New York, Sergei Hassenfield's villa.
Compared to the Newhouse Family's luxurious estate, his villa was naturally inferior, as there was a significant gap between them in terms of family legacy and the time of their rise.
What's more, Sergei was only a king on the surface; the true prime minister was his uncle, Alan Hassenfeld.
His power was equivalent to Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie; everything had to follow the orders of Boss Cao. He might be a bit stronger than Liu Xie, as he could still make decisions on minor matters, but he was far worse than Emperor Chongzhen.
A maid brought coffee and a plate of strangely shaped fruits.
"Try this. It's a specialty from Brunei, a small Pacific country. We went there for a vacation a while ago, and it tastes very good."
"Vacation? It seems your relationship is still going well. I was worried it would be over in a year."
Sergei smiled: "When you reach my age, you'll know how to best maintain a relationship, rather than having scandals flying everywhere."
Eric waved his hand: "Enough already. Everyone I meet wants to talk about this, and my tongue is practically numb. Where's Winslet? Is she not here?"
"She is, but definitely not here. I'm a married man; I need to be mindful of appearances."
"So you two plan to just keep it hanging like this? I'm quite curious, how long can you keep it hanging? If you can do it for a lifetime, you'll be my big brother."
Sergei choked a bit: "Actually, Kate also has reservations about this. When we decided to get together last year, I certainly have you to thank for your efforts."
"At that time, several men were pursuing her—from England, from the United States, producers, singers, actors, etc.—but I emerged victorious."
"However, I also made a promise to divorce as soon as possible, then go public with our relationship and hold a grand wedding with her openly and honestly."
"But you know the reality; it's very difficult. My wife will definitely file a lawsuit, wanting to take a large sum of money."
"That woman is secondary; more importantly, my uncle Alan, he won't agree. Don't laugh at me, Eric, but I haven't dared to mention this to him yet."
"Hasbro is currently developing at a high speed. Alan will not allow any behavior that could negatively impact the company. He's a control freak!" Eric finished his sentence for him.
Sergei nodded bluntly: "Yes, he's a control freak. Everyone knows that."
Eric gently sipped his coffee, feeling the factors flowing in his blood.
"Sergei, I know your situation is difficult, so I've come this time to help you solve this problem."
"Heh heh. You? How will you solve it?" Sergei laughed mockingly.
"You're just afraid of Alan, right? Get rid of Alan, and the problem will naturally be solved!"
"Murder! Are you kidding me? Are you crazy?" Sergei was shocked.
"You're the one who's crazy. Getting rid of him doesn't mean killing him; just making him step down is enough. I'm going to ask you a question, and you must answer honestly."
"Speak."
"Do you want to be the true controller of Hasbro? Do you want to break free from your puppet status? Do you want to truly be a man who can decide his own relationships?"
Sergei rolled his eyes speechlessly: "Eric, what nonsense are you talking about? If I had that ability, I would have kicked out that old hag long ago and sent Alan back to Canada for retirement. But the problem is, I don't."
"I do!"
"What?"
After a moment of silence, Eric said with a serious expression: "I said I do. As long as you are willing to help, we can unite and drive Alan away."
"To drive that old man away, the most basic point is to control more company shares than him. I'm almost there with that."
"Now, all that's needed is your help. As long as you can gain the support of more than half of the directors, Alan is finished."
Listening to Eric speak every word, Sergei was a bit confused: "Eric, you're not joking with me, are you?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Your tone certainly doesn't, but do you know Alan has 17% of Hasbro's shares? That's a considerable amount. How much do you have?"
"I also have 17%."
Gasp!
Sergei was clearly stunned by this number and only recovered after a while.
He asked loudly: "Where did you get the shares from? Did you gain the trust of those investment institutions? Are you their agent?"
"No, I only act as my own agent. Don't worry about where the shares came from; just know that I can now contend with Alan."
"Let me ask you one more thing: how are the transformers toys selling now? Five months ago, they reached double last year's sales record. What are the current figures?"
"That gambling agreement!"
"Exactly. I must know if the gambling agreement has been fulfilled. Once it reaches four times the sales, the highest clause must be honored."
"Hasbro must either pay MGM 55% of the toy net profit or pay MGM 4% of its equity."
"At that time, as long as you can step forward and advocate for the transfer of equity, I will control 21% of the equity, and the right to speak will shift to our hands."
"Sergei, I came to you today to lay my cards on the table. I trust our relationship, and I believe you won't betray me."
"Similarly, I will not let your contribution be in vain. As long as you are willing to help me drive Alan away, Hasbro will be yours to command, truly in charge."
"Just like YouTube and Facebook, I will be responsible for planning and coordinating the company's development direction and formulating policies, while you will be responsible for specific operations and management."
"You can divorce if you want to, you can marry whoever you want to. I will only applaud and bless you, congratulating my friend."
"Sergei, my good friend, my good brother, your destiny has arrived at a crossroads. The time to choose has come!"
This time, Sergei was stunned for a long while, sitting there expressionless, a fierce battle raging in his mind.
This was a big deal. If he succeeded, he would have young models; if he messed up, he would become a young model himself.
Eric could just pack up and leave, but he had no other refuge.
Seeing his conflicted look, Eric couldn't rush him. He stood up and patted his shoulder: "Think about it carefully. I'll wait for your answer, and make it soon!"
He finished speaking and was about to leave, but just as he pulled the door open, Sergei suddenly stood up and grabbed him.
"Wait, wait, wait. I need more information. Sit down, let's talk properly."
"Do you have an idea?"
"Brother, you have to let me clear my thoughts first. This is a difficult decision."
"How about this, stay at my place tonight. My house is quite big anyway. Let's have a more in-depth discussion."
"Alright, although there's an urgent press conference waiting for me to return and hold."
Early the next morning, Eric flew back to Los Angeles.
He closed his eyes to rest and quickly fell asleep.
Last night, they talked late into the night. Sergei's years of suppression and anger erupted, and he finally decided to go big with Eric, venting his accumulated resentment.
Of course, the main thing was to review the advantages of their side. After summarizing, he found that they were still significant, and the probability of success was indeed not low.
First, they were in the dark while Alan was in the light, and Eric had been planning for a long time.
Secondly, Eric had shares in hand, so the foundation was stable, and everyone felt confident.
Then, Alan had become increasingly erratic since his child's death, offending almost everyone in the company over the years.
He hadn't stepped down simply because he had many shares, and Hasbro's performance was still acceptable. As long as you could lead everyone to make money, even big grudges were endured.
But resentment only grows with suppression; everyone was just holding it in, afraid to explode.
Once a turning point appeared, Sergei felt confident he could persuade many to side with Eric.
Now, he was going to check the accounts and verify the completion of the gambling agreement. As soon as it met the standard, it would be time to launch a surprise attack on Alan Hassenfeld.
His father also returned home from Mexico last night and brought good news.
Jim Gianopulos accepted the goodwill. He would use his influence to cause trouble for Robert within Fox.
Even if he couldn't force him out of the alliance, he could at least tie his hands.
The cost was that Eric had to provide the other party with a sum of money. The more severely Fox was hit, the more confident Jim would be in securing next year's new contract.
The company suffered losses, but individuals benefited.
He was just a high-level employee, so of course, he had to prioritize himself. The company could wait a bit!
MGM office building, a press conference was being prepared.
Two days ago, MGM announced that it would thoroughly clarify the incident and invited all national media to witness it.
But obviously, only online media were willing to buy into it; major TV stations and newspapers did not respond.
However, after visiting Judy's parents yesterday, things changed. The Newhouse Family still had considerable influence.
Moreover, the media itself was not a monolithic entity; there were power struggles within it. They could fully mobilize the resources of their own factions.
Thus, many media outlets that were originally indifferent to the press conference suddenly appeared on the scene.
Among the major public channels, CBS and NBC arrived. Reporters from influential major newspapers and magazines like The New Yorker, New York Times, and People, which have influence nationwide or in several states, also arrived successively.
Although not all were present, these were enough to stir up a storm of public opinion across the United States.
After getting off the plane, Eric rushed to the company. Carol reported the situation to him.
Lionheart Network's live broadcast started simultaneously. Even before the press conference officially began, millions of people had already flooded into the live stream.
Swish, swish, swish.
As Eric led the entry, white flashes immediately went off non-stop.
Everyone settled down, and Eric opened the microphone: "I know what you want to know, and I know what the national audience wants to know."
"Fortunately, through our unremitting efforts, we finally found Bar Refaeli, and she is willing to attend the press conference and reveal the truth to everyone."
In front of the TV, Howard Stringer's face changed drastically. He hurriedly picked up the phone and dialed Bar Refaeli, which, as expected, showed that her phone was off.
He swallowed hard, his mind full of questions.
That's not right, Bar Refaeli should be in Japan, and she sends him messages every day to say she's safe. What's going on?
"Could Eric Cooper have found a fake?"
A ridiculous thought popped into his mind, and then he saw the real person appear on TV.
Instantly, as if struck by a thunderbolt, Howard Stringer was completely dumbfounded.
And he wasn't the only one dumbfounded; the reporters on site and tens of millions of viewers in front of their screens were also dumbfounded, yet incredibly excited.
Today, there will definitely be some major gossip!
Bar Refaeli took off her hat, sunglasses, and mask, showing that she was indeed herself.
Taking a deep breath, she began: "A scam, this is a scam. Everything is a huge conspiracy against Eric. Everything you saw was fake."
Boom!
As expected, her opening statement was an explosion, and the reporters' eyes lit up.
Then Bar Refaeli recounted the events with some alterations, naturally portraying herself as a naive young girl who was deceived.
Although I made a mistake, I pulled back from the brink and am willing to return to the side of justice to tell the truth. I hope everyone will curse me less, seeing that I have turned over a new leaf.
"That's how it is. Everything is Harvey Weinstein's fault. He caused all of this."
"By the time I realized, it was too late. I must apologize to everyone, I'm sorry!"
Miramax, at this time, the Weinstein Brothers were also following the developments. When they saw Bar Refaeli redirecting the blame to them, both secretly thought it was bad news.
Bob Weinstein looked angrily at his brother: "Is this your plan? That bitch is completely untrustworthy!"
"This isn't my fault. How did that kid find her? Howard said it was very safe. I need to call him."
"What's the use of saying that now! Everyone in the country is watching. We must quickly come up with a countermeasure."
Harvey Weinstein forced himself to remain calm: "What's there to be afraid of! Even if Bar Refaeli throws dirt on me, do I have to admit it?"
"Who can distinguish true from false? Many people will think that bitch was coerced by Eric Cooper. This matter can't be clarified; at most, it's just a messy account."
Bob Weinstein sighed: "Let's hope so. You must keep your mouth shut."
However, before they finished speaking, a video began playing on the TV screen. They were all too familiar with the scene in the video, especially that eye-catching red sofa. Where else could it be but Harvey Weinstein's office?
"Refaeli, as long as you're willing to cooperate, the female lead of cinderella man will be yours."
"Russell Crowe is the male lead, Ron Howard is the director. They are both top-notch in the industry, and this will be an Oscar-contending film."
"By participating in this film, I guarantee you at least a nomination for Oscar Winner next year."
"You can completely trust my methods. Why did Gwyneth Paltrow win Oscar Winner? It's because I, and Miramax, stand behind her."
"But, if I falsely accuse Eric Cooper, won't I face retaliation?"
"Retaliation? Hahaha. What are you worried about? If handled properly, MGM will definitely be severely weakened. How could Eric Cooper have time to retaliate against you? He's already in deep trouble."
After a long conversation, the scene shifted to an adult-only situation, and the video was then cut off.
Harvey Weinstein's face twitched. First, his hands trembled uncontrollably, then his entire arm shook, and finally, all the fat on his body shook non-stop.
It's over, everything's over!