Ethan and Eduardo walked into the boardroom to find Victor Keating mid-conversation, with an Arcphone over his ear.
The mont he saw them, he abruptly pulled the device down but did not end the call. He kept the line open deliberately, needing whoever was on the other end to know sothing had gone wrong.
Victor stood from his seat almost imdiately, cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "I... wasn’t expecting you today, Eduardo."
Eduardo gave a slight nod. "Victor."
Victor turned toward Ethan, forcing a polite smile. "And you must be Nathan’s son. Ethan."
Ethan stared back at him with a cold facial expression. "I am."
Victor nodded. "I’m Victor Keating, the acting CEO. Eduardo gave notice of your decision to take your place at the head of the company. It’s good to finally et you."
Ethan didn’t waste ti with pleasantries. "And I’m going to start by asking this; has Stark Industries not made sales in the last three months?"
Victor was caught slightly off guard by the directness. "We have, Mr. Stark."
Ethan nodded. "Good. And have the account sheets not reflected both the sales and paynts to everyone, including our working n?"
Victor answered smoothly, without giving off any sort of nervousness. "Of course they have."
"Then why haven’t the working n received pay in the last three months?"
But the mont this question left Ethan’s lips, Victor imdiately understood where this was going.
However, he quickly feigned a surprised expression.
"That makes no sense," Victor said, shaking his head as if genuinely confused. "The working n get their pay on ti. It’s been that way for the last three months."
Eduardo’s face remained stern. "The workers say sothing different, Victor. According to them, they’ve been told the company isn’t making enough sales to cover their wages."
Ethan stared at Victor, studying his face carefully.
But Keating maintained his composure. "Those are untruths. I assure you, this is certainly new to —"
Ethan cut him off at that point. "This company has been under your care and control. So how the fuck is this new to you, Victor?"
Victor was taken aback. His eyes widened slightly. Did this kid just speak to him like that?
But Ethan, or rather the soul of Allen inhabiting this body, was genuinely angry. He had a personal thing against unpaid labor. It was one of the few things that could make him lose his composure.
Victor, however, maintained his calm. He raised both hands slightly in a placating gesture. "Perhaps we should invite Truman in for a better explanation."
Ethan made a weird expression and turned toward Eduardo. "Who?"
"Truman’s the company’s accountant," Eduardo said.
Ethan turned back to Victor. "Get him here, Now."
——
anwhile, right outside the building, a scrawny-looking man in an wrong sized three-piece suit stepped out of a parked vehicle, followed closely by two other n in similar business attire.
Their car had stopped a few ters away from the main entrance. The three of them walked forward and suddenly they ca to a halt right beside a vintage car.
This vintage car was parked directly at the entrance of Stark Industries, and its tinted windows were rolled down just a bit, enough to let air circulate inside without revealing that anyone was seated within.
The scrawny man was Juan, and he’d just brought his Arcphone down from his ear.
The last thing he’d heard through the line was Victor’s voice, arguing with the Stark heir and Eduardo.
That told Juan everything he needed to know. The plan with Victor wasn’t going to work. Not today.
And that was exactly what Victor had needed him to understand, which was why Victor hadn’t ended the call in the first place.
Juan quickly turned toward the two n standing beside him, who looked oblivious to what was happening. "I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to carry on with the sale of the company today."
One of them grew a frown on their face. "Why not? We’ve co such a long way for Stark Industries. What’s this last-minute crap?"
Juan raised both hands in gesture trying to pacify them. "I understand, truly. But please, let’s leave and continue further discussions outside. Not here."
He gestured back toward where his car was parked a few ters behind the vintage vehicle.
The n exchanged irritated glances but eventually obliged as they turned and began walking back toward their car.
Inside the vintage vehicle, Valerie sat quietly in the passenger seat, and she had heard just enough through the window.
"Hm... they wanted to sell this place?" she thought to herself as her gaze lifted towards the massive Stark Industries building. "That’s probably why they hired to work at the house instead."
——
Inside the boardroom, Eduardo lowered his Arcphone from his ear and let out a slow sigh "I can’t seem to reach Truman either."
He’d just tried calling after Victor had made his own unsuccessful attempt monts before.
Ethan let out a long breath and shook his head. "A lot of things are going wrong with this place. How is the accountant not right here in the office where he’s supposed to be working?"
Eduardo’s expression grew somber. "I also take responsibility, Master Ethan. I have failed in giving this place as much attention as it truly required."
Victor imdiately jumped in, his tone defensive. "With all due respect, you’re undermining my competence, Eduardo. This place has been running smoothly under my leadership—"
"That’s enough, Victor," Ethan said, cutting him off sharply.
Victor’s expression was definitely annoyed even further, but he said nothing.
Ethan then turned toward Eduardo. "Do you have a list of our company’s clients?"
Eduardo nodded. "Yes, Master Ethan."
Ethan asked again, "Do you communicate with all of them?"
Eduardo nodded once more. "Yes, Master Ethan."
That was all Ethan needed to hear. He was confident that with his prior experience as Allen, a lawyer who had represented several companies, he could run one in this new world.
All he needed was access to the clients and the knowledge of soone who knew them well. Which is where Eduardo ca in.
With that settled in his mind, he ca to a decision, then turned back toward Victor.
"I’m suspending you effectively imdiately, Mr. Keating, until I make sense of everything that’s really going on here."
Victor’s eyes widened. "What?" He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You can’t do that."
Ethan reached into his coat and pulled out a folded docunt. "You see, on my way here, I got to read this. Thankfully, Eduardo had it handy for today."
He raised it up slightly for Victor to see. "It’s the agreent of incorporation. This states that I will take over as CEO at the rightful age of eighteen. It also gives full authority to fire or suspend anyone who has displayed misconduct or neglect of their duties."
He paused for effect, letting that sink in.
Then he added, "The account sheets say one thing. The workers say another. But I don’t need anyone to tell there’s embezzlent happening. Whether it’s you or the accountant Truman is what I’m going to have to find out. So until then, please do not resu work at Stark Industries."
Ethan was speaking from experience gained in his previous life. He had handled enough cases like this to recognize embezzlent when he saw it. Watching it unfold here made it clear this was no different.
Victor stared at him and Eduardo for a long while. Finally, he scoffed, turned and walked out of the boardroom without another word.
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