Spending a billion
1958 Words
Sebastian Sinclair's words hit like a thunderclap, leaving those who were celebrating their successful share liquidation in stunned silence.
Everyone stared in disbelief at Sebastian Sinclair, then at Christian Drake. How could the general manager of Aurum Capital be calling Christian Drake "boss"?
"W-What's going on here?!" Charlotte Hayes exclaimed, staring at Sebastian Sinclair in shock. "Mr. Sinclair, you must be mistaken!"
"How could I mistake our boss?" Sebastian Sinclair responded with a smile.
The boss of Aurum Capital?
Hearing this, everyone was once again bewildered. How could the weak and ineffectual Christian Drake suddenly become the boss of Aurum Capital?
Christian Drake, with a faint smile on his lips, walked straight to the chairman's seat with the acquisition contracts in hand and sat down.
This was the first time in his life that Christian Drake had ever sat in this position.
Looking at the bewildered crowd in the conference room, Christian Drake waved his hand and said, "You can all leave now. The Christian Family Group is mine."
The high-ranking executives of the Christian Family Group, who had never taken Christian Drake seriously, finally came to their senses.
Aurum Capital turned out to be Christian Drake's! And he had used Aurum Capital to acquire the Christian Family Group!
Was this still the weak and ineffectual Christian Drake? How could he have become the boss of Aurum Capital? After all, Aurum Capital had just spent a billion in cash to acquire the Christian Family Group!
Even at its peak, the Christian Family Group could never have had more than a billion in cash!
Where did Christian Drake get the money?
This string of questions left everyone deeply puzzled.
"Christian Drake, how could you be the boss of Aurum Capital? That's impossible! You bastard, where did you get the money?!" Charlotte Hayes shouted, pointing at Christian Drake in agitation.
"Bastard?" Christian Drake sneered and said, "Sebastian Sinclair, throw her out of my company."
"Yes, sir!" Sebastian Sinclair nodded, directing a few subordinates to grab Charlotte Hayes and escort her out of the conference room.
"Christian Drake, you can't do this. I'm your aunt, I'm your father's lawful wife. How dare you…ah!"
Charlotte Hayes's voice grew fainter, eventually turning into a scream, indicating she had indeed been thrown out.
The conference room fell silent. The high-ranking executives of the Christian Family Group and the family elders stood frozen.
"Do you want to be thrown out, or will you leave on your own?" Christian Drake asked, looking around at the people present.
They exchanged glances and then hurriedly left.
At that moment, their minds were filled with confusion and questions, but one thing was certain: Christian Drake was no longer the same man he used to be.
"Congratulations, boss, for taking down the entire Christian Family Group after lying in wait for so long," Sebastian Sinclair said with a smile.
"The Christian Family Group is worth less than one-tenth of your net worth. If you hadn't wanted to prevent the group's bankruptcy, it wouldn't even have been worth acquiring," Alexander Blake said, standing beside him.
"Regardless, the Christian Family Group is my father's legacy. I can't let it be destroyed by Charlotte Hayes. And this is just the first step in my revenge. If these people knew that the Christian Family Group they sold for a billion is about to be worth tens of billions, I wonder how they would feel," Christian Drake said with a smile.
"They'll regret it to death. The best revenge isn't physical destruction but mental torment. Hahaha!" Sebastian Sinclair laughed heartily.
Christian Drake smiled and was about to speak when his phone suddenly rang.
Christian glanced at it and saw it was an unfamiliar local number.
Christian answered the call.
"Christian Drake, this is Isabella Rose, Victoria Emily's best friend. If you're a man, come to the Tianjiao Company immediately. Victoria Emily is being bullied! In the company conference room!" an agitated woman's voice shouted on the other end before hanging up without waiting for a response.
Christian put away his phone, stood up, and walked out.
"Boss, where are you going?" Sebastian Sinclair asked.
"Tianjiao Company."
Meanwhile, at the Tianjiao Company.
Isabella Rose hung up the phone, a smug smile curling her lips.
She had lied about Victoria Emily being bullied. If Christian Drake didn't come, she would tell Victoria Emily, who would be heartbroken and likely divorce Christian. If Christian did come, it would be even better. The snobbish Victoria family members were all in the conference room. Given the Christian family's current situation, Christian would undoubtedly be humiliated.
Victoria Emily, as the company's executive president, would have to deal with her husband being publicly humiliated. Unless she didn't want to work anymore, she would definitely have to divorce him!
"Victoria Emily, I'm doing this for your own good. Don't blame me!" Isabella Rose muttered to herself.
Ten minutes later.
Christian Drake's Hyundai Elantra pulled into the Tianjiao Company parking lot.
Christian got out of the car and walked towards the elevator, phone in hand.
A woman's voice came from the phone.
"Victoria Emily is currently attending a company meeting with many Victoria family members present. No one is bullying her. Isabella Rose, who called you, tried to persuade Victoria Emily to divorce you this morning."
"I see," Christian said, hanging up and entering the elevator.
The elevator quickly reached the office floor.
Christian stepped out of the elevator and headed straight for the office.
"He really came!" Isabella Rose was surprised to see Christian. She had thought it highly likely that Christian, the coward, wouldn't show up. But if he did, it would be even better!
Isabella Rose stood up and walked towards Christian.
Many people in the company were watching Christian.
Although Christian had never been to the company, many knew of him. After all, their strong-willed president had married such a weak man, a piece of gossip that had circulated in the company for years.
"Christian Drake, hurry up! They're in the office!" Isabella Rose said excitedly as she approached him.
Christian naturally knew Isabella, Victoria Emily's best friend.
"Okay!" Christian nodded and quickened his pace towards the conference room.
"Christian Drake, don't blame me. Blame yourself for not being worthy of Victoria Emily!" Isabella Rose whispered to his back.
Christian reached the conference room door.
He knew that once he opened the door, he would face the disdain and ridicule of the Victoria family members. Isabella Rose had lied about Victoria Emily being bullied to get him here, probably to have him humiliated.
Having her husband humiliated in front of the company, even Victoria Emily would be unable to stand it, right?
At that point, perhaps Victoria Emily would agree to the divorce.
Christian reached out and grabbed the door handle.
Just as he was about to push the door open, he heard Victoria Emily's voice from inside.
"There's no way I'm divorcing Christian Drake."
Her voice was firm and strong, penetrating the door and reaching Christian's ears, then straight into his heart.
Christian Drake's hand paused, he didn't push the door open.
"Victoria Emily, the Christian family has no value anymore. We're only thinking about your happiness! Divorce Christian Drake, you can still find someone better, after all, you're still young," came a woman's voice. Christian Drake recognized it as his mother-in-law, Zhou Yanqiu.
"Mom, you don't need to say anymore. I won't divorce him!" Victoria Emily's voice remained calm and firm.
"Victoria Emily, Young Master Nicholas has already stated he doesn't mind your past marriage. Our company has reached a bottleneck in its development. With the help of the Nicholas family, we could easily overcome our current stagnation. Most importantly, the Christian family is failing. If you remain the daughter-in-law of the Christian family, our Victoria family might also be implicated. So, it's best for you to divorce. If you divorce, you'll remain the company's executive president. If not, you'll be relegated to a clerk," a cold voice echoed. It was Victoria Emily's grandfather, Victoria Sterling.
"Years ago, when the company faced difficulties, it was you who made me marry into the Christian family. Now, the company is facing challenges again, and you want to send me away. Is the Victoria family's business strategy solely based on selling out the women of the Victoria family? Since you decided four years ago to marry me off to the Christian family, then I will be a part of the Christian family for life. If you don't want me to be the executive president, fine, but asking me to divorce is impossible!" Victoria Emily said resolutely.
"Victoria Emily, you're being unreasonable!"
"Exactly, how dare you speak to your grandfather like that!"
"You think too highly of yourself, Victoria Emily. The Christian family is done for. Do you still think you're the second young mistress of the Christian family?"
Various contemptuous and scornful voices rang out from the conference room.
Christian Drake no longer hesitated. He grasped the door handle and pulled it open forcefully.
The conference room was filled with members of the Victoria family. As Christian Drake entered, many of them were berating Victoria Emily. Upon hearing the noise at the door, they all turned to look.
"Well, well, isn't this the second young master of the Christian family? Victoria Emily's husband?" Her cousin, Victoria Lawson, said mockingly, looking at Christian Drake.
Victoria Emily frowned slightly upon seeing Christian Drake. She got up and walked over to him, whispering, "What are you doing here?"
"My wife is being bullied. Of course, I have to come," Christian Drake replied.
Victoria Emily was stunned for a moment. The way Christian Drake spoke was unlike his usual self.
"Don't make a scene. Go home," Victoria Emily urged.
"Don't be in a hurry to leave, Christian Drake. Judging by your posture, are you here to settle accounts with us? What, the second young master of the soon-to-be-bankrupt Christian family dares to come and flaunt his power in the Victoria family?" Victoria Lawson said disdainfully.
"I'm not here to flaunt power, just can't stand my wife being bullied. I overheard some things at the door. Since you all think the Christian family has no value, from now on, all cooperation between the Christian family and the Victoria family is suspended," Christian Drake said expressionlessly.
The Victoria family members around him laughed as if hearing the funniest joke ever.
"Christian Drake, you must be crazy! The Christian family is on the brink of bankruptcy. We're eager to cut ties with you. Besides, as the second young master, what makes you think you can speak for the Christian family?" Victoria Lawson laughed arrogantly.
"Drake, stop it," Victoria Emily pulled Christian Drake's hand. She knew he was standing up for her, but what he said seemed too naive to her.
Christian Drake sneered, picked up his phone, and made a call.
"From now on, suspend all cooperation with the Victoria family," Christian Drake said.
"Wow, you're quite the actor. Did you hire someone to put on this show?" Victoria Lawson continued to laugh.
At that moment, the phone of Victoria Sterling, who had been sitting silently at the head of the table, suddenly rang. He answered it, and the conference room fell silent.
Victoria Lawson, still mocking, watched Christian Drake, waiting for his grandfather to finish the call and resume the ridicule.
"What did you say? Really?" Victoria Sterling exclaimed in shock.
Everyone looked at him curiously, wondering what had startled him so much.
After a long while, Victoria Sterling put down the phone, his face serious, and looked at Christian Drake, "You... just spent ten billion to buy all the shares of the Christian Family Group?"
This one sentence left everyone in the conference room utterly dumbfounded.
- Writer
