Back at the manor, William continued upgrading the defense system, seeking some peace and quiet at home. However, outside, the world was in an uproar due to the day's news.
The happiest were the Chelsea fans. The £500 million investment in building new stadiums and training facilities was an unprecedented move. To put it in perspective, this amount of money could buy the entire Arsenal football club, with some leftover.
Once the new stadium and training base were completed, Chelsea would have the most valuable fixed assets of any club in England. So, the moment Chelsea fans heard the news, it was as if their team had won the championship—they were ecstatic and couldn't stop bragging.
Of course, where there is joy, there's also resentment. Fans of the other London Premier League teams were so envious they were nearly driven mad. For decades, Chelsea had been a second-rate club, and now, with a change of ownership, it seemed poised to become a football powerhouse. How could they tolerate that? If they couldn't, they decided to retaliate.
Suddenly, the atmosphere between London football fans turned explosive. Many hooligans started gathering in Fulham, looking like they were ready to fight if Chelsea fans continued flaunting. This prompted the London police to be on high alert, arresting anyone who showed signs of aggression.
Lina was naturally worried sick about this situation. When she came home for dinner, she was so troubled she couldn't even eat. On one hand, Lina didn't want the club's reputation to suffer, and on the other, it was a matter of pride—no one could stand having football hooligans blocking their doorstep.
Seeing his mother in such distress, William became irritated. When he was unhappy, no one else should expect to have a good time either.
He instructed Sunday to investigate the situation, and surprisingly, they uncovered a lot of dirt. What he initially thought was a simple case of fan trouble instigated by rival teams turned out to be something else entirely. The whole ordeal was orchestrated by three of London's largest construction companies.
It made sense. After William handed the construction project to a Tianchao company, the most displeased parties were these three London companies that had expected to win the contract. They had been waiting to profit from the project, only to see it snatched away without even the chance to compete. Their frustration was understandable. Orchestrating the fan chaos was just the first step in their plan to teach William a lesson and show him who controlled the turf in London.
The next day, these companies were preparing to lobby some politicians they had connections with to block the project. But before they could act, a series of financial reports were leaked online, revealing that the companies had falsified their earnings reports. It also showed that their revenue for the first ten months of the year had dropped by 35% to 60%.
That wasn't all. As soon as the stock market opened that morning, large amounts of capital from outside the UK flooded into the London futures market, shorting the stocks of these three companies. This hit them where it hurt. Already struggling due to the stock market crash, these companies now faced an additional assault.
By the end of the day, their stock prices had plummeted by an average of 15%.
Anyone reading the day's news could see that William was likely behind the short-selling of these companies, given the clear connection to the orchestrated fan troubles. Now, it wasn't a matter of causing trouble for William—they'd be lucky if they survived this crisis.
By the third day, things had only gotten worse for the three companies. Meanwhile, more people started visiting the Devonshire Manor to meet with William and Lina, clearly seeking to negotiate.
William didn't need to think too hard to know these visitors were trying to plead for mercy on behalf of the construction companies. But everyone knows that if you don't finish the job, the snake might come back to bite you. If he didn't cripple these companies now, they would surely seek revenge once they recovered. Besides, in just two or three days of shorting their stocks, William's account at Bastille Bank in Switzerland had already grown by nearly £220 million.
Even if William wanted to stop now, the other financial institutions and hedge funds that had jumped on board wouldn't allow it. And more than that, competing construction companies, both in the UK and abroad, had started eyeing the situation, eager to carve up these three firms. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dismantle and absorb rivals, and no one wanted to miss it.
By the second week, the alliance of short-sellers and rival construction companies had formed a sort of unspoken coalition. On one front, they were suppressing stock prices, and on the other, they were lobbying authorities to investigate the financial fraud.
With the world seemingly conspiring against them, the three companies were in a hopeless situation. No matter how hard they tried—whether appealing to connections, seeking help from banks, or enlisting shadowy operatives—nothing was working. Even banks that had suffered heavy losses during the stock market crash began eyeing them hungrily. At this point, even divine intervention wouldn't stop the wolves circling for a piece of the meat.
At 2 PM, in the Devonshire Manor, William was hosting Duke Westeros Grosvenor.
In the past ten days, except for the first few days of attempted negotiations from the construction companies, which ended with William refusing to see them, no one had dared to visit again. After realizing William had no intention of settling, the visits stopped.
He had enjoyed a few quiet days, but since that morning, visitors seeking a piece of William's futures contracts had started arriving again. And now, the Duke was here too, after several earlier groups had been turned away.
Grosvenor, who had been sitting for nearly an hour, put down his teacup and sighed. "You're quite relaxed. You threw a lighter and a knife into the woodpile, then just sat back and watched others pick up the lighter, start the fire, carve up the prey, and roast those companies for you. When the meat's ready, they'll even have to pay you for the rights."
William laughed. "Haha, what ownership rights? If you want the futures contracts, just say so. I didn't sell them to the earlier visitors because I was waiting for you. Considering our good working relationship, if the price is right, I'll prioritize selling to you."
Grosvenor shook his head. "I don't have that big of an appetite, nor do I have that much money. The value of your futures contracts must be at least £600 million by now."
William smirked. "I won't lie to you. The combined value of those three companies doesn't exceed £7 billion. Excluding the initial contracts I secured, I wasn't able to buy more after the scandal broke. So, the value of my contracts is only £540 million."
"£540 million?" Grosvenor fell into deep thought. Though his face showed no expression, William could sense his disappointment—it was less than he had expected. "So, what do you want? As long as I have it, and it's something I can offer, I'll give it to you."
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