The air in the boardroom of the Knickerbocker Trust Company was thick with the scent of old leather, cigar smoke, and condescension. It was a smell Alan Mikaelson had come to associate with old money, a scent he found suffocating. At seventeen, soon to be eighteen, he was legally a man, and he had waited for this day with the patience of a predator watching a herd.
Across the vast mahogany table sat the three trustees of his late father's estate. Mr. Abernathy, the chairman, a man whose jowls quivered with self-importance; Mr. Davies, thin and wheezing, who managed the legalities; and Mr. Thorne, who oversaw the portfolio. They had managed his inheritance since he was a boy, providing him with a generous allowance and an education at the finest schools, assuming he would grow into a respectable gentleman content to live off his dividends.
They had catastrophically misjudged their ward.
For ten years, while they saw a quiet orphan, Alan had been a scholar of a singular subject: his own ledger. He hadn't just studied the numbers; he had devoured them, cross-referencing them with every financial text and historical record he could find. He saw his inheritance not as a legacy to be preserved, but as a disorganized collection of tools waiting for a master craftsman.
"Alan," Mr. Abernathy began, his voice a buttery baritone. "As you approach the age of majority, we are here to present you with the portfolio of your father's estate. It is a fine legacy. Stable, respectable, and generating a handsome income."
He gestured to a thick, leather-bound volume in the center of the table. Alan ignored it. Instead, he placed three slim folders of his own on the polished wood.
"Thank you for your stewardship, gentlemen," Alan said, his voice devoid of warmth. It was a dismissal, not an expression of gratitude. "Your services will no longer be required after the transfer is complete. I have already engaged my own legal and accounting teams."
The three men exchanged surprised glances. Davies let out a small, wheezing cough.
"Now, now, my boy," Abernathy chuckled, a strained sound. "We are here to guide you. A young man of your age cannot possibly grasp the complexities..."
"The complexities are a fiction you've maintained for your fees," Alan cut in, his eyes like chips of ice. He tapped the first folder. "My father left fifteen independent bank branches across five states. The New York Haberdasher Bank, the Boston Merchants & Sailors, the Newark Industrial Trust... fifteen different names, fifteen different charters, fifteen inefficiencies. They operate as rivals, not allies. Their capital is fractured. This is not a network; it is a mess."
He pushed the folder forward. "My legal team will begin filing for the dissolution of their individual charters tomorrow. They will be consolidated and reincorporated under a single federal charter. The new entity will be called Starbank."
Abernathy's face had gone from pink to a blotchy red. "That is an insult to your father's partners! To his memory!"
"My father's memory is not collateral I intend to leverage," Alan replied flatly. He tapped the second folder. "The portfolio also contains a controlling interest in a Great Lakes shipping concern, various real estate parcels unattached to the banks, and a portfolio of municipal bonds. These are low-yield, stagnant assets. They will all be liquidated within the next six months. Starbank will require immense liquidity for the opportunities I foresee."
"Opportunities? What opportunities could a boy..." Thorne started, but Alan was already opening the third folder.
"Finally, the two goldfields in Nevada and California. You have leased the mining rights to the Guggenheim Exploration Company for a pittance of a royalty, based on outdated geological surveys from the 1890s. This is, without question, the most egregious mismanagement in the entire portfolio."
He produced a letter. "This is a notice of contract termination, effective immediately, per the gross negligence clause in section eleven. I am bringing in a new team of geologists from the Colorado School of Mines to conduct a full, modern reassessment of the sites. Until I have a precise understanding of my assets, no one will be pulling a single ounce of gold from my land."
Silence descended upon the room. The trustees stared at him, their faces a mixture of shock and fury. They were not looking at the quiet orphan they had patronized for a decade. They were looking at a stranger, a man who spoke of his inheritance with the detached precision of a surgeon discussing a cadaver.
Alan stood up, his lean frame casting a long shadow in the afternoon light.
"I have my own offices now. All future correspondence should be directed there," he said. "Good day, gentlemen."
He turned and walked out of the room without a backward glance, leaving the three old men sputtering in the ruins of their comfortable, profitable arrangement. The age of trustees was over. The age of Alan Mikaelson had begun.
End of Chapter Summary
Period: Q1 1913
Mikaelson Family Estimated Net Worth: ~$12,500,000
(Note: All assets are valued in U.S. dollars at the specified period's market rates for consistent tracking.)
I. Financial Holdings (Mikaelson Banking Interests - Pre-Starbank Consolidation)
Commercial & Retail Banking:Branches: 15 (Spread across NY, NJ, PA, MA, CT with various local names)
Combined Total Assets: ~$10,000,000
Investment Banking / Stock Underwriting: None.
Asset Management / Mutual Funds: None.
Insurance (L&H, P&C, Reinsurance): None.
Private Equity & Venture Capital: None.
II. Gold Holdings (Mikaelson Gold Consolidated)
Fields: 2 (Nevada, California)
Estimated Bullion Reserves: Unknown.
Current Market Value (based on royalty agreements): ~$1,000,000
III. Luxury Goods (Elysian Holdings)
Brands: None.
Boutiques: None.
IV. Gaming (Pixel Palace)
Arcades/Major Retailers: None.
Acquisitions This Chapter:
Company Name: None.
Location: None.
Industry: None.
Stated Real Value: N/A
Acquired Value: N/A
Mentioned Families & Alliances:
Guggenheim Family (Mining): Status: Business relationship (unfriendly termination of contract).
Morgan Family (Finance): Est. Net Worth: ~$100 Million. Status: Distant, dominant competitor.
Rockefeller Family (Oil/Industry): Est. Net Worth: ~$900 Million. Status: The benchmark of dynastic power.