Chapter 150 All Is Lost
“I’d like to see you try!” Robert’s gaze, filled with rage, swept across the room, locking eyes with everyone seated in the conference hall.
Everyone was gauging his and Lewis’ expressions, but the rage Robert was exhibiting now seemed more or less like the desperate struggles of a man meeting his end.
As soon as Lewis finished speaking, the white-haired shareholder who’d spoken up for him immediately raised his hand without hesitating.
Then, one by one, everyone else in the room raised their hands.
Lewis placed his shares on the table. It was obvious who really was in charge of the company.
Apart from a handful who firmly stood on his side, everyone else was a fence-sitter. They had only raised their hands after seeing everyone else doing the same. It hardly mattered, though. The vote was 12 against one.
And the one person who objected was none other than Robert himself.
Robert stood unmovingly, his face a picture of disbelief. He couldn’t believe that he would get kicked out of the board just like this.
Lewis smiled. “Chairman-oh, wait, I apologize. Dad, the results of the vote are apparent. At this age, you should be resting at home and enjoying your retirement. Don’t you worry. After this, you won’t have to deal with the company’s matters anymore.”
Robert stared at him, his gaze penetrating, as if he wished nothing but to cut Lewis into a thousand pieces with his glare.
Lewis glanced sideways at Kiran and continued, “Earlier, you mentioned handing your shares to Mr. Alvarez here. I think it’s a wonderful suggestion. It seems like you’ve long thought about retiring from the board.
“In that case, let’s not delay matters anymore. The shares will be transferred today.”
“Bullshit! Who said I was going to give my shares to him?!”
Then, someone spoke up, saying, “You were the one who said it just now. It’s all recorded as well. Mr. Alvarez, you were once the chairman of the board too. You can’t be thinking about going back on your word, can you?”
Robert was rendered speechless.
His previous actions had solely been aimed at getting Kiran on the board of directors. Now that the company was under Lewis’ control, allowing Kiran to join the board would pave the way for the merger with the overseas holding group.
No matter how he looked at it, Lewis had profited from the entire situation, having solved the
company’s crisis without sparing a breath while also seizing control of the overseas holding group of the corporation.
This plan of his was indeed ruthless and cunning!
“I disagree. Earlier, I said that I would only give him my shares if Kiran becomes the president
Lewis replied, “That’s fine too. Mr. Alvarez should be the president of the company.”
Once again, Robert fell into silence.
He sank back into his seat, as if he’d finally realized that any glimmer of hope he had clung to for salvaging the situation was long lost.
He was so fucked.
In the mansion, several electronic experts brought in by Conrad were studying the metal chain. around Josephine’s ankles, but they seemed to be making no concrete progress.
“How’s it going? Can it be removed?” Phineas asked on the side.
Josephine had seen Phineas before once or twice. She knew he was aligned with Lewis, but
unlike Conrad, she was unaware of his role or position.
Moreover, he rarely appeared by Lewis’ side, and this was her first time directly interacting
with him.
“The material used to manufacture this ring is unique. It can’t be dismantled using ordinary
tools.”
“Can you erode it with chemicals, then?”
The expert shook his head. “No, we tried just now. This is neither metal nor any composite material we’ve ever encountered. If we could bring it back to our lab and analyze its composition, perhaps we could determine the material it’s made of and develop a strategy for dismantling it.”
Phineas was a bit hesitant. They had been studying the chain for almost a day now, yet they still couldn’t remove it. He didn’t know what to report back to Lewis.
“Let me see.” He knelt down and looked at the ring on Josephine’s ankle.
“Is the screen electronic? Can’t you destroy the screen?” he asked, turning around to face
them.
“We could, but can you be entirely certain that the covert listening device is hidden inside the screen?”
Phineas frowned. “It doesn’t matter. Destroy the screen first, and you can study the rest later.”
To be honest, if Lewis hadn’t told them that it was a listening device, none of them would have been able to tell.
It was only after confirming the signals obtained from the device through a signal detector that they finally had confirmation that it was indeed a listening device.
A few of them fiddled with their tools for a while before successfully smashing the screen.
After the screen was removed, only a thin, black band remained on her ankles. It looked exactly like a bracelet. It would have been rather aesthetic if it weren’t a listening device.
One of them took out a tool and carefully scraped the band a few times. After trying for a long time, they obtained whatever little powder they managed to scrape off and stood to leave.
“I’ll take this back with me and try to figure out what material this is.”
Phineas nodded. “Sure, you do that. You can go down now.”
The rest of the team packed their equipment and left, leaving Phineas and Josephine staring at one another wordlessly.
Phineas glanced at his watch. The president should be back soon.
At that moment, Lewis was stuck in a traffic jam. His brows were knitted, exhaustion lining his features.
Conrad was driving in front, and he couldn’t help but shoot surreptitious glances at Lewis. The shareholders’ meeting had gone on for the entire day. It was, indeed, an exhausting
experience.
After thinking about it for a while, he still decided to voice his concerns. “President Alvarez, since Seth escaped, should we still look for him and bring him to you?”
Lewis did not even bother to open his eyes as he replied faintly, “Of course.”
“Seth would not leave Elysium this easily. Search carefully,” he added.
“Will do but sir, how do you know he won’t leave Elysium?”
Lewis hummed in response but provided no clarification. Conrad could only shut his mouth and continued driving.
Back at Styx Mansion, Phineas immediately explained the situation to Lewis as soon as he
returned. Lewis didn’t even pause before he walked into the house.
Phineas spoke up by his side. “What do we do now, sir?”
“Go get a signal jammer.”
“Yes, sir.”
Phineas watched him walk into the mansion. Tactfully, he stopped and decided to leave the
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: What Separates Me and You