Empire of Shadows

At the funeral of the Chairman of the Board, Lance, one of the executioners, also wore solemn clothes and stood in a circle.

He walked over with the Vice President and threw the flowers in his hand into the grave.

It is worth mentioning that the fish that broke his life record was also made into a specimen and placed in his coffin.

This was the intention of his family. He died for this fish, so let him take this fish to heaven and show off his achievements to God!

The atmosphere at the scene was sad. After Lance laid down the flowers, he walked to the side of the Chairman's son and his wife.

If you simply feel it from the word "son", this should be a young man.

But in reality, his son is already in his thirties and nearly forty years old. Although his appearance is relatively ordinary, his excellent family conditions since childhood have given him a very special temperament.

The temperament of the wealthy.

His wife is much younger than him, and also very beautiful. When the two stand together, they don't show much sadness, although they have tried their best to pretend.

In addition to this son, the Chairman also has a daughter. The daughter is slightly younger than his son, and also came with her husband. There doesn't seem to be much sadness on their faces either.

Because Lance was wearing sunglasses, he couldn't see her true expression very clearly, but he could tell from the slight smile that occasionally appeared on the corner of her mouth when she lowered her head.

The death of a father will not make her feel uncomfortable, but rather make her very happy.

The only person in the entire family who was relatively sentimental, but not sad, was probably the Chairman's wife, but it was only sentimental.

This may be the most common problem encountered in the upper class. Family affection is often behind money and power.

"According to the company's contract, the Chairman's wife will inherit all the shares. If she voluntarily gives up the inheritance, the company will repurchase these shares at market price."

"If the company cannot come up with the money, then according to the resolution of the board of directors, the company's directors or shareholders will contribute to purchase these shares on behalf of the company."

"They will enjoy all the rights except the right to vote, but when the company needs it, the nominee must give priority to transferring these shares according to the contract."

The Vice President introduced to Lance the method of changing the company's shares.

In the current situation, it is inconvenient for the company itself to take out this part of the funds to repurchase these shares, so let the shareholders do it.

When new shareholders are introduced, or when there is a transaction of these shares, then the nominee must sell them first.

In other words, even if these shares are bought by a certain shareholder of the company, his position in the company will not change, because the board of directors can repurchase these shares in his hands at any time.

A relatively strict equity change process will prevent some accidents from causing the unplanned loss of shares.

Although there are some loopholes in it, they generally attach great importance to the safety of equity.

"What if you want to get these shares?", Lance asked.

The Vice President said with a smile, "Unless the board of directors and shareholders have a resolution, for example, the board of directors discussed allowing me to increase my shareholding by one-thousandth."

Lance turned his head and glanced at him, with 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 1.2 million."

"The Chairman's shares seem to be a lot, but some of them were left over from his father's time…"

This is the inheritance of capital. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Everyone is accumulating, but the accumulation of the poor for dozens of generations is not as good as the accumulation of the rich for one generation.

Lance slightly pricked him, "1.2 million was in the past, now it's only worth four to five hundred thousand."

The Vice President didn't argue with him, just smiled and nodded. The principle is still the same.

"How many shares will she inherit?"

"About three point something percent, I'm not sure about the specifics."

Lance whistled, "Even if the price is very low now, it's still worth ten to twenty million."

Some sparks flashed in the Vice President's eyes. This is the reason why everyone wants 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 inexplicably happy, then he might have been able to figure out some problems earlier.

The funeral ended quickly. As the "official staff" arranged by the company to connect with the Chairman's wife, they did not leave directly after the funeral, but went to the outskirts of the cemetery.

"Hello, Madam, I am the Vice President of the Group Company. This time, the board of directors arranged for me to connect with you."

"This is my colleague and legal counsel."

In addition to the two of them, the company's lawyer also accompanied them. After all, this involved some legal issues, which the Vice President and Lance could not handle.

The Chairman's wife is not young anymore. Her snow-white hair gives her a very noble temperament. Of course, the fact is indeed the case.

Anyone who has tens of millions of wealth in their hands and also has a corresponding social status, then this person's temperament must be very different from those at the bottom who have to take out a loan to buy a sixty-square-meter apartment!

Every… thread on her body, the thread on her clothes, is unimaginably expensive to ordinary people!

The Chairman's wife took off her sunglasses. Her gaze swept across the Vice President's face and then lingered on Lance's face.

A handsome young man. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and then she extended her hand, "Should I say 'Nice to meet you'?"

It is indeed not happy to say this sentence on this occasion, even if it is pretended!

The Vice President reached out and 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, and Lance also shook her hand, "You haven't introduced yourself yet."

This made Lance stunned for a moment, but he still said his name, "Lance, Lance White, it's a pleasure to meet you, Madam."

The Chairman's wife modestly raised her chin slightly, and then shook hands with the lawyer as well.

"Madam Chairman, may I ask a presumptuous question, did the Chairman… leave a will before the accident occurred?"

Wills are very common in the Federation, especially in the upper class. Most Federation people 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 these inheritances will become very complicated, and almost most direct relatives can try to get some from it.

Many families have come to an end because of inheritance distribution issues.

Based on the experience of predecessors, almost all people from large families will make a will, and they will start making a will from their forties.

These wills will be written in the presence of witnesses and lawyers, and then sealed and placed in a safe.

If the writer has an accident, then this will can play a key role.

Sounds a little scary?

In fact, they will change the will every once in a while. It may be that the performance of family members is very bad, or it may be that they have some new ideas about the distribution of property.

The Chairman is so old, he must have left a will, so now the Vice President wants to know whether there is a share inheritance issue in this will.

The Chairman's wife nodded, "Of course he left a will. I know what you care 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 manor in the suburbs. The luxurious manor exuded dignity and expensiveness everywhere. In a study like a small library, they sat down to discuss this issue.

"This is a copy of his will. In his inheritance, the company's shares are divided between me and the children, and do not involve other people."

The accompanying lawyer carefully read the will and agreed with what the Chairman's wife said.

"I hold two percent of the shares, and the remaining one point seven is inherited by our son, one percent of which, and the daughter inherited zero point seven percent."

She raised her head slightly, "But the voting rights are all in my hands."

"I know some of the company's situation, and I am willing to join the board of directors. Although you may not let me become the Chairman of the Board, I am willing to contribute to the company."

Just as she was saying this, the door of the study opened, and the Chairman's son and daughter also walked in. They were also very concerned about the relationship between equity and the company.

After all, this is a lot of money!

"What are you talking about?"

The Chairman's wife glanced at her son and said somewhat casually, "We are talking about me joining the board of directors."

The "young" son walked to her side and took the initiative to reach out and shake hands with the Vice President. As for the others, he ignored them.

"Nice to see you again, sir."

They had met before. The Vice President is, after all, a senior executive of the company, so it is normal for them to have met.

The Vice President smiled and nodded, as a response.

After the Chairman's son sat down, he said with a smile, "I have always wanted to work for the company. This contains my father's hard work, so I also want to ask, can I go to work at the company?"

He himself actually ran an agricultural product processing enterprise. Through his father's connections, a significant amount of cheap agricultural products entered his factory every year. After simple processing, he could easily earn a net profit of over ten percent.

This was already a remarkable profit margin, but he was still not satisfied and wanted to gain more.

The Chairman's daughter didn't express any opinions. 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 the biggest expression of all.

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He could only bite the bullet and say, "The three of you, I wonder if you are willing to sell the shares you hold?"

The Chairman's wife wore a slightly sarcastic and reserved smile. The dissatisfaction on her son's face and the confusion on her daughter's face seemed to be the best answers to the vice president's presumptuous question.

"I'm sorry, sir, we will not sell our shares," the Chairman's wife said, crossing her legs. She even took out a lady's cigarette holder from her bag.

Her son didn't have such a good temper. "So, are you planning to trick us into selling them to you, perhaps because we don't understand these things?"

The vice president explained, "The stock price is falling sharply now. I don't know when it will bottom out. I'm just making a routine inquiry."

"Regardless of who inherits the company's shares, the company will make a routine inquiry."

The young man shook his head. "No need to ask. We will not sell the shares."

They were also very clear about the company's operating situation and knew that as long as they held onto these shares, they would be guaranteed a life of comfort.

The value of the stock itself was secondary. The key was the annual dividends, which were definitely an astonishing figure.

Don't underestimate the seemingly small 3.7 percent combined shareholding. The dividends alone exceeded one million each year!

This money was enough for them to squander at will. Coupled with other income, this was the core of their carefree life!

Before the vice president could say anything more, the Chairman's wife said, "My current 2 percent shareholding should already rank high among the shareholders, plus I have 3.7 percent of the voting rights."

The vice president could only nod. Currently, the largest shareholder held no more than 11 percent of the shares. 3.7 percent was already a significant portion.

"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. Requesting to join the board of directors was also reasonable.

Once she joined the board of directors, it meant that she could receive a large salary from the company every month.

The vice president was a little out of his depth. He looked to Lance for help. Lance's eyes swept over the group before saying, "I would like to speak with the Chairman's wife alone."

The vice president breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stood up with his colleague from the public relations department.

The Chairman's wife also signaled to her children to leave.

Soon, only the two of them were left in the room. The moment the door closed, the Chairman's wife's gaze fell on Lance with undisguised greed.

Lance gave her a strong feeling that she had never seen or felt before!

It wasn't just because he was handsome, but also because of the indescribable aura he possessed: dangerous, explosive, and captivating!

"What do you want to talk about?" the Chairman's wife said, exhaling smoke towards 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. Medical research suggests that aging and illness begin when certain hormones stop being secreted.

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 kind of life, her hormones and her desires were secreted vigorously!

"What do you do at the company?"

"I can transfer you to be my assistant."

Her face was full of suggestive 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 her side and sit down amidst the Chairman's wife's surprised gaze, placing one hand on her shoulder.

"That day on the ice, that was how he was grabbed and pushed into the water," Lance suddenly grabbed her hair, causing goosebumps to appear all over the Chairman's wife's body!

She suddenly looked at Lance's eyes, her eyes filled with fear!

In a daze, she seemed to feel what her husband had faced in the last moments of his life: fear, powerlessness, despair!

"You killed him!"

Lance didn't answer her question, but continued to speak in his own style and manner, "He kept struggling, but he was very old and no match for the young men."

"He probably stopped moving after about two minutes."

"They threw him into the ice hole. He flipped over in the water, facing up at the sky."

"The ice was translucent. He looked like he was crawling on the other side, being washed away by the current."

"Guess…"

Lance showed some smile on his face. He reached out and gently kneaded the Chairman's wife's earlobe. "Why him?"

Before the Chairman's wife could understand the question, Lance said softly, "Because he was disobedient!"

"Then what about you?"

"Madam, are you obedient?"

Lance released his hand, leaned back, and created some distance, which would give her some sense of security and allow her to think.

"I don't know if you have written a will. It is very likely that you have, but it is estimated that you have not written anything related to the shares."

"So, it is very likely 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?"

Lance also crossed his legs, his toes slightly swaying. "Are your grandchildren obedient?"

"Have they written their wills?"

The Chairman's wife's body was cold. She tremblingly put down the cigarette holder in her hand, hugged her arms, and lowered her head, uttering the word "madman."

Lance smiled and said, "No, no, no, Madam, you've misunderstood something."

"I'm not a madman."

"Or rather, anyone will become a madman in the face of tens of millions!"

"Now, if you sell the shares to us according to the agreement, you can still get a sum of money."

"If you are disobedient and want to resist, then in the end, we can get it without spending a penny."

"Don't make us really become madmen, okay?"

The Chairman's wife tilted her head slightly and looked at him with a hint of desire in the corner of her eye. "Aren't you… afraid we'll call the police?"

Lance stood up directly and walked to the side amidst her uneasy gaze. He picked up the phone, dialed the police number in her equally shocked gaze, and handed it over. "Come, tell them the truth!"