Chapter 517: Victory Banquet, Opening a New -

But the thought of spending 3 million on a down payment was truly overwhelming. After mulling it over, she decided to wait and reconsider buying a house only after she had earned far more than the total cost.

…

A little after 2:00 PM, Mark and his family, Jin Heon, and Arthur all left.

After dropping Arthur off in Manhattan, Don Quixote first swung by his Fortress City Apartments to pick up some documents. Then, he stood before a full-length mirror and carefully adjusted his appearance.

He first combed his hair into a dapper, slick side part, then pulled out a Kiton suit and changed into it.

After a moment’s thought, he also pulled out a pair of gold-rimmed, non-prescription glasses and put them on (see Chapter 1). Then, he got into his Maybach GLS 680 and stepped on the gas, heading for the JPMorgan Chase headquarters.

Familiar place, different status.

An hour later, he emerged from the headquarters looking thoroughly disgruntled, a gift bag in his hand.

‘It was so infuriating. He had been all set for a triumphant return to his old stomping grounds, completely prepared to show off.’

That’s right. With his savings now in the eight-figure range, he had met the requirements for JPMorgan Chase’s private banking division and joined the ranks of their ultra-high-net-worth clients.

He’d been hoping to run into some old colleagues so he could show off in front of them. He even had a script prepared in his head.

‘If they asked what he was doing here, he’d casually say, “Oh, just made a bit of money recently, so I came to open a private banking account and set up a trust for my daughter. The money’s been rolling in like crazy lately, made all this in just two years.”‘

His business was actually finished in just over half an hour, but he deliberately sat in the lobby for another 15 minutes. In the end, he didn’t run into a single old colleague.

But on second thought, it made sense. His colleagues who started with him would, at the very least, have their own private offices by now. Besides, job-hopping is completely normal on Wall Street.

He was here this time to set up a 4 million USD trust for Lily, with a 3% annualized return.

The annual income generated by this trust would be enough to cover all her expenses from now until she graduated from college. Furthermore, it was an irrevocable trust. This meant that if he were to go bankrupt again—not that he thought he would—creditors wouldn’t be able to touch the money, even if he was in debt.

As for the rest of the money, Don Quixote just let it sit quietly in his bank account. He didn’t buy any US stocks or funds, nor did he make any other investments.

He had already made the biggest investment of his life, an investment named Li Wei. All he needed to do now was give his all to helping that investment skyrocket.

After returning to his apartment in Fortress City, his phone rang.

He picked it up and was surprised to see it was Mark.

“Mr. Don Quixote,” came Mark’s voice, “are you finished with your business?”

“Just about,” Don Quixote said. “What’s up?”

“I was thinking, should we go see Julian today?”

Mark paused for a moment. “I heard he’s being transferred to prison in a little while, and I thought…”

“I guess I want some closure,” he chuckled. “Back then, he nearly made me his scapegoat. He’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison. Shouldn’t we go pay him a visit?”

Don Quixote paused, his gaze drifting out the window.

Outside, the setting sun was sinking into the Hudson River, blanketing the water in golden light. The New Jersey shoreline was a stark, black silhouette.

‘He suddenly felt very happy and content. All he wanted was to quietly watch the sunset alone for a while.’

“Forget it,” he said. “You go ahead. I’ll sit this one out.”

“I see…” Mark paused, then chuckled. “You’re right. What good would it do anyway? It’s all in the past.”

“Look out your window,” Don Quixote said suddenly, his gaze still on the sunset. “Isn’t the sunset beautiful?”

“It is,” Mark breathed after a few seconds. “It’s truly beautiful.”

He paused. “Mr. Don Quixote, are you trying to tell me that what happened with Julian is all in the past now, and we should be looking forward to a new day?”

“No,” Don Quixote said. “Look at that sunset. Doesn’t it look like the asset valuation report you’re supposed to be doing for ‘Horizon Holdings’?”

“…” Mark was silent for a moment. “You have a point. I’ll give the report to Arthur tomorrow.”

Don Quixote roared with laughter and hung up the phone.

「At the same time.」

In a visiting room at the Southern District of New York Federal Detention Center, Julian picked up the phone and looked at the woman who had come to visit him.