Janette came out onto the terrace, hugged Simon's arm, glanced downstairs, and just pouted, saying, "Little rascal, your ponytail assistant's parents are here".
Simon listened to the woman's sour tone, smiled, patted her waist, and turned to enter the suite's living room.
Two men and two women stood at the entrance. Just by their appearance, Simon immediately recognized that the older middle-aged couple must be Jennifer's parents, James Raybould and Carol Raybould. This couple are well-known financial lawyers in Manhattan. Their firm, Raybould & Associates, specializes in providing legal support for corporate financing, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and other operations.
Jonathan Friedman, Pat Kinsley, George Norman, and others were still on their way to New York. When the news reached Los Angeles that morning, George Norman strongly recommended the Raybould couple over the phone to help Simon deal with the current situation.
Everyone introduced themselves, and Simon also sized up the Raybould couple.
The couple both looked only about forty years old, appearing very young. James Raybould was taller than Simon, dressed in a sharp black suit, with some stubble on his face and meticulously styled hair. Carol Raybould wore a white women's suit, her eyes and brows bearing a striking resemblance to Jennifer's, and her updo gave her an air of mature intellectualism.
During their conversation, the Raybould couple were also scrutinizing the young man who had 'abducted' their daughter. Carol Raybould even gave Janette a meaningful extra look when shaking her hand.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, James Raybould declined Simon's invitation to sit down. He scanned the presidential suite, then gestured towards the door, saying, "Simon, let's talk outside".
Simon was a little confused but followed James Raybould to the corridor outside the suite.
Once in the corridor, James Raybould didn't stand on ceremony. He directly instructed their two assistants and Simon and Janette's bodyguards to guard both sides of the corridor, then stood with Simon in the centre of the corridor.
Jennifer and Carol both thoughtfully remained at the suite door and did not come over.
After scanning the surroundings again, James Raybould looked at the young man in front of him and said seriously, "Simon, first, I must confirm something. You don't have to answer directly. However, if the answer is no, then perhaps Carol and I don't need to be involved in this matter. So, is the money exposed in the media truly yours and Ms. Johnston's? Or are you just an agent?"
Simon understood that many people must have this doubt now and answered without hesitation, "Jim, you must have seen the newspapers. The current sum of money is what I accumulated little by little over the past five and a half months, starting with 75 million dollars. The 75 million dollar principal came from the profits Janette and I made after selling the distribution rights for 'Run Lola Run.' So, yes, this money is entirely ours".
As a professional financial lawyer, James Raybould had already deduced Simon's operational trajectory of turning a 75 million dollar principal into 1.62 billion dollars in recent months, solely from the information exposed in the media. However, he still found the matter too incredible, which was why he asked.
Upon hearing Simon's direct confirmation, James Raybould said no more and continued, "Simon, in my opinion, there are two possibilities for the current situation. First, someone sold your account transaction records from the past few months to several major newspapers. However, as you should understand, this possibility is very low".
Simon nodded in agreement. If someone had merely leaked the information to the media, it wouldn't have appeared simultaneously in several of the East Coast's most influential newspapers on the same day. "Jim, what's the second possibility?"
"Actually, I've probably guessed who is orchestrating this" James Raybould said with a slight smile. "Simon, do you know Rudy Giuliani?"
Simon thought for a moment, and the title 'America's Mayor' flashed in his mind.
From memory, Rudy Giuliani served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001 and earned the title 'America's Mayor' for his decisive leadership during the 9/11 attacks. He even ran for president at one point, a true political star.
Before that.
Combining the information he had gathered from newspapers and media since his rebirth, Simon quickly pieced together a series of facts: Rudy Giuliani currently served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Since taking office in 1983, he had adopted tough measures to combat financial and organized crime in New York.
Nodding slightly, Simon asked with some confusion, "Jim, you think Giuliani did this?"
"Since taking office, Giuliani has liked to put pressure on parties involved by leaking information to the media beforehand. This not only allows him to build his reputation during investigations but also forces targets to yield under public pressure. Moreover, this prosecutor's methods are by no means limited to these; wiretaps, anonymous letters, threatening calls, he's used everything to achieve his goals," James Raybould said, glancing towards the door of Simon's suite.
"There's another point: the headquarters of the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission are both in Washington, yet you are being questioned in New York. This makes it even clearer. Manhattan happens to be within the jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York, where most federal financial cases are investigated and tried. So, Simon, I really hope you haven't said anything you shouldn't have in your room these past few days".
Simon, following James Raybould's gaze towards the presidential suite door, he said, "Jim, this is the Plaza Hotel. And are you sure you just said 'federal court' and not 'Mafia'?"
"I hope I'm wrong in my judgment, but what I just said are all personal experiences. You have to believe that an ambitious politician is absolutely incomparable to the Mafia," James Raybould gestured to his assistant, took a Motorola portable phone from his hand, and said, "Simon, I've always maintained contact with some security companies. Do you need them to send an anti-eavesdropping team to check? I believe you won't mind the bill now".
Simon was suspicious but still nodded.
Half an hour later, looking at the numerous listening devices retrieved from the suite's landline, sofa, mattress, and even the sole of his leather shoe, Simon forcibly suppressed his emotions for a long time but still couldn't contain his intense anger at the invasion of his personal privacy. He picked up a vase in the suite and smashed it fiercely against the wall, then turned and walked out.
Paul Eckman, the Plaza Hotel's room division manager, who had just expressed strong dissatisfaction with Simon's invitation of an anti-eavesdropping team to inspect the suite, only recovered from his daze after everyone had left. The somewhat bald middle-aged man tremblingly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his face, then rushed out of the suite, following Simon all the way into the elevator, saying urgently, "Mr. Westeros, this must be a misunderstanding. Don't worry, we will definitely find out who did these pranks".
Simon glanced at Paul Eckman's name tag, his tone clearly sarcastic, and said, "Pranks, Paul? Do these kinds of pranks happen often here?"
"No, no, of course not" Paul Eckman quickly shook his head, saying, "Mr. Westeros, please give us some time, okay? We will definitely give you a satisfactory answer. I hope, I hope you won't disclose this matter yet."
Simon, however, did not answer, and the elevator quickly reached the ground floor.
Stepping out of the elevator, Simon remembered the crowd of reporters waiting outside the hotel and finally calmed down a little.
He glanced at the people who had come down with him, gave a reassuring look to the worried Janette, and whispered, "Honey, pack up what you need to take. We're going to 68th Street".
Janette scrutinized Simon for a few moments before nodding and re-entering the elevator.
Seeing Simon's expression soften, Paul Eckman knew he wouldn't be returning to the room, so he added, "Mr. Westeros, if you're leaving, I'll have someone arrange a car".
"No need," Simon shook his head and said to Neil Bennett, "Neil, you take them to check our car as well."
Neil Bennett acknowledged, then led a few staff members from the security company outside.
Having said that, Simon then turned to the Raybould couple and said, "I'm truly sorry, both of you. I was a bit out of line just now".
James Raybould shook his head slightly and said, "It's alright, Simon".
Having worked in the field for so many years, James Raybould had witnessed too many similar scenes. Compared to clients who would fly into a rage or even threaten murder upon discovering they were being bugged, Simon, in the prime of his youth, was able to calm down so quickly, which he found quite admirable.
Janette quickly came downstairs. They had two suitcases when they moved in. After coming down again, the woman simply handed a much lighter suitcase to Ken Dickson. Once Neil Bennett confirmed that the car had been checked, the group headed out.
Seeing Simon emerge from the hotel, the crowd of reporters, who had been waiting for several hours, immediately erupted, frantically swarming around him. The rapid click of camera shutters was accompanied by loud questions that were almost entirely inaudible.
"Simon, is the news in the papers true?"
"Simon, why did you buy $1.1 billion in tech stocks?"
"Simon, will you continue to direct in the future?"
"Simon, tech stocks surged across the board after the market opened today. What are your thoughts on this?"
"Simon..."
Simon listened to the surrounding clamour, simply holding Janette in his arms without a word, and with the protection of two bodyguards and hotel security, he managed to board a black Range Rover. The Raybould couple and the anti-eavesdropping team from the security company then followed in their own cars.
Seeing Simon's car leave, the reporters rushed to their own vehicles.
The distance from the Plaza Hotel to 68th Street on the Upper East Side was less than 1 kilometre. The Range Rover quickly stopped in front of a light grey building. Simon and Janette quickly got out, bringing the Raybould couple and others who had followed them into the apartment building.
Simon and Janette successfully bought the top-floor duplex apartment in this building at the beginning of the month.
The apartment's original owner was a major shareholder in a confectionery company. The owner had previously sold the property to raise funds for the struggling food company. After the stock market crash, the company's financial situation worsened.
Because the owner did not accept instalments and required full payment upfront, both parties ultimately agreed on a transaction price of $11 million.
However, before the transaction was completed, the owner moved out all the expensive furniture, carpets, and artwork that were originally intended to be included with the apartment. This was also one of the conditions for the price to be negotiated down to $11 million. Simon did not like the original style of the house and planned to redecorate.
Now, leading James Raybould and the others into the duplex apartment, Simon looked at the empty living room and suddenly thought of the Montana district villa Janette had helped him rent.
Although the house was already empty, Simon still had the security company's anti-eavesdropping team conduct an inspection. After confirming there were no issues, Janette left to procure some temporary furniture, and Simon and the Raybould couple went to the apartment's rooftop terrace.
This was originally a rooftop garden of about forty square meters, but all the original flowers and plants had been removed, making it appear somewhat empty now. However, no one paid attention to these details at the moment.
After submitting Westeros Company's stock index futures and stock trading records for the past few months, as requested by the two major agencies, Simon had specifically kept a backup, which was in the briefcase Janette had just brought back from the Plaza Hotel.
Before receiving George Norman's call, James Raybould had already carefully read the several exposés in today's newspapers regarding Simon's operations in the stock index futures market. However, looking at the more detailed transaction records in his hand now, he still felt somewhat incredible.
From mid-May to late August, from 270 points to 330 points on the S&P 500 index, with a single liquidation and re-entry within a 20-point range, Simon's operations were clearly meticulously calculated. The turn to short selling at 330 points also demonstrated timing that was not easily achieved by ordinary people.
Subsequently, Simon's operations in October were even more impressive.
From October 1st to October 16th, over twelve trading days, with an average daily short contract establishment rate of around 2,000 contracts, 26,700 short contracts were precisely positioned one trading day before the major crash. Following this, after the crash on October 19th, Westeros Company's more than 20,000 short positions again precisely captured the market's only three lowest index days to complete liquidation.
Five months.
As if he had foreknowledge of the entire trend, Simon operated precisely along the rise and fall curve of the S&P 500 index. After reading the materials in his hand, James Raybould found it difficult to find accurate words to describe everything he had just witnessed.
A miracle?
Even a miracle might not be this miraculous!