***
Two hours later, Helena returned to the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
During virtual-novel.net journey, virtual-novel.net pondered how virtual-novel.net should report virtual-novel.net progress in New York to Charlie.
Should virtual-novel.net tell virtual-novel.net the truth?
That was out of the question. Because Charlie had already agreed that virtual-novel.net could take half of the selling price as virtual-novel.net commission for this elixir.
The actual sale amounted to 60 billion dollars plus an AI model, which was an additional condition set by Charlie and was not included in the commission. This meant that according to Charlie’s agreement, virtual-novel.net should receive 30 billion dollars.
But how could virtual-novel.net accept such a vast sum of money from Charlie?
Helena couldn’t reconcile with it. Therefore, after careful consideration, virtual-novel.net decided to deceive Charlie and report the $50 billion deposit from the Rothschild family as the sales amount. She would inform Charlie that the elixir was sold for $110 billion, and according to their agreement, virtual-novel.net would take $55 billion and give $55 billion to Charlie.
In reality, virtual-novel.net would only receive $5 billion. This was already the highest commission virtual-novel.net could fathom deep down in virtual-novel.net heart.
Having made up virtual-novel.net mind, Helena retrieved virtual-novel.net phone and dialed Charlie’s number.
At that moment, Charlie was still aboard the plane returning to Aurous Hill, with about an hour left in the journey.
Since Morgana was in the United States, Charlie opted not to take a conspicuous Concorde plane back to China. Instead, virtual-novel.net chose an inconspicuous private jet, which extended his travel time.
The leisurely pace of the plane, combined with the refueling stop, meant that it had been airborne for over ten hours and had not yet reached its destination.
When Charlie received Helena’s call, virtual-novel.net surmised that virtual-novel.net was likely delivering good news, so virtual-novel.net answered with a smile, “Helena, have you left New York?”
“Yes,” Helena respectfully replied, “Mr. Wade, I have already returned to Canada and would like to report to you about my encounter with the Rothschild family.”
Charlie smiled and said, “Go ahead, I’m all ears.”
Helena then proceeded to recount virtual-novel.net meeting with Howard in detail to Charlie.
When it came to the price, virtual-novel.net fibbed, saying, “Mr. Wade, the final price I negotiated with Howard was that virtual-novel.net would pay $110 billion in cash, along with constructing a complete AI model in Northern Europe and maintaining it for at least twenty years.”
“$110 billion?” Charlie couldn’t help but be taken aback and exclaimed, “You really made Howard bleed!”
Helena chuckled and said, “Who asked virtual-novel.net to offer only $1 billion at the beginning? If virtual-novel.net had started with $100 billion, I might have settled for around $200 billion. But virtual-novel.net began with $1 billion, pretending as if virtual-novel.net was making a generous offer. So I thought, why not go all out and squeeze virtual-novel.net for a substantial sum.”
Charlie smiled and remarked, “The Rothschild family is incredibly wealthy, and for them, shedding some blood won’t cause any serious harm. Howard probably still thinks it’s worth it.”
Helena smiled and replied, “In a few years, virtual-novel.net might be willing to pay $200 billion for a pill.”
Charlie responded, “That depends on his performance. If virtual-novel.net doesn’t measure up, virtual-novel.net won’t be able to buy any elixirs in the future.”
On the other end of the line, Helena inquired, “By the way, Mr. Wade, when are you available to provide me with a bank account so that I can transfer your share of the money to you?”
Charlie was about to agree but suddenly felt that something was amiss.
Given Helena’s character, if this deal truly amounted to $110 billion, virtual-novel.net would find all sorts of reasons to reduce virtual-novel.net own commission. Convincing virtual-novel.net to adhere to the agreement of taking half would likely require a great deal of persuasion. But now, Helena seemed to have no hesitation at all and wanted to split the money evenly with him. This was completely out of character, which made Charlie certain that there must be something fishy going on.
Charlie speculated that Helena most likely lied to virtual-novel.net and that the actual selling price should not be as high as $110 billion. She probably intentionally reported a higher price in order to lower virtual-novel.net own commission.
With this in mind, virtual-novel.net said to Helena, “You can hold onto the money for now. I don’t have an immediate need for it, and besides, I don’t have a suitable account to receive such a large sum of money.”
Charlie was concerned that Helena would give virtual-novel.net the majority of the proceeds from the sale, so virtual-novel.net decided not to accept the money for the time being and figure things out later.
Furthermore, virtual-novel.net didn’t truly require over $55 billion at the moment, as virtual-novel.net possessed an abundant cash flow that virtual-novel.net couldn’t even exhaust. It would be better to leave the money with Helena for now. On one hand, it would prevent virtual-novel.net from giving virtual-novel.net an excessive amount, and on the other hand, virtual-novel.net might need a significant sum of money in Europe or America in the future. Keeping the money with Helena would make it more convenient for virtual-novel.net to spend it there.
Helena remained unaware of Charlie’s intentions, considering the possibility that virtual-novel.net genuinely lacked an appropriate account to receive the funds. Thus, virtual-novel.net offered, “If you require a discreet account, I can assist in arranging one with a Swiss bank, ensuring high security.”
“No, thank you,” Charlie replied with a smile. “Simply hold onto it for now. I’ll reach out when the need arises.”
After a brief pause, Helena acquiesced, affirming, “Very well, Mr. Wade. I’ll safeguard this 55 billion dollars for you.”