Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet

After William finished speaking, Daniel Davis could clearly sense that the inexplicable closeness William had shown him had disappeared. William bluntly said, "If you have something good to sell, just give me a call. It's late, and I need to rest. Antonov will take you back. Goodbye."

Without waiting for Daniel to figure out what had caused this change, William turned and headed to his bedroom, took a relaxing bath, and fell asleep next to Abigail.

The next morning, while having breakfast with his mother and Abigail, Antonov walked into the dining room carrying a box. Leaning down, he whispered to William, "Boss, Lawrence sent the dragon head, and he also passed along a message saying that the matter you discussed with him is progressing. The items should be ready in a few days."

"Hmm," William nodded. Just as he was about to speak, his earpiece buzzed with a report from Sunday, "Sir, White Ghost has sent back some information, along with a plan."

After listening to Sunday's report, William thought for a moment and turned to his mother, "Mom, do you feel like going shopping today?"

"You have time?" Lina looked up in surprise. "Don't you have all those secretive things to deal with?"

After a pause, Lina shook her head. "Actually, no. You should stay home. If we go out, we'll be followed by hordes of paparazzi, and that'll ruin any mood for shopping."

William felt a bit guilty hearing this. He had indeed been caught up in too many things recently and hadn't spent much time with Lina.

An idea suddenly came to mind. He remembered a perfect shopping destination: a luxury shopping street. "Heh, that's easy to solve," he said, then instructed Sunday, "Help me buy the Burlington Arcade. Tell the manager that I'm taking my mother shopping today, and I want them to close the stores."

"Understood, Sir," Sunday replied.

"God, are you crazy, or did I mishear you?" Lina was even more shocked than when William had given her Chelsea Football Club as a birthday gift. Buying an entire street just to go shopping?

William laughed. "You didn't mishear. It won't even cost that much—at most, 50 or 60 million pounds. Burlington Arcade is an old luxury shopping street, and its investment value is huge. With a trendy designer, we can preserve its arcade charm while adding some new elements. That would easily draw in a ton of tourists. Plus, it's easy to secure the area by blocking both ends of the arcade."

"But isn't it too ostentatious to buy an entire street just for a shopping trip? God," Lina covered her forehead, "By tonight, the news will be full of stories about us again, and more people will be criticizing us."

"Who cares? I'm spending my own money. If the media dares to slander us, I'll sue them until they go bankrupt," William said, then instructed Sunday, "Sunday, notify Anthony to keep an eye on the news these days. Pick out a few targets and sue them to bankruptcy."

"Understood, Sir. The message has been sent."

"Come on, boss, isn't that a bit too much?" Abigail, sitting next to William, was stunned. "Boss, doing this won't improve your relationship with the media; it'll only make things worse."

"Ha," William sneered. "Even if I tried to appease them, those vultures wouldn't hold back when they decide to attack. Unless I become their owner."

"Wait, Mom, what do you think about me buying a few of the major newspapers in London?"

"Not a good idea," Lina glared at him. "Those major newspapers are backed by powerful groups. Only a fool would sell to you. William, I don't want you getting involved in that mess. If you become a newspaper owner, politicians will be watching your every move."

After thinking it over, William realized she was right. "Okay, Mom, I'll listen to you."

Just then, William's phone rang. Anthony's voice came through, "Boss, the owners of Burlington Arcade are asking for 60 million pounds, and they want full payment in cash. That's 23% higher than market value, but if we negotiate, we could probably bring it down. What do you think?"

"Agree to it. Get the contract and ownership transfer finalized as quickly as possible. Also, notify the arcade that I'll be there with my mother at 9:30 AM for a shopping trip. They can open to the public after we leave."

"Understood, boss. I'll take care of it."

After hanging up, William instructed Sunday again, "Send the spider robots to monitor Burlington Arcade. Notify Barney and his team to scout the area, but tell them not to show themselves."

"Understood, Sir. The task is in progress. The entire arcade should be under surveillance within 30 minutes."

With everything arranged, William checked his watch and said to Lina and Abigail, "Mom, it's 8:11 AM. You have one hour to get ready."

"Ah!" Abigail exclaimed in surprise. "I'm going too?" She glanced at Lina and, seeing no objections, happily kissed William on the cheek before running upstairs to prepare.

Lina, watching Abigail dash out of the dining room, glared at William. "Aren't you worried that your New York girlfriend will find out?"

"Ambrosio already knows," William shrugged. "It's fine, Mom. I'll handle it."

"I hope so," Lina sighed, shaking her head. "Just don't create a scandal," she said, then headed upstairs to change and apply makeup.

Forty minutes later, the group set off in two armored cars, ignoring the paparazzi waiting outside the estate, and arrived at Burlington Arcade. As soon as they got out of the cars, they saw Anthony waiting for them with about a dozen of his men.

Anthony introduced the well-dressed man standing beside him. "Boss, this is Hart Stein, the general manager of Burlington Arcade."

After the introduction, Hart Stein quickly extended his hand. "Hello, Mr. Devonshire. I'm Hart Stein. It's an honor to serve you and Lady Lina today."

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Mr. Stein," William replied, shaking his hand. "Let's go. There are too many people outside. We should head in."

"Of course, sir. Please follow me."

Hart Stein gestured politely, leading William, his mother, Abigail, and the bodyguards into the arcade.

While William, Lina, and Abigail enjoyed a rare moment of leisurely shopping inside, the outside world was in an uproar.

English paparazzi, known for their relentlessness, soon got word from acquaintances inside the arcade that the entire street had been closed for William's private shopping trip with his mother.

Not only that, but the two three-story buildings flanking the arcade had also been closed to the public until William and his mother finished.

Within another ten or twenty minutes, news spread that Burlington Arcade had been sold. Word from insiders indicated that the whole deal had been finalized in less than ten minutes, though the exact price and buyer were not yet confirmed.

However, with William and his mother present, it didn't take much to guess that William had bought the arcade.

This sent the paparazzi into a frenzy, and within twenty minutes, several TV stations had dispatched reporters and news vans to Burlington Arcade.

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