Castle glanced at his daughter, who was happily devouring breakfast at the kitchen counter, and responded to John with a smile, "What are you thanking me for? If you hadn't informed me in advance, I wouldn't have known about Santino's plans! Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?"
John laughed, "Alright, I won't say thank you anymore. So, how about coming to Italy for a few days? Alexis is on summer break anyway!"
Castle shook his head, "No, thanks. I need to finish my new novel. You have no idea how Gina's been hounding me to meet the deadline. If I don't get the manuscript to her soon, she'll probably show up at my house with a knife! Besides, when Gianna and your baby are born, I'll have to come to Italy anyway. We can talk then."
John didn't press further and nodded, acknowledging Castle's reasons, "Alright, just let us know when you want to come. Take care, Rick."
With that, John ended the call.
Alexis, amused, looked at her father, "Dad, it seems you haven't completely lost your mind. At least you knew better than to boast about your skills in front of my godfather. And you were going to tell me you're better than him? Ha!"
Castle, feeling deflated by his daughter's teasing, gave in, "Alright, you win. I promise I won't take on dangerous roles in investigations anymore, okay?"
"Good. Dad, you have to remember, you have responsibilities now. You can't be as reckless as you used to be. I'm off to Juilliard to practice violin with my teacher. You'll be home writing, right? See you later!"
Alexis gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek, grabbed her backpack, and left the house, holding a piece of her favorite chocolate pancake.
Castle was left staring at the mountain of breakfast he had prepared, wondering how he could possibly eat it all by himself. Shaking his head, he picked up the phone to call Mozzie. He had told Neal to let Mozzie know he would hand over Tutankhamun's staff today. With the house to himself, it was the perfect time to call Mozzie over, give him the staff, and have him help with the breakfast surplus.
"Mozzie, are you up? Can you come over to my place? I'll give you the staff and treat you to breakfast!"
Castle's invitation was more of a ploy to get Mozzie to help him with the extra breakfast, but he made it sound like a special treat.
Mozzie, who had indulged in too much red wine at Neal's place the night before, had no idea of Castle's ulterior motive. He was deeply touched by Castle's call, promising to be there in twenty minutes, unaware that Castle only called him to help eat the surplus breakfast.
True to his word, Mozzie arrived promptly, driven by the allure of both a sumptuous breakfast and the chance to handle the Tutankhamun staff.
Upon entering, Mozzie headed straight for the breakfast spread, marveling at the feast. "Wow, Rick, did something happen? Why did you make such a big breakfast? Where's your mom and Alexis?"
Castle poured Mozzie a glass of orange juice, then replied, "Mom's off on another spiritual retreat with her friends, and Alexis left to practice violin at Juilliard. Since you were coming to pick up the staff, I figured we could have breakfast together."
Mozzie, without suspecting anything, happily started on the food, while Castle joined him. Together, they made a significant dent in the breakfast spread.
After tidying up the kitchen, they settled in the living room. Castle poured Mozzie a glass of his favorite gin before retrieving the Tutankhamun staff from his study and handing it over.
Mozzie, though he had admired the staff before, couldn't help but marvel at it again. "Rick, are you sure you want to sell this? It's a perfect collector's piece, especially with its legendary history."
Castle reaffirmed his decision, "No, Mozzie. Firstly, it doesn't belong to me but to someone who has disappeared. Secondly, I'm not that interested in Egyptian history. Thirdly, I need some funds that the IRS doesn't know about for certain activities, like the one last night. So, I need you to help me sell it and set up an untraceable offshore account."
Mozzie smiled, "Of course, Rick. We're friends. Even if we weren't, I'd help you because you helped Neal with Kate. I've arranged for a buyer to inspect the staff this afternoon. If all goes well, we should complete the transaction today. Oh, and the buyer's offer is now in the nine-figure range."
Castle wasn't concerned about the staff's value. He reminded Mozzie to be cautious and avoid any traps. Mozzie appreciated Castle's concern but assured him everything would go smoothly.
After finishing his gin, Mozzie left with the staff, promising to take care of everything and contact Castle once the deal was done. Castle, relieved, spent the rest of the day writing. By five o'clock, he had completed nearly half of his new novel, thanks to his meticulous preparation and good writing flow.
After saving his work, Castle stretched and emerged from his study. Alexis had called earlier to say she would be out with friends in Greenwich Village, leaving Castle alone for dinner. Just as he was about to order takeout, Mozzie called.
Mozzie's cheerful tone immediately told Castle the deal had gone well, "Rick, you won't believe it! I just acted a bit indifferent, and the buyer, a Middle Eastern royal, raised the offer to two hundred million! So, congratulations, Rick, you're now a billionaire! I set up an anonymous account for you in the Cayman Islands. The buyer transferred the money there. The account number is… and the password is… You should change the password right away."
Castle asked, "Did you take your ten percent? I hope you didn't put the entire amount into my account."
Mozzie laughed, "No, Rick. I took my share. The buyer transferred one hundred eighty million to your Cayman account, and the remaining twenty million went to mine."
Relieved, Castle opened the Cayman Islands bank website and logged into the account Mozzie had set up. He saw the nine-figure balance and couldn't help but laugh in delight. He finally had a substantial amount of money that wasn't subject to U.S. taxes, giving him the freedom to use it as he pleased.
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