After parting ways with Grace last night, Simon spent the night at the villa on East 92nd Street for the second time.
He also took the opportunity to punish a certain restless woman.
The treatment Simon provided to Laura Grailoff and her two daughters far exceeded their previous standard of living. They lived in a top-notch luxury home near Central Park, had a full team of professional servants, received a $30,000 monthly allowance without needing to work, and were virtually unrestricted in their daily activities. If they wanted to join any of Manhattan's top clubs, all it took was a word to Grace, and they would soon have their membership cards. The family even had access to the Westeros system's private jets.
But human nature is insatiable.
After Simon's first night at the East 92nd Street villa, the intelligence team monitoring the family discovered that Laura Grailoff had been subtly inquiring about the Michael Jackson case from last year, clearly planning to follow a similar path.
Michael Jackson paid $20 million to settle last year's case, and the Chandler family, who accused the pop king, was now living in a luxurious Manhattan home, enjoying the high life. Laura Grailoff likely thought that with Simon's vast wealth, she could secure ten or even a hundred times the compensation, all while freeing herself from his control.
Simon merely watched her coldly.
The truth of Michael Jackson's case is a murky matter, with a significant possibility that the pop star was innocent, but people were more inclined to believe the worst about him.
Simon, however, was not Michael Jackson.
According to the instructions given to the monitoring team, if Laura Grailoff attempted to contact a lawyer, she would be immediately detained and then permanently dealt with.
Given the assassination attempt from before, the Grailoff family was initially meant to be eliminated. Simon had spared them on a whim, but he wouldn't hesitate to set them back on their original path if they strayed too far.
Fortunately, after days of hesitation, Laura Grailoff refrained from taking any irreversible actions.
Last night, Simon directly confronted her about her thoughts, along with the punishment, thoroughly extinguishing any foolish hopes she might have had.
Speaking of which, since the release of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list earlier this month, the Westeros system had been surrounded by a multitude of restless elements, making Laura Grailoff's little maneuver seem insignificant by comparison.
First and foremost, the most restless was the U.S. political scene.
In the final stages of the midterm elections, despite widespread awareness of the various operations of the Westeros system over the past year, many congressional candidates, when asked about Simon's personal wealth, responded in various ways—some mild, some extreme—but the general sentiment was that the wealth of super-rich individuals should be curbed.
This was considered politically correct.
If Simon were just an ordinary person, he might also feel unbalanced seeing the personal wealth of super-rich individuals grow exponentially. He might harbor resentment and seek more "fairness."
The voters who hold the power over these politicians are, after all, ordinary people.
A personal fortune of $300 billion is beyond the imagination of most people. While few can grasp what such a vast amount of wealth truly means, many instinctively feel that Simon's wealth should not continue to grow unchecked.
Simon, of course, wouldn't let such public sentiment go unchecked.
Shortly after the release of the new Forbes list, the Simon & Janet Westeros Foundation announced a new major charitable initiative.
Simultaneously, the media controlled by the Westeros system began guiding public opinion.
Simon's stance was clear.
While it might be beyond the imagination of ordinary people, Simon's wealth was entirely legal.
Private property is inviolable.
If there's a desire to limit the wealth of the super-rich, that's fine, but it must apply equally to all wealthy individuals.
If someone seeks to target Simon alone, then, sorry, the Westeros system doesn't mind targeting specific individuals in return.
To protect his legitimate wealth, Simon is willing to do whatever it takes.
Next, some of Simon's vulnerabilities attracted renewed attention from certain parties.
For instance, the mafia massacre in Reggio, Calabria, in southern Italy, which occurred in August.
After Simon issued a clear warning to the entire Italian and global mafia communities, stating that any attempt to provoke him would result in a fate similar to the Stefano family, the truth behind the Stefano family massacre became widely known. In contrast, the Woodfield Estate bombing in Pittsburgh earlier this year had only sparse leads released to the public, but the Stefano family massacre's truth was more widely recognized.
If anyone could obtain sufficient evidence and persuade the Italian government to investigate, Simon would undoubtedly face significant trouble.
In recent weeks, many forces have been harboring such thoughts, including the French government.
At the Greenwich estate.
In a study, Celia Miller waited for Simon to finish a phone call, having overheard it was about someone being hospitalized. Noticing that Simon didn't explain further, she wisely refrained from asking and continued their previous conversation. "So, you just want Rwanda to issue a press release accusing the French government of involvement in the April massacre, right?"
Simon nodded, "Yes, coordinate with the Rwandan side quickly. Someone from Egret Communications will contact you this afternoon. After Rwanda's government makes its statement, the release will be published through the Egret portal."
Celia didn't fully understand why Simon had suddenly called her in for such a seemingly disjointed task, but she dutifully suggested, "Should we have the Rwandan president or vice president make a public statement?"
"No need. You should realize this matter has little to do with Rwanda. It's just a reminder to the French government not to forget certain things. The key in the release is to emphasize that the Rwandan government, through its investigation, has obtained critical evidence of the French government's involvement in the massacre."
Celia nodded.
She knew that the Rwandan government had no such evidence, but the Westeros system had acquired extensive testimonies from captured French military advisers linking the French government to the Rwandan genocide.
Earlier this year, Simon had waged a war in Rwanda, overthrowing the Hutu government. The French, who had supported the previous regime, suffered significant losses as a result.
Thus, France was the country most deeply offended by Simon's actions.
As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, France's comprehensive strength was undeniable, making it relatively easy for them to cause trouble for the Westeros system.
Had Simon not preemptively taken the moral high ground with extensive media coverage of the Rwandan genocide and secretly gathered incriminating evidence against the French government, the Westeros system would not have escaped unscathed.
Noticing Celia's hesitation, Simon said, "I know you want to ask something, but I can't explain this. Just do as I instructed."
This was, in essence, an explanation.
Even without Simon spelling it out, Celia could guess that the French government, dissatisfied with their defeat, was likely plotting something against the Westeros system.
After confirming a few more details and discussing several issues related to the Ukraine operation, it was already noon. Seeing that Simon had no intention of inviting her to stay for lunch, Celia took the initiative to leave.
After sending Celia off, Simon returned to his desk and resumed reading a report he had been reviewing before her arrival.
This report was from Italy.
The Stefano family massacre had caused an uproar for some time. While things appeared to have calmed down, ripples continued beneath the surface.
Shortly after the incident, both the apprehensive 'Ndrangheta, who had tightened their control over their domain, and the Westeros system's intelligence team in Reggio began noticing an unusual curiosity about the event.
Despite repeated warnings from the 'Ndrangheta and the mysterious disappearances of overly curious individuals, most people had chosen to back down.
However, some remained persistent.
Two investigative reporters from France's *Le Figaro* had been carefully contacting people connected to the massacre, and there were also suspected government agents conducting clandestine investigations.
Two weeks ago, Simon received news that the French government was attempting to persuade the Italian authorities to launch an official investigation into the Stefano family massacre.
Given the situation, certain intentions became evident.
The French government wanted to use the Stefano family massacre to strike at Simon.
After the massacre, Simon's preemptive media manipulations had cast a wide net of suspects, ranging from various super-rich individuals to Latin American drug lords, muddying the waters and making the surface truth difficult to discern.
Yet, many people knew the real truth.
Just like the Kennedy assassination.
Why so many witnesses and pieces of evidence were systematically eliminated afterward and why any Kennedy family member with political ambitions met with untimely deaths is because the truth of that event was well-known—too simple, too obvious. To prevent further scrutiny, the evidence had to be destroyed, and the Kennedy family was barred from gaining the power to investigate further.
Over the past year, both the Woodfield Estate bombing and the Stefano family massacre were open secrets. Simon's strategy was the same: destroy evidence, prevent deeper investigations, and, above all, delay.
Time is the ultimate power.
In just a few years, any attempts to investigate these events would be ten times harder than they are now.
In the end, there would be no truth.
When the events are revisited, those in the know won't bother chasing the truth; they'll be more focused on using them as bargaining chips in other games.
Now that the French were making moves, Simon wouldn't stand idly by.
The accusation from the Rwandan government and Egret's public indictment of France's involvement in the genocide were just overt retaliations and warnings. If the French government didn't back down after this warning, Simon wouldn't hesitate to escalate.
Although Simon had taken two harsh
actions within the year, he was well aware that such tactics couldn't be overused.
But when necessary, he wouldn't hesitate.
At Simon's level, many things could no longer be handled within the bounds of morality or legal principles because his opponents wouldn't adhere to them either. Restricting himself to a certain framework would only result in being devoured.
Given the tensions stemming from the Rwandan genocide, relations between the Westeros system and the French government were unlikely to improve.
Since that was the case, Simon would respond to whatever came his way.
As an old capitalist nation and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France's comprehensive strength was undeniable.
But making such a country decline wasn't impossible.
Looking back through his memories, Simon knew that France had many vulnerabilities.
Moreover, given the longstanding friction between the U.S. and France, the U.S. government could become an ally of the Westeros system.
On the other hand, Simon, who had a fundamentally pessimistic view of humanity, believed that another world war was inevitable. However, for the foreseeable future, the conflicts between nations would play out primarily in the economic arena.
The Westeros system already surpassed most of the world's nations in terms of power, functioning as a super-corporation or even an independent economic entity. Unlike countries bound by various constraints, the Westeros system was wholly controlled by Simon.
If necessary, the Westeros system could wage an economic war, one far more destructive than Soros's currency attacks.
A knock on the door interrupted Simon's thoughts.
One of the girls appeared at the doorway, reminding him, "Boss, lunch is ready. Also, Miss Grailoff has arrived."
Simon nodded, signaling Allison to bring Victoria Grailoff to the dining room. After locking the report he had been reading in the safe, he left the study.
Upon entering the dining room, Allison and Arya had already set up lunch.
Simon hadn't given any specific instructions, so there were two settings on the table, one evidently prepared for Victoria, who stood obediently nearby.
After dismissing Allison and Arya and ensuring they closed the door behind them, Simon sat down and looked at the slightly anxious girl standing a short distance away.
Victoria Grailoff wore a white jacket and washed jeans, presenting the image of a harmless girl-next-door. But Simon didn't believe for a second that she was as innocent as she appeared.
The phone call Simon had taken during his meeting with Celia had informed him that Laura Grailoff had been stabbed in the chest and hospitalized.
The perpetrator now stood before him.
Moreover, there were not just plates on the table but also two slender, classical yet undeniably sharp daggers, each about ten centimeters long—just the right size to kill if they hit the right spot.
Without rushing to eat, Simon played with one of the daggers, looking at the girl who still hadn't been given permission to move. "Why did you do it?" he asked.
Victoria Grailoff avoided eye contact, but quickly replied, "I… I wanted to warn my mother. I don't want her to do anything stupid that could get us all killed."
"Oh, so you're quite clever," Simon remarked, raising an eyebrow before gesturing with a cold voice, "Come here."
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