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Victor was now useful. Henry tasked him with assessing the vineyard staff, warning that any unsuitable employees would be dismissed. This scared everyone into staying put.

Henry and his team began searching for the cave. Hill\'s directions were detailed, and it didn\'t take much effort to find the spot. After clearing the brush, they found the entrance and excavated it over several days.

When Henry walked into the cave and saw the contents, his mouth gaped in astonishment.

"Is this a dragon\'s treasure hoard?"

Inside were piles of items: ancient books, carpets, antique furniture, clocks, decorations, sculptures, bronze statues, stamp albums, silver candlesticks, plates, and antique armor and weapons, a myriad of treasures.

There were also over a dozen large boxes filled with various paintings, prints, and sketches.

"This is a windfall," Henry chuckled.

Henry sent a telegram to Hardy, "The appropriate cargo has been found. How should we proceed?"

Hardy, delighted by the telegram, knew Henry had likely found the stash of Nazi treasures.

But how to handle it next?

Keeping it hidden in the cave like Hill did wasn\'t safe, as others besides Hill might know about it. Transporting it back to the US and storing it in his own warehouse would be safest, but not easy.

After some thought, Hardy discussed with Lancer, "I\'m planning to import several containers of red wine from France through normal customs procedures, with the artworks hidden among the goods. Once they reach New York customs, it should be easy to handle."

"Not a bad idea."

Hardy sent another team to Bordeaux to buy wine, spending over $400,000 to fill five containers. The wine went through regular customs checks, with Victor greasing the palms of customs officials to ensure a simple inspection.

A week later, the containers arrived at New York port. Hardy had already called the Old Godfather to smooth things over.

The Old Godfather, with his extensive connections, settled everything with one phone call, allowing the five wine containers to leave the dock without a hitch and head to Los Angeles.

A few days later, the containers were delivered directly to HD Security Company. Henry and his team returned from France and moved all the antique artworks into Hardy\'s vault, which suddenly felt much fuller with these treasures.

Over 400 antiques.

More than 1,000 ancient books.

Dozens of stamp albums with rare stamps.

Seventeen sculptures.

Several dozen sketchbooks, over 400 paintings, including masterpieces by Monet, Gauguin, Millet, Renoir, Picasso, and Chagall.

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Looking at these treasures, Hardy knew they were worth a fortune.

In the future, these would be his wealth.

With everything settled, Hardy generously rewarded all his subordinates who participated in this operation with a large sum of cash, making them all beam with joy.

Victor stood nervously before Hardy, unsure of his fate.

"Mr. Hardy, I..."

Hardy raised his hand to stop Victor from speaking.

"Henry said you were a great help this time, so you have earned credit, which offsets your previous mistakes."

Victor felt relieved, knowing he might not be killed after all.

"Thank you, Mr. Hardy. I won\'t dare to cause trouble again," Victor repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

"I have a proposal. You seem like a capable person. Would you like to work for me? If you choose to follow me, you\'ll get a share of the reward for this operation," Hardy said.

Victor blinked.

"What if I don\'t join?"

Hardy smiled faintly, "That\'s fine too. But this matter is highly confidential and must never be leaked. So you must promise never to reveal it."

Victor swallowed hard.

He had been in the underworld long enough to understand the weight of Hardy\'s words. Hardy might let him go now, but if he saw him as a loose end later, he might send someone to kill him.

Only dead men keep secrets.

Joining Hardy\'s team would ensure his safety.

Like Henry and the others.

Thinking it over, Victor realized Hardy was young but powerful. Passing the New York customs had been a breeze, showing Hardy\'s strong connections in not just Los Angeles and Miami, but New York as well.

Victor had always been a small time scam artist, at best a third rate hustler. Being taken in by someone like Hardy seemed more profitable.

One choice was a good boss and money.

The other was death.

Even a fool would know what to choose.

"Mr. Hardy, I am willing to work for you," Victor agreed quickly.

Hardy smiled, tossing a stack of cash to Victor, "This is your reward for this operation."

Victor, delighted, felt the money in his hand, knowing it was about $5,000.

What a generous boss.

Who wouldn\'t want to follow such a leader?

Returning to his office, Hardy calculated his gains from this operation.

He had acquired jewelry worth about $2 million.

Two vineyards, one in Napa Valley covering over 300 acres and another in Bordeaux covering over 100 acres.

Plus a batch of artworks collected by the Nazis, including many masterpieces by renowned artists. In the 21st century, any of these paintings could sell for millions or even tens of millions.

The harvest this time was immense.

He had to thank Debrand Hill for accumulating so much wealth for him.

What happened to Debrand Hill in the end? Who knows? This person disappeared after fleeing France and seemed to vanish from the world just like Adolf Hitler.

...

Time flew by, and February arrived. Ava\'s album was recorded and released by HD Records, featuring eight songs, with the lead track being "Scarborough Fair." The other seven songs were also carefully crafted.

The album sparked a buying frenzy as soon as it was released. With the prior promotion of her songs and the publicity from the movie "The Wild Bunch" Ava and "Scarborough Fair" had become well known. Many people bought the album to add to their collections.