The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 55: Beyond All Expectations
Half a month ago, William had never anticipated any of what was happening at this moment. More precisely, he had never expected Michael, or any of the events connected to him, to enter his life at all.
William was not omniscient. He was just an ordinary man. His calculations and planning might stretch further than most people’s, but he could not stand at the starting line and see the finish. That was not a man. That was a god.
The chain of events triggered by Michael had disrupted William’s original plan. His intention had been simple: make a fortune and leave. He had never even considered registering a legitimate company. But to deal with people like Michael, he had been forced to establish one, making himself as untouchable as possible.
Although the plan had undergone a series of changes, mistakes sometimes led to unexpected opportunities. There was more than one road to the bank, and his current path was not bad at all.
Mr. Fox hesitated for a moment before asking, “Isn’t ten percent enough?”
He thought ten percent was already quite generous.
But it was nowhere near enough.
William shook his head.
“If all you wanted was coin exchange, then ten percent would be sufficient, because that’s what that business is worth. But if you’re taking money from me to operate your business, ten percent isn’t enough.”
Without giving Mr. Fox a chance to argue or ask questions, he continued immediately.
“This isn’t self-promotion. Right now, in all of Sabine City, I’m the only person who can raise a large amount of cash for you in a short period of time. I know how to get legitimate money, and you need money.”
Mr. Fox nodded noncommittally.
His head was starting to hurt.
Ever since recognizing William’s intelligence, he had begun feeling rather foolish.
Many people called him a cunning fox, but only when he stood beside William did he realize that cunning was not wisdom. It was merely cleverness.
He had no desire to dance around the subject with William because he knew he would be the one who ended up dizzy and confused. So he asked directly.
“How much do you want?”
“Ten percent of the principal, plus five percent of all profits. And I assume none of the other costs.”
Mr. Fox knew every word in that sentence. He knew how each one was spelled, what each one meant, and all their common variations.
But when they were put together, he felt completely lost.
He thought about it for a while. The only reason he spent that long thinking was to avoid letting William see how little he understood. Although William had likely known from the beginning that he wouldn’t fully grasp the proposal, Mr. Fox finally frowned and asked after half a minute:
“What does that mean?”
William’s expression immediately brightened.
He always had tremendous patience for customers, or more accurately, investors. No one displayed sincerity better than he did, and his smile was part of that sincerity.
“It’s simple, Mr. Fox.”
“Let’s say you lend Tom one thousand dollars. We’re only assuming here. It’s just an example.”
“He pledges collateral worth one thousand dollars. Then he defaults. Eventually, you recover both the principal and the interest. One thousand dollars in principal and another one thousand in interest.”
“In that deal, your principal was one thousand dollars and your return was two thousand dollars.”
Mr. Fox raised a hand.
“Sorry, I don’t understand. Shouldn’t my profit only be one thousand dollars?”
William showed no impatience whatsoever.
He explained patiently.
“The agreement I had you draft included a clause stating that once the borrower defaults, ownership of the collateral automatically transfers to you, while the loan and interest remain fully enforceable.”
“Do you understand now?”
“In reality, you receive one thousand dollars in interest and a piece of collateral worth another one thousand dollars.”
Seeing the look of sudden understanding on Mr. Fox’s face, William found the old man oddly endearing.
He continued.
“Ten percent of the one-thousand-dollar principal, plus five percent of the profit. Altogether, that’s two hundred dollars.”
In truth, this was a fairly primitive version of a guaranteed-return-plus-profit-sharing contract.
It was uncommon, but not rare.
Similar provisions appeared in certain speculative investment agreements, designed to maximize one party’s guaranteed benefit.
Mr. Fox spent quite a while working through the math before finally understanding.
His expression became a mixture of laughter and tears.
“We could just become partners. That would be much simpler.”
“I could give you twenty or even thirty percent of the shares. That’s a lot easier than all this complicated accounting.”
Perhaps that was a solution.
It just wasn’t one William liked.
At its core, Mr. Fox’s business, thanks to William’s assistance, no longer appeared to contain any obviously illegal elements.
But not illegal did not necessarily mean legal.
There was a gray zone between the two.
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