A Wall Street Genius’s Final Investment Playbook

Teterboro Airport.

My steps feel unusually light today.

And for good reason...

"Today, you’ll be flying on my private jet."

At last, I’d received it.

A custom-designed private jet made exclusively for me.

Originally, there was a 12-month wait due to backorders, but thanks to greasing some palms, I managed to speed up the delivery significantly.

It cost me quite a bit, but it was worth every penny.

After all, I saved half a year of waiting.

“You seem excited. Not like you.”

I barely managed to compose my expression after hearing Gerrard’s comment.

To be honest, I was a little thrilled.

It was the first private jet I’d ever owned, even across two lifetimes.

Unlike rentals, this plane could be decorated entirely to suit my taste.

The first feature revealed itself the moment I stepped inside.

A transparent cylindrical booth located right at the entrance.

“It’s a disinfection booth. It removes all kinds of contaminants, harmful microorganisms, and bacteria from your body in three seconds.”

I couldn’t allow any impurities into my precious private jet.

[Disinfection complete.]

After passing through the booth, a pair of neatly placed white slippers greeted me.

Once I changed into the slippers, a crew member placed my dress shoes into a separate sterilization unit.

Yes—no shoes allowed on my plane.

“Are you... a germaphobe or something?”

I frowned slightly at Gerrard’s question without meaning to.

Do you have any idea how filthy shoes are...?

To me, walking around the house in outdoor shoes was just incomprehensible.

Swallowing my words, I gave a gentle smile.

“Germaphobe? Not at all. I just think there’s nothing wrong with maintaining cleanliness.”

Today, I was ready to be forgiving no matter how Gerrard reacted.

This was the historic maiden flight of my private jet, after all.

“Anyway, would you like a tour of the interior?”

With that, I began walking him through the custom-made amenities.

“This here is the oxygen bar.”

I pointed toward a bar counter set up on one side of the cabin.

On top were several flasks and a system of tubes.

“Breathing purified oxygen with much higher purity than regular air helps relieve fatigue and boosts concentration. And not all oxygen is the same, either. You can choose from air collected in the Alps, the Mediterranean coast, or the Himalayan plateau...”

And that was just the beginning. This update is available on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

“All the leather seats were custom-ordered from Ferrari. You can feel the difference yourself—it’s a whole different level from standard leather.”

“......”

“The sound system was tuned by the chief engineer from Abbey Road Studios. The speakers were custom-made with lunar rock dust mixed into them, creating the purest, cleanest sound possible.”

The highlight of the tour was the bedroom in the rear.

As soon as the door opened, a majestic king-size bed commanded attention.

“It’s a Hästens Vividus bed. Handmade by Swedish artisans, and they only make a few a year. It’s filled exclusively with natural materials. They even use horse tail hair for the filling—it gives an incredibly unique floating sensation. It’s like sleeping on a cloud.”

This bed costs $400,000—over 500 million won.

It might sound excessive at first, but once you lie on it, it makes perfect sense.

This bed can melt away even the worst insomnia in just ten minutes.

However, despite seeing all of this, Gerrard seemed unimpressed.

“Ah... yeah, that’s impressive.”

Well...

It kind of killed the vibe.

Still, I did my best to smile brightly and suggested, “Why don’t you try the oxygen bar after we take off? It’s incredibly refreshing.”

“No, actually, I wanted to ask you something about the China deal...”

Even before we took off, Gerrard had already started talking—and he kept going about business in China well after we were airborne.

“Because of you, I’ve got way too much on my plate over there. I swear, I need five bodies to handle it all!”

But even though he was complaining, Gerrard’s face was full of energy.

Seems like the CEO role suits him quite well.

“Especially when I said we wouldn’t convert yuan assets—I got so much pushback... In the end, I just told them flat out. ‘Can you take responsibility? Because I can.’”

He was brimming with confidence, like he’d never been gaslit a day in his life.

Good for him, I guess...

But honestly, all I could think was, ‘Shouldn’t have brought him.’

Our destination was Virginia.

It was a short flight—barely an hour.

Which meant there really wasn’t enough time to enjoy any of these amenities...

And all he was doing was talking about boring business stuff.

‘I’m never letting him on again.’

He’s not worthy of flying on my jet.

Just as I made that decision internally, Gerrard suddenly changed the subject.

“By the way, earlier you said something about ‘persuading Uncle Rupert’…”

“Oh, that? Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“You’re not planning to threaten him again or something, are you...?”

I gave him a strange look.

Seriously, what was with him always acting like I’m some kind of criminal?

And what did he mean by ‘again’?

“I’ve never threatened anyone in my entire life.”

“Sigh... Sure, let’s say that’s true. But even if your intentions are pure, the other person could still take it as a threat, right?”

“Yes, that kind of misunderstanding does happen from time to time.”

“...I’m saying, just don’t let Uncle Rupert misunderstand. If it becomes a problem in the family council...”

He clearly looked worried that things might escalate from a simple misunderstanding.

But I smiled brightly.

“It’s fine. Rupert will promise us his vote.”

“Why? There’s no reason for him to.”

“Well, creating that reason is what persuasion is all about, isn’t it? You don’t need to worry. Oh, but whatever I say—Gerrard, it would help if you stayed quiet.”

“W-What are you planning to say...?”

Just then, the cabin intercom chimed.

[We will soon be landing at Manassas Airport. Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts.]

***

“If you’re here for tomorrow’s meeting, I’ve got nothing to say.”

As expected, Rupert immediately shut me down as if he had no intention of listening.

Still, I spoke calmly.

“As I mentioned before, Delphi would like to build a cooperative relationship with the next CEO of Marquis. We’re hoping that Gerrard takes that position…”

“That’s your concern, not mine. I have the right to vote however I see fit.”

He was completely unwilling to compromise.

The message was clear—‘If you want my vote, do as I say.’

Well, Rupert had every reason to feel confident.

‘He must think we don’t have any alternatives.’

To make Gerrard CEO, we needed a majority vote from the family council.

And the voting power was split like this:

Collateral family members: 20%.

Trust manager: 20%.

Uncle Rupert: 30%.

Uncle Henry: 30%.

I had already secured the collateral votes through Patricia, and won over the trust manager by offering insider investment tips.

But even when combined, they only made up 40%.

In the end, if Gerrard wanted to become CEO, he had to win over at least one of his two uncles.

However—

"Desmond would never vote for Gerrard."

Uncle Desmond, who was pushing for his own son to be the successor, was never a viable option to begin with.

That left only one choice: the elder uncle.

Rupert had clearly seen that and was leveraging it to his advantage.

I let out a soft sigh and asked gently, “May I ask why you’re against Gerrard?”

To my surprise, Rupert answered without hesitation.

“Gerrard is too independent. He’s not even blood-related to me, so why should I support a successor like that?”

“So basically, you want someone who’ll do as you say.”

“That’s right. I’d rather have someone a little naïve but obedient to my instructions.”

What he wanted was a puppet who would follow his every command.

At one point, he had hoped Gerrard would be that puppet.

But now that Gerrard had regained his autonomy, Rupert could no longer control him.

I nodded and continued.

“So, what you want is influence... In that case, how about this? Gerrard could visit you once a week to seek your advice.”

Rupert stared at me as if I were insane, then scowled and shot back.

“Are you seriously calling that a deal?”

“Why not? I think it’s a fairly decent offer.”

“Come see me every weekend to listen to my advice? He’ll just hear it in one ear and let it out the other—what’s the point?”

I nodded calmly.

“Yes, it may not be much in terms of real influence. But from the outside, you’ll appear to be the wise uncle mentoring his nephew.”

“Even so, I’d have no real power!”

“So, are you rejecting the offer?”

“It’s not even worth considering.”

I sighed and replied with mild frustration.

“That’s unfortunate. We were hoping to resolve this matter quickly.”

Then I looked him straight in the eyes and added,

“If you insist on this stance, then I only have one option left—I'll go speak to Desmond.”

“That bastard would never vote for Gerrard...”

“No, he wouldn’t. I know that. But it doesn’t matter.”

“?”

“What if we simply support Desmond’s son as the next successor? At the very least, the next CEO would be decided quickly.”

“What did you just say?”

Rupert’s face contorted even more.

Gerrard also seemed surprised, but since I had already given him a heads-up, he didn’t react much.

I went on calmly.

“As I said, our goal is just to secure the next CEO. We prefer Gerrard because we work well together, but it doesn’t have to be him.”

Once I made it clear that I was open to abandoning Gerrard, the color drained from Rupert’s face.

Because that changed everything.

“I hold 40% of the votes.”

If I joined Desmond’s side, they would win without question.

I couldn’t make Gerrard CEO with 40%, but I could certainly make Desmond’s son the next successor.

Rupert shouted, his face red with anger.

“Nonsense! There’s no way you’d abandon Gerrard. If you were going to do that, you wouldn’t have backed him in the first place!”

I simply shrugged.

“As I said, I prefer Gerrard. But I’m not related to him by blood either. I have no reason to blindly support him.”

That was true.

I had no obligation to go out of my way and suffer losses just to help Gerrard.

“All I’d have to do is say ‘sorry’ to Gerrard, and that’s it. But what about you?”

“......”

Rupert had an extremely bad relationship with his brother, Desmond.

And if Desmond’s son became CEO?

He wouldn’t just lose influence—he could be completely pushed out.

“Wouldn’t it be better to choose Gerrard? That way, at least you get to remain the wise mentor and advisor.”

“Y-You...! This is blackmail!”

I let out a sigh before I could stop myself.

These kinds of accusations were starting to get old.

“This isn’t blackmail. I’m not forcing you to do anything. The choice is entirely yours.”

I never force anyone.

So this wasn’t blackmail.

Having made that perfectly clear, I turned my gaze to the work of art on my wrist.

“However, I would appreciate it if you could make a decision now. If you refuse, I’ll need to go visit Desmond today—and it’s rude to visit someone too late.”

It took some time, but in the end, Rupert made the ‘rational decision.’

Having successfully ‘persuaded’ him, I boarded my private jet again.

This time, without Gerrard.

Shortly after takeoff, I headed for the bed to enjoy a moment of peace onboard.

Bzzzzzz.

My phone vibrated.

[Dex Slater]

The caller was none other than the Great White Shark.

I could already guess what this was about.

“The Triangle Club, huh?”

It’s a secret gathering of Wall Street’s top hedge fund managers.

Some call it the financial world’s version of a summit.

A while back, the Great White had invited me to the meeting.

But only as a guest.

Becoming a full member required the approval of existing members—a tedious condition.

So I had declined, or rather, postponed it for months now.

“I had no choice.”

At the time, I was in the middle of a war with China.

Attending a hedge fund summit under those circumstances would’ve been reckless.

People could easily misunderstand and think ‘Ha Si-heon orchestrated everything in collusion with the hedge funds.’

The law is funny like that.

Stirring people up on TV or in the media is perfectly legal, but doing the same thing in a private meeting? Suddenly it’s illegal.

Anyway—

[Are you a bit more available now?]

“Yes, I think I can make time.”

[Then about that meeting I mentioned before...]

As expected, it was about the club.

“I’ve been caught up with a lot lately... But if you’ll have me, I’d be glad to attend.”

[I see.]

There was a brief silence.

Then the Great White continued.

[But there’s one rule in this meeting.]

“A rule?”

[Yes. Newcomers are required to bring an investment idea to prove their qualifications.]

“Prove myself, huh...”

From the way he trailed off, it was clear he felt a little awkward saying it.

After all...

I’m the one who brought down China, and I’ve already been picked as TIME’s ‘Most Influential Person of the Year.’

Talking about “qualifications” with someone like that? It was kind of ridiculous.

Even the Great White sounded a little sheepish as he added,

[Anyway, rules are rules.]

“No worries. I understand. Rules are rules—I’ll come prepared.”

Just as we wrapped up the call—

Ding!

The seatbelt sign turned on.

We were already about to land.

Because of the call, I didn’t even get five minutes of sleep in the sky.

“Well, can’t be helped…”

The flight wasn’t that long anyway—it was just a 30-minute hop from Virginia.

[We will soon be arriving in Philadelphia.]

However—

The moment I heard “Philadelphia,” my mood sank.

There was only one reason I ever came here.

Another Russian Roulette patient had appeared.