Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 245 Return to Peace
The Waldorf Astoria has returned to a semblance of tranquility. The small orchestra is leaving, the musicians somewhat excited, discussing the hotel's luxurious decor and the excellent acoustics they experienced on the dance floor.

They had no idea that in the short span of ten minutes or so that they were playing two pieces of music, a tremendous change had taken place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

They walked up to the stall of their large carriage, which, without any markings, silently entered through the freight entrance in the back alley and stopped in the shadow of the loading platform.

The car door opened, and Matthew got out first, cautiously scanning his surroundings. Then he turned around and took the little girl wrapped in his dark coat out of the car. The girl had stopped crying, but her body was still trembling slightly, and her little hands were tightly gripping his collar.

The hotel's back door opened, and General Manager George Porter rushed out like a madman, his face pale and his hair disheveled. When he saw Matthew's daughter in his arms, he let out a choked sob.

Matthew stepped forward and handed the girl back to him.

“Mr. Potter. She was frightened, but not hurt.”

Matthew's voice was so calm and emotionless.

Potter hugged her daughter tightly, repeating incoherently, "Thank you... God... thank you..."

His eyes were filled with endless gratitude and awe as he looked at Matthew.

Just then, Larry came out of the hotel's back door, looked at George Potter, then at Matthew, and said to the former, "Mr. Potter, take her to see a doctor right away, but don't alert anyone."

Mr. Potter nodded, his face streaked with tears. He bent down and kissed his daughter, then nodded slightly to Matthew and Larry, saying, "Thank you, thank you!"

Just then, King Astor IV stepped down from the carriage and asked with a smile, "Oh? Aren't you going to thank me? Do you have to wait for my brother to return to New York?"

George Potter's expression was incredibly complex. He sighed and said, "I will give the Astor family an explanation!"

"Hmph!" Larry snorted, then laughed, turning to King Astor IV and saying, "Don't talk about him anymore. He's probably still contemplating suicide, wanting to 'atone with his death' for your sins!"

King Astor IV frowned as he stared at Mr. Potter, and said seriously, "Coward, you don't really think that, do you?"

George Porter held his daughter without saying a word.

King Astor IV frowned and said, “Oh, God! Don’t be foolish. It’s understandable to do things when family members fall into enemy hands. Besides, you didn’t cause any real damage to the Waldorf Hotel, and you even prevented a tragedy at the last minute…”

While I cannot fully replace my brother, your death would render you meaningless. Larry and Matthew went through so much trouble to save you and your family, not so you could put on some tragic show.

George Porter turned to Larry and Matthew, and after a long pause, said, "Don't worry, I won't try to kill myself again..."

Larry nodded and looked at King Astor IV, who then winked at one of Potter's trusted servants.

The waiter immediately understood and half-supported the almost exhausted Potter father and daughter, telling them to leave the hotel and get the daughter medical attention as soon as possible.

Matthew wanted to explain to Larry, but Larry just smiled and waved!
"Back in the hotel banquet hall, there was a light meal and wine prepared for us."

The group returned to the hotel banquet hall. Mr. Potter had already moved all the banquet hall waiters and managers to the west reception room to await Mr. Astor's instructions, and no one dared to obey, so the banquet hall was now empty.

King Astor IV and Larry sat down at the long dining table. Astor picked up a glass of brandy, while Larry, with his back to his hand, looked around at the light meal on the table before choosing a piece of chilled cod. He picked up a slice with two fingers and put it in his mouth, a satisfied look immediately appearing on his face.

The two looked at Matthew again.

Matthew met their gaze, nodded slightly, and said succinctly, "Mr. Potter's daughter is safe. Both targets have been eliminated on the third floor of the warehouse. Astor's guard squad is handling the scene."

King Astor IV nodded and said to another person beside him, "Do it the old way. Go and inform them."

Neither Larry nor Matthew knew what the so-called "old rules" were, but it was clear that Astor IV was able to prevent the police from suspecting Matthew.

After his bodyguards had left for a while, King Astor IV let out a long breath, his tense shoulders relaxing. He said nothing, but simply raised his glass slightly to Matthew.

At that moment, the others began to return, forming a circle around the table. Larry asked each team more specific questions, and after receiving satisfactory answers, he added, "Is it clean?"

“Clean,” Dunbar replied. “No one else was alerted, and the enemy’s bodies should be disposed of.”

Then, his gaze returned to Astor, and he continued, "Sir, what happens next depends on you!"

King Astor IV nodded, indicating that he would take care of the matter.

Meanwhile, Charles Baker walked back to the banquet hall, accompanied by Mr. K. The two of them returned with cigars in their hands and smiles, as if they had not gone to fight but had just attended a pleasant business banquet.

Larry bent down, picked up two more glasses of wine, and personally served them to the two men.

"Thank you for your hard work, both of you!" Larry said with a smile.

Charles Baker nodded and said with a smile, “I heard two people died… It’s alright, leave it to me. I’ll write a report saying that I shot them. But remember our agreement, $1000 each.”

At this moment, King Astor IV had already taken out $2000 and handed it to the other party. "Here, this is what you won. But I'm curious, how do you intend to explain the corpse with a knife wound?"

Charles Baker looked at the $2000 in his hand, smiled, and said, "Maybe I'm a pretty good chef?"

Larry and Astor exchanged a smile and asked no further questions.

“Okay! Just one more thing, you need to be careful with the interrogations. Also, many of my men have seen my faces, so you need to find a way to prevent them from being questioned further…” Larry didn’t ask any more questions.

King Astor IV turned to Larry and said, "Don't worry, I'll work with the police officer to plan this!"

Larry returned the look with gratitude.

The banquet hall returned to silence.

At Larry's invitation, the warriors who had just fought a life-or-death battle began to raise their glasses of red wine and enjoy the cold food, as if it were a normal short break in the middle of their busy work.

King Astor IV walked to the window and looked southeast. He was silent for a moment before speaking, “You did a great job this time! Mr. Livingston, this magnificent hotel was almost reduced to ruins.”

“Oh, haha, Mr. Astor, are you still thinking about my hotel?” Larry immediately chimed in.
"Last time I heard you say that you weren't collecting the family business for any reason, but rather wanted to compete with your cousin and open an even more luxurious hotel."

“Of course! If you’re willing to sell your property!” Astor turned to Larry with a serious expression. “The price is negotiable.”

Larry squinted at him, thinking to himself: Is this it: crisis resolved, deal continues?

“No way, I finally managed to rent out all the shops, and the rent was a total of $2!” Larry laughed as he looked at him.

"My God! How is it possible that you can rent those shops for $2?"

Larry laughed and continued, "Not only $2, but it's paid in gold coins!"

King Astor IV's facial muscles twitched, and after a moment he asked, "Where did you find such a sucker?"

“Oh, about that sucker…that’s another story, another Mr. Potter story!” Larry sighed with a laugh.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel still stands magnificently, as if nothing had ever happened.

Only a very few people know that on this Sunday morning, in the shadows of New York, some things were completely wiped out, while others were being reshuffled at the table of power.

(End of this chapter)