American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

"Aren’t you curious?" Beatrice asked, playfully caressing her teacup. "I’m a member of the Mellon Family, but why am I not working at the family foundation?"

"I’d like to hear about it." Li Wei leaned back, gesturing for her to proceed.

He shifted into a more comfortable position, watching Beatrice begin her performance.

Beatrice sighed. The shrewd, tough look on her face softened, replaced by an expression of slight regret.

"Alexander Mellon is an arrogant old bastard," she said softly. "In his worldview, the foundation can ultimately only be handed over to his eldest son, Timothy Mellon, my older brother."

"Ever since I was a child, no matter how much business talent I showed, in his eyes, my ultimate fate was just a monthly payout from a family trust fund." She laughed self-deprecatingly. "Pushed out, marginalized, with no hope of inheritance. So, I had no choice but to find another path."

"Since I couldn’t get power within the family, I sought it outside. I chose the political route, to discover and invest in promising politicians like Ronald, to be their ’Kingmaker’."

Beatrice looked at Li Wei. "Elizabeth’s situation is exactly like mine was. I’m helping her because I don’t want to see the Mellon Family’s resources controlled by those arrogant men forever."

It was a tale to make anyone weep, a truly heartbreaking story. But unfortunately, the [Jester’s Skull] had no tears.

It didn’t even have eyeballs.

Just then, a golden light flickered in its eye sockets:

[The ’Chattering Court Jester’s Skull’ has activated the Gold-level skill: Probe]

Immediately after, a series of bold text boxes, visible only to Li Wei, cascaded down his vision like a waterfall:

[Gyehehe! What’s this I see? Another juicy court drama!]

[They’ve caught wind that the old King is fading, and now the whole royal family is getting restless, each with their own little schemes.]

[The old King is failing, the eldest Prince is powerful, but why must the firstborn inherit? I smell rivers of blood on the wind! Gyehehe!]

’Just as I thought,’ Li Wei mused. ’She really is trying to seize power.’

’It seems Charles Mellon is just a weak point she can use to discredit Timothy’s side of the family, and Elizabeth and I are the dagger she’s pointing at them.’

Li Wei didn’t say much. He let his expression shift to show just the right amount of sympathetic understanding.

"I understand," he said. "After I came to the United States of America, I also faced discrimination, scorn, and even bullying at school. I know exactly what it’s like to be treated with such prejudice."

If John Mara were here, he probably would have roared and torn to shreds the annual private jet contract he’d covered for Li Wei out of his own pocket.

Beatrice, however, was very pleased with Li Wei’s reaction.

She put down the bone china teacup in her hand, pulled a thin manila folder from the Hermes handbag beside her, and pushed it to the center of the coffee table.

"The Manhattan Art Center," she said softly, tapping the file. "It’s the property Charlie is managing now. When he first took over its construction, he made some shady deals with low-level contractors. This file contains preliminary information on a few of the shell companies and contractors who were deeply involved."

Li Wei picked up the file and casually flipped through a couple of pages.

Beatrice hadn’t given him the complete file. It only listed some construction material suppliers and vague financial records.

He looked up at Beatrice. "This is it? Just a partial trail of clues? If this is a partnership and you really want to help Liz, why wouldn’t you give me all the core evidence?"

Now it was Beatrice’s turn to lean back.

Her smile held a mix of seasoned confidence and playful mockery.

"Li Wei, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, is there?" she said unhurriedly. "This is a transaction. At the card table, we’re accustomed to inspecting the goods first."

"Why don’t you investigate this first," she said, staring into Li Wei’s eyes. "And in the process, prove to me that you and Liz are capable of starting this fire and fanning it into a real blaze. Once you have something to show for it, then we can talk about the next steps."

She said this with a smile, as if she had Li Wei right where she wanted him.

’No matter what, they’re just two eighteen-year-old kids,’ she thought to herself. ’Back then, when Charlie was twenty-one and took over the Manhattan Art Center right after college, he caused a lot of trouble.’

’At the time, he didn’t dare let his father, Timothy Mellon, or the family office know, so he came to me for help. I’ve been holding that piece of leverage over him ever since.’

’Now that Elizabeth and Charles Mellon were fighting, she felt the time was right. If those two kept tearing at each other like rabid dogs, and with Alister being a useless playboy who was lucky he hadn’t already overdosed... well, the old man would have to think twice about handing the foundation to Timothy.’

’And she, Beatrice Mellon? She had been honing her skills for years on the outside, even single-handedly making a governor. Between her age and her resume, she was a far stronger choice than Timothy and his useless son.’

However, her arrogance and schemes were like completely transparent glass before the [Jester’s Skull].

The [Chattering Court Jester’s Skull] somersaulted wildly in Li Wei’s vision, an intensely mocking light bursting from its ruby eye sockets.