New York City, March 1913
The sign painter worked quickly, his brushstrokes erasing the faded gold leaf of "The New York Haberdasher Bank" from the grand window facing Wall Street. Below him on the pavement, Alan Mikaelson stood impassively, watching the old name disappear. It was the first of the fifteen to fall. Inside, the purge was already underway.
He had chosen the Haberdasher Bank as his first target for its symbolic importance and its deeply entrenched management. The bank's president, a portly man named Sterling, had been a close friend of his father's and had sent a scathing letter protesting the "boy's insolent coup." Alan's response was to arrive, unannounced, at 8:00 AM.
He walked through the marble lobby, his footsteps echoing in the tense silence. He didn't go to the president's office. Instead, he walked directly to the head loan officer, a man in his late fifties with a meticulously waxed mustache.
"Mr. Price," Alan said, his voice cutting through the quiet hum of the bank. "You have sixty-four outstanding loans to textile importers. What is your average collateralization ratio for that portfolio?"
Price blinked, caught off guard. "Well, I... it is based on reputation, Mr. Mikaelson. These are men of good standing..."
"That is not a number, Mr. Price," Alan stated coldly. "You have until noon to deliver a full report on every outstanding loan, detailing the precise collateral held against each. The same report is required from every other loan officer. Anyone who fails to comply will be dismissed." He turned to the young clerk cowering behind the counter. "You. Find me an empty office. I will be working from here today."
The effect was electric. Panic, followed by a frantic scramble for ledgers. By noon, Alan had a clear picture of the rot. Dozens of loans were backed by nothing more than a handshake and a good name. Sterling, the bank president, finally emerged from his office, his face purple with rage.
"This is an outrage!" he boomed. "You cannot simply walk in here and..."
"I can," Alan interrupted, not looking up from a ledger. "And I have. Your personal loans to the Century Club, secured by your 'good name,' are hereby called in. You have 24 hours to remit payment in full. Your employment is terminated, effective immediately. Mr. Price, you are also dismissed for gross negligence. Mr. Shaw," he called out to a hungry-looking 25-year-old analyst in the corner, "you are the new acting branch manager. Your first task is to begin restructuring every under-collateralized loan on these books. Report directly to me."
He had repeated a similar scene, with surgical variations, at four other branches in New York and New Jersey over the next two weeks. He fired the old guard, promoted young, data-driven men, and instilled a culture of ruthless, numerical accountability. The message spread like wildfire through the remaining ten branches: the old way of doing business was dead. Starbank would be a bank of numbers, not names.
Two weeks later, a telegram arrived at his office. It was from the geological team in Nevada.
MIKAELSON - NYC
INITIAL SURVEY COMPLETE STOP PREVIOUS ESTIMATES GROSSLY INACCURATE STOP VEINS ARE DEEPER WIDER THAN BELIEVED STOP INDICATIONS OF PRIMARY LODE SYSTEM STOP POTENTIAL YIELD CONSERVATIVELY 5X ORIGINAL SURVEY STOP REPEAT FIVE TIMES STOP FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW STOP
HARRIS - NEVADA GEOLOGICAL
Alan read the telegram twice. A slow, cold smile touched his lips. It wasn't triumph; it was confirmation. His future knowledge was a map, and he was simply walking the path. Five times the gold. His foundation wasn't just secure; it was a fortress.
With this knowledge, he made his next move. He knew from his studies of the past that the Rothschilds valued discretion and competence above all else. A direct approach was vulgar. He needed to appear on their radar as a solution to a problem.
Through his new, efficient network, he identified a complex transaction: a transatlantic settlement for a Belgian diamond consortium that typically banked with J.P. Morgan. The deal was tangled in multiple currencies and required delicate timing. Alan's newly centralized Starbank, free of the old bureaucratic layers, reached out through a contact in Antwerp. He offered to clear the entire transaction in four days instead of the usual ten, at a fee that was a full half-percent lower than Morgan's.
It was an audacious move, poaching a client from the most powerful bank in the world. But Alan knew the appeal of efficiency and profit was universal. The Belgians, connected by a dozen threads to the French Rothschilds, accepted. Starbank executed the transfer flawlessly in three days.
Alan didn't send a letter or request a meeting. He simply let the action speak for itself. He knew that somewhere in a quiet, opulent office in Paris, a clerk would note the transaction, and the name "Starbank" would, for the first time, be mentioned to a man who mattered. The bait was laid.
End of Chapter Summary
Period: Q1 1913
Mikaelson Family Estimated Net Worth: ~$21,000,000
(Note: Net worth adjusted upwards based on the preliminary, conservative reassessment of the goldfields' potential value.)
I. Financial Holdings (Starbank & Subsidiaries)
Commercial & Retail Banking: Branches: 15 (Consolidation into Starbank officially underway. 5 branch leaderships purged and replaced.)
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: Reassessment in progress. Preliminary estimates suggest a 500% increase in potential reserves.
Current Market Value (based on new geological survey): Estimated ~$9,500,000
III. Luxury Goods (Elysian Holdings)
Brands: None.
Boutiques: None.
IV. Gaming (Pixel Palace)
Arcades/Major Retailers: None.
Acquisitions This Chapter:
Company Name: None.
Mentioned Families & Alliances:
Rothschild Family (Finance): Status: Unofficial contact initiated. A successful transaction has placed Starbank on their periphery.
Morgan Family (Finance): Est. Net Worth: ~$100 Million. Status: A minor client was poached by Starbank, representing a subtle challenge.
Vanderbilt Family (Shipping/Rail): Status: Mentioned as an example of a declining, decentralized family fortune, the opposite of Alan's strategy.