After Ethan and Edward Collins were escorted out, Jason calmly instructed General Manager Hughes to arrange a smaller private banquet hall next door.
Richard cooperated fully with the transfer and handover process. He even went so far as to disclose all the connections and relationships that needed to be "maintained" for Skyview Pavilion to continue operating smoothly.
Listening quietly, Jason fell into brief contemplation.
This club was, to put it bluntly, far from clean.
Everything ran smoothly, money flowed easily, and problems were handled before they ever surfaced—but the risks were obvious. Jason already had more money than he could reasonably spend. Did he really need to step into this gray zone?
For now, he said nothing.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward General Manager Hughes.
Cold sweat had already soaked Hughes's forehead. He suddenly bent deeply at the waist, nearly ninety degrees.
"Mr. Carter," he said hastily,"I failed to recognize your stature earlier and offended you. Please be magnanimous and forgive my ignorance."
Jason tapped his finger lightly against the tabletop.
"If you're useful," he said calmly,"it's not impossible to spare you."
Hughes immediately seized this lifeline.
"My operational ability is absolutely solid," he said quickly."The strategy, connections, and funding may have been Boss Richard's work, but the day-to-day management, execution, and crisis handling were all done by me."
Jason shook his head.
"That's not what I mean."
He looked at Hughes steadily.
"You're quite familiar with Ethan and Edward."
"People talk when they drink."
"Do you know if they have any… weaknesses?"
Hughes's eyes widened.
Only then did he realize—
Jason hadn't let Ethan and Edward off at all.
Kicking them out tonight was just the opening move.
The real reckoning hadn't even started.
Hughes hesitated.
This was not an easy decision.
Ethan and Edward were regulars here. Exposing guests—especially powerful ones—was an unspoken taboo in this business. If he crossed them, retaliation would be inevitable.
Jason watched his hesitation quietly.
Then he spoke again, his tone unhurried.
"If you tell me what you know," he said,"you stay on as General Manager of Skyview Pavilion."
"I'll protect you."
"If you don't…"
He paused.
"You leave immediately."
"With your earlier attitude, wouldn't further retaliation from me be perfectly reasonable?"
"And the things that have happened in this club—if they were exposed—do you think you'd still be standing?"
Hughes's pupils shrank.
"If those things were exposed," he blurted out,"wouldn't the club be finished too?"
Jason replied indifferently,
"I've already said it."
"I don't care about losing a few million."
"Or tens of millions."
"Or even hundreds of millions."
Hughes felt numb.
For the first time in his life, he understood true fear.
This wasn't a boss trying to suppress internal problems.
This was someone who could casually burn tens or hundreds of millions just to crush an opponent.
At that moment, Richard's video call was still connected.
Hearing this, Richard immediately spoke up, his voice sharp with urgency.
"Hughes," he snapped,"tell Mr. Carter everything you know."
"Mr. Carter, I also know that CloudMode International has some… minor issues. I can disclose those as well."
Jason might not care whether Skyview Pavilion survived.
But Richard absolutely did.
This place was his entire fortune.
As for Ethan and Edward?
If necessary, those "connections" could be sacrificed without hesitation.
In business, friendship was always cheaper than bankruptcy.
Hughes was already shaken to the core. With Richard backing Jason openly, he no longer dared resist.
He swallowed and spoke carefully.
"Mr. Carter… I don't know much."
"They never discussed official business with me."
"But when they drink…"
He hesitated, then continued.
"They let things slip."
"Fragments. Complaints. Bragging."
"Enough to piece together rememberable problems."
Jason leaned back slightly.
"Go on."
"Most of it I can't remember clearly," General Manager Hughes said nervously, wiping sweat from his brow."I only remember this much—CloudMode International is publicly marketed as a subsidiary of the French luxury brand LUNEVA, boasting Italian artisanal heritage. But in reality, more than eighty percent of their production lines are outsourced to factories in China."
Jason Carter nodded slightly.
Beside him, Olivia was already recording the information in silence.
Outsourcing alone wasn't enough to deal a fatal blow. Jason's gaze remained calm as he asked,
"Anything else?"
Hughes thought hard before answering, voice lowering.
"There was another time… Edward was drunk and bragging. He said a female model followed him for a long time and even wanted to marry him. He complained that Asian girls were too eager to settle down, that it gave him headaches."
"He said that to avoid trouble and bad publicity, he used 'some methods' to deal with her. He didn't explain the details."
Olivia wrote it down without comment.
Hughes strained to recall more, panic rising as Jason's gaze never left him.
"That's really all I know, Mr. Carter. Ethan and Edward were just drinking companions to me."
On the screen, Richard quickly spoke up.
"I know a little more. CloudMode International has serious inventory backlog issues, and fake e-commerce order inflation is rampant. But I don't deal with their internal operations directly."
Jason nodded slightly, then asked another question.
"When Ethan and Edward come here, they usually call for technicians, right?"
Hughes's eyes lit up as he caught Jason's meaning.
"Yes—yes! I'll call them immediately."
Technicians often heard more than anyone realized. Familiarity loosened tongues.
Before long, several technicians were brought in—attractive, well-trained, clearly assuming they'd been summoned for service. Their expressions brightened when they saw Jason.
Instead, Jason asked questions.
With both the new owner and former boss present, none of them dared hide anything. They spoke freely.
As expected, Ethan and Edward had mentioned related-party transactions, model contract disputes, and private arrangements while drunk.
Unfortunately, technical jargon made it hard for the technicians to recall details precisely.
Still, it was enough.
Combining the fragmented information from Hughes, Richard, and the technicians, Olivia quickly formed a preliminary investigation framework. She leaned close to Jason and whispered,
"Jason, outsourcing and fake order inflation are easy to verify. The female model Edward suppressed and the contract dispute cases are ideal entry points. Once we follow those leads, the entire structure can be exposed."
Jason nodded calmly.
"Handle it."
Olivia immediately turned and left to mobilize resources.
Jason then looked at Richard on the screen.
"Your attitude just now satisfied me."
"I'll give you two options."
"One—transfer Skyview Pavilion to me for twenty-two million dollars, as discussed."
"Two—I'll lease it back to you. Annual rent: nine million dollars."
The objective had already been achieved. There was no need for Jason to wade into gray-zone operations himself.
Richard froze for half a second.
Nine million was higher than expected—but only by one million.
He didn't hesitate long.
"I choose the second option," Richard said quickly."You're serious?"
Jason nodded. "No tricks."
Richard exhaled deeply, relief flooding his face.
"Thank you, Mr. Carter. You're truly magnanimous."
He bowed deeply toward the screen.
Not long ago, Richard had tried to throw Jason out like a nobody.
Now Jason raised the rent—and Richard was grateful for the privilege.
Power, when absolute, rewrote every rule.
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