Chapter 101 Old Williams' Brothers

Jimmy's bail hearing is in two days, and Bruce has been taken away by the IRS for three days now.

Mu Xin sat on the third floor of the Morris Building with three reports spread out in front of him.

One was the supplementary materials for the bail hearing prepared by Jessica, one was the financial status analysis of Williams Bank compiled by Victoria, and the third was the security assessment report that John had just delivered.

He first picked up John's report and flipped through it.

The Oxford Town Security Management Company had officially commenced operations, all six veterans were in place, and John had assigned specific duties to each of them.

The last page of the report included a table listing all the personnel requiring protection and their corresponding security measures.

Next to Mu Xin's name, it read "round-the-clock close protection," while next to the names of Jessica, Victoria, Tobias, Robert, Richard, and Jean-Luc, it read "risk assessment + emergency response."

Mu Xin picked up a pen and added a note next to Jessica's name: "During the hearing, assign two people to follow her."

Then he picked up Victoria's report; the financial condition of Williams Bank was even worse than he had expected.

After the news of Bruce being taken away by the IRS spread, over two hundred depositors had already gone to the bank to demand withdrawals.

Although the bank had not yet reached the point of a run, at this rate, it wouldn't last two weeks.

Victoria wrote at the end of the report: "The capital adequacy ratio of Williams Bank has fallen below the federal regulatory red line. If Old Williams does not inject capital, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) could intervene and take over at any time."

An FDIC takeover meant that Williams Bank would be liquidated, all assets would be auctioned off, and depositors' savings would be covered by federal insurance.

For the depositors, the loss would not be significant.

But for the Williams Family, it meant that their last asset capable of generating cash flow was finished.

The Water Plant was gone, the bank was about to collapse, Jimmy was in prison, Bruce was facing criminal charges, and Old Williams was guarding an empty manor all by himself.

"Cut the weeds and dig up the roots."

These four words surfaced in Mu Xin's mind, and then he picked up a marker and drew a line under the name of the Williams Family.

Tobias had completely turned to his side, as had Robert and Tom Carter.

The betrayal of these three people was equivalent to hollowing out all the foundations of the Williams Family in Oxford Town.

But there was one more person whom Mu Xin had not yet touched.

Old Williams' three younger brothers: Harold, Howard, and Henry.

Although these three did not participate in the core affairs of the family, they still held some scattered assets of the Williams Family around Oxford Town.

A few farms, a few commercial properties, and some scattered shares of Williams Bank.

These things did not add up to much money, but they represented a fact: the roots of the Williams Family had not yet been completely pulled out.

Mu Xin did not want to leave any hidden dangers.

"Jessica, how much do you know about Old Williams' three younger brothers: Harold, Howard, and Henry?"

Jessica thought for a moment and sat on the sofa. "Harold is the eldest brother, eighty-three years old this year. He lives on a farm on the east side of Oxford Town. His health is not good, and he basically never leaves the house."

"Howard is eighty-one, living in Cincinnati. It is said that his relationship with the family is quite distant, and he rarely returns to Oxford Town."

"Henry is seventy-nine, the youngest of the three brothers, and the only one still participating in family affairs."

"He holds fifteen percent of the shares in Williams Bank and also owns two commercial properties in Oxford Town."

"What is Henry's stance?"

"Neutral." Jessica's tone was very cautious. "He is not a confidant of Old Williams, but he is not an oppositionist either. He is a pragmatic person; he sides with whoever wins."

Mu Xin nodded; he liked that word.

Pragmatic people are the easiest to deal with, because they only look at interests, not emotions.

"Help me arrange a meeting with Henry Williams. Just tell him I want to talk to him about those two commercial properties he holds."

Jessica frowned. "You want to buy his properties?"

"Not buy." Mu Xin shook his head. "It's to make him sell them to me voluntarily."

Jessica was stunned for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Of those two commercial properties he holds, one is on the main street in the town center, rented to a pizza shop and a barbershop, with an annual rental income of about one hundred thousand dollars."

"The other one is at the east end of town and has been vacant because the location is too remote, and no one wants to rent it."

"The market value of these two properties is probably between eight hundred thousand and one million dollars."

"If I offer one point two million, do you think Henry would sell?"

Jessica thought for a moment. "He probably would. This price is twenty to thirty percent higher than the market price. For a seventy-nine-year-old man, taking this million-plus to retire is more worthwhile than holding onto two properties that are difficult to manage."

"But if he sells, what will Old Williams think of him?" Mu Xin chuckled.

"Old Williams will call him a traitor," Jessica said, "but Old Williams no longer has any ability to punish him."

Mu Xin smiled. "So, it's not about betraying the family; he is just finding a way out for himself after Old Williams falls."

"This is rationality, and it is also human nature."

Jessica looked at him and was silent for a few seconds.

"Mr. Mu, you are going to dig out the last bit of the Williams Family's foundation."

Mu Xin leaned back in his chair. "Cut the weeds and dig up the roots; Chinese people believe in this very much."

"It's not because I hate them, but because if I don't get rid of them, they will come back to find me one day."

"A family that has operated in Oxford Town for more than half a century—their roots are too deep."

"Even if Old Williams dies, and Jimmy and Bruce go to prison, as long as Harold, Howard, and Henry still have assets and influence in their hands, they could stand back up at some point."

"I will not give them that chance."

Jessica took a deep breath, then pulled a notebook out of her bag and quickly wrote a few lines.

"I will contact Henry this afternoon."

The next morning, Henry Williams appeared on the third floor of the Morris Building right on time.

He was much more energetic than Mu Xin had expected, looking like someone in his mid-sixties.

His hair was graying but still thick; he wore a dark gray jacket over a light blue shirt, and on his feet were a pair of polished brown leather shoes.

When he walked into the office, he scanned the room, then sat on the sofa opposite Mu Xin, crossed his legs, and looked very relaxed.

"Mr. Mu, I've heard much about you." Henry's voice was neither too high nor too low.

"Mr. Williams, thank you for coming." Mu Xin poured him a cup of coffee and pushed it in front of him.

Henry picked up the coffee, took a sip, and then looked at Mu Xin.

"Jessica said you wanted to talk about those two properties of mine."