After the formation of the group, the greatest benefit for Leo was being freed from the heavy burden of trivial affairs.
He only needed to attend one board call per week and one in-person board meeting per month—just enough to keep a grip on the group's strategic direction.
After assigning Austin the task of acquiring Destan Real Estate in Ohio by January next year,
Leo took Evelyn and Yelena to Hawaii for vacation.
Joining them were all the old brothers from Lynchburg.
After two years of grinding hard, it was finally time to take a break.
Cue the music, time to dance!
Sunshine, beaches.
The women played and teased, while the men grilled meat and sipped beer.
"This isn't my first time in Hawaii, but it's definitely the first time I've enjoyed it this much,"
said Daniel, rubbing his thinning hair.
"Stop rubbing that head—you lost your hair but gained Franklin,"
Sean teased, giving him a friendly punch.
"You're worth millions now, aren't you?"
"None of us are worth less than five million.
That's all thanks to the boss.
Who would've thought? Two years ago, the few of us couldn't scrape together $200."
"Let's drink to the boss!"
After the feast came carnal pleasures—each brother retreating with his companion to enjoy blissful indulgence.
Leo, too, returned to the hotel with Evelyn and Yelena.
As soon as they entered the room, the two tall women wrapped their long, seductive legs around Leo's waist.
Below him, dazzling headlights. Behind him, even brighter ones.
He was quickly smothered with kisses.
With this kind of offensive, there would be no peace tonight.
Still feeling stuffy after a shower, Leo stepped outside to walk along the beach.
The cool sea breeze refreshed his mind, and he soon ran into Kevin, who was also out for a stroll.
"Impressive stamina, Leo. Out of all the rooms, yours was the last with lights still on. And you still have energy to walk?"
Kevin smirked.
Leo teased back, "I saw you just went in with a pretty young thing."
Kevin waved it off. "Getting old."
"Since we've run into each other, let's talk business."
"Your ideas, my designs, Sean's construction—
our departments basically dominate the luxury homes and hotels in California.
We've been top performers at Jesse Corp. for two quarters straight.
Chairman Rex Jesse wants to invite us to join the board,
but there's a lot of opposition.
Your 'resurrection' plan has hit a bottleneck."
Leo asked, "You've seen Mason Real Estate making a big push into the East.
Jesse Real Estate doesn't have any thoughts on that?"
"They do. But didn't you just reject their fifth application to join the American Real Estate Association?"
Kevin replied.
Instead of addressing that, Leo pressed further,
"Mason Real Estate is running presales in California. How is Jesse Real Estate responding?"
Kevin shrugged. "Their residential projects are dying.
That's exactly why our luxury hotels and mansions are getting attention.
I know for a fact they've visited the Corleone family in Vegas multiple times—
trying to get them to talk you into it.
They think you're still holding a grudge over that Moglin affair.
Everyone knows Leo Valentino's not exactly forgiving."
"Heh, that's the point—I want them to reuse you guys.
And force Jesse Real Estate to shift their business focus.
We all know that residential housing is a temporary bubble.
The future lies in mansions, towers, offices, hotels.
When they shift early, we can easily take over and expand.
I'll reject their sixth application as well.
Find a chance to leak that Sean's from my hometown.
Let Sean be the one to 'convince' me.
You guys use that to enter the board."
Kevin raised a brow. "Aren't you worried they'll catch on?"
Leo smirked. "It's an open scheme.
I just came into a windfall and started acquiring Jesse Real Estate shares on the secondary market."
Kevin counted on his fingers, then looked at Leo in admiration.
"Amazing. One presale qualification, and you hit three birds with one stone—business shift, board entry, and stock acquisition at a discount."
Leo chuckled.
With cash flow finally in hand, he was ready to invest in promising projects identified from his previous life.
Jesse Real Estate was just the beginning.
"Hey, isn't that Lucas coming down too?
He's been distracted today. Did he mess something up?"
Leo's smile faded. He snorted,
"Yeah. I sent him to oversee someone, and he ended up being used as a pawn."
"He's still young—not like the rest of us who've been through hell.
Teach him slowly. I'm heading back."
Kevin waved and greeted Lucas in passing before heading inside.
"Leo, I'm sorry. I screwed up,"
Lucas said the moment he approached.
"Hmph! Don't give me that. You're not inexperienced.
You used to vet those tabloid stories well.
But look at the last two months—every day I'm making calls cleaning up after you all.
I know James and his passive-aggressive BS.
If not for his flair with words and good reputation, I would've fired him long ago.
You were supposed to rein him in. What did you do instead?
Worse still, I clean up your messes and the paper still doesn't sell!"
With each sentence Leo spat, Lucas' head lowered a bit more—until it was nearly at his chest.
"I told you not to be deceived by the pretense of journalists.
Treat them like garbage and you'll manage them well.
But you? You went down and wrote the article yourself?
It was crap—pretentious and unreadable!
You're not cut out for this."
Lucas was still one of the more competent among Leo's relatives—
otherwise, Leo wouldn't have said so much.
If a normal subordinate wasted these resources without results,
Leo would've given them a simple choice: Hudson or James River.
He sighed, glancing at the hotel rooms.
If he didn't need someone to check the old brothers, he wouldn't bother with this.
"Get lost. After vacation, you're coming with me to The World Gazette."
Leo didn't wait for a response and returned to his room.
Back in the warm bed, lying in the center,
he was soon overwhelmed by the dual heat from both sides.
As Evelyn murmured "Love me" in her dreams,
passion re-ignited beneath the moonlight.
Whenever he and Evelyn reached that state,
Leo would slip into a lucid dream.
The dream tonight was familiar—
a memory from high school: his secret crush, the library, youthful nostalgia.
He even remembered how he pretended to read The Murdoch Biography to look cool,
when in reality, he was sneaking glances at the goddess beside him.
Back in that dream scene, Leo looked at her again.
Meh—not ugly, but nowhere near Evelyn or Yelena.
The "goddess filter" had been strong.
Wait—what book was he holding again?
Leo snapped his attention to the book in his hands.
Thank God, past him was meticulous.
Even while pretending, he held the book right-side up and flipped pages occasionally.
Just like that, Leo absorbed the entire biography.
In the morning, as Yelena provided her agile wake-up service,
Leo reviewed the content in his mind.
Biographies are 70% fluff, 20% exaggeration, and maybe 10% truth.
But Leo had learned: lucid dreams only point directions—actual decisions required bold theories and cautious verification.
Taking the milk Evelyn handed him, he and Yelena downed their respective glasses.
Vacations are always delightful—but short.
After agreeing to reunite at Christmas, the brothers went their separate ways again.
"Achoo!"
Returning from warm Hawaii to snow-covered New York,
both women caught colds.
Leo had Noodle escort them back to the estate,
while he rode in Lucas' car.
Lucas now had a driver too—someone familiar: Tony Lip, who resembled Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings.
Leo raised a brow. Lucas explained,
"Tony got married. Said he wanted a proper job to support his family."
Tony, now much more reserved, said,
"Mr. Valentino, please forgive my past rudeness."
Leo, knowing who he was now, nodded.
Tony drove smoothly.
As Leo got out, he told Lucas,
"Test him."
Lucas' eyes lit up. That meant Tony had passed the first impression.
Despite the snowstorm, the publishing district buzzed like always.
Compared to two years ago, nothing had changed—except at The World Gazette, which looked ready to shut down.
"We're being targeted by competitors.
Everyone's against your acquisition,"
James said.
"Oh, I see. So it's okay for Jewish buyers, but not Italian dirt farmers?"
Leo sneered.
"I'm being serious, Leo.
We need to bring in more accepted shareholders if we want to turn this around,"
James suggested.
Leo chuckled coldly.
"You think this is a joke?
Three months of losses and you're blaming my investment?
You begged me in Richmond.
Where's your strategy? Your leadership?
Lucas was supposed to keep you in check—
don't use me as an excuse for your own incompetence.
You've got the wrong guy!"
Leo stood, towering over James.
"First—before me, you were just a reporter risking your neck for glory.
Second—I'm your boss.
Show me basic respect."
Seeing defiance in James' eyes, Leo's tone turned dark:
"And your boss is no push-over!"
Leo's presence made James recall that unfortunate journalist in Richmond
who'd been driven to jump off a building after offending Leo.
James wilted instantly.
Still, pride made him mutter,
"But we are being targeted. That's a fact…"
Leo tossed the latest edition at him.
"Crap writing—yours and your team's.
And you just let them slack off?
Most were chatting when I walked in.
What are you managing?
From today—I'm in charge of The World Gazette.
I'll show you what real management looks like!"
He glared at James.
"Don't test my patience again.
I hope this experience helps you grow—
or I'll turn you into a statue."
Leo's first order of business was a full financial audit.
Sure enough, corruption was rampant.
Especially Jensen, the deputy editor—
second-highest salary, but abusing his printing privileges.
Leo called Clemens.
That night, the fish in the Hudson feasted well.
The next morning, a line formed outside Leo's office.
Each person called in left dejected, silently packing their things.
They were fired—and sued.
Leo wanted triple restitution.
This wasn't charity—this was business.
By day three, the remaining reporters stared at a new notice board:
They had to submit 20 quality articles—daily.
Leo even posted a sample piece, noting beneath it:
"This is the standard."
"Oh my God—20?! Just kill me now. I quit!"
cried one reporter.
Lucas appeared behind him.
"I approve.
And I guarantee—no paper in New York will hire you again."
The man didn't believe it—
until the small local paper he joined burned down that night.
Between Jensen's disappearance and this warning,
journalists quickly learned who their new boss really was.
By week's end, The World Gazette was profitable again.
Not due to sales—it still had few readers.
But expenses had plummeted.
That was the first trick Leo learned from The Murdoch Biography:
cut costs, increase efficiency.
Murdoch once made reporters write 20 pieces a day.
Leo thought it was exaggerated—but it worked.
People only discover their limits under pressure.
Murdoch truly was the greatest capitalist of the 20th century.
With the first tactic working, Leo launched the second:
To make waves in journalism, you need explosive exclusives.
"James, what was the most viral news this year?"
Still sour from his defeat, James muttered,
"Probably the UFO incident. Alleged alien sightings…"
"Perfect. Get our reporters on it," Leo ordered.
James immediately objected:
"Come on, Leo. That's tabloid stuff.
I've got inside info—James Roosevelt's new Guild Restriction Act is about to stir real controversy. That's good news."
Leo cut in,
"Listen, James—right now The Gazette isn't even third-rate.
No one's reading.
No amount of political analysis will help.
To have class, you must first survive.
Also, I do dislike James Roosevelt.
But he's not hot news.
Putting the paper in his crosshairs early is dumb.
And if you criticize the bill, you're not just hitting him—
you're challenging Congress and the government.
Remember this, James:
Only a powerful press baron can attack the government.
You don't become powerful by attacking it."
Leo's words made James lower his head again.
Once more, he felt the vast gap between him and Leo.
"I get it now.
The UFO craze has passed.
And creating viral news from scratch is hard."
Leo narrowed his eyes and puffed his cigar.
"If there's no UFO, we'll make one.
If there's no hot news,
we'll create it from scratch."