Chapter 90: Visiting the Castle
"Although your confidentiality measures were very well done, and we don't know your methods, we don't need to know the process. We just need to look at the results. And thinking about the results makes your previous moves very clear."
"Before the stock market crash, you deliberately leaked to the paparazzi that the market was going to dive. That was a good preventative measure. At least the common people aren't so resentful of you."
"But you made a mistake with that affair in Montenegro. You demonstrated your power, which made people fear you, but you should have kept a low profile afterward."
"Now, the people at the Treasury are watching your every move. If you want to bring that money from Switzerland back to England, you'd better have a good reason. I advise you to pay your taxes in England. That will make everyone happy. Hahaha, William, are you still laughing now?" Garris said, his voice dripping with schadenfreude.
"Damn it," William cursed, hanging up on Garris. These old foxes were truly something else. The more you did, the more flaws you revealed. It was a headache to be figured out by such clever people.
He understood that Garris's words were a test. They knew William had been focused on the futures market in Switzerland for the past few months, but they weren't sure whether he had won or lost.
Damn it all. William secretly regretted his arrogance. He had let things go to his head, and now his big mouth had gotten him noticed. These old foxes were incredibly shrewd.
William picked up the phone and dialed his lawyer, Anthony.
Anthony answered immediately. "Hello, boss."
"I'm back in Oxford," William said. "Come to the castle to see me. I have something to consult you about."
Hearing the serious tone in William's voice, Anthony said quickly, "I'm in London. I'll leave now. I can be at the castle in two hours."
"Bring the best tax experts from your firm. I need you to handle my tax filings. Everyone who comes today will sign a confidentiality agreement," William instructed.
"Okay, boss, I'll get on it right away. The personnel were ready as of yesterday. See you in two hours, boss," Anthony said.
"Alright. Bye."
William sat in the car, depressed. He couldn't believe that despite his strict confidential measures, he had been figured out by someone paying attention. Fortunately, the outside world didn't know how much money he had made, but William knew the storm was coming.
Garris's call was both a test and a warning, reminding him that he couldn't hide the fortune he'd made from the crash. He believed the English newspapers would soon be full of stories about him. He really needed to either lie low in Oxford or just leave the country.
He had to arrange his taxes perfectly and not reveal a single flaw. As long as everything was legal, the government could at most condemn him morally, but they couldn't touch him.
Seeing William's gloomy expression after the call, Barney and Christmas knew he was in trouble. They didn't speak, not wanting to bother him. Upon arriving at the castle, Barney announced, "Boss, we're here."
As William stepped out of the car, he looked up at a building over thirty meters high. The main structure was a Gothic building, ninety meters long and forty-five meters wide, set on ten acres of grounds that included gardens, grasslands, and forests. It was an open-style castle; its original defensive walls had been demolished more than sixty years ago during a renovation of Oxford City.
His mother, Lina, had overseen a large-scale modernization of the castle. The exterior walls had been polished to reveal the original honey-colored granite. The building featured tall tower spires, large and small skylights, vaults, and slender pillars. Because it was built in the 19th century, it lacked the dark, oppressive feeling of a medieval castle. After the refurbishment and transformation, it felt bright and spacious.
Tina ran to William, hugging his arm. "How do you like it? My mother, my auntie, and I completed all of this. I even chose the color and pattern for the glass windows inside. Come on, you have to see it!" she said, pulling William toward the entrance.
Upon entering the castle, William was struck by how the lobby, at over 200 square meters, felt nothing like the dark halls he imagined. More than ten small chandeliers on the ceiling surrounded a massive, round central chandelier that was eight square meters in size. The walls were fitted with large, modern glass windows that let the sunlight stream in. The sky-blue and gold marble floor tiles shone brightly. The staircase's handrails and steps had been replaced with new, milky-white marble.
After showing him the hall, Tina pulled William toward his bedroom on the third floor. This entire floor was William's private space, containing a bathroom, a study of more than 60 square meters, a 40-square-meter living room, a nursery, a nanny's room, and five empty, renovated rooms.
"So, what do you think, Brother William? I worked on many of these parts with the designers. I like this bedroom the most. It has two large window sills. It's the only room in the whole castle that could be modified this way. I also picked out the bed for you. Come on, try it! Is it comfortable?"
William watched Tina, who was now patting the bed with her hand. This little minx really knew how to turn on the charm.
Fortunately, Tina hadn't chosen a pink bed for him. Instead, it was the one William had specifically requested, made of Golden Nanmu wood. This bed alone had cost William £10,000. All the furniture in the third-floor living room was also Golden Nanmu, and the entire set had cost him £100,000.
He recalled that at auction houses, an antique Ming Dynasty chair made from the same wood would only fetch tens of thousands of pounds. At this time, Chinese antiques were not particularly expensive. William wondered if he should acquire some in England and Europe. In twenty years, their value could multiply twenty-fold.
In his past life, he could only gaze at sky-high antiques on TV and the internet, and he couldn't even bear to buy a decent piece of jade. Now he had the money. The old castle had plenty of storage space, and filling the four remaining empty rooms on the third floor wouldn't cost much. In a decade or so, Chinese antiques would become the most valuable collectibles.
He made his decision. He would start acquiring them in Europe. In any case, William had no plans to go to China to buy them. The boom in Chinese antique repatriation was more than ten years away. For now, the European market still held plenty of treasures.
"Brother William, what are you thinking about? Why are you ignoring me?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking about whether I should acquire some Chinese antiques for the house. The castle is still missing furniture and decorations, and I really like Chinese culture."
Tina pouted. "What's so great about those old bottles and jars? Besides, we already have a lot of Chinese antiques that have been sitting in the family warehouse for years."
William laughed. "It doesn't matter if you don't like them, as long as you know that those antiques will be very valuable in the future."
Tina pouted again. "All you think about is money."
Seeing Tina's lack of interest, William smiled helplessly. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand. Let's talk about something else. Tina, you'll be 17 soon. Have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?"
"Hmph. Brother William, you're not even 20 years old yourself, but you sound just like my mother, always asking what I want to do in the future. It's not cute at all," Tina complained angrily.
"Brother William, why don't you just marry me now? I haven't thought about what to do in the future, but my biggest wish is to marry you. Let's go get a marriage certificate in secret," Tina said, holding William's arm and shaking it. The suggestion made William freeze for a moment.
Seeing William's utterly stunned expression, Tina laughed proudly.
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