Breakfast hadn’t started yet, so Cassandra decided to find members who could help with her plan before the morning conference began. She wanted to change the afternoon meeting’s agenda to ‘Korean War.’
The Bilderberg Club members were the presidents of the European countries and the U.S., the Canadian Prime Minister, all the directors of the EU, major financial figures in Europe and North America, the IMF Head, the President of the European Central Bank in the eurozone, the Federal Reserve figures in North America, NATO’s secretary general, and famous entrepreneurs like the CEO of Nanosoft. The club had diverse members, but there were mainstream families in the center.
The family that came to Cassandra’s mind first were the Rothschilds. They were British, and their voice was strong as they were close to North American members. However, she quickly scrapped that plan because traditionally the Rothschilds had often confronted the Goldsteins, especially in more recent times. When the Goldsteins used to be a speculative force of the Eastern India company along with a Scottish family, the Rothschilds were their bitter enemy. Furthermore, the Rothschild family had taken away a considerable amount of power from the Goldstein family after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Of course, that was old history, but something had occurred last year that made things frosty again.
Therefore, Cassandra knocked on Karjan’s door. Aron von Karjan, the former head, was attending on behalf of the current head this year. He was also an old raccoon who had created the Bilderberg Club like her grandfather.
“What brought you here this early morning? Don’t ask me to grab a coffee,” the head smiled.
She said firmly, “Since I’m running out of time, I’ll tell you briefly. Please take my word as an official statement from the present French head of the Goldstein Family, Cassandra White Goldstein.”
“Ah, I shouldn’t listen to this then,” he replied.
Cassandra snorted inwardly. The public had criticized Aron as he purged to rebuild the Karjan family’s hierarchy for his own good. People thought that he had bequeathed the throne to Joshua von Karjan to start a full-scale successor training process. However, the majority of people, including Cassandra, still considered Aron von Karjan as the power broker.
“I think you can at least answer for your family,” Cassandra said.
The old man was about to say something, but closed his mouth. He then quietly put down the cup he was holding. It was then that his bodyguard rushed over and whispered something to him. Aron instantly took out his phone and saw a stream of never ending messages. Cassandra waited for him to focus on her again, but he only smiled subtly as he scanned through the texts.
Cassandra heard a loud knocking sound and turned her head toward the living room. That person was banging so hard as if he or she wanted to break the door down.
That person is so rude. Cassandra had an inquisitive frown on her face.
However, it was someone from her entourage. When she was about to reprimand him, she saw his ghastly pale face.
Colton… must have died…
A part of her heart was torn with sorrow, but the person soon informed her about a totally different matter.
“The loan extensions on every family business are being cut off. They have unilaterally notified us, and it’s severely impacting the family.”
What?
Cassandra took the man to the hallway as if she was dragging him.
“Tell me again.”
However, his explanation remained the same. Cassandra felt like the patterns on the hotel carpet were spinning, perhaps because she was so shocked by the news. She stomped one one pattern with her heel, and she burst into a rage.
“What the hell were you guys doing!”
She looked like she would slap the person’s cheek immediately, but instead she headed to the Karjan family’s room while she was quivering in anger. She was no longer smiling as such a nicety was only necessary during the process of identifying friend from foe. It was just a cumbersome mask during this time when the Karjan family had turned into her enemy. She bolted into the Karjan family’s room with a furious look in her eyes and shouted, “Aron! Aron!”
The old man’s bodyguards had blocked her, and the CIA and Mossad agents, who were dealing with the dirty work of the hotel earlier, were flocking to check the site. In addition, other members who stayed on the same floor had come out into the hallway. The old man’s and Cassandra’s phones weren’t the only ones that were busy ringing. The others were also receiving news that the Goldstein family was under attack through text messages and calls. The disturbance became aggravated when the noise from the Karjan family’s room became louder.
“Are you senile?” Cassandra yelled at Aron who was sitting behind the human shield of bodyguards, but he only smiled and didn’t respond. At that moment, Cassandra made a horrible mistake she shouldn’t have created.
“Get out of the way!”
When she pushed off a guard, who used to be in a special force, he fell down too easily. Cassandra took a double take, but it was too late. Along with the Karjan family’s bodyguards, elite agents from around the world surrounded her.
“If you continue being aggressive, we will have no choice but to detain you. What are you doing, people from the Goldstein family? Take her away with you!”
They spoke politely, but people stared at her as if she was a criminal. It was the first time Cassandra had experienced such humiliation.
***
Cassandra couldn’t calm down. It was not only because she was being ridiculed, but also because she knew what would happen from the sudden betrayal of the Karjan family. She had no choice but to respond with her own attack, and the consequences would be the ruin of both families. She bit her nails and rolled her eyes as she began calculating. It was different from a regular financial war as a wide range of businesses were intertwined.
The agreement between the Karjan family and the Goldstein family had stemmed from the past. During Nazism, the Rothschilds had concentrated their family business in England, but the Karjans and Goldsteins had formed a blood alliance and completed the current triangular structure by enduring hardship all over Europe.
The structure was formed between Rothschilds in Britain, Karjans in Germany and the Goldsteins in France. Therefore, the whole balance would collapse if the two of them fought, and the Rothschild family, which already had a huge influence on the U.S., would enjoy their era of prosperity. Looking back, the Rothschilds weren’t even damaged during the Iraq War as they still held onto a spot in the Cartel Group as they always did. When things got into a sort of limbo, issues were quickly resolved when they calculated who would benefit from the incident.
Who would benefit from a bloody battle between the Karjans and Goldsteins? Na Seon-Hu? The Jeon-il Group? That’s funny. The East Asian speculative forces could never do something like this.
Cassandra got upset.
TheRothschilds! These assholes are behind this situation! And at a very high probability! But why now…
“Ouch!”
Cassandra took her finger out of her mouth when she suddenly felt a sharp pain. Blood was oozing out from her nails as she had bitten them severely. She had figured out the situation, but it was difficult to find an answer. If the Rothschild family was behind the scenes and the Karjans were cooperating with them, she would be left alone. A huge conspiracy was approaching the Goldstein family.
Cassandra missed Colton and regretted how she had thought that her brother’s death wouldn’t matter. He was the only family she could trust. However, she didn’t know if he was still alive and needed to go through everything on her own.
She racked her brain and tried thinking of anyone who could support her and wasn’t restricted by the influence of the Rothschilds and the Karjans. Since most of the members took part in the triangular balance, there was only one she could think of.
“Gillian…”
She immediately sat at the dressing table.
***
The morning conference was postponed until the afternoon due to Cassandra’s rampage. She was out in the hallway and looked beautiful as she had dressed up. Her eyes were fascinating and her lips were so sexy that no one would believe she had acted like a madman in the morning.
Clack, clack.
The sound of her high heels echoed through the hallway. There were people calling at her, but no one could stop her from arrogantly stepping forward. She had a fixed destination from the beginning.
“Please come in.”
Gillian opened the door for her.
“You have already heard about the situation, right? I’ll get straight to the point. Please stand on my side,” she said.
“Why me?” he asked.
Her eyes flashed. “Do you really think that we don’t know? Your group’s capital isn’t a part of the club’s traditional order. Some say it’s Asian, but I’m certain it’s Arab.”
“…”
“Do you think we invited you without knowing that? We’ve been doing under-the-table work since the year we invited you. We had intended to kick you out as soon as we figured out the origin of your capital.”
Cassandra studied Gillian’s face, but he wasn’t agitated at all. All he did was nod as if it was obvious.
“Do you have nothing to say?” she asked.
“If they could, they would’ve kicked me out already. Look. Half of Jonathan Group’s capital is from Asia. But were they kicked out? Nope. They are creating their own order as if they’re laughing at you guys.” Gillian added one more sentence, “I’m not scared of you either.”
Then, Cassandra smiled brightly.
“That’s it. That’s why I want you to be on my side. The Bilderberg Club has been stagnant for so long. It was established to be the world’s government, but its purpose is becoming more meaningless as time goes on. Gillian, you were invited to the club, but you’re still a loner, and Jonathan hasn’t even been invited.”
“…”
“This is an opportunity to reorganize the club, which means we can reform the world, Gillian. If you and your group’s owners help us, we can defend the alliance between the Rothschilds and Karjans,” she continued.
“So, how much will my group earn? I’m a salaryman,” Gillian asked.
“The fight between the Goldsteins and Karjans is a game of chicken[1], but you can lead them to the battle with Rothschild to a zero-sum[2]. You are Gillian, the undefeated winner.”
“Wow, you suck at convincing. So, I should make my own money?”
Gillian smiled wryly and questioned.
“Do you believe there’s a powerful being behind the Rothschild?”
“Yes, then where could it be?”
Buzzzz.
Buzzzz-
Gillian’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket, and he took it out. It wasn’t a phone call, but there were a few text messages. His face started to change as he checked them. He slightly frowned with mixed emotions of doubt and astonishment. When Cassandra looked at him, an uneasy feeling crawled up in her, and her heart rate accelerated.
Thud. Thud.
It was like an order.
Huff. Huff.
Hot breath gushed from her nostrils.
“What the hell are you planning again?!”
She jumped towards Gillian and took his phone away.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Cassandra pushed Gillian away, then looked at his phone.
[Shake the entire stock price of the Goldsteins.]
Gillian hurriedly got up and took his phone from Cassandra, but she had already read the message. Her face was flushed despite the thick layer of foundation she wore, and her body began to tremble.
“Rothschilds, you mother fuckers… Do you think I’m going to die alone?”
She gritted her teeth at Gillian, then turned, and went out to the hallway. She took out her phone and called someone. As soon as the other party answered, she screamed with murderous eyes, “Knock the Rothschilds down first!”
Her voice was loud as if she wanted the club members to hear. She was acting out of desperation.
1. A game term that means springing out at each other and competing for who’s less brave to avoid or surrender a confrontation. ☜
2. When gains of one party are balanced out by the opponent’s loss. Therefore, no net gain or loss is created in this situation. ☜