Chapter 661
The esteemed elders of the clan turned their gazes toward him in unison.
After their previous confrontation, everyone in the room knew exactly what they were dealing with.
Jarred Sterling was ruthless and profoundly calculating; no one dared to disrespect him or speak out of turn anymore.
But today’s situation was completely different.
Maloney’s fate was unknown, the family was without a leader, and the ground floor was about to be overrun by the press.
With internal strife and external threats mounting, everyone’s financial interests were bleeding out.
Even if they feared him, they had to bite the bullet and speak up.
“Jarred, you’ve seen the situation outside. We can’t control the public outcry, and the company is in constant turmoil.
If we don’t get a backbone to anchor us, the Sterling Group will truly be shaken to its core p>
The others immediately chimed in.
“You hold public office, so you can’t take over executive control, and your father and Marcus are even less in a position to show their faces.
Right now, we cannot gamble the entire Sterling Group and everyone’s livelihoods on an uncertain outcome p>
“Even though Ms. Sloan holds the old man’s authorization, she is ultimately an outsider. If this drags on, the Sterlings will be completely hollowed out p>
They spoke one after another, their stance unified and unyielding.
They all shared a single objective.
They had to change the leadership immediately and revoke Sienna’s management rights.
They needed to elect a new head of the corporation to stabilize the situation.
Jarred sat in silence from beginning to end, his handsome, chiseled face covered in a layer of frost.
Only after everyone had finished speaking did he slowly look at the crowd, his voice carrying an unprecedented gloom.
“As of today, there is not a single clue explicitly indicating that Maloney is dead.
Why are you all so certain he’s gone? Did you do it yourselves p>
The moment those words fell, everyone froze.
“Jarred, what kind of nonsense is that? We’re just looking out for the company p>
“We know that without a confirmed death, no one can say with absolute certainty that Maloney is gone.
But the company can’t wait, public opinion won’t wait, and our collective assets certainly can’t wait p>
“Exactly. The Sterling foundation is not a game. We’ve all poured millions of dollars into this p>
The conference room grew noisy with endless arguing.
Jarred sat in silence from beginning to end.
He was expressionless, not uttering a single word.
He allowed the noise around him to carry on, his expression showing not a ripple of emotion.
But beneath his deep, dark eyes, all warmth had already faded, replaced by a churning, heavy frost.
His sharp gaze slowly swept over each board member’s varying expressions.
His calm gaze was like a silent blade, taking in everyone’s selfish motives.
In that moment, he trusted no one.
In his eyes, their high-sounding rhetoric was nothing but greedy attempts to take advantage of a crisis.
The old foxes were shrewd enough to instantly read the wariness in his eyes, and a slight chill crept into their hearts.
But relying on the current advantage in public opinion and the situation, they simply stopped beating around the bush.
“Jarred, nearly every media outlet in the Capital is blocking the entrance to Sterling Manor and the corporate headquarters right now.
Speaking of which, all the outside suspicions are pointing directly at your mother and your grandmother p>
“The entire internet is demanding to know if the rumors about your grandmother’s drug addiction are true.
And is your mother really involved in multiple illegal operations p>
Jarred raised an eyebrow and looked at the speaker.
Several key shareholders exchanged glances and began playing off each other.
“Do you know what people are saying about the Sterlings out there? The media has already welded our family name to the drug scandal p>
“The company’s market value evaporated by billions of dollars when the market opened this morning. I received over a dozen electronic self off agreements from minority shareholders just after midnight p>
“And the chamber of commerce… you never participate, so you wouldn’t know, but the Sterlings have always held the leading.. position in the industry p>