Chapter 232: Foolish Troy (Bonus - )

Chapter 232: 232: Foolish Troy (Bonus Chapter)

Thanks for the Golden tickets... here’s a bonus Chapter...

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At two o’clock sharp, the double doors of the 50th-floor executive assembly room swung open.

The twelve senior directors of Newman Enterprise Group were already seated around the massive oval mahogany table. The room was heavy with hushed, bitter chatter.

"Where does Richard think he’s pulling ten percent from?" one older director muttered under his breath, tapping his pen against his glass. "Unless he dilutes us—which we already voted down—it has to come from his own stake. Is he really willing to lose his seat over a foolish son?"

"If Sam were my son, I would have beat him senseless by now," another director sneered quietly, leaning across the table. "He went and poked a bear this time. Jake Rivers isn’t just sitting on terrifying liquid reserves—he’s a Rivers, and he has Aurelia Capitals standing right behind him. Squeezing us for ten percent is just his opening move."

"Sam dragged this whole firm into his personal mess," a third director added, shaking his head. "And now we’re sitting here waiting for a twenty-three-year-old to hold us hostage."

Troy Newman sat near the head of the table, listening to the murmurs with a smug, self-satisfied smile on his face, resting his chin on his steepled fingers. Next to him, Mary Newman kept her eyes glued to her tablet, avoiding eye contact with Richard.

Richard Newman stood at the head of the table, flanked by Finn. His face was an immovable mask.

The heavy doors clicked back, and Samuel Carter stepped into the room, holding a sleek leather briefcase. Right behind him walked Jake Rivers and Alice.

An immediate, heavy silence fell over the room.

Jake walked in with a commanding, icy presence—a quiet, absolute weight that saturated the space. Dressed in a flawlessly tailored charcoal suit, his gaze was dark, cold, and entirely unbothered by the combined wealth and influence of the twelve multi-billionaires staring at him. Beside him, Alice held her encrypted tablet with poise, while Samuel maintained the sharp posture of a top-tier legal operator.

It was the first time Richard Newman and Jake Rivers had ever stood in the same room.

Richard’s eyes locked onto the young man holding a knife to his throat and carving off a piece of his company.

’So this is Jake Rivers,’ Richard thought, evaluating the youth with a cold, sharp eye. ’No hesitation in his posture. No nervous ticks. He looks exactly like a man who came to collect.’

Richard smoothed his cuffs, stepping forward with a practiced, professional air. "Mr. Rivers," Richard said, his deep voice cutting through the quiet. "Welcome to Newman Enterprise. I must complement you on your meteoric rise at such a young age. Building Golden Investments into a power that commands this level of leverage is no small feat."

Jake stopped at the foot of the table, his expression unreadable. "Chairman Newman."

Richard offered a subtle, calculated smile, attempting to probe the waters. "A firm of our scale and your growing capital could build a very lucrative long-term partnership. Considering the broader commercial interests at play, I wonder if a strategic joint venture might resolve our past frictions—without the need for such a drastic reallocation of direct voting stock."

Jake’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, shutting down the subtle plea before Richard could even build on it. "I didn’t come here to discuss joint ventures, Chairman Newman, nor am I interested in pleasantries. I’m here for the ten percent equity transfer as agreed. Nothing more, nothing less."

Richard’s sharp eyes held Jake’s for a beat, realizing instantly that the young man was a stone wall. "Very well," Richard said, his tone turning crisp.

Samuel Carter stepped forward, unlatching his briefcase and pulling out two thick, leather-bound contract folders before sliding them across the polished wood toward Richard and Finn. "We are here to finalize the direct ten percent equity issuance to Golden Investments, as authorized by your board yesterday."

Troy leaned forward, his smile widening as he watched Richard reach for the pen.

’Sign it, Richard,’ Troy thought, his chest expanding with quiet triumph. ’Transfer those shares. The second your signature hits that parchment, your personal stake drops to twenty-three percent, and I call the family council before you even leave this room.’

Richard picked up the Montblanc pen resting on the blotter. Without a word, he signed his name on the designated lines with firm, practiced strokes, stamping the official Chairman’s seal alongside his signature.

Finn took the secondary documents, signed his portion as Vice President, and pushed the folder back across the table to Samuel Carter.

Samuel carefully inspected the signatures, verified the seal, and turned to Jake, nodding once. "The stock transfer is fully executed, Jake. Golden Investments now officially holds fifteen percent of Newman Enterprise Group."

Jake reached into his inner suit pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed a direct line, placing it on speaker.

"Uncle Darius," Jake said calmly into the phone. "The transfer is complete. Everything is good to go."

On the other end of the line, the deep, resonant voice of Darius Rivers—CEO of the Meridian Group—echoed clearly across the silent boardroom. ’Understood, Jake. I’m authorising the release on the raw steel holds immediately. Newman’s supply lines are fully restored.’

The call disconnected.

Mary Newman let out an audible sigh of relief, slumping back slightly in her chair.

Troy immediately stood up, buttoning his jacket with a dramatic flourish. He looked around at the board members, cleared his throat, and directed his gaze straight at Richard.

"Now that the company’s supply chain is secured," Troy announced loudly, his tone dripping with fake gravity, "we must address a matter of internal governance. As of this moment, Chairman Richard Newman’s personal stake has fallen from thirty-three percent to twenty-three percent—well below the thirty percent threshold mandated by Section 4 of our corporate bylaws."

Troy turned to the corporate secretary sitting at the side desk. "Secretary, take this down. Under the rights granted to the family council, I hereby invoke an immediate motion for a vote of no confidence regarding the Chairman’s position—"

"Save your breath, Troy," Richard interrupted smoothly, his voice flat and unimpressed.

Troy blinked, his speech cut short. "What?"

Richard didn’t even look at his brother. He gestured slightly toward Finn. Finn stepped forward and laid a fresh stack of notarized registry filings in front of the board members.

"As of eight o’clock this morning," Finn stated clearly, "the Chairman’s equity structure was updated. While seven percent of the transfer was drawn from his primary account, three percent was sourced from Vanguard Harbor Holdings—a subsidiary controlled entirely by the Chairman’s private trust. Furthermore, Vice President Ray Newman has officially transferred a one-point-two percent stake to the Chairman’s trust."

Finn looked directly at Troy’s paling face. "Chairman Richard Newman’s total voting block currently stands at exactly thirty percent. Your motion is invalid."

Silence slammed into the boardroom like a physical weight.

Mary Newman’s mouth fell open. Troy stood frozen at the table, his eyes darting frantically over the notarized documents in front of him.

’Thirty percent?!’ Troy thought, his mind reeling as horror replaced his triumph. ’Vanguard Harbor? Ray gave up his shares?! He planned this entire thing before he even stepped into yesterday’s meeting!’

"You... you cheated!" Troy stammered, his face flushing dark red as he pointed a trembling finger at Richard. "Vanguard Harbor was never disclosed to the board!"

"Vanguard Harbor was established under executive proxy four years ago, Troy," Richard said coldly, standing up from his seat. "If you paid as much attention to our offshore filings as you do to my seat, you would have known about it."

Jake Rivers watched the drama unfold without a single twitch of emotion on his face.

’Predictable,’ Jake thought, taking in Troy’s red face and Richard’s cold stance. ’Richard kept his chair, but his family is fractured down the middle. This company is a house divided.’

Jake turned to Samuel Carter. "We’re done here."

Samuel closed his briefcase with a crisp snap. Jake turned on his heel and walked toward the double doors with Alice and Samuel, completely ignoring the stunned directors behind him.

Richard looked past his trembling brother, his sharp eyes following Jake’s back as the young man exited the boardroom.

’He didn’t care about Troy’s move at all,’ Richard realized, a cold knot tightening in his chest. ’Jake Rivers probably didn’t come here just to take ten percent. He wanted us divided so when he moves on the risk committee next week, we won’t be able to fight back.’

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Meanwhile, across the river at the Sheele Group headquarters, Stuart Sheele stood by his floor-to-ceiling windows, watching a heavy rainstorm roll over the city’s skyline.

His private secretary walked in, holding a leather folder bearing the official stamp of Vale Financial.

"Mr. Sheele," the secretary announced, stepping up to the desk. "Arthur Vale’s office just delivered the signed documentation. The secondary underwriting guarantees for the South Bay harbor project are fully cleared."

Stuart didn’t turn around immediately. He watched the rain streak down the glass, processing the speed at which Arthur had delivered on his promise.

"Full clearance?" Stuart asked, his voice low.

"Yes, sir. Four hundred million in credit coverage, backstopped directly by Vale Financial’s primary reserves," the secretary confirmed. "The Ministry of Trade released our commercial zoning permits twenty minutes ago."

Stuart turned slowly, taking the folder from his secretary’s hands. He opened it, looking at Arthur Vale’s sharp, decisive signature at the bottom of the last page.

"Arthur really bought that kid a free path," Stuart muttered under his breath, a cold smirk touching his lips. "Four hundred million in credit guarantees just to keep me from stepping on Jake Rivers’ toes."

"Should we move forward with the land acquisition in South Bay?" the secretary asked.

"Immediately," Stuart commanded, shutting the file. "Mobilize the construction teams by Monday morning. If Arthur Vale wants to give us South Bay on a silver platter just to protect his little toy, I’m not going to argue."

He walked back to his desk, sitting down with heavy, deliberate calm.

"What about Newman Enterprise?" the secretary inquired softly.

"Leave them alone," Stuart said, picking up his pen. "For now. Let the brat take his fifteen percent and fight Richard Newman in the boardroom. If Jake Rivers bleeds them dry, we’ll pick up what’s left of their commercial land bank for pennies on the dollar next year."

"Understood, sir."

The secretary bowed and exited the room, leaving Stuart alone in his dimly lit office. Outside, thunder clapped across the sky, echoing over the glass towers of the financial district.

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