Hollywood Zenith

" What did you find?"

" I have collected as much information as I could. It would have been helpful if you had given me some more time." Zero, who was on the other side of the phone, said. Samuel gave him a priority mission just before he left the firm yesterday.

" Is it enough to scare him?" Samuel asked.

" More than that. It should get the job done."

" Good."

" Boss, did something happen between you two? I can't imagine how a noble family would offend you." Zero asked.

" It's not him I am going after, but something did happen."

" Can you tell me about it? I believe people will ask questions when they come to know about it. It could sell for some hefty price?" Always the businessman, but Samuel was not in the mood to entertain him.

" I will tell you the specifics later. Send me all the information; I will talk to you later."

" Ok, bye, boss." Despite not knowing the whole picture, Zero knew something big would happen. Knowing Samuel's target was enough; he could start his investigation later.

After a few minutes, Samuel reached the firm, where everyone awaited him in the meeting room. Marilyn, Abigail, and Alastair were slightly anxious after knowing who they were.

Most people didn't find it strange, but the public hardly knew about these Elites. One had to wonder why, as a noble, there should be more information available online, but there was hardly a good photo of the Earl.

Doing business through proxy companies or investment firms, they could stay out of the public eye while enjoying lavish life and occasional breaking of the law if they were into that sort of stuff. There was hardly anyone bold enough to challenge them, those who did would often vanish into obscurity.

" Good morning, everyone. Let's get down to business; I want to wrap this up today." Samuel said while taking the seat.

" Today? I don't think that's possible. I dug deep and found out Earl owns eleven businesses, while five are family businesses. Other six are registered with the stock exchange, but one day is impossible." Alastair said plainly.

" He is right. Even with our standards, it would take a few weeks to wither away their forces, not to mention convince some people to give up their shares." Abigail also supported him on this.

" I think you got the wrong idea yesterday. I am not trying to dismantle that family. What I want is just one member of that family." They were making wild assumptions and who could blame them. The way Samuel was yesterday was too intense to think otherwise.

" Who? Either way, they will never do it." Marilyn said.

" Roderick, the oldest son of the Earl. He has to pay for his misdeeds and do it voluntarily in front of the media." Samuel said it calmly, but they all heard that he was looking for war with this family.

" Oldest son, you know that it means he is the heir to the title? No matter what he has done, his father would never give up that easily."

" Oh, he will. Pass me that laptop." Samuel took it and searched for a specific site. It was a file-sharing platform where one would need a password to access information. It was miles away from the actual thing, but the people at his company were working tirelessly to make it publicly available.

Zero had already shared the file; Samuel downloaded it and showed it to others. They only looked at it for a brief movement, but it was enough to shock them.

" What the hell?"

" Is that really who I think it is?"

" Is it real? I have often heard about it but didn't know such a thing existed."

" This is enough, right? With the information about his companies, this will be the perfect collateral, don't you think?"

" It is but isn't that blackmail? I mean, it's hardly legal."

" It could hurt us in the long run. You know people will ask questions."

" Don't forget about the government; they are highly connected people. I think we should think this through." Marilyn was worried. Samuel had never suggested such a thing before, there were minor instances of him knowing about particular stuff, but this was a full-blown felony!

" No one will know. Even if they find out, it's not me who they will be interested in. Abigail arranges the meeting; wait, it will be better if I go where he is. Find his location." He had already decided.

" Okay.."

Zero had exceeded his expectation, he now had plenty of cards to play with. After getting the address, he took the laptop and met the Earl.

...

...

...

" Here, you wanted to see it. My husband will be here somewhere." Patricia showed her around.

" Wow, there must be thousands of books here," Rosaline exclaimed, seeing the sheer number of them.

" Miss Rosaline, it is only the entrance. This whole building is the library." Greyson accompanied them. He also had the same habit of visiting this place as his big brother.

" I-is that so? And please, call me Rosaline." They were awkward because Grey was utterly different from what she had imagined. She always believed she would find him to be a cheery little kid, but he was very peculiar.

" Grey can show you around. I will find my husband in the meantime." Patricia left them alone. Donald had been holed up here for many days. She had to remind him about the upcoming party and drag him out if necessary.

" This way! I will show you my favorite place." Grey urged her to follow him.

Rosaline followed him absentmindedly while taking in the beautiful scenery of different book sections. She had visited the Richard Riordan Central Library complex, which was the third-largest public library in the United States in terms of book and periodical holdings.

This place nearly had the same amount of books. There was quite a collection, and some rare books were locked inside temperature-controlled rooms. She had never experienced something like this.

" Here. This is the place." Grey opened the door to reveal a moderate size room littered with papers. It looked like a workplace of some sort. She picked up the nearest book and found that she had recognized the title.

" Lord of the Rings? The End of the Third Age?" She had heard about the book's title, but 'third age' didn't ring any bell.

" Are you familiar with LOTR?" Grey asked.

" Yes, but I never heard about this title? Is it some sort of collector's edition?" She asked.

" No, that's the series' last book," Grey said casually while searching for something.

" Eh? I don't remember the last book being published yet?"

" That's because it did not happen yet. A big brother writes these books; he said it was better to build up some suspense. I found it!"

" What!!!" It was the biggest shock she had had since coming here.