"What are the conditions?" Anne Hearst nodded in agreement with Wayne's statement before curiously asking.
"First, $500 million for 3% of the shares. Only dividend rights, no voting rights."
Before he could finish speaking, Amanda Hearst, who had been silent, couldn't help but exclaim, "Are you crazy?! $500 million for just 3% of the shares? Is your Hemera Studios valued higher than the Big Seven?!"
Unfortunately, neither Wayne nor Anne Hearst paid any attention to her outburst. Anne's smile remained unchanged.
"Sorry, my daughter was rude. Please continue."
"Second, you must use your influence to protect Hemera Studios whenever I need it. The key point is, if I believe you could help but fail to do so, I have the right to buy back the 3% shares for $500 million. In other words, I can reclaim my shares anytime, unconditionally."
A glint of surprise flashed in Anne Hearst's eyes, and she smiled, praising, "It seems Mr. Wayne has great confidence in himself and Hemera Studios."
"Of course," Wayne said, glancing at Amanda before continuing, "Third, I want her to be my lover, and I mean publicly."
This statement didn't enrage Anne Hearst. She merely paused for a moment before her smile returned.
Amanda, however, was initially stunned. Her eyes widened in anger, but when she took a closer look at Wayne's handsome face, tall frame, and noble aura, her anger quickly faded. Her expression became conflicted, changing rapidly.
"What do I get in return?" Anne Hearst asked after a moment of thought.
"Wealth, and within ten years, even if you leave the Hearst family, you will still have a status and influence equal to what you have now."
"Ten years?" For the first time, Anne Hearst looked surprised. Ten years wasn't a long time — it was rather short.
In today's world, developing Hemera Studios to the scale of the Hearst family within ten years seemed impossible to her. But looking into Wayne's confident, domineering eyes, and thinking about how Hemera Studios had gone from a near-bankrupt small company to a $300 million valuation in just six months, she began to believe it.
She had done her research. As long as Wayne's vision remained sharp, Hemera Studios wouldn't slow down. Instead, its growth would likely accelerate exponentially.
It was for this reason that she had sought Wayne out, eager to invest in Hemera Studios. She valued Wayne as a person more than just his company. After all, every legend is created by an equally legendary individual, just like her grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, who founded the Hearst empire.
After studying Wayne's journey over the past six months, she saw this potential in him.
"3% is too little," Anne Hearst thought quickly and said, "$800 million for 5% of the shares."
"Also, I want voting rights. Since you can buy back the shares at the original price, if you're truly confident, it shouldn't matter if I have voting rights, right?"
At this point, 5% voting rights didn't mean much, but as more shareholders joined, that voting power would become important.
"No problem, but once I initiate the buyback, your voting rights will be immediately voided," Wayne responded after some thought.
"Deal." Anne Hearst agreed without hesitation. Then she turned to look at her daughter, Amanda. "As for the last condition, since you want her as your woman, take her to your Wayne Manor. I guarantee she'll listen to you. If she doesn't, I'll cut off all her expenses and revoke her inheritance."
Amanda was left speechless.
Amanda Hearst was left dumbfounded before she even had time to react with joy.
Cutting off all expenses was one thing. It wasn't the first time her mother had done this when she was disobedient. Worst case, Amanda could always return to her family or crash at a friend's place for a while.
But canceling her inheritance rights? Wasn't that a bit too much? Wasn't she supposed to be Anne Hearst's only daughter? Was this still her real mother?
Wayne also looked surprised.
However, Anne Hearst wasn't done speaking.
"Also, you can take Lydia with you too. After tonight, both of them will be your women~"
At this, Lydia Hearst, who had been quietly observing, was now equally stunned.
She had just been minding her own business, and suddenly she got dragged into this?
Although Lydia was a direct member of the Hearst family, due to certain reasons, she had no real standing in the family. If it weren't for Anne Hearst protecting her, Lydia would've been long excluded. Therefore, she couldn't refuse Anne's orders.
Quick-witted as she was, Lydia immediately understood Anne's intention: she wanted her to use her intelligence to help Amanda, who was a bit headstrong and not the sharpest, secure a place by Wayne's side.
It was clear that Anne had her eyes on the position of Wayne's wife. This was also her insurance for the significant investment.
Anne's plan was sharp and well-thought-out, and she clearly had high hopes for Wayne.
On the other hand, though Wayne understood Anne's intentions, he didn't believe he could be swayed by any woman, so he readily agreed.
"Then I'll leave them in your care. A driver will bring their luggage to your estate later. Also, I'll arrange for Amanda and Lydia's academic transfers to USC."
Anne smiled and nodded at Wayne, Gill Tavor, and Mia, then gracefully walked away, leaving behind two stunned cousins.
"We've gained two more sisters?" Mia and the others exchanged bewildered looks.
But there wasn't much they could say. A $800 million investment for only 5% ownership? Even they thought this deal was insane.
By that calculation, Wayne's wealth was easily in the billions.
Plus, with the backing of the Hearst family, anyone in Wayne's position would agree without hesitation.
Their natural respect for wealth made it impossible for them to resent Anne or Amanda. If anything, they were grateful not to be looked down upon by such a prestigious family.
"Hello, Amanda. May I call you that? I'm Mia Hermela. I hope we can get along well in the future."
Mia took a deep breath and extended a friendly hand toward Amanda Hearst.
Amanda finally snapped out of her shock.
Despite her somewhat spoiled upbringing, Amanda was not as arrogant as many other heiresses, thanks to her mother's guidance. She quickly realized the situation and politely extended her hand in return.
"Hello, Mia."
Seeing this, Wayne simply smiled and took a sip of his champagne, while Lydia Hearst breathed a sigh of relief and joined their conversation.
Soon, another person approached Wayne.
"Hello, Mr. Wayne. I'm Ernie Lively, and this is my wife and daughter."
"Hello, Mr. Lively," Wayne replied politely.
Wayne had heard of Ernie Lively, an actor active in the '70s and '80s. At his peak, he was a B-list celebrity, but as he aged, he shifted to producing without much success.
However, his daughter, Blake Lively, had become a rising star in Hollywood due to her good looks and daring sense of style. At this point, though, Blake was only fourteen, so Wayne merely nodded politely and shifted his attention away.
Following Ernie's family, many other entertainment industry figures came to greet Wayne, including both established stars like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and rising or lesser-known talents such as Shailene Woodley and Evan Rachel Wood.
Even younger stars like Elizabeth Olsen and Emma Roberts came by with their families. Unlike Elizabeth, who was excited to meet Wayne, Emma Roberts pouted in displeasure, clearly upset that Wayne hadn't contacted her in a while.
But Wayne didn't care about a teenage girl's feelings, nor did her aunt, Julia Roberts.
After a brief chat, Julia led Emma away, leaving Emma looking both at her aunt and Wayne with tears threatening to spill.
But if Emma had known about the gift Wayne had prepared for Lily Collins, she might have cried for real.
"My gift?"
Lily held out her hand, her large eyes full of expectation as she looked at Wayne.
"Here it is. This is your gift." Wayne handed her a wrapped script.
"What is it? Can I open it now?" Lily asked curiously.
"Of course. It's a script I wrote just for you. You'll be auditioning for the lead role the day after tomorrow."
Lily paused, her face lighting up with joy.
"A script written just for me? And I'm the lead?! Oh my god! Thank you, Wayne! I love you!"
In her excitement, Lily gave Wayne a big hug, her tiny frame unable to reach his face, but clearly wanting to.
Even Jill Tavor, who had been watching, couldn't hide her surprise. The gift of a lead role in one of Wayne's scripts was far more valuable than she had expected.
After all, the last time Wayne had written a script with a young girl as the lead, Dakota Fanning had become an overnight sensation with *Genius Girl*.
With this script, Jill believed Lily was bound to shine, just like Dakota had.
"Thank you so much, Wayne!"
"Don't mention it. You've helped me a lot too, and I see a lot of potential in Lily. She's going to be a star."
Wayne smiled, patting Lily's head.
With a big smile, Lily clung to Wayne, eager to open her present and read the story.
But just as she began, Jill stopped her because it was time to cut the cake.
A massive cake, over a meter tall, was wheeled out, stunning everyone. But Lily, having grown up with grand celebrations, wasn't fazed.
After making her wish, blowing out the candles, and listening to everyone sing, Lily immediately ran back to Wayne to continue reading her script.
(End of chapter)