Chapter 456
After over a month of meticulous preparation, aggressively undercutting margins, and bribing key suppliers, Shane successfully convinced multiple vendors to sever their contracts with the Mercer Group.
At the exact same time, Adrian finally manufactured the perfect evidence to expel Ethan from the company.
Sterling Ward, utterly disgusted by Adrian’s underhanded tactics, had secretly tipped Ethan off.
The Mercer Group owned a joint-venture electric vehicle manufacturing plant, and the Ward family had always been their exclusive battery supplier.
A few days prior, Adrian had approached Sterling with a lucrative backroom deal, offering the Ward family massive profit margins. The condition, however, was incredibly twisted: he wanted Sterling to intentionally cut off the Mercer Group’s supply chain!
Sterling was a ruthless businessman, but he was also a patriarch and a father. He found Adrian’s treacherous behavior absolutely sickening.
If Ethan was publicly ousted from his own family’s empire for sheer incompetence, who in the corporate world would ever hire him again?
Adrian was actively trying to annihilate his own son’s future, using the company’s catastrophic financial losses as the murder weapon.
In Sterling’s eyes, no matter how badly a child messed up, they were still your flesh and blood. You could discipline them at home or sanction them internally.
But Adrian’s actions had crossed the line of familial conflict. He was treating his own son like a sworn enemy.
That night, Sterling went home, discussed it with his wife, and agreed that they couldn’t stomach making money off such a vile betrayal. They immediately leaked the plot to Ethan.
It was a pathetic tragedy that the Mercer Group was being hollowed out by its own chairman.
“Ethan, your gross mismanagement, the mass exodus of our top executives, and the rumors that our cash flow is completely ruptured p>
I handed this empire over to you, and this is how you run it into the ground?
My god! If I had discovered this a second later, would there even be a company left p>
Ethan was in the middle of reviewing a stack of contracts when the doors to his executive suite burst open, and a mob of angry board members stormed in, led by Adrian.
“What is the meaning of this?” Ethan demanded, standing up slowly.
“You still have the nerve to ask? Step down. If you’re incapable of running this ship, you need to surrender the helm immediately.
The very first day you stepped into this office, I told you that this seat is reserved for the competent.
It belongs to you only as long as you generate profit for the Group. The moment you fail, you surrender it to someone better p>
Adrian stood tall, putting on a masterful performance of a righteous leader forced to execute his own flesh and blood for the greater good.
“Our partners are terminating their contracts en masse. Our client base is evaporating by the hour. Ethan, you have profoundly disappointed me.
I’ve been in poor health lately. I step away for just a little while, and you’ve driven the company to the brink of bankruptcy?
Is this what I taught you all these years?” Adrian struck his chest, his face twisted in performative agony.
“You know perfectly well that we’re
in the middle of a global economic recession. We aren’t the only conglomerate struggling to st afloat.” Ethan countered smoothly.
“An economic recession? Then why are our competitors thriving? Porter Entertainment, the Ward family, the Rivers Group—they are all outperforming us! Don’t use the global market as an excuse for your own staggering incompetence.” “I’ve run this company for five years. Under my leadership, profits quadrupled, and our market capitalization doubled.
And now, at the first sign of a minor downturn”—officially, the company’s books only showed a slight dip—”you want to orchestrate a coup and throw me out?
Do any of you have a shred of conscience?” Ethan demanded, his gaze sweeping over the silent board members.
Adrian sneered internally. He gave
Ethan life, paid for his Ivy Leaguez education, and personally installed used that
him as CEO and Etha
power to stage a rebellion against
him!
Did he have a conscience?
Since Ethan decided to play dirty, Adrian refused to be blamed for being ruthless.
“This is strictly business. It has
nothing to do with conscience p>
Adrian sajd coldly, gesturing to the restless shareholders. “Ethan, these gentlemen are only looking out for
you Since you
tack the capacity to lead, lay down your burden and let
someone else take over.
We must prioritize the survival of the conglomerate. That is their hard-earned money
you are setting on fire p>
Adrian’s tone was incredibly persuasive, making him look like a helpless, loving father trying to rein in an arrogant, reckless son.
“It’s just the brutal truth of the market, Ethan. Gross mismanagement demands immediate resignation,” one of the shareholders chimed in.