Chapter 315
The shareholders no longer looked at Briar with the same dread.
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At least she was not as merciless as the rumors suggested; she was willing to let the police handle matters. That thought put them at ease–though Edgar’s panic only grew.
“Briar, how dare you! I’m your father, your only family in this world!” Edgar bellowed as he bolted toward the door of the conference room.
His chest tightened with anxiety, and he wondered, ‘Why wasn’t Briar following their carefully laid script?
They had assumed that if they provoked her enough, she would lash out in front of everyone.
And no matter her excuse, striking her father publicly would tarnish her image in the eyes of the shareholders.
That was Edgar’s entire purpose in attending this meeting: to draw Briar into a trap and keep her entangled at the company long enough for the others to delay Ashton.
But all their plotting had gone to waste as Briar showed no sign of being rattled.
And now she was threatening to have him arrested.
He couldn’t remain here another second. He had to escape.
Yet Edgar knew–he could not leave unless Briar allowed it.
Just as he gripped the glass door handle, Briar flicked her wrist. A razor–sharp scalpel whistled through the air, flashing past the shareholders‘ eyes.“Ahhh!” Edgar screamed.
The blade had buried itself in the back of his hand, drawing a crimson stream.
The scalpel trembled where it stuck, and Edgar howled in agony.
The conference room fell into utter silence.
Only Edgar’s cries of pain, punctuated by the shareholders‘ stifled gasps, disturbed the stillness.
Nathan exhaled heavily, shaking his head. Briar had turned the atmosphere taut with fear in an instant.
He first calmed the restless shareholders, then, with his hands in his pockets, strode toward Edgar, who cowered against the door, clutching his bloodied hand. Nathan crouched down before him.
“Edgar, as you can see, you’re not leaving this room until the police arrive,” Nathan relayed.
Edgar’s face was ghostly pale as he refuted, “…The Jennings Group only reached its current heights under my leadership. How can taking money from my own company be called embezzlement?”
Nathan’s smile slowly vanished. His eyes darkened, turning sharp and menacing–a complete reversal of the
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gentle, refined image he usually projected in the company.
With his back to the others, only Edgar saw this sudden transformation.
The sight struck him speechless.
‘So this man wasn’t a saint either. That look, that aura–it was the face of a killer.
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“Why was it that everyone around Briar was just like her–dangerous, ruthless, impossible to control?” Edgar thought…
As he faced Briar’s cold threat, Nathan’s chilling gaze, and the open disgust from the shareholders, Edgar’s fear grew boundless.
In that moment, he found himself praying for the police to arrive quickly. Otherwise, with blood still pouring from his hand, he might faint before long.
At last, his desperate wish was granted. The police arrived.
When they pulled Edgar to his feet, relief washed over him.“
He obeyed meekly, allowing himself to be led away.
He never even looked back.
Briar leaned casually against the doorway, watching him depart with a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Thanks to Edgar’s disgrace—and the spectacle of him being hauled away like a parasite–the rest of the shareholders‘ meeting went off without a hitch.
No matter what demands Briar made, the shareholders approved them unanimously.
Of course they did. Who would dare object?
Not when the scalpel in Briar’s hand was still stained with Edgar’s blood on the floor by the door.
Unlike Edgar, the shareholders weren’t fools. They understood that discretion was the better part of valor.
They weren’t foolish like Edgar; they understood that discretion is the better part of valor.
Besides, everything Briar raised in the meeting was rooted in the company’s growth and long–term interests.
All they had to do was stay quiet, and their dividends at year’s end would be triple what they had been under Edgar.
Only an idiot would oppose her.
Thus, the shareholders‘ meeting, held without Edgar, concluded smoothly. The investors walked away greater confidence in Briar’s ability to lead.
with
After the three–hour shareholders‘ meeting, the shareholders emerged from the conference room with smiles
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Chapter 315
on their faces. They greeted Briar and Nathan and then left right away,
Not one lingered to offer unnecessary advice.
They were clated–why not? Their profits would rise without them lifting a finger.
“It seems the charm of our young CEO has completely won over the shareholders, Nathan remarked with a laugh, arms crossed as he stood behind Briar.
Now that the room was empty, he spoke freely.
Briar answered lightly, “I should be the one praising you. Every strategic plan proposed today came from you, the financial mastermind.”
She had been devoting all her energy to uncovering the mastermind behind the underground lab, leaving no time to draft such detailed plans.
All she had done was hold Nathan’s proposal in her hands and pretend to read from it.
Nathan waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. What’s mine is yours.”
Briar’s eyes flickered with a sly glint. She smiled faintly and changed the subject, “By the way, Atrington University invited me to give a lecture, but I’m tied up. Can you go in my place?”
Nathan pointed to himself, sighing in disbelief. He asked, “Briar, look at me. Now think about your reputation as the esteemed Professor Ms. Bree at Atrington University. What good would I be there?”
“Shh! Keep your voice down,” Briar warned, glancing around. “That’s the only alias of mine that hasn’t been exposed yet.”
Nathan raised his hands in mock protest. “Please. You’re still keeping your alias as the world–renowned designer Q a secret, too.”
Briar smirked, “Do you expect me to reveal all my cards? I need to keep some mystery alive.”
Realizing he couldn’t win this debate, Nathan pivoted and proposed, “Fine, I’ll go to Atrington for you. But only if you agree to one condition.”
Briar shut him down instantly, stating, “No. Whatever your condition is, the answer’s the same. No chance. Forget it!”
