At the chairman of the board’s funeral, Lance, one of the executioners, also stood in a circle wearing somber clothes.
He and the vice president walked over together and tossed the flowers in their hands into the grave.
It’s worth mentioning that the fish that broke his life record was also made into a specimen and placed in his coffin.
This was his family’s wish. He had died for this fish, so let him take this fish with him to heaven to show off his achievement to God!
The atmosphere at the scene was sorrowful. After laying the flowers, Lance walked over to the side of the chairman’s son and his wife.
If one were to judge simply from the word “son,” one would expect a young man.
But in reality, his son was already in his late thirties, almost forty. Although his appearance was rather ordinary, his affluent family conditions from a young age gave him a very special temperament.
A temperament of wealth and nobility.
His wife was much younger than him, and also very beautiful. When the two stood together, they did not show much of a sad atmosphere, although they had tried their best to pretend.
Besides this son, the chairman of the board also had a daughter. The daughter was slightly younger than her son, and had also come with her husband. There didn’t seem to be much sadness on their faces either.
Because she was wearing sunglasses, Lance couldn’t see her real expression clearly, but from the slight smile that occasionally appeared at the corner of her mouth when she lowered her head, it could be seen…
The death of a father did not make her feel sad, but rather made her very happy.
The only one in the entire family who was relatively sad, and not grieving, was probably the chairman of the board’s wife, but it was only sadness.
This might be the problem most often encountered in high society. Kinship often comes after money and power.
“According to the company’s contract, Mr. Chairman’s wife will inherit all the shares. If she takes the initiative to renounce the inheritance, then the company will buy back this portion of the shares at the market price.”
“If the company can’t come up with the money, then according to a board resolution, the company’s directors or shareholders will contribute funds to purchase and hold this portion of the shares on their behalf.”
“They will enjoy all rights except for voting rights, but when the company needs it, the nominee must give priority to transferring this portion of the shares according to the contract.”
The vice president, at the side, was introducing the company’s shareholding change method to Lance.
In a situation like the present, where the company itself was not in a convenient position to come up with the funds to buy back these shares, the shareholders would do it.
When new shareholders are introduced, or when this portion of the shares is traded, then the person holding them on behalf of others must sell them first.
In other words, even if this portion of the shares was bought by a certain shareholder of the company, his position in the company would not change, because the board of directors could buy back this portion of the stock in his hands at any time.
It was a relatively strict shareholding change process, which would not allow any unexpected loss of shares outside the plan.
Although there were some loopholes in this, overall, they attached great importance to the security of their shareholdings.
“What if you want to acquire these stocks?” Lance asked.
The vice president said with a chuckle, “Unless the board of directors and the shareholders have a resolution, for example, the board of directors has discussed letting me increase my holdings by one-thousandth of the shares.”
Lance turned his head to look at him, an expression of “contempt” on his face, which made the vice president show a wry smile.
He explained, “Mr. Lance, according to the current internal quotation of the company, one-thousandth of the shares is worth about $1,200,000.”
“Mr. Chairman’s shares seem like a lot, but some of them were left from his father’s time…”
This was the inheritance of capital. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
Everyone is accumulating, but the accumulation of dozens of generations of the poor is not as good as the accumulation of one generation of the rich.
Lance jabbed him a little, “One million two hundred thousand was in the past. Now it’s only worth four or five hundred thousand.”
The vice president didn’t argue with him, but just nodded with a smile. The principle was ultimately this principle.
“How many shares will she inherit?”
“About three-point-something percent. I’m not exactly sure.”
Lance let out a whistle. “Even if its price is very low now, this is still worth ten or twenty million.”
A spark flashed in the vice president’s eyes. This was the reason why everyone wanted to climb up.
If the chairman of the board knew that his death not only did not make his family feel sad, but also made them feel somewhat inexplicably happy, then he might have been able to figure out some problems earlier.
The funeral soon ended. The vice president, as the “official staff” arranged by the company to liaise with the chairman’s wife, did not leave directly after the funeral, but went to the outskirts of the cemetery.
“Hello, ma’am. I am the vice president of the corporate group, and I have been arranged by the board of directors to liaise with you this time.”
“This is my colleague, and a legal advisor.”
Besides the two of them, the company’s lawyer was also with them. After all, this involved some legal issues that the vice president and Lance could not handle.
The chairman’s wife was not young either. Her snow-white silver hair gave her a very noble temperament. Of course, this was indeed the case.
Anyone who holds tens of millions in wealth, and has a corresponding social status, will definitely have a temperament that is vastly different from those at the bottom who have to take out a loan for a sixty-square-meter apartment.
Every… thread on her body, the thread of her clothes, was unimaginably expensive for ordinary people.
The chairman’s wife took off her sunglasses. Her gaze swept over the vice president’s face and then lingered on Lance’s.
A handsome young man. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and only then did she extend her hand. “Should I say ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you’?”
It was indeed not a happy occasion to say this, even if she was pretending.
The vice president shook her hand. “A sharp question.”
“But I believe our meeting is still very necessary.”
The chairman’s wife then extended her hand to Lance. Lance also shook it. “You haven’t introduced yourself yet.”
This made Lance pause for a moment, but he still said his name, “Lance, Lance White. It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
The chairman’s wife tucked her chin in reservedly and then also shook hands with the lawyer.
“Madam Chairman, it’s a bit presumptuous of me to ask, but did Mr. Chairman… leave a will before the accident?”
Wills are very common in the Federation, especially in high society. Most Federation people will have more than one child, and also a bunch of siblings.
Everyone hopes to get a share of the inheritance, but if there is no will, then all the property will be inherited by the deceased’s husband or wife, all of it.
This can easily lead to some tragedies.
If there is no wife or husband, then the division of this inheritance will become very complicated. Almost all direct relatives can try to get a share from it.
Many families have come to an end because of inheritance distribution problems.
On the basis of absorbing the experience of their predecessors, almost all members of large families will make a will, and from the age of forty onwards.
These wills will be written in the presence of witnesses and lawyers, and then sealed and put in a safe.
If the writer has an accident, then this will can play a key role.
Does it sound a bit scary?
In fact, they will change their will from time to time, perhaps because a family member’s performance is very bad, or because they have some new ideas about the distribution of property.
Mr. Chairman was so old, he would definitely have left a will, so now the vice president wanted to know if there was a problem with the inheritance of shares in this will.
The chairman’s wife nodded. “Of course he left a will. I know what you are concerned about, but this is not the place to talk.”
The vice president and Lance looked at each other and accepted her invitation.
They went together to the chairman’s estate in the suburbs. The luxurious estate exuded nobility and expense everywhere. In a study that was like a small library, they sat down and talked about this issue.
“This is a copy of his will. In his inheritance, the company shares are divided between me and the children, and do not involve anyone else.”
The accompanying lawyer carefully read this will and acknowledged what the chairman’s wife had said.
“I hold 2% of the shares. The remaining 1.7% is inherited by our son, 1% of which, and our daughter inherited 0.7%.”
She raised her head slightly. “But the voting rights are all in my hands.”
“I know some of the company’s situation. I myself am also willing to join the board of directors. Although you may not let me become the chairman of the board, I am willing to contribute a part to the company.”
Just as she was speaking, the study door opened, and Mr. Chairman’s son and daughter also walked in. They were also very concerned about the relationship between the shares and the company.
After all, this was a lot of money.
“What are you talking about?”
The chairman’s wife glanced at her son and said with some nonchalance, “We are talking about me joining the board of directors.”
The “young” son walked to her side and took the initiative to shake hands with the vice president. As for the others, they were ignored by him.
“We meet again, sir.”
They had met before. The vice president was, after all, a high-ranking executive of the company. It was normal for them to have met.
The vice president nodded with a smile, as a response.
After the chairman’s son sat down, he said with a smile, “I have always wanted to work for the company. It contains my father’s hard work, so I also want to ask if I can go to work at the company.”
He himself actually ran an agricultural product processing enterprise. Through his father’s connections, a lot of cheap agricultural products would enter his factory every year, and then after simple processing, he could earn a net profit of more than ten percent with just a flip of his hand.
This was already a very remarkable profit margin, but he was still not satisfied. He hoped to get more.
The chairman’s daughter, on the other hand, did not express any opinion. These shares and dividends were enough for her to squander for a lifetime.
The vice president glanced at Lance. Lance had no expression, but no expression was already the biggest expression.
He could only brace himself and say, “The three of you, I don’t know if you are willing to sell the shares in your hands?”
The chairman’s wife had a slightly sarcastic, reserved smile. Her son’s face was full of dissatisfaction, and her daughter’s face was full of bewilderment. This seemed to be the best answer to the vice president’s presumptuous question.
“I’m sorry, sir, we will not sell the shares in our hands,” the chairman’s wife crossed her legs. She even took a ladies’ cigarette holder out of her purse.
Her son didn’t have such a good temper. “So, you were planning to trick us, thinking that maybe we don’t understand these things, and would just sell them to you?”
The vice president explained, “The stock price is falling very sharply right now. I don’t know when it will be the end. I am just asking as a matter of routine.”
“Anyone who inherits the company’s shares, the company will ask as a matter of routine.”
The young man shook his head. “No need to ask. We will not sell our shares.”
They also knew very well the company’s operating situation, and also knew that as long as they held onto these shares, then they would be well-fed and clothed for the rest of their lives.
The value of the stock itself was secondary. The key was its annual dividend, which was absolutely an astonishing number.
Don’t look at the fact that it’s only 3.7% in total, but just the dividend alone exceeds $1,000,000 a year.
This money was enough for them to squander at will. In addition to other income, this was the core of their flamboyant lifestyle.
The vice president hadn’t had time to say anything more when the chairman’s wife said, “The 2% of the shares I currently hold should already rank quite high among the shareholders, plus I have 3.7% of the power.”
The vice president could only nod. The current largest shareholder held no more than 11% of the shares. 3.7% was already a very large part.
“I hope I can join the board of directors as soon as possible. Is there a problem?” her tone was no longer so polite.
As a major shareholder, she had the right to demand the realization of her value and status in the company. Demanding to join the board of directors was also reasonable.
Once she entered the board of directors, it meant that she could get another large salary from the company every month.
The vice president was a little unsure of what to do. He looked at Lance for help. Lance’s gaze swept over the few people, and then he said, “I’d like to have a private chat with the chairman’s wife.”
The vice president let out a sigh of relief and immediately stood up with his colleagues from the publishing department.
The chairman’s wife also gestured to her children, letting them go out.
Soon only two people were left in the room. The moment the door was closed, the chairman’s wife’s gaze, filled with undisguised greed, fell on Lance.
Lance gave her a strong aura that she had never seen or felt before.
Not just because he was handsome, but also because of that indescribable temperament on him—dangerous, explosive, and yet fascinating.
“What do you want to talk to me about?” The chairman’s wife blew a puff of smoke at Lance. Although she was old, it didn’t mean she had no needs.
She was well-maintained and looked like a woman in her fifties. The secret to her good maintenance was that she was still secreting hormones normally.
Hormones are very important for maintaining health. Some medical studies believe that a person’s aging and illness begin with the cessation of the secretion of some hormones.
She maintained a normal sex life, at least three to four times a week. A strong lover could satisfy all her sexual needs.
Under the stimulation of this life, her hormones and her desires were secreted vigorously.
“What do you do at the company?”
“I can transfer you over to be my assistant.”
Her face was full of some ambiguous smiles. She was even a little impatient.
Wasn’t this the moment she had been waiting for all these years?
Complete freedom.
Lance shook his head. He took the initiative to walk to the chairman’s wife’s side and sit down, his hand resting on her shoulder, under her surprised gaze.
“On the ice that day, he was held just like this, and pressed into the water,” Lance suddenly grabbed her hair, which made the chairman’s wife’s whole body break out in goosebumps.
She looked sharply at Lance’s eyes, her own filled with terror.
In a trance, she seemed to feel what her husband had faced in the last moments of his life—fear, powerlessness, despair.
“You killed him!”
Lance did not answer her question, but continued in his own style and manner, “He kept struggling, but he was very old and was no match for the young men at all.”
“About two minutes, and he stopped moving.”
“They threw him into the ice hole. He turned over in the water, facing the sky.”
“The ice was semi-transparent. He was just like that, as if crawling on the other side, being washed away by the current.”
“Guess what…”
A smile appeared on Lance’s face. He reached out and gently kneaded the chairman’s wife’s earlobe. “Why him?”
Before the chairman’s wife could figure out this question, Lance said softly, “Because he was not obedient.”
“Then what about you?”
“Madam, are you obedient?”
Lance let go of his hand, leaned back a little, and pulled away a little distance. This would give her some sense of security and also allow her to think.
“I don’t know if you’ve written a will. There’s a high probability that you have, but you probably haven’t written anything about the shares.”
“So there is a high probability that after you die, your shares will be divided equally between your two children.”
“Do you think they will be obedient?”
“Are they obedient children?”
“Do you think they have written their wills well?”
Lance also crossed his legs, the tips of his feet tapping slightly. “Are your grandson and granddaughter obedient?”
“Have they written their wills well?”
The chairman’s wife’s body was cold. She trembled and put down the cigarette holder in her hand, hugging her arms. She dared not look at Lance, lowered her head, and said the word “madman.”
Lance said with a laugh, “No, no, no, madam, you’ve got something wrong.”
“I am not a madman.”
“Or rather, anyone, in the face of tens of millions, will become a madman.”
“Now, you sell the shares to us according to the agreement, and you can still get a sum of money.”
“If you are not obedient and want to resist, then in the end we won’t have to spend a single penny to get it.”
“Don’t let us really become madmen, okay?”
The chairman’s wife turned her head slightly and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Aren’t you… afraid that we will call the police?”
Lance stood up directly and, under her uneasy gaze, walked to the side, picked up the phone, and, under her equally shocked gaze, dialed the police number, and then handed it over. “Come on, tell them the truth.”
(End of chapter)