Chapter 218: The Bait (1)
What I wanted to do was detonate it myself before that happened.
‘It’s the perfect opportunity to build a reputation.’
But this time, I wasn’t planning to blow the whistle through a hedge fund.
I would do it under the name of the new think tank I had just founded.
My fund already had enough recognition, but the think tank had just launched and didn’t have a single achievement yet.
This scandal would become the perfect, dazzling first firework for the new think tank.
‘This should also make resolving things with Marquis a lot easier.’
If a newly launched think tank takes down the Prime Minister of a nation the moment it debuts?
Even Rupert, who acted like a feudal lord from the Middle Ages, would start to see me differently.
At that point, he would recognize me not as a subordinate, but as someone capable of toppling a national-level figure. Which meant, in turn, that ‘persuasion’ would become much easier.
When the time came, I could steer negotiations in the direction I wanted.
But that was for later.
Right now, there was only one thing I needed to do.
“First... let’s catch this scammer.”
First, we set our sights on catching the conman, John Lau.
But catching him wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
We couldn’t just grab him ourselves—we had to move the authorities to arrest him.
The problem was, at this point, we didn’t have any clear evidence to prove John Lau’s fraud.
That’s why we needed Pierce’s cooperation.
“We need to use Goldman’s internal documents to secure proof of the fraud.”
Goldman’s internal files surely contained definitive evidence.
Emails exchanged with John Lau, warnings from the ethics team during due diligence, records showing he ignored those red flags and pushed ahead with bond issuance, and even abnormal cash flows that followed.
But when I made this request, Pierce looked at me with troubled eyes.
“Sending the documents outside is difficult.”
I stared at Pierce.
Was he really rejecting the favor I asked of him like this?
If that were the case, then obviously I’d have to—
But before I could finish the thought, Pierce hurriedly added something.
“That was a decision from the executive committee. The only way to hand over the documents is if immunity is guaranteed. It can’t be helped.”
“That makes sense. I understand.”
The documents I was asking for could be fatal for Goldman as well.
If they handed them over to law enforcement with no protection, Goldman could also become the subject of the investigation and face heavy penalties.
So, the executive committee of Goldman had no choice but to maintain the position that immunity had to be granted before handing over anything.
I understood, but...
“So we need immunity... That makes things complicated.”
“Exactly.”
Immunity is usually only granted when there’s already an active investigation.
But the Department of Justice hadn’t even begun looking into John Lau yet.
In other words, they needed documents to begin the investigation, but couldn’t receive them until the investigation was underway.
A classic chicken-or-egg situation.
‘What should I do...?’
I could step in and solve it myself, but honestly, that would be a huge pain.
There were already mountains of things I had to do, given my limited time.
So, this time, I decided to pass this headache on to someone else.
To Patricia, the temporary director who had recently joined my think tank.
“Can you handle this?”
Patricia responded to my question with a light smile.
“My first test, huh?”
We were both being tested in a way.
I had to prove that the position of director at this think tank wasn’t just for show.
And she had to prove her skills and political capital under Marquis.
“Yes. Show me what you’ve got.”
This test, in short, was a measure of her ability.
I intended to observe how long it would take her.
‘....’
Surprisingly, Patricia passed that test far more easily than I expected.
Before long, she had gotten the Department of Justice to offer Goldman the immunity it required.
“How about that?”
“Clean work. Especially impressed with the speed.”
Honestly, I could’ve done the job myself by persuading the DOJ.
If I’d pulled some strings—like the Kissinger family—I could’ve set up meetings with high-level officials.
But the key here was speed.
‘Four days.’
Something that might’ve taken me weeks, Patricia wrapped up in just a few days.
She really was more capable than I’d anticipated.
“I’m putting you in charge of this issue for now. Just report back once a day.”
So I left the task in her hands, and she exceeded every expectation.
She solved most issues on her own.
‘This is pretty convenient.’
But a few weeks later...
She reached out with a slightly tricky request.
“John Lau is currently staying in Thailand, so the investigation is stalling.”
“That’s... inconvenient.”
It was ideal for the investigation and arrest of John Lau to take place in the United States.
Once he was abroad, the process would require complicated international cooperation and legal procedures.
The problem was—
“Normally, he shows up in LA a couple of times a month, but this month, he hasn’t made a single appearance. He even skipped Coachella this year, something he never misses.”
Of all times, the conman was avoiding U.S. soil.
“Considering the heat on him, it’s understandable.”
“Yes, and that’s exactly the problem.”
In Malaysia, John Lau was facing pressure from all sides.
Earlier this year, the controversial national fund finally failed to pay off $550 million in interest.
To make matters worse, a recent scandal broke regarding a joint venture he established with a Saudi energy company.
It was discovered that $700 million of the investment was wired to a mysterious company named “Goodmoon.”
“Goodmoon” was a shell company registered in a tax haven and owned by John Lau.
If the investigation deepened, his entire fraud scheme would be exposed.
To prevent that, John Lau seemed to be working frantically behind the scenes.
He’d even stopped attending the lavish Hollywood parties he normally loved.
The issue was that he was now staying overseas full-time.
If we wanted to arrest him cleanly, we needed to lure him back to the States.
“A normal pretext won’t work. He’s on high alert right now.”
There was only one way to bring him back.
“We’ll need to bait him with an investment.”
“Exactly. If the opportunity looks profitable enough and lines up with the legitimacy of ‘Goodmoon,’ he’ll take it without hesitation.”
Normally, I would’ve stepped in myself by now.
But...
“Sean can’t get involved. Just the rumor that the orca is circling will make John Lau vanish.”
My own public reputation had become a hindrance.
Given my history of exposing two major fraud scandals, any direct involvement would immediately backfire.
“We need a different ally.”
“Yes.”
We needed someone else to dangle the bait in front of John Lau.
But that was a matter for later.
“First, let’s design the bait. The bait needs to match whoever will be holding it.”
At my words, Patricia pulled out a folder.
It was prepared using intel gathered by our policy institute.
“Profitability is important, of course. But in this case, consistency with past ventures might be even more critical. He’ll want to avoid any appearance of a desperate cover-up.”
What kind of bait would draw Lau out?
As I combed through the materials, something interesting caught my eye.
“John Lau invested in the mining industry?”
“Yes, although he never actually won any bids.”
His shell companies had participated in multiple mining development project bids in the past.
While he’d never secured any rights...
The key point was that he showed consistent interest in the mining sector on paper.
“Got an idea forming?”
“Maybe. Let me think about it a bit more. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Forcing down the grin forming on my lips, I wrapped up the conversation with Patricia.
After she left, I called my assistant Nicole.
“Bring in Gonzalez.”
#
Meanwhile, inside the office of Pareto Innovation.
Gonzalez sat deeply back in his chair, staring intently at one spot.
His gaze was locked on... none other than the CEO, Ha Si-heon’s office.
Gonzalez had the best view in the entire fund.
Of course, he’d had to pay the previous owner $50,000 to take over that desk...
But he’d never once regretted the expense.
Through the transparent glass, he could observe Hashien’s every move in real time.
Every day, Gonzalez watched him closely from this seat.
Lately, his gaze had grown even sharper.
‘Cooldown’s almost over...’
After last year’s nationwide upheaval with the Herbalife and Valiant Tree incidents—
Hashien had been relatively quiet since then.
Of course, quiet didn’t mean idle.
He’d been busy organizing the newly established private equity division and continued to focus steadily on his core specialty: healthcare investments.
His algorithm remained as sharp as ever, maintaining an astounding 80% success rate.
But Gonzalez knew one thing for sure.
Ha Si-heon wasn’t the kind of man satisfied with “ordinary” success.
‘Something big is coming.’
New dopamine.
New crisis.
New shockwaves.
Hashien’s actions always defied prediction.
The tension every time something was about to break.
The thrill of watching every puzzle piece fall into place.
The rush of seeing the world gasp in disbelief after the dust settled.
It was as addictive as any drug.
‘What’s it going to be this time?’
Then, recently, one suspicious sign was detected.
A middle-aged blonde woman who came to see Ha Si-heon every single day.
She was the new director of the “Delphi Policy Institute” that Hashien had recently founded.
‘Should I plant someone on that side too…?’
Gonzalez considered it briefly but soon shook his head.
The Delphi Policy Institute was completely independent from Pareto Innovation.
Trying to get its employees to leak information would be too risky.
It could even potentially lead to legal issues.
There was no way he could take on that kind of risk just out of curiosity or for amusement.
‘For now…’
The priority was collecting information from within Pareto Innovation.
Gonzalez opened the Bloomberg group chat and dropped a simple message.
<Accepting tips>
The response was swift.
Screech! Screech!
Chairs scraped all over the office as six employees shot up from their desks.
All of them rushed toward Gonzalez’s seat as fast as they could without actually running—which was against office rules.
Ding!
The first to press the bell on Gonzalez’s desk was Lanton.
He was a quick-handed analyst and one of Hashien’s most frequently used people.
“He told me to dig into the Malaysian sovereign fund’s investment targets…”
Apparently, Hashien had been paying attention to the Malaysian sovereign fund for several weeks.
And now, he’d given additional instructions to “dig deeper.”
“Did he say anything specific?”
“I tested the waters—asked if it wasn’t a bit random since it had nothing to do with healthcare and was an Asia-based fund. He just smiled and walked off.”
Gonzalez leaned on his hand, weighing the value of the intel.
After a moment of thought, he wrote a $1,000 check and handed it to Lanton.
“Ah…”
Disappointment briefly flickered across Lanton’s face, but he didn’t argue.
He already knew Gonzalez only paid top dollar for information that was genuinely “interesting.”
No matter how useful something was, if it wasn’t entertaining, it wouldn’t fetch a high price.
<Next>
As soon as the next message popped up in the group chat, the second round began.
Ding!
This time, Gray was the winner.
He was the lead execution trader—essentially Hashien’s right hand.
He delivered a particularly intriguing update.
“He told me to identify the short-sellers targeting Goldman.”
“Short-sellers?”
That single word sent a shiver through Gonzalez’s entire body.
It reminded him of the last time Hashien orchestrated a short attack—against Valeant.
The tension, the twists, the collective shock, and the thrill of that rebellion—it all came rushing back like it happened yesterday.
‘And the target is Goldman?’
Goldman was in a different league compared to Valeant.
It meant the excitement and stakes were guaranteed.
Gonzalez quickly assessed the value of this intel.
“Twenty… twenty thousand dollars?”
Gray’s eyes widened in disbelief as he took the check.
He’d expected interest—but not that kind of payout.
Then came the sound of familiar footsteps.
It was Hashien’s secretary, Nicole.
‘Did we get caught?’
This “tip-off game” had received complaints before for distracting employees.
That was why rules like “no running” and “only one approach at a time” had been established…
But truthfully, everyone knew the game existed.
‘Probably just a warning to dial it back.’
But Gonzalez’s guess missed the mark.
“Sean wants to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
An unexpected summons.
‘It’s not about the tip game, is it?’
If it were, Nicole would’ve just passed on a brief warning like always.
Gonzalez stood up slowly.
His mind was already racing to figure out the reason behind Hashien’s call.
‘There’s only one possibility.’
Whenever Hashien called someone in person, it was always for the same reason.
To use them.
Calling him at this moment meant he had a role to play in whatever was coming.
‘What could it be?’
Gonzalez walked into the CEO’s office, harboring a faint sense of anticipation.
But then, Hashien’s first words once again caught him off guard.
“You’re fired, effective today.”
His mind went blank.
‘Fired…?’
This wasn’t just about losing a job.
It meant losing the chance to observe Hashien up close—and being cut off entirely from the network connected to him.
That would be like losing the very energy that fueled his life.
But Gonzalez quickly pulled himself together.
‘There’s no reason to fire me right now.’
He hadn’t made any mistakes yet.
And the reason Hashien had recruited him was clear—to make use of his network and background.
There was no way he’d fire him before putting those to use.
There was only one conclusion.
‘This must be something I can’t do while still under Pareto.’
What Hashien needed wasn’t “Gonzalez of Pareto,” but Gonzalez as an individual.
Realizing this, Gonzalez frowned slightly.
“Do you need the Andorra Group’s name?”
The Andorra Group.
A powerful Mexican mining conglomerate.
And Gonzalez was the third son of its founding family.
Now that he was fired from Pareto, the only thing he had left to offer was the Andorra name—and it was clear Hashien intended to use it.
“If this is tied to Andorra, there will be limitations.”
Andorra was a publicly listed company.
As the third son of the owner family, anything he did wouldn’t be viewed as a personal action.
His moves could be interpreted as reflecting the company’s business direction or succession plan—and could even affect the stock price.
In other words—
‘This could turn into a real headache…’
If things blew up, he’d get an earful from the family—and might even have his funding cut off.
Would whatever entertainment Hashien was about to offer be worth that?
As Gonzalez weighed the risks and rewards, Hashien spoke again.
“We’re going to catch a conman.”
“A conman?”
That word hit a nerve.
The thrill he felt during the Theranos incident came flooding back.
‘And if I connect this with what Gray just said…’
Goldman, fraud, short-selling.
This was clearly going to be entertaining.
But then a new concern entered Gonzalez’s mind.
‘Isn’t this a little too similar to the Valeant case?’
That one also revolved around fraud and short-selling—so there was a chance this would feel like a rerun.
But then he realized the difference.
‘This time I’m not just watching.’
He wasn’t going to be a bystander—he was getting directly involved.
And that was definitely appealing.
Still, it came with plenty of pressure.
He’d have to deal with family nagging and potential backlash.
But just as Gonzalez was weighing the pros and cons—
Hashien played his final card.
“I want you to play the reckless billionaire heir and lure the conman in.”
And in that moment—