CHAPTER 78: TAKING ACTION

Rümeysa was currently sitting in her room with a notebook in her hand, writing a few things down before going through them for a second time.

It had been two hours since she left Fatih’s room after hearing his full story three times, with each time having him present a different set of evidence just to make sure Fatih wasn’t misrepresenting or covering for someone else’s inclusion in the situation. First time, for her, she always trusted what Fatih said since he had never given her a reason to suspect what he was saying. And although she was sure he was doing the same for this situation, she needed extreme assuredness since it was not just a matter between the two of them; there was a scary third party between them, the government.

Once she was sure everything in the notebook was correct, she took out her phone and called someone.

"Hello, how have you been doing?" she said the moment the call was answered.

"I called to set a meeting. I need your help in dealing with something large and urgent, so it would be good if we could set it for tomorrow if possible."

Although she sounded calm, her tone carried a restlessness, obvious to everyone as she sounded urgent, not even trying to make small talk before getting to the point.

Though as a lawyer she knew the situation was salvageable, as a mother, she was worried that before she could deal with it, something might go wrong and, in return, cause a problem for her son.

"No problem, I can see you then. All I have to do is take time off from work; it works even better for me," she said, feeling a slight sense of relief that she could set the meeting for tomorrow, albeit in the morning, as that was the only window her friend had.

"Sure, then I will see you tomorrow morning," she said before ending the call, remaining in a daze for a while before shaking in surprise as if she had realized something.

She immediately put both the phone and the notebook on the bed before she left her room, heading to Fatih’s.

Now that she had already set things in motion, she had come to the realization of how Fatih might have felt when she repeatedly asked him questions as if she didn’t trust him.

But when she knocked and opened the door to his room, she found Fatih focused on the computer screen, typing something so intently that he didn’t even realize that she was at the door looking at him. For a moment, she wondered if he had gone against her instructions of not using social media until she dealt with the situation.

She walked slowly until she stood behind him, laying her eyes on the screen, which showed he had a Microsoft Word document open as he continuously wrote something on it.

The title was "An Argument For and Against the Move to 1.6L V6 Turbocharged Engines with Energy Recovery Systems (ERS)."

The article went into detail about the benefits of the regulations overhaul, how Formula 1 was a sport of innovation, and how an overhaul would allow for a new avenue for innovation and the benefits it would have on motorsports due to the trickle-down effect of the new systems that are gaining relevance in the real world. It explained how it was a move to retain manufacturer teams like Mercedes, who had considered leaving F1 unless the sport committed to greener tech. It also detailed how it would introduce additional strategic depth, as with fuel limits, ERS deployment, and torque-heavy engines, races would reward those with driving finesse and energy management ability. It argued how it was the best route because it was something that would increase long-term cost efficiency, as although expensive upfront, the switch was expected to reduce long-term costs via shared development with road car divisions. Finally, it discussed how it would allow for a new manufacturer who got the regulations perfectly to replace the current Red Bull dominance and even allow for closer racing opportunities.

It then moved to the arguments against the regulations overhaul, going into details about complexity and reliability, greenwashing concerns, reduced engine sounds dulling the spectacle, and higher development costs being a financial burden for smaller teams in adapting to the new power units.

The article remained neutral, offering balanced arguments from both sides to enable readers to draw their own conclusions.

Rümeysa, who carefully read the article that was being written by her son, had previously read some of the articles on TheConqueror website but had automatically assigned the good writing to the proofreaders and editors that her son hired as freelancers. But now that she actually saw him writing and read it, finding it to be easy to understand despite the topic discussed being complicated and very narratively interesting to read, where it doesn’t give you the freedom to leave the reading in the middle and makes you want to continue reading until the end, she had already forgotten what had even brought her to the room in the first place.

When she came to herself, she silently walked out of the room, not wanting to interrupt his focus, but also because she realized he hadn’t taken her questioning negatively. Yet seeing him like that had introduced a new factor she now had to consider in the decisions she was about to make.

"What do you think?" Fatih asked Apollo, who had alerted him of her entering the room the moment she opened the door.

"She was very surprised but also had a proud look on her face," Apollo said.

"Good," Fatih responded with an apologetic smile, but promising himself that this was going to be the last time he hid things he was doing from them, other than the system and his reincarnation, not wanting them to go through this experience once again, as it wasn’t enjoyable for anyone.

.......

"Long time no see, Mehmet," Rümeysa said after being sent to his office following her arrival.

"Looks like it is very urgent, seeing as you are here half an hour before the appointment time," Mehmet said, standing as he exchanged handshakes with her before pointing for her to take a seat.

"Yes, it is," Rümeysa said, taking a seat.

"Tea, coffee?" asked Mehmet.

"Tea, please."

Once Mehmet ordered the tea for both of them, they started having small talk, waiting for the tea to come before starting a serious conversation.

"I’m all ears," Mehmet said, getting ready to listen to her request.

She started giving him a derived and summarized version of the situation without going too much into the details, as although there was client-lawyer privilege, he didn’t need to know the nitty-gritty unless he agreed to take them as his client.

"So, what I want is for you to conduct a complete forensic audit of all income streams and assets since inception, while I work on untangling the remaining mess."

Mehmet turned his face to look at the calendar to make sure it was not April Fools’ Day, since that should have been months ago, before turning back to Rümeysa and saying, "How much money are we speaking here? If it’s a few thousand, he could just not declare it." He decided to take her seriously and not question her from the start; after all, if he accepted, he was going to be paid whether it was a joke or not anyway.

"Three million dollars and an equal amount of it in assets," Rümeysa answered, grateful that he went with it instead of asking questions.

"Though it is difficult to believe what I heard, it is interesting enough for me to accept the request, because now I’m curious and I want to see for myself how exactly all of this happened," Mehmet said, officially accepting to take her request as a tax accountant and lawyer specializing in international income.

The rest of the negotiations were handled very easily, and a contract was signed between the two of them before they and a small group of people left the office, heading back home to understand the situation before they came up with an action plan.

......

The team spent about four hours talking with Fatih and going through the computer, mirroring the hard drive, collecting all financial statements from his accounts, his spreadsheet of subscribers, his spreadsheet of payments he made to freelancers and part-time workers on his website, his spreadsheet of bitcoin holdings and everything else in it, before they left to go and start going through all the collected financial records to reconstruct income and expenses, identify tax liabilities, estimate penalties and interest, and prepare for voluntary disclosure and negotiations with the tax authority in Fatih’s stead.

While Mehmet and his team conducted the forensic audit, Rümeysa, drawing on her deep experience as a corporate lawyer, initiated the formation of a trust that would assume ownership of all Fatih’s assets once the tax situation was resolved. Simultaneously, she began the process of registering two companies under the trust’s name. These entities would serve as the operational arms of Fatih’s business, structured to shield his assets from future liabilities. To further insulate Fatih, she selected a jurisdiction renowned for its corporate privacy laws, ensuring that his role as founder of these two businesses and beneficiary would remain obscured from public records.