Chapter 3

The chief financial officer’s weathered face flushed red as he pointed at Charles. He stammered for a long moment before gasping for air and collapsing straight backward.

“Mr. Woods!”

The people nearby scrambled in a panic to catch him, and a chaotic commotion rippled through the boardroom.

My father slammed his hand onto the table, roaring, “Enough!”

Only then did Charles rein it in slightly, though the sheer contempt on his face didn’t fade. He gave my father a dismissive, half-hearted nod.

“Mr. Sterling, I won’t waste any more breath on you. Our investment committee has made its decision. Sterling Group’s stock price won’t survive past next year. If you sell now, you can walk away with three billion dollars. But once we start shorting your stock, I’m afraid you won’t even have ten million left.

“Furthermore, we’ve taken a liking to Sterling Group’s plot of land on the south side of the city. It’s perfect for developing high-end luxury estates. Oh, and I heard your company’s tech team is quite capable. We plan to poach the entire department–”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the entire boardroom erupted into chaos.

Driving down the acquisition price, seizing their land, and poaching their core team? Was this supposed to be an acquisition negotiation? This was a blatant attempt to butcher and dismantle the Sterling Group!

“This is absolute extortion!”

“Get out of here, vulture!”

“We’ll fight them to the bitter end!”

Over by my Uncle Ross’s side of the table, several hot-tempered shareholders could no longer contain their rage.

Charles merely sneered. “Fight? Sure.”

He looked toward Uncle Ross at the head of the group and said, “I recognize you. You’re the second Sterling brother, Ross Sterling, aren’t you? Three years ago, that real estate project you spearheaded—how much did it lose? Two hundred million? Or was it three hundred million?”

Uncle Ross’s features turned bright red, as though he had been slapped across the face. The veins on his clenched fists bulged, yet he couldn’t utter a single word.

Charles then turned to look at another executive.

“And you, the marketing director? How much did you blow on marketing during Black Friday last year? What was your actual conversion rate? Was that pathetic spike in sales even enough to cover your advertising costs?”

The marketing director lowered his head as well, his face burning with shame.

As Charles’s gaze swept across the room, every person who had just been shouting fell silent. The boardroom plunged right back into a deathly, suffocating hush. It was a humiliating, powerless kind of silence.

Standing in the corner, I watched the whole spectacle unfold. These were supposed to be the elite minds of Sterling Group. Yet, the finance team was completely outtalked, and the marketing team had its deepest vulnerabilities exposed. A room full of grown professionals was being thoroughly humiliated by a corporate vulture from the financial world, their heads hanging low.

I, on the other hand, was actually feeling a little sleepy. I wasn’t joking. This scene was turning out to be far uglier than I had anticipated. It was just like a group of adults trapped in an alley by a street thug, getting slapped one by one without anyone daring to make a sound.

My father’s chest heaved. I knew he was on the verge of snapping, but he couldn’t because everything Charles was saying happened to be the absolute truth. Sterling Group’s performance was indeed tanking. This was the harsh reality of being the weaker party.

Charles looked satisfied with the impact he had made. He cleared his throat, gearing up to demand even more outrageous concessions.

“Since everyone has gone quiet, I take it we are all in agreement? Our firm also requires that–”

His ceaseless, droning voice felt like a fly buzzing right in my ear.

Initially, I had only intended to be a quiet spectator. However, this particular fly was getting too loud and annoying. I was truly getting irritated.

In that silent boardroom, everyone kept their heads bowed, so nobody noticed me, tucked away in the corner, moving. I took a single step forward, walking right out of the shadows of the corner and stepping directly into the light.