Chapter 224: The Bait (7)
My goal is clear.
To focus the world’s attention on this incident.
But as I saw in my past life, Western society isn’t particularly interested in the “1MDB embezzlement scandal” itself.
They just see it as one of many cases of corruption that are common in the Third World.
So I had to adapt the story to look completely different.
‘First, I should turn Lau into an unprecedented con artist.’
I decided to breathe new life into Lau’s character.
Not just a corrupt figure from the Third World, but someone so outrageous that the public would be both shocked and fascinated.
I also prepared a sensational narrative to ignite the public’s imagination.
Now, all that’s left is to spread the story I’ve created to the world. In that sense, the MET Gala was a perfect opportunity.
‘The world’s greatest megaphone.’
A global festival of fashion and art.
The ideal stage, where countless cameras are focused.
If I say just one thing there, it’ll spread far beyond New York—even to the other side of the planet.
But there was one small hurdle.
“There’s only one live camera on the red carpet. But two others are scheduled for the same time slot as Sean.”
Nicole, my assistant, reported calmly.
There’s only one camera broadcasting live to the world.
If I wanted my message to be properly delivered, that camera had to be aimed at me.
“The other two are Olivia Palermo and Jonathan Cheban. Both have large fan bases thanks to their reality shows.”
“So if I enter like everyone else, the camera will likely be on them.”
“That’s right.”
No matter how high my public profile may be, it’s only high among the general population.
If I stood next to stars who are regularly on television, my odds would be shaky.
“There’s only one sure way to monopolize the camera.”
Nicole looked straight at me and continued firmly.
“You need to change your outfit. Make it worthy of the MET Gala.”
I frowned instinctively.
The official name of the event is the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit.
Just as it sounds, it’s a charity event for the museum’s costume department.
But there’s a reason this event is called a “festival.”
It’s more like a fashion show than a party.
Each year, the gala chooses a specific theme, and fashion houses around the world showcase their wildest imaginations based on that keyword.
They create outfits that defy reality, celebrities scramble to wear them, and the media goes wild.
But that’s only for a select group of celebrities.
For someone like me, specially invited, a neat tuxedo would have sufficed.
That is—if this were a normal case.
Nicole’s point was simple.
“To outshine those two and draw attention, you need something bold and unconventional.”
Nicole wasn’t wrong.
It was the most effective way to attract cameras.
“There’s not enough time to create full haute couture, but… one designer barely agreed to take the job. If you give the go-ahead today, they’ll make it. But there’s one condition: ‘No input from the client. You’ll wear exactly what the designer gives you.’”
“Can’t I at least see a draft?”
“Not possible. They say there’s not enough time to accommodate your feedback.”
“Still, I’d rather not be labeled a worst-dressed disaster.”
After the MET Gala, many media outlets announce the year’s best and worst dressed.
One wrong move and you could become a permanent stain in fashion history.
I had no intention of becoming a lifelong laughingstock just to take Lau down.
But Nicole was firm.
“At this point, it’s your only option. The decision is yours, Sean.”
“Hm. Go ahead with it for now.”
The designer’s uncompromising stance bothered me.
But if the worst comes to worst, I could always talk my way out of it.
Money—more than a certain amount—can make a lot of things possible.
A week passed in tension.
And finally, the day came when the result was unveiled.
“How about this!”
The designer, whom I met for the first time in the fashion house’s studio, had bloodshot eyes from staying up all night.
But what he revealed was...
“Impressive.”
A strikingly refined suit.
The sharply tailored silhouette was on par with any trendy suit.
What stood out most was the fabric.
Thousands of tiny mirror pieces were densely embedded over a glossy material.
Just a slight movement made the light dance like falling stardust across the galaxy.
‘This isn’t bad at all.’
I’d been worried about bizarre designs, but this level of restrained artistry was more than welcome.
But the moment I tried the suit on, the designer said something with a giddy voice.
“The fit is perfect! I knew it—I'm a genius, hahaha! I can finish this now! I’ll show you the rest in three days!”
“The rest?”
“There’s still the main piece left! The cape!”
“There’s… a cape?”
My bad feeling turned out to be right.
“Yes! You’ll wear a three-meter-long cape over the suit! Isn’t it fabulous? Like the sea flowing behind an orca’s back! It’ll be the ultimate showstopper!”
A three-meter cape?
On me?
I was at a rare loss for words, but I quickly gathered myself.
It was time to negotiate.
“This already looks perfect as it is. It would be such a shame to cover this artistic silhouette with a cape.”
I tried soft flattery to sway him.
But it didn’t work—at all.
“Absolutely not! What I’m aiming for is a showstopper! A moment so overwhelming it takes everyone’s breath away! Just a suit won’t cut it!”
Could this be why he insisted on the condition: “No intervention of any kind; wear the outfit exactly as provided by the designer”?
There was a hint of madness in the designer’s eyes.
“Just imagine it! Blue waves rippling behind the orca! Honestly, the ideal way to express this fantastic illusion would be with a dress... but since we can’t put Sean in a dress, I made some adjustments, hahaha! So the cape is essential...”
The designer kept rambling excitedly about his concept, but I wasn’t listening anymore.
I hated it.
I truly hated the idea of being immortalized as an orca flapping around in a giant cape.
“If we go with this concept, let’s make it a purchase instead of a sponsorship. How about five hundred thousand dollars?”
Five hundred thousand dollars.
Even considering the tight schedule, that was no small offer.
Any typical professional would have nodded at such a proposal.
Unfortunately, this designer was far from typical.
“The value of art can’t be measured in money! This is about my pride as an artist!”
“Even for a million dollars?”
“Even if you offered a hundred million—I’d still say no!”
He wasn’t bluffing about the hundred million.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation in his determined gaze.
It was an unprecedented crisis.
Luckily, a brilliant idea came to me.
“In that case, how about making a second dress?”
“A dress? Wait... Sean, are you saying you’ll wear—”
“No, I have a companion.”
“A companion?”
The designer’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
“Yes. Wouldn’t this fantastical concept look even more stunning expressed as a dress? You said yourself it was originally meant to be one, so this way, your artistry can truly shine without compromise.”
The designer paused.
His eyes, unmoved even by a million dollars, suddenly wavered at the word “dress.”
“…A companion… a women’s look… a couple concept… I love it! But who’s your companion?”
“Oh, just a friend.”
But as soon as I said that, the designer’s expression turned cold.
“A regular person?”
Then, as if the artist in him had been triggered again, he snapped.
“Unthinkable! This is a sacred festival of fashion! We carefully select the muses who wear our pieces. If we just put them on any random person, it would disgrace my name—”
The designer passionately launched into a tirade about who deserves to wear his clothes.
Meanwhile, I quietly pulled out my phone, opened the Castleman Foundation website, and showed him a photo of Rachel.
Three seconds.
That’s how long it took for his attitude to flip.
“Hahaha, where did you find such a perfect muse…! Can she come in for a fitting today? If we confirm the dress, I’ll need her measurements immediately. She has to come today. Of course, I have no issue with it! Given the schedule, we’d have to go with the cape—no, not ‘have to’—the cape would still be a fabulous choice, I’m sure…”
In other words, if Rachel didn’t come to my rescue, I’d be forced into wearing that three-meter cape.
With desperate hope, I sent her a message.
<This is a once-in-a-lifetime favor—do you have time?>
Thankfully, Rachel gladly agreed, and thanks to that, the designer’s “artistic inspiration” was redirected.
Not toward that cursed cape—but toward creating a dress for her.
And so, on the day of the MET Gala.
As I entered the fashion house, the designer greeted me with an excited voice.
“This is the greatest masterpiece of my life!”
The word “masterpiece” gave me a moment of anxiety, but it turned out to be unfounded.
“Huh? Sean?”
When I saw Rachel in the dressing room, I was left speechless.
This was truly...
She was the very embodiment of living, breathing art.
A cascade of light spilled beneath Rachel’s collarbone.
Glass fragments that looked like they were designed by a master glimmered with dazzling brilliance, and the hem of her skirt flowed like gentle waves.
“Is it… a little too much? I’ve never worn a dress this flashy before…”
Rachel’s cautious voice snapped me out of it.
I finally smiled and answered softly.
“Not at all. It’s perfect.”
I wasn’t just being polite.
Rachel, in that moment, shone brighter than any praise could capture.
But perhaps due to the sleeveless design, my eyes kept being drawn to her exposed neckline, shoulders, and collarbone.
Without even realizing, my gaze kept drifting there.
Of course, a simple necklace would’ve instantly solved that—but...
A necklace?
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
“What is this, a picnic? We’re not done yet! We haven’t even started on the accessories!”
The designer, clearly in a hurry, tried to drag Rachel off, but I quickly stepped in to block him.
“What if we skipped the necklace?”
“What? But it looks so plain like this…”
“Maybe that simplicity could actually be the charm?”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
The designer’s eyes began to swirl with madness again—but there was no helping it.
There was a reason I had to make this suggestion.
‘John Lau is famous for gifting expensive jewelry to beautiful women.’
It’s not uncommon for wealthy men to give jewels to women with ulterior motives, but Lau was different.
He handed out high-end jewelry like candy, even to models he’d never see again, with no strings attached.
He did it purely to flaunt his wealth.
And right now.
Rachel looked near-perfect to anyone who saw her—except for the empty space around her neck that felt lacking.
If Lau’s eccentric habits remained the same, he wouldn't be able to overlook that.
But what if he pulled out a necklace and offered it to her at the party?
‘It would complete the concept, add to the narrative, and help with gathering evidence...?’
From my side, there was plenty to gain.
Of course, there’s no guarantee things would play out that way—but when it comes to bait, the more the better.
There was Gonzalez.
There was Rachel.
With a net woven this tightly, Lau would eventually be caught.
“Let’s go with it as is.”
Convincing the designer wasn’t easy, but someone unexpected stepped up.
It was Rachel.
“This dress feels like it carries the spirit of Mondrian.”
“How did you know that?”
“It was obvious at a glance. And Mondrian believed negative space was just as important for perfect balance. Isn’t that true for this dress as well?”
“Just as one must know how to add, one must also master the art of leaving space?”
With only a few words, Rachel had accurately pinpointed the designer’s artistic pride and won his agreement.
Once we were fully prepared and waiting.
With only the two of us left in the room, Rachel suddenly spoke up.
“Feels like we’re a con team again.”
“A con team?”
“Except this time, no wine.”
She answered with a playful smile.
‘A con team,’ huh?
She must be talking about that time.
Back during the fox hunt, when I’d staged a small “performance” to get her home safely.
Even then, Rachel had said it felt like being part of a movie heist crew, and she'd enjoyed it.
“You’re plotting something again, aren’t you?”
“Hard to say.”
“Sean never stirs things up without reason... Who are you helping this time?”
Rachel seemed convinced that I was orchestrating this for some noble cause.
But this was simply a move to raise the influence and reputation of my think tank...
“If you’d let me in on it, I could help you even more.”
‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell her, but...’
I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Not after witnessing Gerard and Raymond’s atrocious acting.
And since Rachel shares genes with them...
Would it really be wise to have her strain herself to “act” for my sake?
“Just be yourself, Rachel. That alone is a huge help.”
And I meant that.
Just having Rachel by my side would already have a powerful impact.
Just then—
“It’s time to go.”
Following the staff’s guidance, we stood up from our seats.
I only learned this in this lifetime, but even entering the red carpet followed strict protocols.
Each guest had a scheduled appearance time, and until then, we had to wait at the nearby Plaza Hotel.
So the staff’s words just now meant—it was finally our turn.
We headed straight to the limousine and arrived at the MET shortly after.
“I’d recommend waiting just a bit before stepping out.”
Through the car window, I could see two celebrities who’d arrived before us.
Both were dazzlingly dressed.
Live broadcast cameras buzzed around them.
If I wanted the Lau case to become the talk of the night, I had to redirect those cameras toward me.
And I felt confident.
Because beside me stood Rachel, dressed in that dress.
Overwhelming presence itself is a weapon.
And, as I expected—
Click! Click!
“Sean! Over here!”
As the door opened, we were greeted with flashing lights and an eruption of cheers.
I heard people calling my name from every direction.
But the moment I extended my hand to Rachel, and she stepped out of the car—
The entire scene fell silent, as if time had stopped.
Everyone momentarily lost their words in awe.
That breathtaking pause lasted only two seconds.
But it was more than enough.
A host, flanked by a cameraman, quickly made their way toward us.
“Everyone, Sean from Pareto Innovation has arrived! And he’s got a stunning companion!”
This was the moment.
The world’s eyes were on me—watching the celebration of fashion and stardom.
It was finally time to deliver the message I’d prepared.
“Your first MET Gala—are you nervous?”
“I’m more excited than nervous. I’m especially looking forward to the after-party.”
“The after-party! Which one are you planning to attend this year?”
“Hmm. I’ve been invited to a few, but I’ve heard whispers about an intriguing figure—I think I’ll head there.”
“An intriguing figure? Who might that be...?”