With the Westeros system operating at full force, it took less than a week for the media to begin circulating a new version of the story about the attack from several years ago, one much closer to the truth.
The legal team personally assembled by Janet quickly filed civil lawsuits against Matthew Broderick and five others for malicious defamation, seeking damages ranging from $10 million to $50 million. Mark Stein and the other four were each sued for $10 million, while Matthew Broderick himself faced a $50 million claim.
Observant media outlets quickly noticed that $10 million was clearly the baseline. The $50 million demanded from Matthew Broderick happened to be exactly ten times his current net worth.
Moreover, the six men's earlier sky high demands had always seemed excessive. Even if they somehow won and received full compensation, the amount would still be well within Simon's ability to pay.
By contrast, if Simon won the lawsuit, the consequences for the six men would be devastating. Not only would they lose everything they owned, but the remaining debt would likely prevent them from ever recovering financially for the rest of their lives. Worse still, losing the case might very well expose them to criminal charges and possible prison time.
Beyond counterattacking in the media, Simon's legal team also filed a request with the Santa Monica Police Department in Los Angeles to reopen the investigation into the attack that occurred in the summer of 1986, aiming to prove their client's innocence and give the public the truth.
When the Los Angeles Times exposed the news, Simon immediately seized a significant advantage in public opinion.
If Simon Westeros did not have confidence in his position, he would never have voluntarily asked the local police to reopen the investigation.
With an event attracting such widespread attention and with the media watching every move, no matter how influential the Westeros name might be, the local police would hardly dare to show favoritism.
Although detailed case records had not been preserved at the time, the incident had involved many people. Even after four years, uncovering the truth of what happened was far from impossible.
Thus, when the Santa Monica Police Department held a press conference announcing that it would officially reopen the investigation into the assault, the six men who had previously been very active in the media suddenly seemed flustered.
Mark Stein, now wearing a new set of dentures, lashed out angrily during an interview, claiming that the Santa Monica police would never uncover the real truth, only the version of truth that Simon Westeros wanted.
Pressed by reporters, Stein argued that Simon Westeros possessed enormous wealth and influence, enough to manipulate the outcome of the investigation.
Simon's lawyers had not even responded yet, but Stein's attack clearly angered the Santa Monica Police Department, which quickly issued an official rebuttal.
Soon after, the department announced a major breakthrough in the case.
A baseball bat.
Although no formal case had been filed at the time, the baseball bat from the night of the assault had been preserved. For years it had simply sat in a dusty corner of the police evidence room.
The attack had left a deep impression on both the responding officers and the doctors who treated the victims. Many vividly remembered the baseball bat clutched tightly in the teenager's hands that night. It had taken considerable effort from several people to pry the bat from his grip.
At a public press conference, the Santa Monica police chief personally displayed the bat to reporters. It carried extensive DNA traces from Simon Westeros and five other teenagers. Though no further explanation was provided, the media immediately began interpreting the implications.
The bat was a high quality oak model that had sold for around $200 at the time. Even more notable, it bore the autographs of two professional baseball stars.
Given Simon Westeros's status back then as a temporary supermarket clerk, even if he could barely afford the $200 price tag, there was no way he could have obtained the stars' signatures.
Which meant the bat could not have belonged to Westeros.
And if the bat was not Simon Westeros's, the claim by Matthew Broderick and the others that Simon had attacked all six of them while wielding it became extremely difficult to believe.
Yet Mark Stein once again went on a tirade in front of the media, firmly denying that the bat belonged to any of them. He even accused Simon of possibly stealing it, suggesting that although Simon might not have been able to afford the bat, he could have taken it from someone else.
Soon after Stein made those remarks, several of his former acquaintances stepped forward to testify. The bat, they said, was indeed Stein's personal possession, something he had cherished greatly. Because it carried the signatures of two baseball stars, he often showed it off to others.
Faced with this testimony, Stein quickly changed his story again. This time he admitted the bat was his, but insisted that Simon Westeros had still initiated the attack. According to Stein, he had merely used the bat for self defense before Simon snatched it away.
This contradiction riddled explanation, so incoherent it bordered on nonsense, finally caused many members of the media and the public who had previously supported the six men to change their stance.
Amid the chaos surrounding the assault case, the news that Daenerys Entertainment had reached a settlement with the three major guilds suddenly seemed far less interesting.
But within the industry, people were still paying close attention.
Before the settlement, the first sign of change came with the resignation of George Kogo, president of the Writers Guild of America's Western branch. Soon afterward, Daenerys Entertainment announced that it would temporarily abandon plans to build a film production base in Toronto.
Finally, the three major guilds signed an almost unconditional settlement agreement with Daenerys Entertainment and withdrew their lawsuit.
Once the legal case that might have blocked Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA was resolved, public attention suddenly shifted to the East Coast.
As December arrived and Christmas approached, Simon Westeros and his wife Janet attended the White House's annual grand banquet, held to entertain members of Congress, journalists, and social elites.
The day after the banquet, Simon accepted an invitation from the president and met publicly with President George Bush in the Oval Office for a thirty minute discussion. Their conversation focused mainly on the economic challenges facing the United States and possible solutions.
Naturally, the meeting was political theater. Bush hoped to counter criticism that he was indifferent to domestic affairs.
What Simon received in return was the Department of Justice's approval for Westeros Company's acquisition of Bell Atlantic.
One week before Christmas, after reaching a number of regulatory agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, particularly regarding restrictions related to Nokia and other matters, the two agencies successively approved Westeros Company's purchase of Bell Atlantic.
On December 20, after quietly completing its year end financial settlement, Westeros Company officially repatriated its overseas funds held under Cersei Fund Management and paid a staggering $2.29 billion in taxes in a single payment.
Both the New York Post on the East Coast and the Los Angeles Times on the West Coast revealed a photograph of the enormous $2.29 billion tax check used by Westeros Company. Some even joked that the payment was large enough to qualify for the Guinness World Records.
Westeros Company did not miss the opportunity to shape its public image. Through media coverage, it emphasized that most of the money had been earned overseas, and that Simon Westeros's willingness to pay taxes without relying on aggressive tax avoidance strategies demonstrated a strong sense of social responsibility.
The day after the tax check was revealed, December 21, the final working day before Christmas, Westeros Company officially signed the acquisition agreement with Bell Atlantic.
At the press conference that day, James Rebould, president of Westeros Company, made an additional announcement during the signing ceremony.
Given the current economic climate in the United States, he said, Westeros Company, committed to social responsibility, would guarantee that Bell Atlantic would carry out no layoffs in the coming year.
Not only that, as Bell Atlantic expanded investment in mobile communications and internet services, the company was expected to create at least 1,000 additional jobs over the next few years.
This public commitment once again earned Westeros Company considerable goodwill in both the media and the public.
Following the signing, Westeros Company planned to complete cash settlements with Bell Atlantic shareholders within two weeks after Christmas.
Meanwhile in Hollywood, A League of Their Own, which premiered on November 23, had grossed $70.33 million by December 20 after just four weeks in theaters. During the week from December 14 to December 20 alone, the film earned $10.92 million.
Although weekly revenue might drop below $10 million the following week, the women's baseball film was already guaranteed a place in the $100 million box office club.
Dances with Wolves, now finishing its seventh week in theaters, had accumulated $49.56 million.
Though far behind A League of Their Own, the film's box office trend remained extremely stable, especially after receiving six major Golden Globe nominations.
Robert Altman's Venice Golden Lion winning film Short Cuts, which opened on December 7 across 613 screens, also performed well.
Thanks to strong word of mouth and excellent promotion by the Highgate Pictures team, the film earned $7.38 million in its first seven days.
In its second week, the number of screens increased to 823, and the box office actually rose to $8.63 million.
As an intricately woven ensemble drama portraying the everyday lives of Los Angeles residents, the film featured no major stars. With most actors receiving only base salaries, the total production budget was just $8 million.
After only two weeks, the film's $16.01 million North American total had already recovered its full production cost.
Simon had originally held modest expectations for Short Cuts, predicting a domestic total of around $20 million. But judging by the box office trajectory after two weeks, the film now had a strong chance of reaching $50 million.
Even so, despite the film exceeding expectations, Daenerys Entertainment had no intention of changing its awards season strategy.
Dances with Wolves would remain the primary focus of its Oscar campaign.
Still, Short Cuts secured Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The Golden Globe committee even planned to introduce a special "Best Ensemble" award specifically to honor the film's remarkable ensemble cast.
Robert Altman had enjoyed brief success in the late 1970s, but after a series of flops in the early 1980s, he had nearly been forgotten and was forced to work mostly in Europe.
Now, with the success of Short Cuts, the veteran director had returned to Hollywood's mainstream spotlight, and his career was beginning to flourish again.
Despite receiving offers from other studios, Altman remained unmoved. Even though he had never signed a long term contract, he publicly stated that he looked forward to working with Daenerys Entertainment again on his next film.
On December 21, amid the festive holiday atmosphere, Daenerys Entertainment's biggest year end release, Home Alone, finally premiered.
Under Simon's personal arrangements, the film opened on 2,676 screens, making it the widest release of any film at the end of 1990.
Its marketing campaign also far exceeded that of other holiday films. Even before the premiere, more than $12 million had been spent on advertising alone, with the total promotional budget reaching $15 million.
Clearly, if the film performed as expected at the box office, the eventual marketing investment could easily surpass the film's $18 million production budget.
However, the Christmas season competition was fierce.
Besides Home Alone, three other films opened on more than 1,000 screens: Universal's Kindergarten Cop starring Jean Claude Van Damme after Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped out, Brian De Palma's The Bonfire of the Vanities, and the comedy Almost an Angel starring Paul Hogan, the star of the hit Crocodile Dundee films.
MGM's Cold War spy film The Russia House, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, also opened on more than 700 screens.
In addition, four other new films launched in smaller limited releases ranging from just a few screens to a few hundred.
All told, nine new films debuted in North American theaters during the week of December 21.
Having successfully secured Bell Atlantic, Simon spent Christmas week staying with Janet at their Greenwich estate on the East Coast.
Because it was Christmas, Sophia Fache also came over, planning to take a week long holiday.
Perhaps because she had long hoped to have a baby of her own, Janet adored Sophia's two children. On Christmas Day, everyone gathered together for lunch.
As for the acquisition of MCA, the biggest obstacle, the lawsuit from the three major guilds, had been resolved. Daenerys Entertainment resumed contact with MCA's management.
The United Nations had already issued its final ultimatum to Iraq, demanding that Iraqi forces withdraw from Kuwait before January 15 of the following year.
Simon knew this was also the final window for Daenerys Entertainment to easily acquire MCA. Once the war ended swiftly and the U.S. stock market rebounded, complications would inevitably arise.
On the surface, however, Daenerys Entertainment's team continued proceeding methodically, showing no sign of urgency.
After all, Simon, who clearly understood the future economic trajectory, very much hoped to finalize the acquisition before the war began.
MCA's side thought the same.
In the wars the United States had fought since World War II, nearly all had negatively impacted the domestic economy. Experts and media across the country widely predicted that if war broke out in the Middle East, the U.S. stock market would decline again.
If the conflict dragged on like the Vietnam War and became a prolonged stalemate, the American economy would suffer even more.
Therefore, both Daenerys Entertainment and MCA's shareholders hoped the acquisition could be finalized before January 15 of the coming year.