[Chapter 211: Lino's Expansion]
The next morning, Ian woke up and, as usual, checked the news. The anchor sat before the camera, struggling to hold back a smile while reporting, "Just yesterday, we received some interesting news. Clarice Laval might have been driven by extreme arousal or simply wanting to try something novel, embarking on a rare experience. Watch the segment from... But before that, you might want to make sure all the kids are out of the room, even though the footage is blurred, better safe than sorry."
Then came the big headline.
Ian and Britney curled under the covers, laughing uncontrollably at the news.
...
Soon, the phone rang. It was Scarlett.
Her voice carried a hint of anger: "Ian, look at what you've done! You're even reporting on this kind of news!"
Ian quickly pleaded, "Sorry, I can't control what happens in the world. How have you been lately, darling?"
"What else can I do? Busy filming. But I think about you every day. What about you, Ian? Do you miss me?"
Ian was about to respond when Britney leaned in and teased, "He only thinks of you when he's not busy with me."
Ian: "..."
On the other end, Scarlett was momentarily silent, then asked, "Who is this?"
Britney looked at Ian, who sighed helplessly, "Britney... Britney Spears."
"Fuck! Ian, you made me mad. I'm ignoring you... for at least three days."
Helpless, Ian whispered soothingly, "I really do miss you, baby. I'm waiting for you to come back."
He gently pinched Britney ass as payback for her mischief.
Scarlett sighed, "Oh God, I should've known you were like this, but I have no choice. Tell Spears I won't give up my place!"
With that, she angrily hung up.
...
Ian gave Britney a sharp look and grabbed her chin, "No more mischief."
Britney smiled, "This is the necessary way to bring more people in."
Ian: "..."
But she did have a point.
The phone rang again.
...
It was Kate.
Kate's tone was calm but serious, "You've set your sights back on Hollywood? The entire industry is in a panic!"
Ian chuckled, "They're not afraid enough yet!"
---
Ian Carr's focus was back on Hollywood!
As Kate had said, this quickly triggered widespread concern.
Wherever that bastard went, trouble followed.
He had been to South Korea, then came the World Cup scandal -- although the news was released by News Corporation, many believed Ian was behind it.
Hollywood was suddenly on edge; dirty secrets were being kept under wraps.
But it was useless.
Ian had already gained quite a lot. After all, nobody entered this business to be saints.
You can control the little brother for a time, but can you control it forever?
Ian kept exposing Hollywood's scandalous stories without crossing the line. Once one hot topic faded, he'd release a new one.
His channels were powerful -- any piece of news was jointly published by Fox News, CBS, Los Angeles News Network, and even the Gannett Group.
That meant any scoop could be turned into a major story.
Hollywood was shaking in their boots.
...
Days later, news came from Tom Jacobson -- Fox Entertainment Group was considering selling Blue Sky Studios and the rights to X-Men and Planet of the Apes.
Apparently, crafty Tom Jacobson had shifted some of 20th Century Fox's costs onto Blue Sky Studios, increasing their expenses and weakening their profits.
Now, selling Blue Sky was easier.
The worst enemy was always the insider.
The Los Angeles Times had its insider, Ezriel; Sony had Howard, who still worked for Ian -- any rights Ian fancied were sold to him cheaply.
Now Tom Jacobson was that insider.
Soon, all top executives in Hollywood's big studios would be Ian's insiders!
...
Ian met with Barry Meyer and Roger Ailes, and with some hypnosis, they agreed that 20th Century Fox would sell Blue Sky Studios (with the copyright to Ice Age, but excluding all subsequent profits generated by the film), and the X-Men and Planet of the Apes rights to Lockbridge Productions for $250 million.
In return, Carr Media Group would promote 20th Century Fox cheaply -- an obvious sham.
What counts as cheap? Advertising budgets were initially raised from one million to two million, then lowered to one and a half million.
Swapping empty promises for low prices was not unique anywhere.
In short, collusion between major shareholders and Fox's CEO caused 20th Century Fox's most valuable assets to be sold to Ian for a bargain $250 million.
...
But Ian wasn't satisfied.
What about Fox News?
That was the key!
So, next Ian used the same tactics to continue buying assets he favored from Fox News.
After all, his goal as shareholder was simple: marry the mother, buy the kid, then divorce!
With more dirt under his belt, soon even marrying the mother wouldn't be necessary.
...
Next was acquiring RCA. With support from Britney and Ian's hypnosis, he got it for the same $250 million.
Ian expected RCA to sell for around $400 million next year, riding Britney's comeback.
Investing $250 million to earn only $150 million in a year felt like a poor return to Ian.
At that moment, Ian still had $4.3 billion in cash, with $2 billion supposedly from Afghanistan as investment money -- but he just used it directly.
...
Soon after, Lino Bank announced that it was acquiring Palos Bank and Sun National Bank for $5.2 billion, with Ian investing $4 billion. Taking prior shares into account, he secured about 60% ownership.
Meanwhile, Gaskill bought out other shareholders with 32% ownership. All dividends went to Gaskill, who also covered the linked interest.
After the merger, Lino Bank's assets reached around $8 billion, managing over $100 billion in assets -- a sizable enterprise.
But it wasn't enough.
Ian wanted Lino Bank to become the ninth largest bank in America, which required even bigger scale -- the biggest banks had assets in the trillions, scary numbers.
Regional banks like Lino struggled because they relied on client deposits and were behind on Wall Street and financial products compared to the giants.
For example, Ian shorted the Italian lira through JPMorgan, not Lino.
To grow big, Lino needed to push onto Wall Street.
But that was Gaskill's problem.
Ian focused more on real industries -- America was heading toward deindustrialization, but precisely because of that, controlling the remaining industrial sectors made them more valuable.
For Ian, the mission was to help Gaskill grow Lino into one of the strongest banks in the US.
They couldn't do it alone; they had to rope in many shareholders.
So after completing the acquisition, they planned to bring in more investors and expand in finance.
...
Meanwhile, the true story behind the South Korean bar incident finally came out, courtesy of Ian.
Nobody expected what seemed like a World Cup gossip story to hide such deep drama.
There was a bar brawl, Britney performed impromptu on the street, and Ian Carr protected her.
The flying money and raging fights formed the backdrop for this perfect couple.
Produced by RCA, it became a wildly popular and unprecedented music video.
Public response was overwhelming.
"So during the World Cup, Britney was with Ian Carr!"
"Oh my god, Ian Carr is once again the protector of his lady!"
"Nonsense! Those bills had to be his. He orchestrated the bar fight."
"So what? The point is, it made us happy!"
"Ian Carr never disappoints!"
"The only mystery is why Ian waited so long to reveal the truth."
"That damn bastard never releases all his scoops at once!"
"He has an endless supply of dirt."
"Oh god, Ian Carr, how could you? I know you're with Britney! No, Britney is mine!"
People were lamenting, some cursing Ian as a love thief, others amazed by his journalistic power, and some confessing their love to Ian or Britney.
But no one could deny that the bar music video instantly revitalized Britney's career from its slump.
The great Britney Spears -- her voice could win battles!
What could be more worthy of praise?
Soon, Britney released a new song that once again dominated the US music charts, her momentum unstoppable.
*****
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