Chapter 336 - 217: I’m Here to Help You This Time
"You can rest in my private lounge for a bit," the governor said hurriedly. "I’ll come find you when I’m finished."
"Please, go ahead," Li Wei said, giving the governor a deep look before pulling open the door to the lounge and stepping inside.
The governor left with the photographer.
The soundproof door clicked shut. Li Wei surveyed the lounge, its decor identical to the one upstairs.
With nothing better to do, he was about to head to the bar for a glass of water when he suddenly heard faint breathing in the room.
He turned his head. In a blind spot in the corner of the lounge, someone was sitting on the innermost leather sofa.
She was dressed in a cashmere suit with a silk blouse, holding a cup of black tea as she flipped through a thick report.
She was a middle-aged woman who looked sharp and capable.
Hearing Li Wei’s footsteps, the woman looked up and removed the gold-rimmed glasses from her nose.
Her face was impeccably maintained. With her deep-set eyes, she clearly hadn’t come from some back-alley, destitute family.
For some reason, Li Wei found the contours of her face vaguely familiar, as if he’d seen her somewhere before.
"Ronald cuts an impressive figure from behind, doesn’t he? I specifically hired someone to train his posture."
The woman didn’t introduce herself. Instead, she casually tossed the report onto the coffee table, her tone as if she were just making small talk with Li Wei.
’So this is the real reason I was brought here today.’
Li Wei didn’t speak, just watched her silently.
"Seven years ago, he was just a low-level congressman canvassing for votes in some rundown district in Tampa Bay, his tie always crooked,"
The woman lifted her cup of black tea and took a delicate sip.
"I had just had a major falling out with my family back then and was looking for something to do. I happened to find his campaign platform interesting, so I helped him secure his first three million USD in primary campaign funds. I also spent a fortune cleaning up some of his messes from law school and, step by step, put him in the governor’s mansion."
She gazed at the governor’s photo on the report and asked,
"Do you think he has what it takes to sit in the Oval Office at the White House?"
The Jester’s Skull, which had been silent beside him, suddenly awakened.
Before Li Wei could speak, the brass skull began frantically clacking its jaw, a series of dialogue boxes appearing:
*Heh heh heh! Arrogant cloth merchant! Daring to measure the weight of a crown in Gold Coins!*
*Here we go again. These cloth merchants, dressed in fabrics finer than any duke or noble, all while plotting their filthy business.*
"What it takes to get to the White House?" Li Wei shrugged and sat down across from the woman. "For you to willingly shell out three million for the primaries and invest so much in him, he must have some extraordinary qualities."
When she heard this, a strange glint appeared in her eyes.
She set down her teacup and looked at Li Wei.
"A clever answer," she said. "No wonder that little girl, Liz, was able to teach that fool of a boy, Charlie, a lesson with your help."
As she spoke, she casually crossed her legs, folded her hands over her knees, and leaned forward slightly, sizing Li Wei up at her leisure.
"Since both of our time is precious," she said, staring into Li Wei’s eyes, "I won’t beat around the bush. After all, you have to be back at Yale for classes tomorrow afternoon."
Li Wei scoffed.
"Your intelligence network is quite impressive," he said sarcastically. "Did you use to work for the FBI?"
"I know you’ve run into a little trouble recently," the woman said, ignoring Li Wei’s taunt. "Even though you found a way to turn the tables on that JPMorgan Chase partner Charlie Mellon hired and had him sent away, it can’t be pleasant being targeted by a little monster like Charlie, can it?"
"I’m managing just fine," Li Wei said.
"He’s never known real hardship, not with my ’dear older brother’ around," the woman said, gently swirling her teacup. "When he was twelve, a child from a distant branch of the family came to a gathering."
"That branch of the family had long since been marginalized. They had no assets to speak of, just a fixed trust payment of ten or twenty thousand USD a month," she said. "The boy was holding a set of baseball figurines his late father had carved for him. Charlie took a liking to them and wanted to use them for target practice."
"And then?" Li Wei raised an eyebrow slightly. "The boy refused, and Charlie took them by force."
"No. Charlie didn’t say a thing at the time. He even smiled and praised how well-carved the figurines were." Beatrice gave a cold snort. "But he waited quietly for two days. The night before his cousin was set to leave the estate, Charlie snuck into his room."
"He didn’t steal the figurines, and he didn’t just smash them. He took the set to the estate’s fireplace and, right in front of his cousin who had come looking for him, threw those little wooden figures, each one full of sentimental value, into the fire one by one."
"He watched the boy break down and sob while throwing money in his face," she shrugged. "He told him, ’I’m buying your wooden dolls with your monthly allowance. Go buy yourself a decent pair of leather shoes.’"
Li Wei clicked his tongue. "It sounds like you’re intimately familiar with the Mellon Family’s internal affairs. So, how should I address you?"
"Beatrice. Beatrice Mellon," the woman said, extending her right hand. "I’m Elizabeth’s aunt."
"Ah," Li Wei said, not immediately taking her hand. A look of realization dawned on his face. "Then your relationship with Alister is—"
Beatrice didn’t seem to mind, naturally retracting her hand and picking up her teacup.
"I take it you’ve already met my third brother?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and letting out a self-deprecating little snort. "Wow. I do apologize for the terrible first impression my family has made on you."
Li Wei rubbed his nose and said nothing.
’What a colorful cast of characters.’
’They’re supposed to be one big family, yet all they do is scheme and try to trip each other up.’
"So, you waited for me here today for a reason," Li Wei said. "I assume it wasn’t just to tell me I’m in trouble?"
"Of course not. I’m here to help you," Beatrice said with a playful tone. "That boy Charlie is far too arrogant. He’s never been put through the wringer. And as it happens, I’m holding onto a few of his loose ends."
She looked at Li Wei and laid her cards on the table. "I can give this to you. With it, you won’t just solve your current problem. You can turn the tables and put Charlie in deep trouble. I mean *real* trouble."
"Not only that," she said, crossing her legs. "Liz will be able to secure nearly all of Richard Mellon’s funds. And with her help, I imagine the foundation you have with Johnson will become self-sustaining, so you won’t have to keep pouring your own money into it."
"That sounds like an extremely generous offer," Li Wei said after a moment of thought. "But there’s no such thing as a free lunch on Wall Street, and clearly not in the Mellon Family, either. Why would you help us?"