A Wall Street Genius’s Final Investment Playbook
Chapter 206

“We’re not actually hunting a fox. We’re just tracking its trail. Trained hounds follow the scent, and the participants divide into teams to follow them…”

According to Rachel, the event called “fox hunting” was more of a game than a real hunt. 

As I listened, I found it a bit fascinating. 

It was like a social game that re-enacted a medieval tradition. 

‘So this kind of thing existed?’ 

Though I had once prided myself on having experienced upper-class culture in my previous life, this was the first time I had heard of such a unique event. 

It must have been a tradition passed down secretly among the privileged for a long time. 

Anyway, the important thing was…

“So people from the Marquis family and the Trust managers will attend the hunt too.” 

It was a perfect opportunity to meet the key decision-makers all in one place. 

Then of course, I had to attend. 

However, there was a small obstacle. 

“To participate in the hunt, you must be invited by a village resident as a host, and you’re required to spend the night at their home.” 

“Can’t you invite me, Rachel?” 

“Well, the village estate is under my mother’s name… even I need her invitation and have to stay a night there to participate…” 

In the end, there was only one conclusion. 

To join the fox hunt, I had to be invited by Rachel’s mother, Judy. 

Well, that wouldn’t be too hard. 

When a son causes trouble, the mother always comes running. 

Anyway. 

The conversation with Rachel lasted until five in the morning. 

Realizing the time, she tried to wake up Gerrard to take him home, but I stopped her with a wave of my hand. 

“Gerrard would be better off staying here. Rachel, I’ll escort you home myself.” 

“Huh? Why is Gerrard…” 

“He has an important presentation coming up.” 

Gerrard had told me earlier. 

He needed to present a strategy for China to his uncles, and that meeting would decide whether he’d be granted full authority. 

‘If such a decision is being made there…’ 

There was only one answer. 

A family council. 

‘He said it would be in three days.’ 

One day had passed, so only two remained. 

Time was tight. 

If I wanted to prepare Gerrard in the direction I needed, I had to keep him close and train him intensively. 

Of course, I gave Rachel a slightly different reason. 

“He said he needed my help forming a China market strategy. But the preparation is still so lacking that even if we stay up all night, we might barely finish.” 

With that plausible excuse, Rachel nodded in understanding. 

“Alright, I’ll count on you.” 

***

The conversation with Rachel was extremely productive. 

Thanks to her explanation, the next steps became crystal clear. 

‘So I just need to make sure Gerrard causes a scene?’ 

At the family council two days from now. 

Gerrard had to create a major incident, and I would use that to prompt an invitation to the hunt from his mother. 

Of course, by “incident,” I didn’t mean a simple mistake. 

I meant an act of directly challenging the authority of his uncles. 

Gerrard had already raised his voice before them, saying “I’ll decide on my own,” but… 

‘That’s not enough.’ 

What I wanted was a far bolder and clearer act of defiance. 

Like publicly declaring war during the council in front of the family elders. 

To do that, first…

‘I need to undo the gaslighting.’ 

From what I could tell, Gerrard was trapped in a distorted reality created by his uncles. 

He had lost his confidence and was completely intimidated. 

If I wanted him to stand up against them proudly, I had to first break the chains of gaslighting that had bound him. 

‘Well, it’s not that hard.’ 

Just as I was organizing my thoughts, I heard a loud crash in the hallway. 

Soon after, Gerrard burst out looking disheveled. 

“Th-this place… I-I… what happened last night…” 

His face was filled with confusion and panic. 

Probably due to the alcohol, his memories were a bit hazy. 

But amid the fuzziness, one thing seemed to stand out. 

“What did I say to my uncles…” 

The moment he had rebelled against them. 

He hung his head for a while, silently blaming himself. 

I let out a thin sigh and gently patted his shoulder. 

“What’s done is done. Now what matters is deciding what to do next.” 

“But… this isn’t right. I-I… I’m not qualified…” 

Gerrard’s face was clouded with fear and despair. 

For someone who had lived his whole life as an obedient nephew, his first act of rebellion was an unfamiliar and overwhelming experience. 

Or maybe the fear of losing everything from that single act was crushing him. 

‘Actually, this is perfect.’ 

If there was ever a moment to free him, it was now. 

‘There’s only one way to fix gaslighting.’ 

To overwrite it with a new gaslighting. 

The principle was simple. 

Gaslighting’s core lies in worldview. 

Right now, Gerrard was trapped in the worldview his uncles had built, where he believed himself to be worthless. 

Therefore, breaking that framework and instilling a healthier worldview would solve the problem. 

I began to speak slowly, but firmly. 

“There’s no helping it. I told you before. There are only two types of people in the world — leaders and followers.” 

In the worldview of his uncles, people were divided strictly into two. 

Those with value and those without. 

Gerrard had always belonged to the latter and could only find worth through their approval. 

But the world I proposed was different. 

“It’s only natural that Gerrard clashed with his uncles. When two leaders meet, conflict is inevitable.” 

In my worldview, humans are divided into leaders and followers — and Gerrard was a leader. 

“A leader…?” 

Gerrard asked with a puzzled expression, but curiosity, not doubt, flickered in his eyes. 

He seemed a bit intrigued. 

‘Good, the earlier setup paid off.’ 

The times I teased him saying “you’re a follower” weren’t just jabs at his pride. 

They were meant to provoke his desire to lead and plant my worldview naturally. 

Thanks to that, Gerrard was now accepting my words with relatively little resistance. 

“Yes, that’s right. You’re a leader. So far, you’ve pretended to be a follower to avoid conflict with your uncles, but a leader can’t suppress their nature forever. That’s why you’ve been in pain, and why the clash happened in the end.” 

Like this, I redefined his rebellion in a completely new light. 

It wasn’t because he was unqualified, but because his innate qualities as a leader had surfaced. 

“It couldn’t be helped. Even if you held back yesterday, it would’ve happened sooner or later. Leaders can’t hide their true nature for long.” 

After firmly planting the idea that what happened wasn’t a mistake but fate, I continued. 

“What matters now is your next choice. Right now, you only have two options.” 

I paused briefly and began to explain, extending one finger at a time.

“One option is to apologize to your uncles, say it was a mistake, and resume pretending to be a follower. But in that case, you’ll be constantly suppressing your true nature. As I said, it’ll eventually erupt again. Because your true nature isn’t that of a follower. The other option is to accept your nature as a leader and claim your rightful place.”

“……”

“Think carefully about what you truly want.”

Gerrard seemed to fall into deep thought for a while.

Hesitation and anxiety flickered across his face in turn.

But finally, he lifted his head and opened his mouth.

“I’m sick of following.”

It was a declaration that he would become a leader.

Well, it was only natural.

Faced with the choice between leader and follower, who would willingly define themselves as the latter?

Especially when Gerrard was a contender for succession.

I nodded in satisfaction with a smile.

“Very good. So you’ve decided to become a leader. In truth, you were always a leader, but acknowledging it is something else entirely. This decision is your true first step.”

I reinforced his confidence once again, giving him even more certainty.

Now that the foundation was laid…

It was time to move on to the real business.

“If you’ve made up your mind, I’ll help you from here on out. The most important thing now is to secure as many voting rights as possible.”

“Voting rights?”

“Rachel told me about the family council. In order to become CEO, you need to win a kind of vote there.”

“Rachel… told you that much?”

Gerrard looked shaken again.

He seemed extremely uneasy about the information on the council system being leaked.

But I calmed him down, saying it was already done, and got back to the point.

“The key is to secure as many votes as possible in the family council. It’s essentially a political contest, a kind of election.”

“An election…”

But Gerrard still seemed hesitant.

It was as if the very word “election” had deflated him.

As if he couldn’t even imagine taking part in such a struggle.

“So, are you choosing to be a follower then?”

“No, but the election…”

This wasn’t just simple hesitation.

What Gerrard was experiencing was a collision of worldviews within himself.

He clearly longed to become a leader, but felt a deep, instinctive rejection at the idea of going against his uncles.

He had believed for so long that their recognition was proof of his worth, so rebelling against them felt fundamentally wrong.

That too was a result of prolonged gaslighting.

‘This has to be corrected as well.’

At this point, I had to help him reframe his negative thinking.

I also needed to reconstruct the burden of an election from a new perspective.

Well, that wasn’t very difficult either.

“If you dislike elections, there’s always the option of exposure.”

“Exposure?”

“Yes. For example, let’s say I expose a few scandals from Marquis. Then, instead of going through the vote, I could wait for the company’s value to plummet and seize the opportunity.”

“…”

If elections seemed burdensome, I just had to make the alternatives feel even heavier.

Gerrard’s face turned pale.

Because the person talking about exposure was none other than me.

That’s right — the one who had already taken down Theranos and Valeant.

If I were to target Marquis next?

Of course he wouldn’t want the company he was meant to inherit to end up like them.

“Th-there’s no scandal in Marquis!”

He hurriedly denied it, but I simply shrugged.

“Are you sure?”

“…”

“If you’re certain, then there’s no need to be so scared, is there?”

“… …”

Honestly, I didn’t have any solid info on scandals in Marquis either.

But the truth didn’t matter now.

The risk of calling a bluff from a known corporate predator like me was simply too high.

That’s the power of reputation.

“I don’t want anything like that…”

Of course he didn’t.

But the moment he said that, I immediately replied.

“Even if you don’t want it, it can’t be helped. I’ve already decided to support you, Gerrard.”

“……”

“No matter what happens, I will make you the CEO. By any means necessary.”

After all, a kingmaker never cares about the crown prince’s wishes.

What kingmaker ever raises a prince to the throne for the sake of his happiness?

They simply crown the one they need.

Whether the person wants it or not.

“If possible, I also prefer a peaceful route — that is, the election. Using exposure may help you win the position, but you’d be inheriting a broken organization. A sound company is much better. But if you truly dislike the election route…”

“…N-no! Peacefully… with an election! I like elections!”

Gerrard suddenly flailed his arms and shouted.

The election he had been so reluctant about just moments ago now seemed like the most reasonable option.

Now that Gerrard had accepted a new perception of elections…

It was time to move to the next stage.

“If you want to go with the election, then the family council in two days is key. I’ll teach you a guaranteed winning strategy — make sure you learn it in time.”

“A winning strategy? There’s such a thing?”

“Of course there is. It’s a little risky, though…”

Gerrard briefly tensed at the word “risky.”

“It’s alright. Even if you fail, there’s always the exposure option as a backup.”

At my next words, Gerrard’s expression twisted as if he’d bitten into something foul.

“If you dislike risky paths, you’re welcome to take the safe one. Honestly, the process may be a bit messy, but the exposure route is certainly faster and…”

“I’ll learn the strategy! Fast!”

And so, Gerrard made his decision.

He actually endured the intense training that followed quite well.

“You want me… to do that insane thing?”

Of course, he voiced complaints and displeasure here and there during training.

But it seemed he wanted to avoid the exposure route at all costs — he adapted quickly.

Then, two days later.

After thoroughly checking Gerrard’s condition, I gave him my evaluation.

“You’re ready.”

It was time for him to cause the first major incident of his life.