1989 (#17) - Victor's discoveries, revenge against Jack and the conquest of Jabot

Victor, reading his biography written by Leanna, is astonished when he finds the same style of writing as Nora Randall, author of the previous book that had discredited him. He discovers with astonishment that there seems to be no shadow of Nora Randall, neither among the authors of the books in libraries nor in the registry offices. Victor thus begins to be suspicious, and he is literally bewildered to learn that Leanna had frequented Jack for a short time; at the very time when the book was supposedly written. Jack then, noticing a certain interest on the part of some unknown men, actually private investigators sent by Victor, about his relationships and his connections with the publishing house that published Nora's book, decides to leave Genoa City for a while; this choice definitely confirms Victor's suspicion: it was Leanna who discredited him! So Victor decides to face the woman face to face and, when the sorry woman confesses, adding that she bitterly repented, she is abruptly expelled from the Newman's ranch. Victor's anger, however, is certainly not only felt by Leanna, who was nothing more than a pawn; Victor, in fact, knows that the person responsible for everything, as well as the author of the book, is Jack himself, to whom Victor begins to turn his attention, hatching an unprecedented thirst for revenge. Victor, in fact, plans to punish Jack with the most precious thing he possesses, the Jabot. The man, after so many years, has finally managed to gain the trust of his father John, who entrusted him with the important role of director of the family business, and therefore of all the wealth of their family. Victor then decided to commit himself with all his strength to taking the company out of Jack's hands and conquering it, thus inflicting a profound humiliation on the boy. Victor, through his trusted men, thus begins to buy a large number of shares of the company in a confidential manner; purchases that make a naive Jack believe that the company is simply reassessing itself in the markets, without suspecting that there is only one buyer behind the purchases. At the same time Victor, through his important and influential knowledge in the financial world, obtains from many bankers the promise to close the taps of credit with Jabot, thus denying him loans and financing in order to put the company in serious difficulty. This move, successful also thanks to the rich bank accounts owned by Victor, who threatens to withdraw in case the bank had not followed his order. In the end, when Jack realizes he is under attack, it is too late: Victor already owns a large part of the company and becomes the first shareholder and owner of Jabot! Jack is shocked to see that behind all this giant financial maneuver there is Victor, who immediately decides to relieve him of the task to appoint, in his place, the person that, after Victor, of course, Jack hates most of all: Brad Carlton. Jack, completely helpless and amazed, feels the humiliation of not having stopped the sale of his father's company, which he feels deeply disappointed. Though on his knees, Jack therefore promises a radiant and satisfied Victor that he will regain his company, at any cost and by any means.