The Love Of Money - Episode 118
28-07-25 (14:39)
"Why do you want to buy it?" Erin asked, following
Helen into the room.
"I don't know," I said. "I just like the idea of owning the
entire building I live in." I plopped down on the couch
along one wall. It was also more comfortable than any
piece of furniture I sat on before two weeks ago. I
guess only the ultra-wealthy deserved maximum
comfort. All the plebs could just get fucked.
"Why buy this plane?" I asked, looking up at the two
ladies. "Didn't Colin have one?"
"It's owned by VistaVision," Helen said. "I thought you
might prefer one without strings attached. You can
certainly afford the luxury without any of the baggage."
She had a point. The last thing I wanted was to have
board members or shareholders watching every move I
made or wanting receipts. I studied Helen for several
long moments, and she didn't shy away from meeting
my gaze. This seemed as good an opportunity as any.
"Speaking of baggage," I said, "Colin was supposedly
murdered, and I was nearly shot this morning in a
coffee house bathroom. Apparently, there's a coup
boiling at my grandfather's company-"
"Your company," Erin cut in.
Good
"My company," I repeated without taking my eyes off
Helen. "You mentioned VistaVision being the tip of the
iceberg. I doubt we'll get a more private place for you
to fill me in on some of the details you mentioned
yesterday."
"Really?" Helen said, arching an eyebrow. "Here? Now?
With all those people waiting just outside?"
"I'm paying them all really well." I looked at Erin. "I am
paying them all really well, right?"
"They're all eaming more than you would've made in a
month at your old job," Erin confirmed.
I looked back at Helen expectantly.
She sighed. "Alright."
She sighed. "Alright."
She sat down on the other end of the couch, knees
pressed firmly together as she smoothed her skirt over
her thighs. She was obviously trying to compose
herself.
"There's no way you can get to be as wealthy as Colin
without exercising some serious influence," Helen said.
"Colin controlled a lot of the power in the US through
bribes, lobbies, and backroom deals. Not just the US
either. He held a lot of sway in other countries as well.
He wasn't just a shrewd businessman. He was also
politically gifted."
"Okay," I said, waiting for more
"VistaVision was his first company to make it big, but
there was no way it would have made him the kind of
money he had near the end of his life. Sure, he made a
few lucky investments, getting in on the ground floor of
computers and the internet, but where' he made his
killing was brokering arms deals during the Cold War.
The details are boring, but by the time the Berlin wall
fell, your grandfather had amassed his first billion."
"He used his money and connections in the technology
sector to leverage contracts that turned VistaVision
from an entertainment industry to one of the biggest
entertainment conglomerates we have, expanding his
Influence into Europe and the Aslan market."
"Colin had a massive and intricate company structure
that kept everything compartmentalized and far away
from VistaVision and his public persona. As a result, the
Gerrards are known as an industry specializing in
entertainment and technology, but Colin Gerrard was
responsible for some of the biggest political moves in
the past forty years. Harry Whitehurst was his lapdog
and practically gave him access to the first Bush
administration. He and the Clintons vacationed together
frequently. He was on a first- name basis with Prince
Charles. The Iraq invasion? The Vice- President was in
Colin's pocket. Your grandfather owned twenty percent
of Haliburton."
"And you currently own twenty-eight percent," Erin
chimed in.
"Jesus," I said, hardly believing what I was hearing. "He
wasn't responsible for 9/11, was he?"
Helen shook her head.
"Now that Colin's dead," She continued, "no one is sure
what to do. Sure, the companies keep running, but
some of the shadier ones lack direction. Colin didn't
trust many people, so most of his staff only knew parts
of his operation. He was a big fan of making sure the
left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing.
I'm sure Chandler only has suspicions regarding some
of it but is mostly Ignorant. Only three people were
close enough to Colin to have anything close to the
entire picture."
"I'm gonna take a wild stab at this," I said. "Kelly
Maddox was one of them?"
Helen nodded. "She was a close advisor for years.
Roger once told
me that he suspected she was his mistress."
"What happened between them?" asked. "Why did
Colin fire her?"
"I don't know. Chandler certainly doesn't, but she has
friends in high places within your grandfather's
organization. The minute he died, people started hearing
whispers about her taking over as head of VistaVision."
"Okay, so if Kelly is so bad, what about the other two?"
"Well, one of them was Michael Haley," Helen said.
I glanced at Erin, but she simply returned a blank stare.
"Never heard of him," I said.
"He was Colin's son-in-law. Nina Gerrard's husband."
"Walt. I have an aunt?"
"An uncle, too," Helen said. "Logan. He was the third."
"And I'm just now hearing about them!?" Helen winced
from the heat in my tone, but I didn't care. She had
withheld a lot of Information, and I had every right to
be pissed. "Where are they in all this?"
"Michael's dead, and Logan is in prison."
"The fuck?"
"It gets worse," Helen said, hesitating briefly. "Logan is
in prison for the murders of Michael and Colin Jr."
"The fuck?" I repeated, standing up from the couch. "My
uncle murdered my dad?" Don't forget to leave a Comment 
