111-115

Chapter 111: An Unadorned Business War

“I can’t do anything about it,” Jerry Yang said. “David’s already made deals with Sequoia Capital and the Morgan people. I can’t stop them, Mr. Aries. You know I’m ethnically Chinese. Sometimes, I’m just the mascot.”

Jerry Yang reacted quickly, observing the attitudes of the police outside and the fact that the fat man in front of him could still sit here so calmly even after the police had been called.

Jerry Yang decided to betray David Filo.

After all, it was David who initially proposed the idea. Most of the coordination and communication was handled by David, too. He, Jerry, had simply not opposed it—or rather...

Fine, he had agreed with it.

Without his agreement, David Filo wouldn’t have been able to push everything forward. But under the circumstances, Jerry knew what he needed to do to protect himself.

Wendy, impatient, cut in. “Jerry, the thing about dealing with important people is that excuses like these fall apart quickly. We already know how you feel, and honestly, it doesn’t matter.”

The fat man exhaled and stared at Jerry. “Now, we need you to step forward tomorrow. Can you do it?”

Jerry hesitated, responding dryly, “I’m afraid it’ll be difficult, Mr. Aries. What I say doesn’t carry much weight. David’s already in contact with Morgan Stanley, and Sequoia Capital is on board. But I can support Blackburn’s people joining the board.”

Wendy smirked inwardly. These people had no idea who they were dealing with. Sure, Morgan Stanley was formidable. Even her boss couldn’t directly take on the entire Morgan machine, not even with the combined influence of the Blackburn family, a portion of the Boston Consortium, and a sliver of California or Texas backing.

But Morgan Stanley was just one piece in a much larger Morgan empire, divided into numerous divisions: venture capital, IPOs, stock research, regional offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco... The effort Morgan Stanley would exert in this Yahoo matter wouldn’t even compare to half a finger’s worth of their influence.

On the other hand, her boss could tap into the full force of the Blackburn family, portions of the Boston Consortium, and even slivers of other powerhouses.

And yet these two Yahoo founders thought they could lean on Morgan and some wordplay to skate through? They were gravely mistaken.

Wendy hadn’t expected them to blatantly breach their agreement and steal her boss’s ideas. Then again, with Morgan’s support, they must have felt emboldened.

Wendy stared coldly at Jerry. “So, Jerry, you’re saying no? Do you understand that Mr. Blackburn is Edward Rockefeller’s son-in-law? Surely, you know what the Rockefeller name represents.”

Jerry gritted his teeth, refusing to yield. He knew that agreeing would only make things worse for him tomorrow—not just dealing with Blackburn but also facing David Filo and Morgan’s wrath. He could even be ousted from Yahoo, losing the company he’d built with his own hands.

Resolving to evade responsibility without overt defiance, Jerry forced a weak, helpless expression. “I’m sorry, Mr. Aries. I truly want to help, but my voice doesn’t hold any weight...”

“Alright, then.” The fat man abruptly stood, startling Jerry. “I understand your position. I’ll be leaving now, as Mr. Blackburn wants to be the first to hear this bad news.”

Jerry scrambled up in a panic. “No, that’s not what I meant! I didn’t—”

But the fat man ignored him, his round face icy, brushing past Jerry’s attempts to stop him.

Outside the living room, Jerry saw the police still lingering. When Aries emerged, they warmly greeted him.

“Hey, Mr. Aries! Good afternoon. To be honest, we were startled at first, but it’s great to see it’s you!”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Aries. I’m Hagan.”

“And I’m Walsh.”

Jerry watched the fat man banter with the police before leaving. As they drove away, his girlfriend, Akiko Yamazaki, approached him, concerned. “What happened, dear?”

“Ah…” Jerry masked his dark expression with a sigh, looking at her, unsure how to explain.

---

The next morning.

*San Francisco Airport.*

Milo and his team exited the business terminal into the airport lobby, where Wendy and the accompanying convoy were already waiting.

Wendy hurried to greet her boss, having reported the results of her negotiation with Jerry Yang the day before. Milo wasn’t surprised. The situation was straightforward.

If Jerry had agreed, his shareholdings would shrink significantly. When Yahoo went public, Jerry could lose millions, even tens or hundreds of millions.

Moreover, betraying Morgan Stanley and David Filo could provoke Morgan’s vengeance. Against a name as mighty as Morgan, Blackburn seemed far less threatening.

The choice was obvious.

“Proceed as planned,” Milo instructed Wendy before stepping into the car.

Wendy nodded, then overheard him tell the driver, David, “First to Nob Hill. My cousin is taking me to meet my granduncle. We’ll head to Yahoo in Santa Clara this afternoon.”

The convoy adjusted its formation as it headed toward the highway.

Inside the car, Milo unscrewed a bottle of water, took a few gulps, and asked Kenny, “Who’s handling the task? Chinese or Black?”

“Chinese.”

“Oh? They’re that bold now?” Milo raised an eyebrow.

“In San Francisco, yes. Their community is strong here,” Kenny explained.

“Alright, then.” Milo closed his eyes for a brief rest.

---

*Later, in Santa Clara.*

By early afternoon, Milo arrived at Yahoo’s headquarters, a modest five-story building. Employees milling around watched as Milo and his team disembarked.

The appearance of the renowned Milo Blackburn, known across America as a genius writer, director, and financier, sparked chatter among Yahoo staff.

“Wow, Blackburn’s here!”

“Honestly, he should be part of our company. His ideas have been transformative for Yahoo!”

Inside, unaware of the tensions brewing, many employees clapped, welcoming Milo like a hero.

In the boardroom upstairs, however, tension was palpable. Sequoia Capital, Morgan Stanley, and other major players were already seated, waiting impatiently for Jerry Yang and David Filo.

“They’re still not here?” grumbled Morgan’s representative, Asumoor.

A subordinate whispered back, “Jerry Yang is downstairs, talking to Milo Blackburn. No sign of David Filo, though.”

“Forget it. We may not see David again... or perhaps only in a hospital,” Asumoor muttered darkly.

---

Downstairs, Jerry Yang, nervously escorting Milo, forced a smile as the two ascended the stairs. But his mind lingered on the chilling discovery he’d made that morning...

*Chapter 112: Everyone Wants More*

The meeting today was about Yahoo's Series B financing.

Yahoo was founded two years ago, and its seed funding round was $5 million from Sequoia Capital.

The Series A was led by Milos last year.

Now, it's the third round of financing, or the Series B round.

If they wish, there could still be Series C, D, E, F, and G.

Of course, these names—A, B, C, D, E—are just conventions.

Alternatively, you could call them the first round, second round, third round...

Morgan Stanley wanted to lead the third round.

If it were entirely up to David Filo, the Series B would have only involved Morgan Stanley.

But before the meeting started, Milos brought in Wells Fargo and Boston First National Bank.

And so, today’s meeting happened.

“…As of yesterday, Yahoo had an average of 5.88 million daily active users over seven days and 31.5 million daily clicks—far exceeding AOL and MSN’s numbers. Its daily active users are even more than the combined totals of both platforms…”

After the opening remarks, many in the meeting room began quietly observing each other.

Milos calmly sipped his soda, and Hector, sitting next to him, joined in.

Their cousin Edward declined the chilled soda Milos offered.

“This is Yahoo’s report card,” announced the speaker.

Jerry Yang didn’t want to present, and David Filo hadn’t arrived yet.

The meeting was hosted by a Yahoo co-founder who worked alongside Jerry and David.

With some reluctance, the Yahoo veteran asked the administrative staff to distribute materials and documents.

“Everything is detailed in the materials. Please have a look.”

As the lead investor for this round, Assoumour also received a copy.

But most investors barely glanced at the materials since they had already reviewed them in advance.

Assoumour looked across the table.

Milos, the soda-drinking leader of the group, gave the Morgan Stanley San Francisco Division’s Head of Equity Research a distinctly uncomfortable feeling.

Since orchestrating Netscape's successful IPO last year, Assoumour had been riding high in Silicon Valley.

The Wall Street Journal called him “the pioneer of the internet wave.”

The New York Times referred to him as “the number one engine of Silicon Valley.”

San Francisco’s local Chronicle went further, claiming Assoumour heralded a new era for Silicon Valley.

That wasn’t entirely wrong, as without Assoumour's strong push, Netscape might not have gone public even this year.

It’s worth noting that before approaching Morgan Stanley, Netscape had sought out many Wall Street firms.

But since the internet was still a new concept, none of those firms accepted Netscape’s IPO application.

Finally, with help from AOL, Netscape approached Morgan Stanley.

With Assoumour’s dedicated efforts, the IPO succeeded, setting a new stock market record.

Because of this, Assoumour and the Morgan Stanley team became the darlings of Silicon Valley startups and investors.

After Yahoo's opening remarks, it was Morgan Stanley's turn.

Assoumour waved his hand, signaling his assistant to speak.

The assistant talked about past experiences, case studies, and painted a rosy picture of internet companies post-IPO.

It was all about endorsing Morgan Stanley’s stake, emphasizing their proven expertise as the first to lead an internet company to IPO.

Then it was Milos’ team’s turn, with his chief advisor Shabbatai taking the stage.

Before speaking, Shabbatai glanced at his boss.

Milos, having set aside his soda, appeared deeply focused, scribbling in his notebook.

He looked confident; everything seemed under control.

Little did Shabbatai know, his boss was sketching a nude woman...

Milos, lacking artistic talent, drew an abstract figure.

Hector peeked and shook his head, adding a bikini and a few hearts to the drawing.

Hector’s artistic skills weren’t much better; the bikini looked like two large bags, and the hearts were oddly shaped.

Their indifferent expressions caught Edward's attention. Curious, Edward leaned over to look.

After seeing the drawing, Edward, the Wilson family heir, burst out laughing.

He grabbed the notebook and pen from Hector, adding a few strokes, background, and curves.

Magically, the once-abstract drawing became vivid and surprisingly decent.

Milos and Hector both gave Edward a thumbs-up.

This strange interaction piqued the curiosity of everyone else in the room.

Surely, they must be discussing the financing meeting.

That must be it.

Assoumour, watching this, twitched with irritation, wishing he could snatch the paper to uncover their “plot.”

“…Yahoo currently has no competitors and dominates its field. It has even ventured into new areas, such as search functionality…”

Shabbatai’s opening remarks acknowledged Yahoo’s strong market position, which was its most compelling narrative for investors.

Yahoo’s unmatched lead made its story far more appealing than even Netscape’s.

“…However, Yahoo achieved all this by breaching its agreement with Mr. Blackburn. Without Mr. Blackburn’s creative proposals, Yahoo would be at the same level as AOL and MSN.”

“So, on behalf of my boss, Mr. Blackburn, I am officially warning Yahoo: we will file a lawsuit tomorrow against Yahoo for intellectual property theft and violation of California and U.S. creative rights laws.”

The room, silent moments before, erupted into chaos. The expressions of several Yahoo executives changed dramatically.

Unlike uninformed lower-level employees, they were well aware of this issue, just like David Filo and Jerry Yang.

Dark expressions weren’t limited to Yahoo’s executives.

Sequoia Capital also had a stake in this.

If Milos went through with this, Yahoo’s $1 billion valuation would take a significant hit.

In today’s race against time, if Yahoo became embroiled in a lawsuit, it might give AOL and MSN the opportunity to catch up.

Yahoo could potentially fall into ruin.

Even Morgan Stanley wouldn’t want this. After all, Yahoo told the best story in Silicon Valley right now.

No other company could match its narrative.

Using Yahoo as the centerpiece could guarantee billions in returns.

If Milos did this, he would hurt not just Yahoo but also his own stake, losing hundreds of millions.

Everyone assumed that this shared interest would prevent him from taking such actions.

Chapter 113: The Heartwarming Reason Behind It All

It was already evening.

In downtown San Francisco, within the Financial District...

San Francisco's central business district (CBD) doesn't resemble the skyscraper-packed urban jungles of Los Angeles or New York.

Due to its relatively smaller scale, San Francisco's CBD features narrower streets and gentle slopes. This gives its skyline, particularly from vantage points like the Golden Gate Bridge, an impressive and unique character.

Morgan Stanley's largest West Coast branch is located here—its San Francisco office.

---

"F***, David Filo is dead?"

Inside the office, Moe Asumoul shot up from his chair the moment his secretary broke the news.

"Yes. Cause of death: heart attack. He was driving to Yahoo’s headquarters when he suddenly experienced chest pain, which caused him to crash his car."

"The crash wasn’t fatal, though—it was relatively minor. The autopsy confirms he died of the heart attack itself," the secretary explained, handing Asumoul a copy of the autopsy report.

Asumoul took the paper, glanced over it briefly, and set it down.

He wasn’t buying it. A man like David Filo, not even 30 years old and without prior health issues, dying of a heart attack? It was just too convenient.

Yesterday, Filo was fine. The day before, he was fine. He’d always been fine.

But today? On such a pivotal day? A sudden heart attack, sending him off to meet his maker?

---

“I remember…” Asumoul muttered, his tone low.

He continued after a brief pause, “Milo Blackburn is the grandson of a former president, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” the secretary confirmed with a nod.

“And Herbert George W. Bush served as the CIA director?”

“Correct. He’s the only person to ever head the CIA and then move into the White House.”

---

A cold chuckle escaped Asumoul’s lips.

Everyone knows that the CIA doesn’t have law enforcement powers within U.S. borders.

But equally well-known is this:

The CIA’s specialty isn’t intelligence gathering—it’s assassination.

And they don’t like to go in guns blazing; subtlety is their hallmark.

Their preferred methods? Manipulating double agents or...

Leveraging their close ties with the finest chemical labs in the U.S.—like Los Alamos National Lab and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Plenty of America’s adversaries have mysteriously succumbed to sudden illnesses, just when it was most “convenient” for the U.S.

A heart attack, for instance.

---

“BOSS, do you think David Filo was assassinated? By…”

“Shut up!” Asumoul roared.

The secretary clamped his mouth shut immediately, and the room plunged into silence.

Asumoul fell into deep thought.

Earlier, when Filo failed to show up or respond to calls, and with Jerry Yang’s sudden shift in demeanor, Asumoul had already been suspicious.

But with everything in motion, he couldn’t afford to stop the meeting.

Once it concluded disastrously, Asumoul returned to his office and immediately ordered his secretary to investigate Filo’s whereabouts.

The result?

Filo was dead, and the cause of death was a mid-drive heart attack.

Did Asumoul believe it? Of course not.

Not that his belief mattered.

What did matter was this: with Filo gone, and Jerry Yang reduced to Milo Blackburn’s pawn, Morgan Stanley’s hopes of securing a major stake in Yahoo were now slim to none.

---

“Holy sh**!”

Asumoul cursed under his breath.

He couldn’t help but admire the ruthlessness of these people.

As an executive at Morgan Stanley, Asumoul was aware of Milo’s background.

The Blackburns were a venerable political dynasty rooted in Massachusetts, with ties to the Boston financial elite.

For them, eliminating an obstacle was as simple as snapping their fingers.

Now, Asumoul found himself in the same position as the scrappy startup founders he used to crush.

Only this time, he was the one being crushed.

---

Back then, when Asumoul faced stubborn entrepreneurs, he had a full arsenal of tactics.

Beyond overt financial strategies, his underhanded methods included honey traps and entrapment schemes—just ask “East Brother” Dong.

Before Dong’s scandal, Wall Street banks with significant holdings of JD.com shares had all received short-selling requests.

Within days, Dong was caught in a compromising situation with a college student in a hotel room—his clothes still on the floor.

Shortly after, JD.com’s stock tanked, losing half its market value in record time.

Wall Street’s capabilities go far beyond money games.

Their ceiling? World wars.

Their floor? There isn’t one.

---

But now, Asumoul was on the receiving end of such tactics.

And unlike his adversaries, he couldn’t strike back.

As a senior partner at Morgan Stanley, he had limits.

Milo, however, was heir to a political dynasty.

If Asumoul died mysteriously, his bosses might not even bat an eye—replacements were a dime a dozen.

But if he managed to kill Milo instead?

Assuming he could...

His bosses’ first reaction would likely be to eliminate Asumoul to appease the Blackburns.

The power imbalance was suffocating, and Asumoul saw no way out.

---

A knock on the door broke his thoughts.

“Who is it?” the secretary called.

“It’s Charles Mason from the analytics team. We have something Mr. Asumoul should see,” came the reply.

With a wave, Asumoul motioned for the secretary to let him in.

Charles Mason entered, nodded at the secretary, and turned to Asumoul.

“Sir, we just received news from Louisiana. The Filo family—living near Lake Charles—was tragically killed in an accident this evening.”

“What? The Filo family? David Filo’s family?” Asumoul asked, stunned.

“Yes,” Mason confirmed, then elaborated:

“The Filo family originally lived in Wisconsin but moved to Louisiana when David was six. His parents ran a farm there with two of his siblings—one had passed away young.

"This afternoon, at around 5 PM Central Time, a fire broke out in their farm’s hay storage facility. The entire family was inside at the time and perished in the blaze.”

---

David Filo had died at noon.

By evening, his entire family was dead too—burned alive in a fire.

What were the odds of that?

---

Across town, in a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco, Milo Blackburn dined with Hector and Edward.

Watching a news report about a fire in Paradise, California, Milo commented with a smile, “California is wonderful—both LA and San Francisco. But these wildfires… sometimes this state feels a bit dangerous!”

Edward, a local, shrugged nonchalantly. “No danger here. Fires never touch us.”

Milo laughed and sipped his wine.

The rest of the meal was spent discussing Yahoo’s future.

Milo planned to invest an additional $200 million, solidifying his influence.

The message to Wall Street’s power players was clear: If you challenge me, I will escalate—and I play to win.  

And compared to the legendary figures of America’s Gilded Age, Milo mused, he was practically a saint.

*Chapter 114: The Trio of Besties*

[…] "With an average of over six million daily visitors and 42.5 million daily clicks over the past week, this internet company, founded just a few years ago, now has more users than WebCrawler, Lycos, Worm, Infoseek, AOL, and MSN combined."

[…] "As early as the first half of last year, its network had already become the most visited site in the world. This company is called Yahoo."

[…] "Milo Blackburn vividly recalls his visit to the Yahoo office last year. 'It was chaos, to say the least. Pizza boxes were strewn everywhere, golf clubs carelessly left in corners, phones tossed on the floor. There wasn’t even a single chair in the room. The place was so dimly lit that you couldn’t tell day from night.'"

"Yet, Milo wasn’t deterred. He invested $5 million into Yahoo. Yesterday, the company completed its third round of financing, achieving a valuation of $1 billion. Morgan Stanley led the round, with Wells Fargo and Boston First National Bank following suit, raising a total of $350 million."

"Milo's original $5 million investment has now grown to $500 million."

"$5 million turned into $500 million in less than a year."

"Just like how a few months ago, Milo managed to earn $1.8 billion on Wall Street in just over a month."

"Milo Blackburn — once just a celebrated writer and budding director — is now synonymous with brilliance, an ace director, producer, financial genius, and super-investor."

"Today, the name Milo Blackburn represents talent and the ability to make money!"

[…]

*Mid-March.*

Cambridge, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts.

Harvard Yard, Harvard University.

Arianna and two of her classmates were reading in the school library.

Suddenly, a blonde girl with noticeable baby fat pulled a copy of The Wall Street Journal toward Arianna.

"Arianna, this is unbelievable! Milo earned $1.8 billion in just a month. And last year’s $5 million investment has become $500 million! Oh my gosh, Arianna, you're so lucky! How does Milo do it?"

Arianna smiled sweetly, a radiant expression of pride and happiness lighting up her face. She tilted her chin slightly, glanced at her two classmates — both fellow Harvard pre-college students — and replied with a gentle laugh:

"Ivanna, I honestly have no idea. I never ask him about his work. I was just as surprised as you when I read about it."

The two girls with her were Ivanna Kemp and Elly Coppin Mellon.

Ivanna was the daughter of Kemp, a television and real estate entrepreneur who had partnered with Milo in New York. Thanks to her father’s connections, Ivanna had joined Arianna at Harvard’s pre-college program.

Most American universities have pre-college programs, offering a mix of academic and introductory university courses to prepare students for college entrance exams.

For Ivanna and Arianna, however, tests weren’t necessary. Their letters of recommendation came directly from members of Harvard’s board of overseers.

Still, given their young ages — Ivanna not yet 16 and Arianna just shy of 15 — they were enrolled in the pre-college program instead of full college courses. They weren’t academic prodigies, after all, and their acceptance was more a matter of privilege than exceptional merit.

The third member of their trio, Elly Coppin Mellon, carried a prestigious last name.

The Mellon family, with its storied history, once held tremendous influence over America's political and economic landscape, controlling industries like finance, aluminum, oil, coal, shipping, and steel. Although the Mellon family’s dominance had waned over the decades, they remained a powerful force and a respected name among America’s elite.

Elly’s background placed her above Ivanna in status but slightly below Arianna, whose Rockefeller lineage positioned her at the very top.

Despite their differences, the trio had become inseparable at Harvard.

Elly, more direct in nature, playfully teased Arianna:

"Come on, Arianna! He’s your fiancé, after all. Spill the beans! Does he ever share insider tips with you? Even my dad can’t stop talking about how impressive he is."

Arianna rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You know I never talk business with him!"

She might be sweet and obedient in front of Milo, but among her peers, Arianna clearly took the lead.

As the others pressed her for details, Arianna finally caved with a mischievous smile:

"Alright, alright. He’s been really optimistic about General Electric stocks lately."

Elly lit up. "Knew you were the best! Love you!" she said dramatically, pulling Arianna into a playful hug.

Meanwhile, Ivanna silently made a mental note to share the tip with her father. She also wondered if she could scrape together enough money to buy GE stocks herself — or maybe even borrow some cash from Paris, who was much wealthier than she was.

Just then, Arianna's phone buzzed.

The moment she answered, her face lit up with joy.

"Darling, you’re calling me out of the blue!"

Elly and Ivanna watched Arianna’s expression shift to one of sheer excitement.

"What? You’re back? And you’re coming to campus? Where are you now?"

Without even packing up her things, Arianna bolted out of the library.

Elly, realizing what was happening, turned to Ivanna and said, "Looks like Arianna’s fiancé just arrived. You finish up here; I’m going to catch up with her!"

Before Ivanna could respond, Elly was already rushing after Arianna, leaving her to clean up the mess.

Ivanna sighed, feeling slightly overlooked but quickly brushed it off. Being associated with names like Rockefeller and Mellon made the occasional indignity more than worth it.

With a deep breath, Ivanna gathered their belongings and hurried after her friends.

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 115: Grandpa, I Want That Company*

"Why U.S. News & World Report and not Newsweek? From what I know, the former has been doing quite well. Meanwhile, Newsweek has been losing money for seven consecutive years—over $10 million annually—and has amassed $1.1 billion in debt."

Harvard University, along the pathways of Harvard Yard.

Milo and his grandfather, John Blackburn, were slowly walking out from the school’s administration building.

Not far behind them, a dozen tall, suited bodyguards subtly formed a protective ring around the pair.

John Blackburn was slightly taken aback, thinking his grandson might be a bit too cautious about personal security.

Still, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, albeit a bit extravagant.

“There’s a reason for it,” Milo explained to his grandfather.

A few days earlier, Yahoo’s third round of financing had finally succeeded.

Morgan Stanley led the round, with Wells Fargo and First National Bank of Boston as co-investors.

After the financing, Yahoo’s shareholder structure was as follows:

- Milo: *50%*

- Sequoia Capital, Wells Fargo, and First National Bank of Boston: *10% each*

- Morgan Stanley: *15%*

- Founder Jerry Yang: *3%*

- Yahoo Employee Share Pool: *2%*

What about the other co-founder, David Filo?

Well, David Filo had unfortunately passed away, and tragically, his closest family members who could have inherited his shares were also deceased.

Thus, his shares were acquired by the remaining shareholders, and the proceeds, following local San Francisco laws and collective agreement, were donated to several local charities.

These charities? Upon casual inspection, they seemed ordinary. But if someone looked deeper, they’d discover something surprising—they were all run by the wives of San Francisco’s mayor, district attorney, assembly speaker, and senators.

Very "charitable" indeed.

As for why Morgan Stanley conceded…

At the time, Milo had acted as if he’d rather blow up Yahoo than let anyone take advantage of him.

Also, David Filo had just passed away—not exactly the best time to push hard.

Azumoor, a senior executive at Morgan Stanley, felt it wasn’t worth the risk. He didn’t have a last name like Morgan or Mellon to shield him.

And as long as Morgan Stanley could secure over 10% equity, it was still a profitable deal.

There was no need to provoke a 16-year-old who had already dared to clash with a district attorney candidate.

Ultimately, Yahoo’s third round of financing went off without a hitch.

Following the financing, Yahoo underwent some internal restructuring.

- Co-founder Jerry Yang was reassigned from CEO to CTO.

- Eric Schmidt from Sun Microsystems was hired as Yahoo’s new CEO.

- Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Zip2, joined as Yahoo’s CMO.

- Shabtai West temporarily filled the role of CFO.

As for Milo, he became Yahoo’s chairman.

Having handled matters in Silicon Valley, Milo had returned to Boston the previous day.

Now, he was deploying his trademark skill: "Grandpa, I Want That Company (JPG)."  

“U.S. News & World Report is easier to acquire,” Milo explained to his grandfather. “Twelve years ago, Mortimer Zuckerman bought the magazine for $15 million. And Mortimer Zuckerman is from Boston...”

Among the U.S.’s top three weekly news magazines—Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report—the latter was the smallest in terms of circulation, with an average distribution of 2.3–2.6 million copies.

Milo left the rest unsaid, but John Blackburn understood the underlying implications.

The first two magazines had powerful backers. U.S. News & World Report also had backing, but it came from the Boston financial elite.

And Zuckerman himself was just a minor figure within this group, with a net worth of around $1 billion. Most of his wealth came from local real estate rather than the magazine itself.

These conditions made it perfect for Milo to deploy his "Grandpa, I Want That Company" skill.

“Besides, I’ve already given others some benefits,” Milo added.

By allocating 10% of Yahoo’s equity to the First National Bank of Boston, Milo not only sought to balance Morgan Stanley’s influence but also to signal his allegiance to Boston despite his family’s upcoming ties with Rockefeller.

This strategic distribution of benefits also helped Milo foster goodwill among local powers, such as the Wilson family and other key players.

Morgan Stanley had to tread carefully to avoid provoking collective opposition.

In return for these concessions, Milo now sought his own reward: U.S. News & World Report.

It would give him a powerful media platform under Boston’s influence but separate from the Blackburn family’s direct control.

“Alright,” John Blackburn agreed without much hesitation.

After all, it was a benefit for the family. Milo had already laid the groundwork, making his task straightforward.

“TBS, a film studio, a prominent magazine...” John Blackburn mused aloud. “Looks like all you’re missing is a newspaper?”

On their way to Harvard, Milo had shared his vision for a media conglomerate.

“Forget about the Boston Globe,” Milo replied. “The Beals family won’t let go of their hold on the Boston Newspaper Group. That’s their lifeline.”

Milo chuckled. “If I had a choice, I’d rather go for USA Today. But Gannett will never let me have it.”

John Blackburn laughed, watching his sharp, ambitious grandson with pride.

He couldn’t help but think back to a year ago, when the family had been engulfed in sorrow over the terminal illness of Milo’s elder brother, Paladin.

At that time, Milo’s reputation as a wastrel had left them all deeply worried about the family’s future.

But now, Milo’s transformation had exceeded all their expectations.

---

Just then, a cheerful voice interrupted their conversation.

“Milo! And Mr. Blackburn! Good afternoon!”

John Blackburn looked up to see a young girl, escorted through by security, walking toward them. It took him a moment to recognize her.

“Miss Rockefeller—no, Ariana! Good afternoon. Are you here to see Milo?”

“Yes,” Ariana admitted with a smile.

John Blackburn excused himself to let the younger generation enjoy their time, his mind already turning to other matters as he walked off.

Meanwhile, Milo greeted Ariana warmly.

Her friends, Ivanka Trump and Aleec Mellon, watched as Milo handed Ariana a bouquet of roses and pulled her into a passionate embrace.

Blushing furiously, Ariana caught her breath after the kiss, her hands gripping the roses tightly.

“You seem taller again, darling,” Milo teased in a low voice. “Maybe we should skip the engagement and just get married by the end of the year…”

In the U.S., marriage laws varied by state. In New York, shockingly, the minimum age was only 14—with parental consent—until 2017.

“Stop teasing me,” Ariana murmured, lightly punching Milo’s chest as her face burned red.

For now, she kept her thoughts to herself: Isn’t that a bit too soon? But… maybe it’s okay...