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Chapter 274 Unexpected Fortune

Although the town of Gerringong has a nice environment, it is still too far from big cities. It takes almost two hours to drive to the nearest city, Sydney.

Distance isn't a fatal problem; Ernst has already arranged for a private OB-GYN team to be assembled for Nicole Kidman. But even the best medical team can't build a sterile delivery room in the air, can they?

The biggest problem for the town of Gerringong is precisely the land issue, which is quite rare in Australia. Even Nicole Kidman's estate, which Ernst considers small, is one of the largest properties in the area.

Then Ernst moved and spent AU$14 million, or more than US$9 million, to buy a farm of more than 200 acres in the Melbourne countryside.

Calling it a farm isn't entirely accurate, because the previous owner bought the place for vacation and enjoyment, so he built a sizable European-style villa with 12 rooms and 15 bathrooms, complete with a heated swimming pool, private cinema, wine cellar, tennis court, and other recreational facilities.

Otherwise, Ernst wouldn't have paid such a high price. In Australia today, even in the suburbs of Melbourne, land is very cheap.

Ernst placed the house directly into a trust, with Nicole Kidman's children as the sole beneficiaries.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs; how could you really leave your own child without any inheritance?

The Australian beauty, who had been coaxed by Ernst for two days, didn't say anything and accepted it gladly.

This also means that she tacitly acknowledged her relationship with Ernst, namely, that she was his mistress.

In the master bedroom's bathroom, Nicole Kidman was soaking in a bathtub filled with flower petals, but her face was as cold as ice. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Ernst, who was standing by the bathtub, and her voice was filled with anger.

"What are you standing there for? Can't you see I can't stand up? Hurry up and carry me out."

Ernst awkwardly touched the tip of his nose, quickly squatted down, and carefully picked up Nicole, who was as limp as a puddle of mud. As soon as he stood up, Nicole's damp hand patted his arm twice, not hard, but full of coquettish dissatisfaction.

Having endured the whole ordeal, Ernst carried her back to bed. Just as he was about to catch his breath, Nicole glared at him, her tone filled with even more embarrassment and annoyance. "You're just going to let me crawl into bed all wet like this? Couldn't you go get a towel?"

Ernst didn't dare say a word of rebuttal at that moment. He turned around and ran to the bathroom, afraid that if he was too slow, he would anger the pregnant queen again.

When he returned with two soft bath towels, he saw Nicole drying herself while staring at the clock on the wall. Her face immediately darkened. "It's all your fault! Now look what's happened, we've missed dinner. How am I supposed to go downstairs and face people?"

Ernst rolled his eyes inwardly. If they missed dinner, they could just have the kitchen make another one. The servants downstairs were just doing their jobs for a paycheck; who would care what time the mistress ate?

He only dared to mutter these words to himself, but dared not utter a single word of dissent.

He must have been holding it in for so long that he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "It's not entirely my fault, is it?"

"What did you say?" Nicole Kidman snapped, her eyes flashing coldly, like a cat whose fur had suddenly stood on end.

"Huh?" Ernst looked at her pregnant belly and replied, "I was saying, should we have them prepare some new dinner now?"

"Do you think I can go downstairs to eat now?" As she spoke, her fair cheeks visibly flushed.

He glared at Ernst and said, "It's all your fault. If anything happens to your daughter, I'd like to see what you do."

Ernst waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, nothing will happen."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. The moment she did, Nicole Kidman grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. The pillow missed, but it ignited her fury. "You call this being considerate? You were careful with the front holes, but you're just brute-force on the back? Your daughter's fine now, but didn't you even consider my feelings?"

Ernst was displeased upon hearing this. "Didn't you seem to enjoy it at the time? Later, it was clearly you who took the initiative—"

Nicole Kidman, unlike Ernst, wasn't as thick-skinned. A hint of shyness flashed in her beautiful eyes as she gritted her teeth and said, "You bastard, you really are..."

Ernst didn't hear anything; he had already slipped away.

Wearing a loose bathrobe, Ernst entered the living room and first instructed the maid to fry some steaks in the kitchen. As soon as he sat down on the sofa, he saw Nicole's orange kitten rolling around with a ball of yarn on the carpet not far away.

Just thinking about the cat's name made Ernst's face darken.

"You jerk, come here." He patted the sofa next to him.

The little guy is quite clever. Upon hearing the call, he immediately dropped the ball of yarn, hopped onto the sofa with his short legs, and affectionately rubbed against his hand.

Ernst stroked the cat's soft fur while sighing inwardly. He knew without a doubt that the bastard's name was deliberately chosen to insult him.

Just as he was waiting for his steak, Muller suddenly strode over. "Boss, it's Eric Prince on the phone. He says he needs to talk to you."

Ernst raised an eyebrow and smiled. "The guy who's bringing us money is here."

As soon as I answered the phone, a complaint came through the receiver: "I'm working myself to the bone here, while you're having a good time in Australia, not even answering your phone."

"Sorry, I left the phone in the bedroom," Ernst apologized first, then inquired about the outcome, "How did it go?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Eric's voice carried a hint of regret. "We only got $4200 million. The rest is probably hopeless. That guy divided the money into several parts and transferred them to his parents', wife's, and children's accounts, and everyone is acting independently, so there's no way to get it."

Ernst took it in stride, after all, the money was free, and getting 4200 million was already beyond his expectations. "4200 million is pretty good, one should learn to be content."

He picked up the scoundrel and put him in his lap, then gestured for Muller to order two cups of coffee before asking again, "Is it clean?"

""

"Don't worry!" Eric's tone was full of confidence. "This time, even if someone wants to find Wilhelm, they'll have to go to the belly of a fish in the Indian Ocean to get a DNA test. We're professionals at this kind of thing; we'll make sure he disappears without a trace."

On his very first day in Australia, Ernst heard the news that Wilhelm had absconded with the money.

Because of this, Cockerell even had a big argument with Stephen Knox, and their relationship soured.

Stephen Knox felt that Cockerell was the root of the whole incident and should be held responsible.

Koklian, who had lost such a large sum of money for no reason, was furious and told him to go eat shit.

Ernst had no interest in the conflict between the two; instead, he had his sights set on the huge sum of money in Wilhelm's possession.

As long as we can find him, there's no reason not to take advantage of such easy money.

So he immediately contacted Eric Prince to see if he could track down Wilhelm's whereabouts. To his surprise, Eric actually found the guy.

"How exactly did you find Wilhelm?" Ernst couldn't help but ask curiously. "Since that guy dared to abscond with the money, he must have done a lot of disguise. He shouldn't have been found so easily."

If it were that easy, Cockerell and Stephen Knox would have gotten their money back long ago.

"You don't understand," Eric said with a hint of smugness. "Wilhoman isn't a debtor. With such a large sum of money, he definitely wants to continue living a carefree life. He's unlikely to go to a poor and chaotic place like Africa."

"After all, he's in an unfamiliar place, and he's afraid of being robbed, isn't he?"

"So he only has two choices: Southeast Asia or Russia."

"Southeast Asia is known as the world's underground black market. Here, whether it's people or goods, as long as you have money, you can find someone to help you get a new identity."

"So I concluded that Wilholman would definitely go to Southeast Asia, so I used my connections there to investigate several places related to plastic surgery and household registration. Sure enough, I found his trail in no time."

"That's all?" Ernst was somewhat taken aback. He had expected a dramatic investigation, but it went so smoothly.

"It's easier said than done," Eric retorted immediately. "Let me tell you, we almost let that old guy get away. That guy is really ruthless."

"How so?" Ernst asked with great interest.

"He actually went to Thailand, dressed in women's clothing to avoid suspicion, and even made preparations for gender reassignment surgery," Eric's voice was full of disbelief.

"You didn't see him like that. He was wearing heavy makeup and a skirt, and he even spoke in a deliberately high-pitched voice. If we hadn't gone through rigorous training, we almost wouldn't have recognized him. He's willing to give up his dignity as a man for money."

Ernst immediately felt a chill down below, and when he looked down, he realized that the bastard's hands had ripped open his robe.

He thought of Wilhelm's appearance and then linked it to cross-dressing, and suddenly didn't want to talk about it anymore; he felt a little nauseous.

"I used that money to start a company and then invested it in MGM's projects."

This money definitely needs to be laundered, otherwise it can't be used openly and legitimately.

"That's perfect, I'll give you all $4200 million, saving me the trouble."

For anyone else, a $4200 million investment would likely only yield a return of $3200 million.

Eric knew Ernst would never let him lose out; he might even make some of the money back.

Given this opportunity, he naturally wanted to take advantage of it.

"Five points," Ernst said irritably.

What he got in return was Eric's roar, "Do you even know what kind of life I've been living in Southeast Asia? We were smuggled in, and you still have the nerve to ask me for money? I..."

Ernst didn't want to listen anymore and hung up the phone.