Chapter 406: Merchandise! Merchandise!

After parking her car, Nancy Josephson walked the neat flagstone path to the estate's Eye-Shaped Villa. As a regular, she was neither stopped nor greeted. She only saw the housekeeper, Emma, waiting for her once she stepped into the spacious living room.

"Duke and Tina are in the study."

The housekeeper led the way. Nancy nodded and followed her up the neat staircase to the third-floor study. Emma knocked, announced her arrival, and showed Nancy in before returning to the ground floor.

Inside, Duke sat with his hands steepled on the desk. Tina Fey was sorting through a stack of documents with a grave expression. Seeing Nancy, Tina pulled up a chair and sat beside her, facing Duke.

"What's going on?" Nancy asked, noting their grim expressions. "Why call me back in such a hurry?"

Recently, at Christophe Rocancourt's invitation, she had traveled to France and Belgium to scout locations on Duke's behalf and evaluate the feasibility of a European shoot. Their negotiations were in the final stages; they were certain to reach an agreement before Halloween.

"Sorry, Nancy." Duke picked up a teapot and poured her a cup of black tea. "There's a situation I think you need to be aware of."

Nancy frowned slightly. Thinking of her recent itinerary, she asked, "Is this about the project with Christophe Rocancourt?"

Duke nodded and gestured to his assistant. "Tina..."

Tina Fey handed the compiled documents to Nancy. "This is the investigative report on Christophe Rocancourt by the Eye of Hollywood, Anthony Pellicano."

Taking the file, Nancy opened it and read it carefully, line by line. She knew Duke had never entirely trusted Christophe Rocancourt, so a background check didn't surprise her. The report was extremely detailed, but after reading it, her doubts about Rocancourt hadn't grown; if anything, she found him more credible.

Anthony Pellicano was indeed impressive, but his reach was largely limited to Hollywood. The report only covered the man's activities from his arrival in the industry up to the present.

Knowing Duke's working style, Nancy read through the entire dossier.

Christophe Rocancourt came to Hollywood at twenty-four and broke into the circle through the makeup artist of the famous French actress Brigitte Bardot. For years, he had styled himself as a descendant of a European count. Producers, artists, bankers, and investors viewed him as a trusted friend, participating in his "project investments" in various ways.

He was also a classic playboy. Even before dating Jessica Alba, he lived a life of luxury, staying in top-tier hotels while female stars threw themselves at him. He was a prominent figure in Hollywood; a rumor had even circulated for a while that he was the unacknowledged grandson of Sophia Loren.

What impressed Nancy the most was his sheer ability to pick up women. The documents showed unusually close relationships with Demi Moore and several other female stars—he had even dated the daughter of the president of Gabon, a small African nation!

Judging solely by the report, Christophe Rocancourt's Hollywood career had been incredibly successful.

Nancy closed the file and looked at Duke, her confusion deepening.

Tina Fey spoke up. "Anthony Pellicano dug up his entire Hollywood background, but his title as the Eye of Hollywood is a bit unearned."

Their other investigator had uncovered far more. Tina handed over another stack of papers. "This is what a former FBI employee dug up using his network."

Before Nancy could flip through the pages, Tina continued, "He tracked down the makeup artist who introduced Christophe Rocancourt to Hollywood through immigration records in Northern Europe. When Rocancourt first met him, he wasn't a count or a producer. He merely claimed to be a European lightweight boxing champion..."

"His past investment projects are also problematic," Tina went on. "Christophe Rocancourt is indeed on good terms with many Hollywood celebrities. Over the past few years, they invested heavily into his projects and received corresponding returns, but every single one of those investments is rigged."

"He set up a pyramid structure, attracting people at the bottom to invest. He takes their money and returns a small fraction of it as 'profit.' They think they're getting massive returns and tell their friends..."

"A Ponzi scheme?" Nancy instantly caught her drift.

"More than that," Duke interjected. "He uses the scheme to win their trust and secure much larger investments. When he announces a major project, the people who already trust him pour in several times their original stakes, and then..."

"He uses financial maneuvers to disappear with the cash..." Tina finished.

Nancy still couldn't quite believe it. "But we checked. His passport, identity, and bank credit are perfectly clean."

"That's what makes Christophe Rocancourt so brilliant," Tina said, her expression hardening. "And it's why he pursued the daughter of the Gabonese president."

Not keeping Nancy in suspense, Tina stated directly, "That president's daughter, Lidabona Boge, spent a fortune and used her connections to falsify his identity and credentials. If you only look through legitimate channels, you'll never find a single red flag."

Nancy, being a sharp woman, quickly pieced it together. A bitter smile touched her lips. "He carefully targeted that president's daughter, didn't he? Once she went back to Africa, she couldn't possibly wield any influence in North America. Who here is going to travel to a small African nation for no reason?"

"Such meticulous planning..." By this point, she had to admire it. "It's a brilliant scheme."

A man who could operate in Hollywood for a decade without being exposed, all while mingling near the upper echelons of the industry—if Rocancourt hadn't tried to scam him, Duke would have happily called the man a legend.

Reality was sometimes stranger than the movies.

Combining the intel from former FBI agent Edward Newgate with his own interactions with Christophe Rocancourt, Duke easily concluded that the man was setting up one final, massive heist before skipping town. Although Duke was a financial novice, he knew that all Ponzi schemes eventually collapsed when the funding chain snapped. Christophe Rocancourt was clearly running out of time.

"Duke..." Nancy spoke up again. "What should we do?"

What should they do? If the guy hadn't targeted him directly, Duke wouldn't have bothered with him. The money lining the pockets of Hollywood stars would be squandered even if it wasn't conned out of them. He wasn't close enough to most celebrities to feel the need to play Mother Mary and warn them.

The problem was that Christophe Rocancourt had already dragged him into it.

"Do we terminate negotiations with Christophe Rocancourt," Nancy asked tentatively, "and report this to the Los Angeles County Police Department?"

"No..." Duke shook his head.

In truth, when he first reached out to Anthony Pellicano and Edward Newgate, he had already figured out exactly what to do if Christophe Rocancourt turned out to be a fraud.

"Tina, Nancy," Duke warned, "until the time is right, this stays strictly between the three of us. Once you step out of this study, act as if this conversation never happened."

Having been his assistant for years, Tina Fey could roughly guess what Duke was thinking. She simply nodded in silence.

Nancy didn't understand Duke's intentions at all. "Are we not cutting off contact with Christophe Rocancourt?"

"We are not," Duke said without hesitation. "Nancy, pretend today never happened and continue negotiating. Just make sure you don't sign any written agreements with him."

"Understood." Nancy would have to be stupid to sign a draft agreement with a con man.

"It's all on you this time," Duke joked. "Let's see that Oscar-winning acting."

Nancy rolled her eyes slightly, her curiosity piqued. "Duke, what exactly is your endgame?"

Duke didn't answer directly. Instead, he recited a string of figures from the report. "According to Anthony Pellicano, Christophe Rocancourt has already raised nearly 35 million dollars. Over thirty industry insiders have invested, including actors and directors. Many of them are retired old men who dumped their pensions into this..."

He knew Nancy would understand exactly which old men he was talking about.

"You want to draw more people in?" Nancy finally caught on.

"Exactly. I want more people to fall victim to Christophe Rocancourt..." Duke said seriously. "We strike at the perfect moment, and then all these highly influential industry figures will owe us a favor!"

This was indeed a profit-driven industry, but favors played within the rules were just as effective.

Duke never assumed he would simply inherit everything Peter Jackson had achieved as a matter of course. He was laying the groundwork for when his trilogy concluded.

Nancy thought about it for a moment. "Aren't you worried he'll skip town early?"

"Human greed is boundless." Duke pointed at his chest. "The heart always wants more."

The former FBI agent he'd hired was keeping a close eye on Christophe Rocancourt.

Duke continued, "Nancy, our success depends entirely on your acting skills."

Nancy smirked and joked, "When this is over, you owe me an Oscar Golden Statuette."