Chapter 267: The Real Show Begins

Back in Korea, I was just waiting for the authentication of the artwork to be finalized.

Oh Se-hyun was likely shuffling money around New York to wire it to the British Virgin Islands account as soon as the authentication was complete.

Secretly, I had hoped that at least one of the pieces would turn out to be an elaborate forgery, but as we approached the two-month mark, I received confirmation that they were all genuine.

And then I got a call from Oh Se-hyun, who was grumbling for no particular reason.

“-Hey! I wired six hundred million dollars. I spent a lot of money laundering that, you know. Don’t screw this up and make sure this is worth it.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

“-My part is done, right? Can I go back now?”

“Not to Korea… I assume?”

“-Of course not. I need to relax by the clear blue sea for a while.”

“Didn’t you get enough rest in New York?”

“-You little rascal. I couldn’t even enjoy myself because of the work you gave me!”

“Ah, yes. Please get plenty of rest when you return. Be sure to buy lots of gifts for my aunt at the duty-free shop on your way back. She must be furious after you being away for so long.”

A sigh came through the phone.

“-You should get married soon too. You’ll understand in about thirty years. The reason a husband who’s been away buys a lot of gifts isn’t because he’s been gone for a long time. It’s because he’s going back home.”

I listened to the middle-aged man’s lament and ended the call.

Now, the stage is set. It’s time for the main performance to begin.

The first person I called was Vice President Jang Do-hyung.

“I need you to mobilize all your connections in Yeouido and Myeong-dong, including those at Soonyang Securities. There’s something you need to investigate.”

Perhaps it was my serious expression, but Vice President Jang swallowed hard.

“Someone will likely start aggressively buying Soonyang Group shares under multiple nominee accounts, particularly in Electronics, Heavy Industries, Construction, Logistics, and Trading.”

“Pardon? What do you mean! Are you saying someone is attempting a hostile takeover?”

“No. The goal is simply to secure shares. Over six hundred billion won will be moving, so it will definitely attract attention.”

He swallowed hard again.

“Six hundred billion won? Who on earth?”

“That’s what I need you to find out.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Numerous nominee accounts will be involved. You need to track them down. Is that possible?”

Illegal transactions need to be uncovered through illegal means.

Using connections at various securities firms to obtain the personal information of account holders who are massively buying Soonyang Group shares is clearly illegal.

But Vice President Jang Do-hyung didn’t complain.

After going through a crisis, he understood that everything we did was directly linked to our survival.

We had crossed the point of no return, and if we survived until the end, we could seize a kingdom of wealth. Committing illegal acts to obtain a kingdom was a trivial matter.

“It’s not a problem. We’re not looking for ants here; we’re talking about transactions involving six hundred billion won. Even if it’s a hundred people, that’s still six billion each, and all of it is in Soonyang Group shares. It’s bound to stand out. I’ll get the entire list.”

“You must find them. Then I will make all those shares mine.”

My grandmother wouldn’t create new nominee accounts for just six hundred million. She’ll definitely use existing ones, and those accounts won’t just hold six hundred billion won; they’ll also contain shares she’s been secretly accumulating.

I wonder how much my grandmother has if she emptied her pockets.

Another month passed, and the stock prices of Soonyang Group’s core affiliates began to rise slightly.

Bringing in such a large sum of money, around six hundred million dollars, into Korea within a month meant that Grandmother had a very capable person working for her. Stirring up the nominee accounts would reveal him.

Accumulating shares without making the stock price noticeably jump takes a considerable amount of time. This highly skilled individual was also incredibly patient. They were scooping up shares so slowly that the increase in Soonyang Group’s stock price didn’t even make the economic news.

“Are you sure it’s not difficult to track down the nominee accounts?”

Unlike my worried self, Executive Director Jang Do-hyung seemed relaxed.

“It will take time, but there’s no problem in identifying them. When over a hundred nominee accounts are in play, patterns emerge. Besides, they are all focused on a specific stock: Soonyang Group, so it’s not that difficult.”

“Are you certain?”

I asked again, but Jang Do-hyung nodded without hesitation.

“I am confident. You don’t need to worry.”

He’s spent his entire life in this industry; I have to trust him.

Shall we start making our move?

* * *

Standing in front of the massive gate brought back a flood of memories.

I had been in and out of this house countless times, but this was my first visit since my grandfather’s funeral.

I had wished that my grandfather would be the owner of this house forever, but the reality was that it had become Lee Pil-ok’s house.

I pressed the doorbell, and the door opened. Usually, I would drive straight to the entrance, but today, I walked in slowly. The garden trees and flowers, which I had never paid attention to before, were well-maintained, and the soft glow of the stone lanterns illuminated the summer night.

I didn’t notice these things when I used to walk here with my grandfather. They felt new now, but without my grandfather walking beside me, the beautiful garden felt melancholic.

I opened the front door and entered the living room to find my grandmother, seething with anger, scolding the staff.

“Who told you to let just anyone in without my permission? Are you out of your minds?!”

The staff, at a loss for words, kept bowing their heads.

My grandmother met my gaze and said through gritted teeth.

“What do you think you’re doing, barging in here? Can’t you turn around and leave?”

She was my grandmother in name only, devoid of any affection. Of course, we shared blood, but instead of warm words, she had always given me cold glares.

Besides, I retained all my memories from my past life.

This old woman wasn’t so much a grandmother as she was my grandfather’s wife, and a complete stranger who had tried to kill me.

I gave a faint smile and said.

“I have something to discuss quietly. Shall we move to the study?”

“It’s noisy. Can’t you just get out of here?!”

Showing a respectful grandson’s demeanor to a grandmother who acts like that is impossible. She leaves me no choice but to get straight to the point.

“She’s a client who just bought a whopping six hundred million dollars worth of artwork. Surely a cup of tea is in order? Clients who meet all your demanding conditions aren’t so common, are they?”

Seeing my grandmother’s deathly pale face, I had a sudden thought. She’s old; if she collapses now, it’ll be a disaster. I still need to find the shares in the nominee accounts and the hidden money.

Fortunately, true to her robust health, her pallor was the only sign of distress.

“There’s no need to reveal the transactions between a grandmother and her grandson in front of all your staff, is there?”

“You… you….”

Pretending not to notice my grandmother, who was struggling to speak, I addressed the housekeeper.

“Could you bring me a cup of coffee? To the study, please.”

Without looking back, I walked into the study. My grandmother, who undoubtedly understood what I meant, would surely follow.

It was a place where I had shared many conversations with my grandfather, but it felt unfamiliar with strange objects placed everywhere. With my grandmother’s touch, it seemed my grandfather’s presence had faded.

I took a seat and waited. When my grandmother tried to sit in my grandfather’s chair, I glared at her and said.

“We have an important matter to discuss. How about sitting across from me? I’m not here to report to my superior. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

My grandmother bit her lip and turned to sit opposite me.

“What do you want to say?”

“Don’t you already know?”

“You insolent brat! How dare you act so disrespectful?”

It’ll be interesting to see how long her rigid pride lasts. I need to completely shatter it today.

“Would the world even imagine? The matriarch of the great Soonyang Group selling off paintings and filling her gallery with forgeries. This will be a truly massive scandal.”

“Humph! I have no idea what nonsense you’re spouting.”

“Are you still not getting it? Or are you just pretending not to? The deal with the Wentworth Art Gallery in New York was a trap I set. Bette Porter is just a puppet dancing to my tune. The six hundred million dollars for the paintings? That came from my own pocket.”

“…….”

“Grandmother, it’s over. I have the secret contract with your signature on it. I also remember the secret account numbers in the British Virgin Islands. At this point, instead of playing dumb, you should prioritize figuring out what the other party wants.”

“Enough nonsense! You’re just repeating some baseless rumors to threaten me?”

She was glaring at me, trying to appear bold, but her trembling fingertips betrayed her.

I tossed the copy of the contract I had brought onto the table in front of her.

“Selling off assets worth hundreds of billions of won belonging to the foundation is embezzlement. Smuggling paintings to the US is smuggling. Setting up shell corporations overseas and siphoning money is a violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. I guarantee that with this, you won’t need to go shopping anymore. You’ll be spending the rest of your days in prison garb.”

“You… you little…!”

“You don’t really know this grandson of yours, do you? Or maybe you do? That I’m just like my grandfather, cold and heartless? I won’t have any qualms about dragging you into court and sending you to jail. Do you know why?”

The word ‘prison’ made her tremble even more violently.

“It’s not because you tried to kill me with a truck. It’s because you keep trying to take away what my grandfather gave me.”

My grandmother’s pale lips quivered. She never expected the truck incident to come up.

“Grandfather knew everything. But he brushed it off, saying it was your fault. He even told me to forgive you. So I erased it from my memory. But you tried to push me out of Soonyang Group, so I have no choice. I’ll have to see this through to the end.”

Judging by my rigid expression and tone, she understood my intentions and remained silent for a while.

Perhaps it was time for her to regain her composure.

After a long pause, my grandmother reverted to her usual self.

“So? What do you think you can do to me? Even if you try to expose your so-called evidence to the world, it won’t go as you plan. The power of Soonyang Group isn’t in your hands; it’s in my son’s. Not a single article will appear in the newspapers or on broadcasts.”

“You have a remarkable son.”

Whether she heard my sarcasm or not, she continued boasting about her son’s power.

“You’ll be the one to suffer. The British Virgin Islands? We’ll make that account yours and have you arrested for embezzling six hundred million dollars, you scoundrel.”

It wasn’t entirely impossible.

If my uncles mobilized all their connections and poured money into the media to silence them, it might be possible.

While my grandmother made this a fight between me and my uncles, letting us bleed each other dry, she could liquidate the nominee shares and escape overseas.

But there was one thing my grandmother wasn’t considering. Nothing is ever simple. Multiple factors intertwine to create an outcome.

Lacking social experience, she couldn’t see the bigger picture.

“Even if you throw Soonyang Group’s entire fortune at it, you won’t be able to stop the media. Because this will escalate into a political fight.”

My grandmother didn’t understand and only furrowed her brow.

“I won’t leak this to the media; I’ll leak it to the opposition party. The opposition party, having lost the general election, is eagerly looking for any opportunity to attack the ruling party. And you used the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, didn’t you? A Ministry of Foreign Affairs involved in smuggling. Do you think the opposition party will just stand by and watch? There will be a special investigation and parliamentary hearings.”

My grandmother’s expression changed again.

“Even if opposition politicians have taken a lot of money from Soonyang, they won’t cover this up. They need to survive too.”

I smiled at my flustered grandmother.

“It’ll be fun, won’t it? The whole country will be in an uproar because of you. Hehehe.”