Hollywood Zenith

" Sir, There is someone called Quinn, asking for you. " The secretary bowed and reported about the sudden visitor.

" Huh, Can\'t you I am busy with my friends? beside I don\'t anyone with that name. Now go bring some more bottles of bourbon from my stash!" The man at the centre asked.

" B-but sir, your father-"

" What? Why are you bringing that senile old man in this conversation. Do as I tell you? Alright?"

The secretary obeyed as he quickly brought what the man asked. He was still hesitant if he should continue.

"Sir, He said he wants to report something important about someone named \'Abigail Fontaine\'. He stated repeatedly that it was urgent. Should I send him away?"

" Abigail? Bring him up! " The man raised his eyebrows; he remembered that name fondly. His \'friends\' also had confused looks on their faces.

" Isn\'t that the bitch you tried to chase, Ryan?" One of them asked.

" Yeah, I remember her. She was the one who brutally rejected you." the other one said with an amusing smile.

" Later, she got caught up in some scandal and was booted out of the company. It even made some headlines."

" Yes, I remember It was big deal for the company too. Too bad she chose some nobody over our Ryan."

" You two, It\'s old news. Why are you bringing that up now? And it\'s not like you two didn\'t have anything to do with it. Always remember we are in this together." Ryan said solemnly.

Three of them were the relatives of the board of directors for the bank. They hold potent positions through their connection, whose power was only a few notches lower than top executives.

They became embroiled in a market crash incident two years ago and narrowly escaped it by making Abigail the scapegoat. They made sure to eliminate all possible routes for her return.

But suddenly, hearing her name today made them relive those experiences. Others were not too concerned about it, but Ryan knew her the best; he was her immediate boss and had seen her tenacity.

She was a genius; if given enough time, she would have soared higher and higher, reaching the peak in the financial world. When Ryan was contemplating, Quinn entered the scene.

He was carrying a small box that looked like a present.

" Good morning Master Ryan. I am sorry to intrude but I present a small gift for the inconvenience." Quinn placed the box on the table.

The box contained The Macallan 30-Year Sherry Oak Single Malt, one of the pricier alcohol on the market.

" Hmm, It seems like you know what I like. I will accept it. Say, what do you want to report?" Ryan was not fazed by it. It may be an expensive gift for most people, but he drank such stuff every day.

" Yes sir, I have information on Abigail. I know you have a history together. So, I wanted to report it directly to you." Quinn said respectfully.

" Quit going around in circles! Don\'t worry; you will be rewarded for your efforts." One of the other men replied. He fully knew what the other party wanted.

" Thanks you sir. You see, I have been unjustly fired from my position from the investment firm and later I found out that the new boss hired Abigail Fontaine for my position. I suspect they are up to no good." Quin said with a dramatic tone to make it as believable as possible.

" And? What is the name of the firm?" The third man asked.

" It\'s Achilles Investment; it has yet to go public. It is only a small firm, but I fear if that woman makes a comeback--" Quinn paused and left it all to the imagination. He had heard about this group from a friend, which was the true mastermind behind the incident. He was trying to make use of them to further his own agenda.

" You! What are you implying? Do you think we are afraid of her?" The second man shouted.

" Brian! Calm down! He may be right. But I am surprised that someone dared to hire her after we put her on the blacklist." Ryan said. He was sure that no one would go against one of the biggest commercial banks in the world.

" Which fool decided to hire her? You said that he was new boss?"

" Yes, sir, he is only a child but thinks he owns the world. He fired more than half of the staff that supported me. Please help me teach him a lesson!" Quinn purposefully neglected to mention the name. If he wanted to start a conflict, he had to ensure they would not be scared to say Rothschild\'s name.

Once they initiated the attack, they could not back down. These rich brats have too much ego to admit defeat, but with their firm grip on the banking sector, they were a formidable opponent for Rothschild.

Quinn failed to factor in that blood is not thicker than money for some people. To protect their skin, they would reprimand their own sons, not to mention these men were distant family members.

" What do you propose? You must have something on them, right?" Ryan assessed the situation. As a former employee, he knew he had to use him.

" Yes sir! The company holds their funds in you bank. With mere mention of Abigail\'s name, you would have some ground to suspend their accounts."

" How much balance do they have? I don\'t have authority to act if it is in tens of billions."

" You don\'t have to worry about it sir. It few hundred million pounds. I am sure of it."

" Only a few hundred? Hahahaha, She really fell hard!" Brian laughed. He still remembers when she managed funds worth billions but now look at her!

" I will see to it. Good work! leave your contact information with my secretary. I will see to it that you get your reward." Ryan said as he waved his hand, motioning Quinn to exit.

He was in a happy mood. With this, he would make an example of Abigail and show others what would happen if you crossed him!

------------------------------------

[ Present Day]

Samuel woke up, as usual, he was getting ready to attend his classes, but a sudden phone call from Marilyn surprised him.

She and Abigail were freaking out about their accounts being suspended abruptly. Samuel had to calm them down through the phone before they explained the whole situation.

It was sudden without any warning, and the night traders were perplexed when it happened, so they contacted through the particular channel to find out.

It was radio silence from the other end; they only received the news that the company account was suspended due to suspicious activity.

Samuel remembered his father\'s word; it must have something to do with Quinn. There was no other explanation.

He asked Marilyn and Abigail to meet him at the Bank\'s Headquarters. He sighed because he would miss yet another class. Melanie would be furious when she learned about this.

An hour later, Samuel met with the others outside the HKSBC bank. Alastair also wanted to come, but Samuel suggested he prepare if the negotiations fell through. They had to come up with a plan to not halt their progress. Other problems would come up in future but not having access to your own funds would be disastrous.

" Let\'s go." Samuel led his group inside.

" It was fine till yesterday. I don\'t know why they did such a thing." Marilyn said.

" I wonder," Samuel said, but Abigail sensed that he knew the reason. She knew that being a Rothschild came with certain perks, and it was impossible for them to not know about such matters.

" You sure? I think you are hiding something." She asked.

" I promise, I don\'t know why it happened but I know who might be responsible for it."

" Is it related to me?"

Samuel stayed silent about it. He didn\'t want her to feel burdened. She might feel guilty about it.

" No point talking about it. Come, lets get some answers." He dodged the question.

Ryan was in his office, shifting through some documents, when his secretary informed him about Samuel\'s arrival.

" Sir, People from Achilles Investment are here. They are inquiring about their account. What should I tell them?"

" Why are you asking me? Do I have to answer to everyone that comes here? Tell them I am not here."

" Ok sir. Also that Abigail is also with them, you asked me to inform you if that person ever visited."

" I see. Ok, let them come up. I could entertain myself by getting that woman to beg once more."

The secretary received his orders and gave out instructions. Samuel, Abigail, and Marilyn boarded the elevator together with a few employees.

Ryan decided to call his buddies too. He wanted them to experience a good show. He smiled viciously, formulating the plan to embarrass Abigail again.

" She dares to visit this place again? I guess I was too lenient in the past!" Ryan thought as he waited for his guests.