The Lehman Brothers trading floor was buzzing as always, filled with the shrill ringing of phones and the shouts of traders calling out orders.
"Wow, look at this! Eldorado just dumped five million shares in the opening auction—gone in an instant!"
Hearing Charlie's excited voice, Reckman checked the trading screen on the monitor in front of him and let out a low whistle.
The moment the market opened, the massive five-million-share sell order was matched one after another and vanished instantly from the book.
Another huge wave of sell orders followed—but the outcome was the same.
No matter how many shares Eldorado threw into the market, the investment banks aiming for a short squeeze swallowed everything like water poured onto sand.
On top of that, hedge funds and retail investors who smelled opportunity charged in like a pack of wolves, joining the buying frenzy and pushing Eldorado closer to the edge of the cliff.
Another large sell order hit, as if in defiance, but the counter-short-selling coalition led by the major investment banks devoured that as well and began pushing Enron's price upward.
[ENE: 75.94 (▲0.52)]
Charlie felt sweat gathering on his palms as the two sides clashed ferociously, fighting as if life and death hinged on the opening minutes of the session.
"Eldorado's insane for refusing to stop shorting… but the big IBs look just as crazed trying to crush Chairman Park."
Reckman stared at the monitor with a hard, focused expression and spoke in a grave tone.
"They can't afford to lose here. The losses would be catastrophic. None of them can back down now."
Charlie nodded, fully agreeing.
"The market's been open for not even thirty minutes, and they've already traded over six hundred million dollars' worth of Enron shares. When you think about how insanely big their positions have grown… damn. That's enough to make your skin crawl."
"One thing's certain—whoever loses is going to take a massive hit."
"Yeah. Even for Chairman Park Seok-won, this time looks rough."
Charlie clicked his tongue quietly.
On the monitors, the situation resembled a pack of starving wolves closing in on prey, led by an alpha. Eldorado Fund was clearly being overwhelmed as not only the major Wall Street banks but investors from every direction flooded the market with buy orders, squeezing them relentlessly.
Reckman watched with a faint sense of pity.
"I think so too. The bigger their short position grows, the worse Eldorado's position gets."
Charlie tilted his head, confused.
"If it were me, I would've given up and backed out already. What is Chairman Park thinking? He knows the more he shorts now, the harder it'll be to cover later."
"I'm wondering the same thing."
Many of their colleagues were laughing, saying Chairman Park had finally gotten arrogant after a string of massive wins and was now trapped in a hole he dug himself.
But given Seok-won's track record—his insight, his cold judgment, and his flawless results—Reckman couldn't believe he'd stubbornly stay in a losing position out of pride.
Even so, with the counter–short-selling forces ballooning by the minute and Enron's share price creeping higher in proportion, it didn't seem likely that Eldorado would be able to turn things around.
Charlie leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head.
"If it keeps going like this, this'll be the end of the legend. Chairman Park Seok-won and Eldorado Fund—never once failed in a single trade. Until now."
The moment the myth of invincibility cracked, Seok-won would never again wield the same influence he once had.
Reckman, one of the many who admired and followed Seok-won's judgment, crossed his arms and nodded heavily, disappointment written across his face.
No matter how brilliant Chairman Park Seok-won and the Eldorado Fund were, they couldn't possibly win against all of Wall Street.
Everyone believed that—until something happened that no one could have predicted.
"What? Why is Enron's stock suddenly tanking?"
Charlie shouted in shock. Reckman quickly whipped his head toward the monitors.
Just moments earlier, Enron's price had been slowly but steadily climbing, but now it was plunging as if shoved off a cliff.
[ENE: 73.23 (▼2.19)]
While traders murmured in confusion, Team Leader Reford suddenly yelled, panic draining the color from his face.
"Anyone buying Enron—stop immediately!"
Sensing something seriously wrong, Reckman stood and asked:
"Sir, what happened?"
Every eye on the trading floor turned toward Reford as he answered, his voice stiff.
"Eldorado Fund just released a short-selling report claiming Enron has been falsifying its revenue and profits for years."
The trading floor erupted as a bomb had gone off. Shock rippled through the room as traders stared at one another in disbelief.
Enron—ranked seventh among U.S. corporations, with forty-nine point eight billion dollars in assets and thirty-one point two billion in liabilities—had committed accounting fraud? The revelation was almost too enormous to process.
"Enron committed accounting fraud? Is that really true?"
Reckman asked, unable to hide his disbelief.
Team Leader Reford looked around at the surrounding traders, all wearing the same stunned expression, and answered in a rigid voice.
"According to the short-selling report Eldorado Fund just released… yes."
Charlie immediately pushed back from his chair.
"They might have exaggerated suspicions to make them sound like facts. It could just be a ploy to tank the stock price, couldn't it?"
A few traders nodded, thinking it sounded plausible enough.
"It's possible. Honestly… considering the impact this would have on the market and the U.S. economy, I'd almost prefer Eldorado were lying."
Reford raked a hand through his hair, speaking through clenched teeth.
"But they didn't just publish a report. They attached evidence. That's what worries me."
The moment they heard Eldorado had included supporting documents, the traders' faces fell, heavy with dread.
"No way…"
"Are you saying Enron really did this?"
"Dear God. How did no one catch it?"
The anxious murmuring grew louder until Reford clapped his hands sharply, drawing everyone's attention.
"We don't know which direction this is going yet, but for now—sell everything we hold in Enron!"
If the allegations were real, holding Enron stock was like clutching a live bomb.
Realizing this, the traders sprinted back to their desks, their faces pale. Fingers flew across keyboards, phones were slammed off their hooks, and urgent shouts filled the air as they scrambled to dump their positions.
"Enron—sell five thousand shares at market!"
"What? Seventy-two dollars thirty-three cents? Damn it! Fine, sell at that price!"
"Good. Dump all twenty thousand shares. Whatever it takes!"
Shouts filled the air as traders fought to dump their Enron shares, pushing past one another in desperation.
Only two people stood untouched by the chaos: Charlie and Reckman.
"Good thing we stayed out of Enron. That could've ended really badly," Charlie said, brushing a hand over his chest in relief.
On the monitor, the order book told the story—every buy order had vanished as if wiped clean, the rumor spreading through the market like wildfire.
Reckman watched as Enron's stock drew a long, brutal red candle and plunged straight downward. He murmured in awe:
"So he really did have an ace up his sleeve."
***
Goldman Sachs Headquarters, 85 Broad Street, Manhattan, New York.
"What? Accounting fraud? What kind of nonsense is that!"
Joseph Salucci shot to his feet, slamming his palm on the desk. His eyes burned with fury.
Standing before him, CIO Scott Reckler wiped cold sweat from his brow as he answered.
"Eldorado Fund has released a short-selling report accusing Enron of inflating its revenues and profits for years by manipulating its books, while hiding debt. They claim the company deceived shareholders and investors."
"Damn it! The stock was rising and Eldorado was getting cornered, so now they're trying to scare everyone with made-up allegations—isn't that what this is?"
Salucci glared, his face flushed red.
But Reckler shook his head, clearly troubled.
"We need a full investigation, but I skimmed through the evidence they attached. There's a strong chance it's real."
"!"
Salucci's eyes trembled.
He had personally led the charge to force Eldorado into a short squeeze, and Goldman had already accumulated over three billion dollars' worth of Enron shares.
Just a little more pressure, he believed, and Eldorado—the thorn in his side—would finally be broken. He had even been savoring the thought.
But now, out of nowhere, an accusation of accounting fraud had exploded into the mix. The Enron stock he intended to sell at a sky-high price to avenge every insult Eldorado had dealt him… had suddenly transformed into a ticking time bomb.
Of course it felt like the sky was collapsing.
Seeing the chairman's complexion drain to ash, Reckler spoke carefully.
"I always thought it was strange that Eldorado sold its entire stake and openly revealed its position before shorting Enron. It looks like they knew about the accounting fraud from the start."
"This was all part of their plan?"
Salucci's face twisted as the realization hit him. He thought he'd been the one cornering the enemy, but it was actually Eldorado—no, Seok-won—who had dug the trap from the beginning.
"Damn it!"
He clenched his fist, shaking with anger. Seeing this, CIO Reckler spoke urgently.
"Selling pressure is exploding the moment the rumor spread. We need to act immediately."
"If we dump our position—more than three billion dollars' worth—Enron's stock will be finished! We won't even be able to unload everything before taking catastrophic losses!"
Salucci snapped, his voice rising with frustration.
"But if everyone else is selling and we're the only ones holding Enron, we'll end up taking the entire hit alone."
"Of course we can't let that happen."
Salucci lifted his head, eyes bloodshot, fists clenched tight.
"I'll talk to the other investment banks and convince them not to sell. Meanwhile, you verify whether the accounting fraud is real. And if it is, how big it is. This could be nothing more than a fine… Eldorado might've blown it out of proportion to tank the stock."
"…Understood."
Reluctantly, Reckler gave his answer and hurried out.
Left alone, Salucci bit down on his lower lip, trying to swallow his rage.
"Right. This isn't over yet."
Failing to detect Enron's accounting fraud beforehand was undeniably a serious mistake.
But if the wrongdoing turned out to be manageable—something that could be contained—then it might still be possible to prevent a total collapse in Enron's stock price and limit the damage.
Salucci organized his thoughts, drew in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
Then he picked up his phone and began urgently calling the CEOs of the other major investment banks allied with him.
***
Around the same time.
Seok-won sat comfortably at the desk in his home trading room, an old-fashioned glass in hand, speaking with Landon over the phone.
"The moment the short-selling report went public, the buying pressure disappeared, and panic selling began. But the level of panic isn't as severe as we expected."
Seok-won took a sip of whiskey, the ice clinking softly, and replied:
"Smaller hedge funds and individual investors are dumping their shares in a panic, but the big investment banks and hedge funds behind the counter–short-selling attack are still hesitating. They're watching, unsure of what's true."
"The positions they're holding are massive, so they can't move easily. And I'm sure some of them suspect we might be lying to manipulate the situation in our favor."
"True. But once they realize the scale of Enron's accounting fraud isn't something that can be brushed aside, that's when the real panic selling will hit."
"Hahaha. So all we have to do is sit back and wait for that moment."
Seok-won smiled faintly and asked:
"What about the short orders against the major investment banks? The ones I told you to place?"
"Andrew and Dan are on it. They're thrilled, actually."
Seok-won's eyes glinted coldly.
"Make sure they teach them a lesson they won't forget. I want them too scared to ever challenge us again."