A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 122

The departure time of the flight to New York was 8 p.m.

After the field inspection wrapped up at 2 p.m., I was left with a considerable amount of free time.

"Let's use the remaining time as free time."

After bidding farewell to the field inspection team, I headed straight to the hotel lounge bar.

As expected of a five-star hotel, there were plenty of spacious seats, but I deliberately chose a bar table.

The narrow spacing between seats made it the perfect place to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

‘This should be enough.'

As I had predicted, Holmes would assign someone to watch me.

Out of consideration for their efforts, I decided to make things a little easier for them.

"Oh? Could it be… the, um, Shark Killer?"

The bartender recognized me immediately.

Well, by now, it was nothing surprising.

I had already confirmed multiple times that my recognition level in California was quite high.

Every time I dined with the field inspection team, there were always people approaching me to say hello.

This was the power of memes.

There were people who didn’t even recognize the governor of California or the mayor of San Francisco, yet they knew my face from viral clips.

Anyway.

After exchanging some light conversation, I placed my order.

"Please recommend a drink that’s good for health and, if possible, effective against hangovers."

"How about a non-alcoholic kale martini?"

"Sure, I'll give it a try."

About five minutes later, for the first time since my regression, I experienced regret.

In two lifetimes, I had never tasted anything this terrible.

It was like ground-up weeds and dirt mixed into yogurt…

But the bartender was looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.

"How is it? Actually, it's a drink I created myself."

"It tastes… very healthy."

"Really?"

"Yes, it’s quite refreshing."

The bartender seemed eager to continue the conversation, but I kept my answers short and took out my smartphone.

I wasn’t lying about feeling refreshed.

Just moments ago, I had felt drowsy, but now my sleepiness had completely disappeared.

However, the fatigue remained.

After last night’s gala, I had been stuck at the yacht club until 3 a.m.

I had only managed to sleep for two hours before heading straight to the field inspection.

It was inevitable that I’d be exhausted.

Still, even though it had been a grueling schedule, I had no regrets.

‘Since I managed to conduct a capital raise as well.'

Now, I had to focus on preparing for the fund launch in earnest.

The incorporation process had already begun.

According to the latest email I checked, the firm should be up and running in about three months.

In reality, just setting up a hedge fund as a legal entity doesn’t mean it can operate immediately.

Normally, it takes about nine months to a year to fully launch.

There are two main reasons for this lengthy timeline.

Capital raising and soft launching.

Capital raising is the process of securing funds from investors.

It involves meeting wealthy individuals and key investment firms one by one, explaining the investment strategy, and practically begging them to invest.

As of 2013, over 600 hedge funds were launched in the U.S. alone each year.

With so many new funds desperately trying to make a name for themselves, how could one stand out?

Naturally, by networking at social events like galas and various conferences, desperately striving to gain attention.

That’s not all.

One also has to go on a months-long roadshow, traveling to major cities to meet investors—often just to listen to their long-winded stories for an hour before being dismissed.

However, what usually takes about six months of grueling effort…

I was able to skip all at once.

All thanks to the reputation I gained from the Epicura incident.

Some might wonder, what’s so special about gaining fame just for making a famous white guy uncomfortable on TV?

But when that was linked with the whale fight at Goldman and my all-in investment, the effect was significant.

Most wealthy individuals had accounts with Goldman’s asset management team, so they could directly ask their advisors about me.

In that process, quite a few of them ended up hearing detailed stories about me.

At least, many of those who approached me at the yacht club last night were already aware of my algorithm.

‘The gala's impact shouldn’t be bad either.'

A Goldman analyst who boldly bid $10 million at an auction?

If that sparked curiosity, that curiosity would lead to inquiries at Goldman, which would then lead to explanations of my algorithm—creating a perfect cycle.

I was able to reduce taxes while also gaining marketing exposure.

If this kind of promotion continued, I could shorten the usual six-month capital-raising period to just one or two weeks.

‘Soft launching might not even be necessary…'

Soft launching refers to the phase where a fund operates with a small amount of investor capital to test the effectiveness of its strategy.

Even if investors commit funds during capital raising, most won’t transfer the money right away.

They usually wait to see if the strategy actually generates returns before investing, and this soft launch phase typically takes three to six months.

But my case was different.

I had already been generating returns with my strategy at Goldman for nearly a year, proving its effectiveness.

I had solved the two biggest challenges.

That meant the only thing left was…

‘The key issue will be securing personnel.'

I couldn’t run the fund alone.

I needed to recruit people I had worked well with in my previous life, as well as talented individuals I knew by reputation but hadn’t worked with directly.

I had already made a list.

Now, all that remained was to approach them and recruit them one by one… but that, too, required a strategy.

However, just as I was refining my plan—

"Have you been waiting long?"

A familiar voice called out.

When I looked up, I saw Jonathan.

It was the journalist from the Wall Street Times whom I had met before.

Jonathan took a seat and placed an order.

Just as his drink arrived, I noticed a white man taking a seat one chair away from me on my right.

There was a high probability that he was one of Holmes’s men, assigned to tail me.

It seemed he had moved closer to eavesdrop on our conversation.

Well then, it was time to put on a performance.

There was only one reason I was meeting a journalist here in California.

It was to provoke Holmes’s suspicions.

I needed to create the impression that Ha Si-heon was leaking important information to a journalist.

But I couldn’t actually leak any real information.

If I did, I would face enormous penalties for violating my NDA.

In other words, I had to stage a suspicious-looking meeting without any actual exchange of information.

“Well, about what you mentioned before… I think it’ll be difficult.”

I put on a troubled expression and turned down the journalist’s proposal.

Then, I continued having a meaningless conversation with Jonathan.

“The weather is hot.”

“But at least California isn’t as humid as New York, so the discomfort index is lower.”

“You mentioned you attended the gala yesterday, right?”

“Yes, I was there for the auction as well.”

Thus, we exaggerated certain words as if we were speaking in code, creating the illusion of a secretive exchange.

But in reality, it was just meaningless chatter.

‘The real conversation will happen later.'

In New York, where tailing would be more difficult, and in a private, discreet location.

This was just a show to make the detectives earn their paycheck.

A show designed to scratch at Holmes’s nerves.

After about fifteen minutes of this performance—

“Well then, I have another appointment, so I’ll take my leave.”

I wrapped things up smoothly, gave a polite nod, and stood up. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

My next destination was Café Karma.

It was a hangout spot for Theranos employees.

I intentionally chose a seat near the counter, a place where I would be easily noticed.

“Oh? Could it be… the Shark Killer…?”

As expected, there were people here who recognized me.

As I greeted those who approached, I noticed that quite a few of them were wearing Theranos employee badges.

I made sure to be especially warm and engaging with them.

The more Theranos employees interacted with Ha Si-heon, the more stressed Holmes would become.

Just then, a familiar face entered my field of vision.

“Oh? Emily? We meet again.”

“Ah, yes…”

Emily, who had been staring blankly at the menu, only noticed me belatedly and looked visibly flustered.

“I’m a bit busy, so I’ll be going now…”

She avoided my gaze, quickly ordered a bottled drink instead of coffee, and rushed out as if she were fleeing.

It looked like she had changed her order at the last moment.

She was likely trying to avoid being seen talking to me.

‘Has she already been marked?’

Emily had previously mentioned that once someone was marked in Theranos, they would suffer considerable harassment in various ways.

And now, I had just openly exchanged greetings with her in front of Holmes’s people.

It was inevitable that she would now be on their radar.

I had expected it, but I didn’t think things would escalate so quickly that she’d look that pale in just a single day.

‘Just what did they do to her?’

I didn’t know yet.

But the truth about the harassment Emily was facing would soon come to light.

‘I do feel a little bad, but…’

Emily would have been targeted even if I hadn’t gotten involved.

Besides, rather than letting her waste away working for a fraudulent company, developing fake diagnostics that would drain her body and mind, it was better to take these scammers down as soon as possible.

With that justification settled—

I glanced at my wristwatch and saw that my masterpiece was already pointing to six o’clock.

‘With this… have I accomplished everything I needed to on this trip?’

I had gained everything I needed.

It seemed I could finally drop the act.

On the way to the airport, I rejoined the field inspection team at the hotel.

Everyone’s faces were full of energy.

Lilliana, in particular, looked like an explorer who had just discovered a whole new world.

“Are all field inspections like this? I rarely get the chance to participate.”

Since Lilliana worked in HR, it was highly unusual for her to be part of an inspection like this.

“I always heard it was dreadful, but this was actually really fun.”

At her words, the other team members shook their heads in unison.

“Fun? It’s usually just an endless pile of paperwork.”

“An inspection this dynamic only happens maybe once a year.”

Normally, field inspections were conducted with thorough preparation.

It was a tedious process of combing through perfect-looking documents to find minor mistakes.

An interrogation-style inspection like this was a rare experience.

“This was the most rewarding inspection I’ve ever been on.”

“And this was the most chaotic company I’ve ever seen. Nothing was in proper order, so we had to push them hard. Usually, that never happens…”

“But wasn’t it fun? It felt like we were detectives, catching them in their lies with hard facts! That thrill was incredible.”

The overall evaluation was positive.

However, as everyone was taking turns boasting about their contributions, someone turned to me and asked,

“But… didn’t you say earlier that Holmes’s investment was almost confirmed? It’s such a mess… are you really going through with it?”

The investment had to proceed.

My ultimate goal was a legal battle.

To hold Theranos accountable on equal footing, I needed to position myself as a victim, not just an outsider.

“The client company is very determined.”

That wasn’t a lie.

The client company’s representative in this case was David.

And our figurehead CEO, David, would push through the investment exactly as I intended.

Hearing my response, a member of the legal team furrowed their brows and cautiously spoke up.

“I hesitate to say this, but… wouldn’t it be wise to persuade the client to postpone the investment? I can’t say for certain, but continuing to withhold information like this… it just seems…”

“Like fraud?”

Lilliana interjected sharply.

The legal team member hurriedly corrected themselves.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but… something feels off. They keep changing their story too often…”

Outsiders might be fooled by Holmes’s convincing words, but this field inspection team was different.

For the past three days, they had scrutinized all the evidence and observed Theranos’s responses firsthand.

And their behavior was more than suspicious.

The legal team member offered a serious warning.

“You should try to persuade the client. If this really is a fraudulent company, recovering from the losses will be incredibly difficult. Proving fraud itself is already hard enough…”

“But they were blatantly trying to deceive us, weren’t they?”

Lilliana argued, clearly frustrated.

“They exaggerated their claims, stalled when we demanded evidence, and in the end, presented something entirely different…”

But the legal team member remained firm.

“That alone isn’t enough to prove ‘intent to deceive.’ They can claim it was ‘incompetence,’ a ‘memory lapse,’ or simply ‘an error.’ To counter their excuses, we need to prove their intent—and that’s not easy. Our chances of winning are low.”

They were right.

Winning a fraud case was like reaching for the stars.

“Yes, I’ll try to persuade the client.”

That’s what I said, but of course, I had no intention of doing so.

What I was truly interested in was something else.

Since the legal team had reviewed all the documents firsthand, this was a good chance to hear an expert opinion.

“If we’re speaking hypothetically… based on everything you’ve seen so far, would there be enough grounds to sue Theranos for mismanagement?”

At my words, the legal team member’s expression shifted dramatically.

Their face, previously full of concern, now looked as if a lightbulb had gone off.

Yes, this was what I had been aiming for from the start.

A wise strategist never enters a war they are destined to lose.

It’s smarter to only fight battles you can win.

That’s why I had no intention of tackling the nearly impossible task of proving fraudulent intent.

Instead, it was better to use the excuses Holmes had freely provided.

A CEO who is incompetent and makes repeated mistakes?

To the shareholders, that alone is a crime.