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****
Grant set his mug down and neatly folded the morning paper, his demeanor shifting into the sharp, calculating edge of a seasoned banker.
"By the way," Grant said casually. "That practical effects shop out in the Valley last night."
Marvin glanced up.
"There it is," Grant said.
"What?"
"That look. The one you get when you're quietly sizing up a shiny new toy for your play." Grant leaned forward. "You spent half of the dinner conversation talking about the owner. Mark Rappaport, wasn't it? Tell me the truth. Are you quietly planning to buy him out?"
Marvin paused, his fork hovering halfway to his mouth. He set it down gently with a wry, impressed smile. "Wow. I subtly mentioned his name exactly twice over a thirty-minute dinner, Dad. And you immediately pulled a hostile corporate acquisition out of that?"
"Of course I did," Grant smirked. "I am your father."
"It's not a toy, Dad," Marvin said, leaning back in his chair, his demeanor shifting instantly from son to visionary. "It is strategic leverage."
Linda pulled out the chair beside Marvin and sat down. "What does the company do?"
"Animatronics. Mechanical effects. Puppetry. Specialty props," Marvin explained. "The kind of work studios are going to need for a long time."
Grant tapped a finger against the table. "What's wrong with the effects houses we already use?"
"Nothing. But I don't want to depend on somebody else's priorities," Marvin said, his dark eyes sharpening with absolute certainty. "You know my views on the current state of visual effects. Early CGI is a brilliant, revolutionary tool, but the industry is getting lazy. Hacks are using it as a cheap crutch. They build entire environments and giant monsters on computers, and you can physically feel it in the theater. It's weightless. The actors end up awkwardly staring at a green tennis ball on a stick, and the audience subconsciously knows the physics on the screen are wrong."
He took a slow sip of his orange juice.
"If you want true, undeniable scale and gravity within a cinematic frame, you need physical mass on the soundstage. Put an actor in front of a real mechanical creature, and there's something to react to. The light hits it properly. Shadows fall where they're supposed to. The camera can actually move around it."
Linda nodded slowly. "And when you need CGI?"
"You use it to make the practical work way better," Marvin said. "Remove wires. Fix a face. Extend a set. Make them move like realistic creatures. Add something you couldn't build. You don't replace everything just because you can."
Linda smiled. "That's why you liked the dragon."
"Exactly."
Grant listened without interrupting, mapping out the invisible chessboard his son was playing on. "So what's the play? Why not buy the company outright?"
"Too obvious," Marvin said. "And too early. If Meyers Studios starts overtly monopolizing top-tier VFX houses right out of the gate, the legacy Big Six studios will feel an existential threat. They'll weaponize their government lobbyists and antitrust committees to legally crush us before we even distribute our first picture."
Grant's eyebrow rose. "So you move quietly."
"Creature Effects stays independent on paper," Marvin confirmed. "We invest quietly through a proxy. Give them an endless capital injection. Buy better equipment, build a proper workshop, bring in top engineers, and let Mark keep running the creative side. It becomes the gold standard of the industry."
"And eventually?" Grant asked.
"As our box office revenue floods in over the next two years, I escalate," Marvin said, his tone shifting into pure corporate war strategy. "I exponentially ramp up the speed of our supply chain acquisitions. By the time the Big Six executives wake up and realize we literally own the cameras, the soundstages, the post-production facilities, and the effects houses they rely on to shoot their own movies, they won't be able to stop us."
Grant leaned back, silenced for a moment by the sheer scale of the ambition. "They will be renting their own industry back from me."
"Exactly," Marvin said. "I want to make sure Meyers Studios never has to ask another studio for permission to make a movie."
Grant nodded slowly, following the flawless logic of it all. "So, you move quietly. Like a virus."
Linda looked at her son, her eyes wide. "You've been thinking about this for a while."
"Long enough."
Grant gave a quiet, disbelieving laugh. "You really are your father's son."
Linda immediately shook her head. "No. He's worse."
Grant looked at her. "Worse?"
"He's thirteen and already talking like you did when you were thirty."
Marvin smiled.
Grant pointed at him. "Don't encourage her."
"I didn't say anything."
"You're smiling."
"I can't help that."
Linda glanced between them and sighed dramatically. "Look at the two of you. You start talking about buying one little effects company and five minutes later you're planning to own half of Hollywood."
Marvin lifted his glass. "We're being conservative."
Grant nearly choked on his coffee. "Conservative?"
Marvin nodded. "I'm serious."
"That's what worries me."
Marvin set his glass down. "We don't have to own everything ourselves. We just need control where it matters."
Grant's smile faded into the expression he wore whenever business stopped being a joke. "How?"
"Multiple companies. Separate ownership. Different management. Different financing. Nobody needs to see the whole picture."
Grant studied him. "Shell companies."
"Corporate structure."
"That's a fancy way of saying shell companies."
Marvin shrugged. "Fine. Shell companies."
Grant leaned back. "How far along?"
Marvin hesitated just long enough for Grant to notice.
"That far?" Marvin smiled.
"I made Mark an offer last night."
Grant stared at him. "You already made the offer?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I was going to."
"When?"
"Now."
Grant shook his head. "You're unbelievable."
"Scarlet Capitals Japan will finance it."
Grant's eyebrows rose. "And Mark?"
"He'll give me his answer by the end of the week."
"You think he'll take it?"
"I don't think he'll have much reason not to."
Grant studied his son for a moment. "That's the part that bothers me."
"What part?"
"You sound very sure."
"I am."
Grant rubbed his jaw. "Son, Meyers Studios hasn't even made its first picture yet. You're already buying effects companies, collecting rights and setting up financing structures in three different countries."
"Five."
Grant closed his eyes. "Of course."
Linda laughed quietly.
Grant looked back at Marvin. "Northbridge. Ashbury. Redwood. Crownstone. Westlake. I can't keep track anymore."
"You don't have to."
"That isn't reassuring."
Marvin smiled. "That's the point of having separate companies."
Grant picked up his coffee again. "You've got your grandfather involved. Your mother. Nancy. Frank. Kris. Half the family is apparently running around signing papers for companies I've never heard of."
Linda raised a finger. "Not half."
Grant looked at her. "That's your objection?"
"I know exactly which ones I'm involved with."
Grant laughed. "See what I mean?"
Marvin leaned back in his chair. "Dad, none of this is random. Every company has a purpose. Every acquisition has a reason. Most family companies handle rights. Scarlet handles capital. The others keep different investments separated."
"And if one of them goes bad?"
"It won't take the others with it."
Grant nodded slowly. "That part I understand."
"Then what's the problem?"
Grant looked at him for a long moment. "You're thirteen."
Marvin smiled. "That again?"
"Yes, that again."
Linda reached across the table and patted Grant's hand. "He's right, you know."
Marvin looked at her. "Mom."
"You're very smart."
"Thank you."
"You're also a kid."
"I knew there was a catch."
She smiled. "I'm serious. You don't have to build the whole empire before breakfast."
Grant laughed. "Please tell him that."
Marvin looked from one parent to the other.
"What if I want to?"
Linda's expression softened. "Then we'll help you."
Grant nodded. "But we'll also tell you when you're being an idiot."
Marvin smiled. "Fair."
Grant pointed at him. "And when you start buying companies just because you like the name on the building, I'm taking your checkbook away."
"You can't."
"Why?"
"It's not a checkbook."
Linda burst out laughing.
Grant stared at his son. "That was terrible."
"I thought it was good."
"It was terrible."
"You smiled."
"I did not."
"You did."
Linda shook her head. "You two are impossible."
Marvin leaned back, enjoying himself. "I'm just saying, if I somehow do fall flat on my face, I have options."
"Options?"
Marvin spread his hands. "An entire family full of wealthy people."
Grant snorted. "You mean us."
"I mean all of you."
Linda narrowed her eyes playfully. "Don't forget me."
"Never."
"Good."
Marvin smiled at her. "If I ever fall into the ocean, Dad will probably send a boat."
"Probably?" Grant said.
"A very expensive boat."
"Obviously."
"And Mom will send the fastest one."
Linda lifted her chin. "Damn right."
Grant pointed at her. "You'd send the biggest one just to show off."
"I'd send whichever one got there first."
"You'd send both."
Linda considered it. "Maybe."
Marvin laughed. "There. See? I'm safe."
Grant shook his head, smiling. "You're spoiled."
"By you."
"By your mother."
Linda immediately objected. "Don't put that on me."
"You're the one who keeps feeding him."
"He's growing."
"He's always eating."
"Because he's growing."
Marvin looked between them. "I don't like where this conversation is going."
Linda smiled. "Finish your breakfast."
"Yes, Mom."
Grant watched him for a moment, then gave a small shake of his head.
"Do what you think is right with the company. Just don't forget that making money and building something are two different things."
Marvin nodded. "I won't."
"And don't rush just because you can."
"I know."
Grant smiled. "Good."
The room settled again.
Just the three of them, eating breakfast and arguing about money as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Marvin finished his milk and pushed his chair back. "I'm done."
Linda looked up. "Already?"
"I have work."
"Work?"
"I want to finish the last chapters."
Grant smiled. "Another book?"
"Another book."
Linda nodded approvingly. "Then go."
Marvin stood and straightened his shirt. "I'll see you both later."
He walked around the table.
Linda opened her arms before he could get past her.
Marvin stopped. "Mom."
"Come here."
"I just hugged you."
"That was earlier."
"That was ten minutes ago."
"And?"
He sighed, but the smile gave him away.
"All right." He leaned down and hugged her.
Linda held him tightly for a moment before kissing his cheek. "Don't sit there all morning."
"I won't."
"And don't forget to eat."
"I just ate."
"You know what I mean."
Marvin smiled. "Yes, Mom."
He gave her another quick kiss on the cheek and headed toward the door.
"Marvin?"
He turned.
Linda pointed at him. "Come back down when you're finished."
"I will."
"And bring me the pages."
"You're going to read them?"
"Of course."
Marvin smiled. "Okay."
He disappeared through the doorway.
Grant watched him go, then looked at Linda.
"You realize we're going to have to let him grow up eventually."
Linda picked up her tea. "I know."
She smiled faintly. "Just not today."
As he climbed the wide staircase toward his study, the smile was still there. It was small, but genuine, softening a face that so often revealed nothing.
He loved this.
For all his plans, his ambition, and the darker parts of what he was, there was something about this house that he couldn't replace. His parents loved him without wanting anything in return. They didn't care how much money he made, how powerful he became, or how outrageous his plans sounded. If Marvin said he wanted to build an empire, they believed him. If he said he would succeed, they simply told him they knew he would.
There was no calculation in it. That was what made it precious.
Whatever darkness lived inside Marvin, home had always been the place where it went quiet. He could walk through the door and, for a few hours, forget about studios, enemies, money, and everything else he was trying to conquer.
He reached the study and pushed open the door.
The quiet swallowed him.
Marvin closed it behind himself and stood there for a moment before letting out a slow breath.
There was one thing he couldn't allow himself to do.
He could never use his magic on them.
Not for convenience. Not to protect himself. Not even if circumstances became dangerous enough to make the temptation seem reasonable.
He could alter memories. Change perceptions. Push thoughts in whatever direction he wanted.
But if he ever had to use that power on his parents, then whatever affection remained between them would always carry a question he couldn't escape.
Was it real?
Marvin didn't want to know the answer.
Their love was one of the few things in his life he didn't want to control.
****
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