Chapter 3153: This is a good opportunity for you

"At sea?"

Hearing this, Howard quickly asked: "Did the kidnappers make any demands?"

Jenny replied: "They did! They want one billion US dollars, and it has to be in cryptocurrency!"

"One billion US dollars?" Howard exclaimed: "These kidnappers have quite an appetite! One billion US dollars?! Who the hell dares to demand a one-billion-dollar ransom? They must be fucking crazy!"

When Jenny heard Howard also complaining that it was expensive, she couldn't help but cry out of grievance, choking up: "Lord Patriarch, they are just a bunch of black-hearted demons! They want one billion US dollars, and it's not even a ransom; it's life-preservation money..."

"Life-preservation money?" Howard questioned: "What does that mean?"

Jenny cried and said: "It means they will only keep the father and son alive if the money is paid. If not, they will kill my husband and son and throw them into the sea..."

"Motherfucker," Howard said angrily: "These aren't kidnappers; they're bandits! One billion US dollars and they still won't release them?!"

"Yes..." Jenny choked: "They only gave me 48 hours to consider. If I don't give them the virtual cryptocurrency within 48 hours, they will kill my husband and son directly."

Howard was silent for a moment, then asked her: "So, what are your thoughts? Will you pay or not?"

Jenny asked through tears: "Lord Patriarch, I want to ask if you have any way to locate them and then ask the Marines to rescue them. I remember you operated like this before..."

Years ago, when a young descendant of the Rothschild family's core members was kidnapped by local insurgent militants while vacationing in South America, Howard had indeed mobilized the Marines to rescue him.

Because the commotion was too big at the time, the US military specifically labeled the other side a terrorist organization, and then, under the guise of counter-terrorism, sent over a thousand Marines to wipe them out. The American public thought it was a perfect, surgical counter-terrorism operation, but behind the scenes, it was just to rescue a playboy of the Rothschild family.

However, the American public didn't know the full story, but the collateral members of the Rothschild family knew it clearly.

Hearing Jenny's request to mobilize the Marines, Howard smacked his lips and asked her: "Do you think the Marines can find them within 48 hours based on the information the other side revealed? Even if they find them, they still need to formulate a rescue plan on the fly. Do you think they can rescue them within 48 hours?"

Jenny said somewhat flustered: "This... I'm not too sure... The video they sent me doesn't reveal any key information; it seems to be just a vast, white sea."

"That's it then," Howard said: "It's as hard as ascending to heaven to find a carrier strike group on the vast sea, let alone two people."

After saying this, Howard added: "Jenny, in this situation, I advise you to analyze it rationally. 10 billion US dollars is not a small sum, especially for your Horowitz family. And if this 10 billion US dollars is spent and you can get the people back, it would be worth it. But the key is, you pay the 10 billion US dollars and you still don't see the people, which is very outrageous."

Jenny was stunned and quickly asked: "Lord Patriarch... you... you don't mean for me to give up, do you?"

Howard quickly denied it three times: "I didn't say that. Don't talk nonsense. Don't misunderstand my meaning. I mean for you to consider it carefully and decide for yourself how to handle this matter. Because the other side only gave you 48 hours and didn't reveal any key information, I have no way to help you find them within 48 hours. Moreover, the person is at sea, and it is moving. The first 48 hours they are here, and after 48 hours they will have run thousands of nautical miles away. Even if we know where the video was filmed, the sea area we would need to search after 48 hours would have a radius of at least one thousand nautical miles. Are you good at math? How many square kilometers is a radius of 1000 nautical miles?"

Jenny subconsciously said: "The area of a circle equals pi times the radius squared... If you say they can travel one thousand nautical miles in 48 hours, that's 3.14 million square nautical miles..."

"Exactly!" Howard sighed: "In this situation, even if you sent out the entire US Navy, you might not be able to find them within 48 hours. So I advise you to consider directly whether to pay or not."

Jenny said awkwardly: "Lord Patriarch, if one billion US dollars could bring them back, I would be willing to pay this money. But the current situation is that even if I pay the one billion US dollars, the people won't come back. I don't know if that group will continue to ask for money in the future, and I don't know if they will tear up the ticket. So I feel that this one billion US dollars is not very cost-effective, and it's very likely to be a waste of effort."

Howard said bluntly: "Jenny, we are all family, no need to be so tactful. You don't want to pay this one billion US dollars now, right?"

"Yes." Before marrying into the Horowitz family, Jenny was a member of the Rothschild family and also carried the surname Rothschild. She also had a blood relationship with Howard, so she sighed and stated her thoughts directly: "I really don't want to pay. If this money goes out, the Horowitz family will be severely damaged, and I don't think there will be any chance to stand up again in the future. For the sake of this family, I don't want to pay."

Howard said: "Your decision is rational. If it were me, I might make the same choice."

Having said this, Howard changed the subject and said: "But you have to think clearly. If this group can send the video to you, they can make the video public. If you don't pay them, they will definitely make the video public next, and even publicly criticize you for not being willing to pay to save your own husband and son. At that time, your public opinion pressure will become very great, and the Rothschild family will also be affected. After all, once you become the object of everyone's discussion, they will make all your information public, and people will dig to the bottom of your situation. They will find out what your family surname was before, which is not a good thing for the reputation of the Rothschild family."

Upon hearing this, Jenny asked somewhat urgently: "Lord Patriarch, you mean... you want me to pay them?"

Howard sighed and said: "Jenny, rather than not paying this money, putting yourself at risk, and becoming a target of public criticism, it's better to pay this money and turn passive into active, making yourself a wife and mother whom all Americans admire and respect."

Jenny quickly asked: "Lord Patriarch, do you want me to pay the money and then take the initiative to make this matter public?"

Howard said decisively: "That's right. You must pay the money first, and then immediately leak this matter to the media!"

"At that time, I will push the waves behind the scenes, find a large group of media to interview you and report on you. And you just need to hold back your tears in front of the media lens, adopt the posture of being willing to give everything, even your own life, for your husband and son. In less than 24 hours, you will be the most famous mother in the United States! The greatest mother!"

"And the name of your Horowitz family, and the name of the Rothschild family, will all receive very positive publicity. This will be of great help to you in taking control of the entire family power and leading the family to glory again in the future. At that time, others in your family will definitely not dare to seize power from you, because you have extremely high fame, and all the American people will support you and stand up for you. And you must know, everyone likes to cooperate with celebrities, especially those who are very famous and very good. Jenny, this is a good opportunity for you!" ===== CHAPTER 3154 =====