America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 615 Sugar-Coated Bullets

The Sculpture Basel exhibition opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

At the public exhibition area, the trio of bastards, along with Menne, Chad, Marina, Spravina, and other key members of the production team, came to support Lily.

A dozen or so reporters followed and kept taking pictures of this area.

Martin whispered to Leonardo, "You're the most famous art collector in Hollywood. Pick one, I'll pay."

"No need." Leonardo said as he walked toward a display case, "I really like Lily's work."

Martin didn't stand on ceremony and said in a low voice, "I'll cast all my votes for you this year."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Are you congratulating me on winning an Oscar in advance?"

Martin said with unusual seriousness, "Of course not. Opening champagne at halftime often leads to painful lessons."

Because of the arrival of the trio of scoundrels, more and more reporters and passersby came over.

Once the crowd had grown to a certain size, Leonardo pointed to the marble sculpture in front of him and said to the staff, "How much is this artwork? I'll take it."

It's common to encounter big spenders at exhibitions, so staff immediately contacted the creators and the exhibition organizers to handle the relevant transactions.

Leonardo then gave a joint interview to reporters.

"I've been collecting art for over ten years, and all my pieces are masterpieces, including several works by Lily Carter." He praised without reservation: "Take this marble sculpture, for example. An ordinary stone, through Lily's meticulous polishing and carving, presents a unique beauty and artistic charm that captivated me, making me willingly open my wallet..."

Martin and Nicholson stood on the periphery, watching Leonardo's performance, and remarked, "This Leonardo, doesn't he deserve a Best Actor award?"

Nicholson said, "If there aren't many good options, a lot of people will naturally choose him." He added, "Didn't your 'Gone Girl' also have a holiday release?"

Martin said, "I might get a nomination for this role, but I'm still a ways off from winning an award. Our trio has four Oscars for acting, and Leo is the one with zero. It's too embarrassing to say that out loud."

Nicholson lamented, "I, as the boss, am also disgraced."

Since the conversation about Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar nomination a few days ago, Martin has been carefully recalling Harvey's last few Oscar-winning films, including the two that won Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, as well as two Best Picture films.

It was a black-and-white silent film, mainly for nostalgia. He had absolutely no interest in it, so he hadn't even seen the trailer, let alone the full movie, and couldn't even remember the title.

The other one is a story about a speech by the King of England; it should be called something like "The King's Speech".

Martin had someone specifically check, and none of these two films were among all the films released in theaters this year.

If the film was conceived by The Weinstein Company, Harvey's early involvement might have resulted in the project being cancelled.

If it was bought from overseas and repackaged, the film's copyright might not have been sold to the United States.

Not long after, Lily came over and said, "Could you please greet your friends for me? My mentor brought some friends over to show their support, and I need to go and socialize with them."

Martin waved his hand: "You go about your business, don't worry about us here."

"She's grown up," Nicholson said.

The exhibition hall was crowded and a bit chaotic, so Martin was a little worried and called Bruce over: "Have the bodyguards keep an eye on Lily."

Bruce nodded, picked up his phone, made a call, and said, "I've been following you."

On the second floor of the exhibition hall, Alison Mike, Katherine Oxenberg, and their daughter surrounded Keith Lanier to the railing.

From here, you can see the entire exhibition hall below.

Lanier watched for a moment and asked, "Was the person talking to Lily Carter Martin Davis?"

Allison Mack said, "Yes, Martin Davis, and next to him is Jack Nicholson, and coming over is Leonardo DiCaprio. They're known as the Trio of Bastards in Hollywood."

Lanier nodded. "I've heard about it." He asked, "Is that why you haven't made any progress?"

Allison Mac quickly denied it: "No, Lily Carter has been preparing for this exhibition recently, she's been very busy, and she's become a little wary of me..."

Lanier took a step forward, gripped the railing with both hands, and stared intently at Lily in the hall below. Her swaying, graceful figure made him desperately want to turn her into a slave girl.

Allison Mike reminded her guru: "I just looked it up, and Lily Carter has a complicated relationship with Martin Davis. I heard from people in the industry that Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck's current predicament is related to Martin Davis."

Ranier smiled elegantly, his confidence bordering on arrogance: "Do you think these obstacles can stop your leader?"

Allison McBride bowed her head reverently.

"What do you think of Martin Davis compared to Seagram's?" Lanier said casually. "He's cultivated relationships with many social elites through the Coca-Cola Cult. Don't we have few social elites, government officials, and billionaires on Nxivm?"

The three women said in unison, "Our master is the sun in the sky, and everyone else is just dust under the sun."

Lanier stood with his hands behind his back, his confident demeanor and refined manner befitting a handsome middle-aged man.

His confidence and arrogance stemmed from his repeated successes and from the social elites among his many followers.

The Seagram Wines Group heirs, sisters Claire and Sasha Bronfman, are Lanier's most devoted followers. After joining Nxivm, they contributed more than $1.5 million to Lanier's fortune, not to mention their powerful social influence.

Unlike loosely organized groups like the Cola Cult, Nxivm has only 1.7 loyal followers. However, Nxivm's high membership fees mean that none of these followers are ordinary people; they are all social elites.

Among them are the daughter of a former Mexican president, the children of wealthy families, the first-generation rich, officials from Washington and various states, and ordinary middle-class people who cannot meet the membership threshold.

These followers fervently dedicate their money and time, and more importantly, they use their social influence to endorse Nxivm, providing a protective shell for Lanier.

Raniere was caught several times for abducting and keeping female slaves, but he always managed to get away with it easily.

Those who reported him ended up in huge trouble.

Lanier looked at Catherine and India and said, "You two will come down with me in a bit."

He then instructed Allison, "You stay here and observe carefully. Let me know immediately if anything happens."

Alison replied, "Yes."

Lanier led Catherine and India downstairs, and the three of them walked together, looking just like a family of three.

Anyone who saw him would find it hard to imagine that a monster lived inside this elegant middle-aged man, and that the mother and daughter were just his Star Wrath.

The three of them, just like any other visitors to an exhibition, went down to the first-floor gallery and began to carefully admire Lily's works.

Lily's work this time is more abstract, similar to Ranier's and Martin's, which I feel are just some shaped stones, plaster and wood.

This cult leader boasted to his followers that he could communicate normally with people at the age of one, recognize and read at the age of two, and complete the entire middle school curriculum in 19 hours before the age of ten.

In reality, he was a poor student who dropped out of a mediocre university due to failing his courses.

Catherine leaned closer and quietly pointed: "The person is over there."

Ranier followed the direction she was pointing and saw Lily talking to a few people.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the girl was truly beautiful. Not only was her face exquisite, but she also had a tall and slender figure, with the curves of her body being absolutely perfect.

Having seen many women, Lanier could easily see that beneath Lily's seemingly quiet exterior lay a wild side.

If such a girl could be tamed into a slave, the achievement would be...

Lanier knew he had to take it one step at a time, making a strong impression first. He instructed Catherine, "Go and tell the organizers here that I want to buy all of Lily Carter's works."

Catherine quickly went to find the person wearing a work vest.

After her mother left, Indiya stood trembling beside Ranier, like a chick facing an eagle alone.

Lanier said, "When we get back to Los Angeles, I'll give you the mark."

Intia was even more frightened. She had seen the mark on her mother's waist; it was branded on.

…………

Martin was chatting and joking with Leonardo and Nicholson when Bruce strode over and whispered, "Someone wants to buy all of Lily's exhibits."

Leonardo was slightly surprised: "Where did this generous customer come from?"

Martin asked, "Where are they?"

Bruce said, "Lily, her agent, and her bodyguards are getting ready to meet him in the VIP room next to the exhibition hall."

When Nicholson turned his head, the light shone on his sunglasses, and the lenses glittered.

He pinched his chin and said, "Based on my years of experience, this person has ill intentions."

Leonardo gave him a disdainful look: "Alright, great detective, I could have figured that out without years of experience."

Martin said, "Let's go take a look."

The four of them left the exhibition hall and entered the art museum's office area, where they ran into Lily and her agent.

Lily hurried over to Martin and said, "There are over a dozen of my exhibits here. The other party wants to buy them all at the listed price, which is over three hundred thousand dollars. Am I that lucky to have run into another Casey Affleck?"

Leonardo said, "The main thing is that I gave you a good start."

Lily said, "Thank you, Leo."

Nicholson cautioned, "Be careful to probe their true intentions."

"I will," Lily nodded, then asked Martin, "Should I sell them all?"

Martin laughed: "Why not sell? Remember the sweet talk I told you about?"

Back in Atlanta, Lily had heard Martin say, "Eat all the sugar, and then fire the shells back?"

Martin nodded slightly.

Nicholson replied directly, "What are you afraid of? With the three of us here, we can send not only artillery shells but even missiles flying!"

(End of this chapter)