Hollywood Zenith

Within thirty minutes, he reached her house and found Penny pacing around on the small porch. He could see worry written over her face.

" Aunt Penny, I am here. Where is she?"

" Samuel, S-she is inside. We have been trying but she is not responding much. She only replies with short phases so I decided against calling the authorities."

" It\'s going to be alright," Samuel said as she led him inside the house. Grandmother was waiting anxiously outside the door, sweetly calling for Adele.

" Can you give me few minutes? I want to talk to her alone." Samuel asked Penny and her mother.

Both stared at each other before accepting his request. They had been trying for hours, and Samuel was their best bet.

" Adele, Can you hear me?" Hearing his voice, a few rustling sounds came from inside. Samuel checks with his life sense to find her crouching behind the door. He was relieved seeing her moving.

" I am sorry. I could not tell you before. I know your feelings but It is not right. It will only hurt you in the future."

He got no response, so he decided to continue. He told a few of their times together and made more excuses.

" I will tell you why it is not the right choice. Being from an influential family comes with some responsibilities, nobody knows the future, but It is not easy to be with some like me.

There may be times when I have to deal with multiple partners. Will you be okay with it?"

Adele was perplexed about the question. She thought about Iblis as some of her warnings began to make sense to her.

" It may be fine for sometime but over time, your resolve will waver. In time Jealousy, betrayal, hatred such feeling will overcome from the inside. Don\'t you think so?"

" Don\'t punish your family for my mistake. You can see how worried they are. Can you come out now?"

Samuel waited a few seconds before the door opened from the other side. A dishevelled figure emerged from inside; he could tell from looking at her face that she had been crying for a long time.

Adele walked out with her head down and fell down due to exhaustion. Samuel grabbed her and carried her toward the living room, where others were waiting.

Penny and Grandma were worried after seeing her appearance, but Samuel assured them it was nothing serious. They settled her upstairs in the bed and gathered again downstairs with Samuel.

" Thanks a lot for today. It seems like everything worked out." Penny asked, but Samuel shook his head.

" It was my fault to begin with, I never thought she would react in such a way."

" Is it really true? There were no pictures so I thought it was someone else from your family."

" Right, how can they decide such important things when you are only a kid." Grandma chimed in.

" Well, It was my idea. My family doesn\'t have anything to do with it."

" What? But Adele-" Samuel cut her out mid-sentence.

" I know. How can I not know? But she will surely grow out of it."

" But why all of a sudden? I still doesn\'t understand the reason."

He sighed and disclosed the circumstances around it. He kept it brief, but they got the message.

" I see. If you put it that way, it was the best solution." Penny said, understanding the reason.

" Won\'t it be a burden in the long run? What about that girl, Iblis right?, What about her?"

" We already talked. In future we could annel the engagement, beside, She doesn\'t really like me that much."

" I am not sure about it. It is not easy to read a girls heart. She might surprise you in the future." Grandma said in a mysterious tone.

" Mother, you are not a psychic. How would you know?"

" I agree. Beside we have bigger problems to deal with." Samuel paused and continued--

" Its Adele and Iblis\'s friendship. I don\'t know how she will react to it. She is in the dark about most of it, so there will definitely be a problem between them."

" Right, I forgot about that," Penny said. She failed to think about it due to Adele. Iblis was one of the few friends that her daughter had; after this, it will not be identical.

" Also keep it a secret from her. Everything we talked about."

" Why? It could resolve her misunderstanding."

" Right! I am sure my granddaughter would understand if you tell her about your reason."

" I don\'t want her to, this a perfect to make her realise that it is not good to associate her with me."

Penny and her mother stayed silent. Penny already had such thoughts, she didn\'t want to keep a secret from her daughter, but this one, she felt it was worth it.

They agreed after Samuel insisted on it. They talked for a few more minutes before Samuel left for home. With this, everything was settled, and he could focus on other things.

Upon reaching home, he started to plan for the upcoming months. Until now, most of the future directly correlates with the other reality from which he absorbed information.

The next step was to focus on his book illustrations and Acting rehearsals. But before that, he remembered about the money in his bank which was sitting there. He needed to invest it for future ventures.

Numerous future opportunities were waiting for him, and some were just around the corner.

He called a meeting with his father in the evening; he had to sort out everything before the market reached its peak.

As he speculated, the IT bubble was in full swing and will be at its maximum around March. There may be more variables, so accurately predicting the date would be dangerous.

With Oscar staying over at the Hansons for the time being, he also needed someone new to replace him. He already had an inkling that Oscar might leave the family permanently to reside over the situation there.

In the evening, He gathered together with his father and his assistant.

" So, you wanted to discuss something?" Robert asked. He reached for the teacup and took a small sip.

" Yes, Father. I would like to invest the money that I have earned so far. I have a plan."

" Oh, that. I was nervous that you would bring another marriage proposition." He chuckled as he said.

" Not right now but maybe in future. My life gial is to collect every beauty that the world had to offer." Samuel said while maintaining a poker face.

This prompted Robert to spit out a mouthful of tea as he looked toward his son in disbelief. Seeing his serious expression made him doubt himself.

" I am joking. Or am I."

" Brat! be serious. What si your plan tell me?" Robert asked. It was his first time witnessing this side of his son. He feared that if Sami really put his mind to it, he would achieve that \'goal\'.

" Well, First I want you to lend me a small team of experienced traders or better a small investment firm would be ideal."

" Hmm, It is a substantial amount for your age. Will you be able to handle it?"

" Yeah, I am confident."

" Will young master apply the strategy he mentioned during your birthday ceremony? I must say market speculation is not easy." The secretary said Paul has been working under Robert for several years, before which he was a junior working under the previous head. He had been in the Rothschild family for quite some time now.

" Yes, as Uncle Paul said. But I would also invest in some immerging companies or directly acquire it if the price is right."

" Ok, It will be good to see what you achieve. I will arrange for perfect people."

"Sir, what about the Achilles Investment ? It is a small branch firm managing some of our assets."

" That could be it. But we would need someone to spearhead the Merger and Acquisition."

" I would like to select the executives myself. If it is fine I would like to post job offers directly to expand our reach." Samuel asked.

" But it hard to find capable people like that. We also have to judge their characters so as company secrets could be kept confidential." Robert asked as he warned Samuel about the potential dangers of such an approach.

" Master is right. Young master, espionage is on the rise in the current market. It is also hard to find people willing to work with you. You have to consider your age." Paul reminded.

" Right! Sometimes I forget that this kid is only eleven. It would definately put them off." Robert said as he looked toward Samuel. It was hard getting used to it.

" Don\'t worry about it father. There will be people who will be willing. Age is just a number, knowledge is what matters. If they can\'t see it, its their loss." Samuel shrugged his shoulders to show that he didn\'t care much about it.

What he needed more than anything was people willing to follow his direction. At the base of every powerful empire lies the power of people. Without them, it wouldn\'t be called an empire, right?