Chapter 416: Look Into Him

Duke had originally planned to rent a luxury yacht and take his mother and their friends out to sea for a vacation. However, Mrs. Leah had been flying constantly for over half a year and just wanted some quiet time to rest. She had no desire to travel, so the vacation plans had to be canceled.

Duke wasn't too worried. Although Malibu was packed with wealthy residents, there were too many other targets across America worth crashing into. Even if those people had water in the brain, they wouldn't choose Malibu.

Even knowing the country was likely about to undergo a massive upheaval, Duke carried on as usual, keeping to his regular routine between work in Burbank and home in Malibu. He only took a casual look around when Ivanka Trump found a prospective company location she liked.

She also planned to base her future company in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Duke had no objections, and he could vaguely guess what was on Ivanka's mind. After all, his romantic history was a bit too colorful.

Although September 11 was right around the corner, Duke had no intention of dropping his current work.

Post-production for The Two Towers was still ongoing, and The Fellowship of the Ring's theatrical run in North America and around the rest of the world hadn't yet ended.

Starting in August, the North American box office for The Fellowship of the Ring dropped rapidly. Throughout the entire month, it pulled in just 16.2 million dollars in North American theaters. Although its cumulative North American box office had reached 456.25 million dollars, breaking the 500 million dollar mark was now essentially impossible.

Overseas, the film had already left theaters in some markets, but its international run was far from over. Compared to Titanic, the overseas box office proportion for The Fellowship of the Ring was noticeably smaller, nowhere near the big ship's nearly 1-to-2 ratio of domestic to international earnings.

Even so, The Fellowship of the Ring had already taken in over 636 million dollars from overseas markets. A final global box office breaking past 1.1 billion dollars was practically a foregone conclusion.

Matching its box office success, the film's merchandise continued to sell like crazy.

While the theatrical market cooled down, the merchandising market maintained a robust sales trend. The original soundtrack album in particular, which had only been released in July, had already accumulated over 4.8 million global sales. The cut going to The Lord of the Rings Studio alone reached a whopping 35 million dollars!

Even before negotiations for the heavy-hitting DVD, Videotape, and television broadcast rights had begun, merchandise sales for The Fellowship of the Ring had already broken the 600 million dollar mark!

According to projections by Warner Brothers and Wall Street, the merchandise sales for The Lord of the Rings series were bound to exceed 1 billion dollars before The Two Towers premiered.

Although merchandise profits had to be split with manufacturers, distributors, and marketers, it was still going to be a massive influx of cash for The Lord of the Rings Studio.

Of course, according to the agreement they had originally signed, 7.5 percent of all revenue belonged to Tolkien's descendants and the copyright trust.

This was a condition negotiated back when they first secured the rights. The Lord of the Rings trilogy wasn't some obscure piece of writing; even though it was hailed as the hardest work to adapt into a film, how could they possibly acquire the rights without paying a hefty price?

After three and a half months of screening, The Fellowship of the Ring's theatrical run was gradually nearing its end. Duke knew very well that the film wouldn't achieve much more in the theatrical market. If the event occurred just as it had in the past, every industry across America would suffer a massive shock.

As for giving some kind of advance warning or hint? His brain hadn't short-circuited; he knew exactly what he could meddle with and what he absolutely couldn't.

"Hey, honey, time to get up."

Duke was sleeping soundly when a familiar scent drifted to his nose. Without even opening his eyes, he knew Ivanka was poking his nose with her finger. He opened his eyes, sat up groggily, and grabbed his pajamas from the side. Draping them over his shoulders, he pinched the bridge of his nose hard. Feeling much more awake, he reached out and took Ivanka's hand.

"What time is it?" Duke asked, letting go of Ivanka. He stretched and looked out the window. "So early?"

"Almost six." Ivanka grabbed his arm and hauled him up. "Did you forget? You're coming with me to look at an office building in Venice at eight o'clock."

"That's today?" Duke jumped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. "I thought it was on Tuesday."

"Today is Tuesday." Ivanka followed Duke inside. Seeing him shaving, she grabbed his toothbrush, squeezed out some toothpaste for him, and added with slight dissatisfaction, "I reminded you last week."

"Sorry, I've just been too busy lately..." Duke gave her an apologetic look.

Over the past two days, aside from his own work, he had also gone to the Los Angeles County Police Department for a routine inquiry. Last night, he had attended a party hosted by Frank Pierson, reaping a massive pile of favors and only returning home near dawn.

After washing up, Duke returned to the bedroom. Ivanka had already laid out a formal business suit for him.

"Honey, I'm going to get lazy at this rate," Duke said, kissing her on the forehead.

He suddenly remembered that today was Tuesday, September 11. However, seeing the hands on the wall clock just hitting six, he didn't pay it much mind. He vaguely recalled that the event had happened mid-morning, so it should still be early.

Taking his time to get dressed, Duke watched Ivanka pack her bag.

"Let's head down," he reminded her.

Just as he finished speaking, someone suddenly pounded on the bedroom door. They knocked with immense force, as if something massive had happened.

"Duke!"

It was Scarlett Johansson's voice. Ivanka couldn't help but frown. She could feel that the girl was hostile toward her, always playing games to show off her importance and presence.

Of course, Scarlett was perfectly sweet in front of Duke, but she was far less innocent when dealing with anyone else.

An assistant recognized by Duke certainly had to be highly capable.

"Why is she knocking so early in the morning?" Ivanka remarked.

"It might be an emergency," Duke said.

Duke pretended not to hear the underlying meaning in Ivanka's words and walked over to open the door. Scarlett Johansson looked absolutely panicked. The moment she saw him, she grabbed his arm and started pulling him away.

"Hurry, Duke!" she said as she dragged him along. "Something big happened in New York! Godmother told me to come get you!"

"What could possibly be so big?" Ivanka asked, following right behind them.

But the moment Duke heard New York mentioned, he subconsciously quickened his pace. What major event could happen in New York today?

Scarlett was moving so fast she was practically running. Duke furrowed his brows. He had just checked the time; it was only six o'clock.

Thinking of the time, he suddenly cursed himself for being so swamped lately that his brain had fogged over. He was on Pacific Time, but New York was on Eastern Time!

"The World Trade Center Towers are on fire."

Turning onto the stairs, Scarlett ran and shouted, "Godmother said an airplane crashed into the Twin Towers!"

"What?" Ivanka voiced her disbelief. "How is that possible?"

But the impossible had happened.

Arriving at the downstairs living room, Duke and Ivanka didn't even need to ask what was going on. On the television screen, another airplane flew across the frame and slammed head-on into the South Tower of the Twin Towers. Roaring flames and thick smoke instantly billowed from the point of impact. From the news anchors to the people on the streets to the rescue workers, everyone on the broadcast was in a state of sheer panic.

"What exactly is happening?"

Scarlett Johansson wasn't the only one asking the question; Ivanka Trump was too.

"It might..." Mrs. Leah maintained enough composure to say, "It might be a terrorist attack."

With that said, she picked up her Mobile Phone and walked to the side to make a call. As if given a cue, Scarlett and Ivanka pulled out their own phones and started calling their friends and relatives in New York.

Duke also dialed a few numbers. Zack Snyder was in Sydney filming the final shots for the latter two installments of The Matrix, Sofia Coppola was in Tokyo scouting locations, Aerin Lauder was far away in Paris preparing for Fashion Week, and Leonardo DiCaprio was out picking up girls in the Mediterranean Sea...

Of all the friends he knew who hadn't died in his past life, few were currently in New York, and absolutely no one was down at the World Trade Center's Twin Towers.

"Dad and the others are all fine." Ivanka was the first to walk back, letting out a long sigh of relief as she looked at Duke.

After that, everything that was destined to happen happened. The Pentagon was hit, the Twin Towers collapsed one after another, American airspace was closed to all civilian flights, and Bush Jr. stepped forward to deliver a speech, confirming that it was a terrorist attack...

Without a doubt, this was the heaviest blow the American homeland had ever suffered. America's peaceful fairy tale of being completely insulated from the rest of the world was thoroughly shattered, and another societal shift was about to begin.

By evening, Tina Fey and Nancy Josephson, who had gone out to sea together, rushed over alongside Penny Kalis.

The event had already taken place. As a public figure, Duke would definitely have to release some statements soon, and those statements couldn't be made carelessly.

"My advice is not to make a move right now."

Penny Kalis had extensive public relations experience.

"Let's wait and see," she said. "Before the situation becomes perfectly clear, any public declaration would be a foolish move."

"I agree with Penny," Nancy Josephson chimed in.

Duke had already figured out his stance.

"We won't do anything for now. Our course of action has only one main directive: follow the mainstream voice and support the Federal Government."

No matter how many times the Washington Authorities were smeared in movies, the power wielded by the White House was undeniable. In a moment of crisis like this, going against the mainstream would make you a complete fool.

True, Fahrenheit 9/11 had once been incredibly popular and sparked plenty of debate, but it had never become the mainstream narrative. Just how badly that director had been suppressed in the end, and where he ultimately wound up, was something perhaps only God knew.

Even if Fahrenheit 9/11 was completely true, so what? Even if the Bush Jr. family was deeply tied to the Bin Laden Family, and the entire September 11 Attacks were a massive conspiracy, what did that have to do with Duke?

Even if all of Manhattan got blown up, he would only feel a twinge of sorrow for the Marvel Comics he had invested in.

Duke was very self-aware. He was just a director and a businessman. What did the truth behind the September 11 Attacks have to do with him?

Just like the vast majority of people in Hollywood, Duke was simply waiting—waiting for the right time and the right setting to deliver the right statement.