Chapter 5 A Trap For The Traitors

Several days passed.

Vivian slammed a stack of documents onto Revan's desk. "Aurora Energy's project was a fraud! Their stock price crashed by more than eighty percent in a single day!"

Billy clenched his fists. "We lost tens of millions of dollars!"

Teressa immediately stepped forward. "If you hadn't deliberately spread the rumor that Sterling Group was going to acquire Aurora, we never would have bought their stock."

Revan continued reading the document in his hand as if he hadn't heard a single word.

Teressa's irritation flared. "Revan! Are you even listening to us?"

Silence filled the room.

A few seconds later, Revan turned the final page, signed it, closed the folder, and only then looked up. "Are you finished?"

Vivian frowned. "What kind of attitude is that?"

"You came here just to talk about this?"

"Of course!" Vivian snapped.

Revan gave a slight nod. "All right. Then what?"

Teressa knitted her brows. "What do you mean, then what? Obviously, we're here to demand that you take responsibility for our losses."

"I'm responsible?"

"That's right." Vivian lifted her chin, folding her arms across her chest. "This happened because of you."

"So what exactly do you want?"

Teressa answered without hesitation. "You have to compensate us for everything we lost!"

Revan looked at her expressionlessly. "Compensate your losses? You're right... I did cause all of this."

"At least you know that." Billy chimed in. "You can't just wash your hands of this."

Revan leaned back in his chair. "So then, what do you want?"

Vivian and Billy exchanged glances. Neither of them had expected Revan to ask so directly.

Vivian smiled faintly. "Since we're family, I won't ask for money."

Revan remained silent.

"I only want twenty percent of Sterling Group's shares."

The room instantly fell silent.

Aston, who had been standing near the door the entire time, unconsciously held his breath.

Twenty percent?

It was worth tens of millions of dollars.

Billy and Teressa began to smile. They knew Revan had always given in to Vivian. Surely this time would be no different.

Revan remained silent for a long moment. His expression revealed nothing. After several seconds, he finally nodded. "That's acceptable."

Those two words made Vivian's face light up.

Billy clenched his fist in excitement.

Teressa smiled in satisfaction. She knew Revan was still as weak as he had always been.

"Sir," Aston called.

Before he could continue, Vivian cut him off.

"Stay out of this. This is our family matter."

In the end, Aston could only clench his fists.

"So?"

"That's fine." Revan nodded before raising one finger. "But on one condition."

The smiles on all three of their faces gradually faded.

Even Vivian frowned. "What condition?"

"You'll have to buy those twenty percent of shares."

Vivian let out a small laugh. "Buy them? Fine. How much do you want?"

Revan met her gaze. "Ten percent below market value."

The smile disappeared from Vivian's face.

Billy thought he had misheard. "Ten percent below market value?"

"That's right."

Vivian quickly ran the numbers in her head. At Sterling Group's current valuation, the amount totaled hundreds of millions of dollars.

Her expression immediately darkened. "That's far too expensive!"

"Expensive?" Revan smiled faintly. "You want to own twenty percent of Sterling Group. The quarterly dividends alone would earn you millions of dollars. Not to mention the company's increasing value every year."

He folded his arms. "If you think that's too expensive, then it means you don't believe in Sterling Group's future."

Vivian fell silent.

Revan continued calmly. "Or perhaps... you never intended to buy the shares in the first place. You just wanted to take them for free."

The words instantly turned Vivian's face crimson. She couldn't refute a single sentence. Because from the very beginning, she had never intended to spend a penny.

Billy hurriedly calculated the numbers on his phone. The longer he stared, the gloomier his expression became. "Mom..."

Vivian looked at him.

"Our family's available cash isn't even thirty million dollars." Billy slowly shook his head. "If we use it to buy those shares, we'll completely drain our cash flow."

Vivian knew exactly what it meant to lose all of their liquidity.

Teressa, who had remained silent until now, suddenly smiled.n"This is actually an opportunity."

Billy and Vivian turned toward her at the same time.

"Don't you still have that villa, the apartments, and those unused cars?" Teressa said, growing more excited with every word. "I also have a house and some savings. If necessary, I'll help, and you can use everything as collateral. What do you think?"

Billy still looked hesitant. "That's too risky."

"Risky?" Teressa shook her head. "Sterling Group has always paid generous dividends every quarter. As soon as the first dividend comes in, the loan can be paid off immediately." She turned to Vivian. "Besides, once you own twenty percent of Sterling Group, the profits we'll earn will be worth far more than the assets we sell."

Billy slowly nodded.

It made sense.

Vivian remained silent for a long time, her gaze shifting between Revan and the documents on the desk.

Meanwhile, Revan simply watched them without saying a word.

In fact, he hoped they would actually go through with it.

A few moments later, Vivian finally looked up. "Fine. I agree. I'll bring the money tomorrow."

Revan nodded casually. "I'll have the purchase agreement prepared."

Vivian smiled faintly. "This time, don't go back on your word."

"Of course."

After that, Vivian turned and left the office.

Billy and Teressa followed behind her.

Not long afterward, the director's office door closed once again, and silence settled over the room.

Aston, who had been holding back the entire time, finally stepped forward. "Sir... I don't understand."

Revan looked at him.

"Twenty percent of Sterling Group is worth far more than the money they're paying. If you sell it now... won't you be the one taking the loss?"

Revan smiled faintly. "A loss?" He rose from his chair. "Aston."

"Yes, sir."

"What do you think a company is worth when the world comes to an end?"

Aston fell silent.

Revan continued calmly. "In twenty-five days, the stock market will shut down. Banks will collapse. Money will become nothing more than scraps of paper. Food, on the other hand, will be worth more than gold."

Aston's eyes slowly widened.

Revan walked toward the window. "That's why, starting today, sell every liquid asset I own."

Aston froze. "S-Sir?"

"Stocks. Bonds. Mutual funds. Everything. Then use the money to establish a new company."

Aston frowned. "A new company?"

Revan nodded. "Transfer every critical Sterling Group asset into that company. Inventory. Weapons. Logistics contracts. Everything that will still be useful after the apocalypse."

He turned to Aston. "Because that company is the one that will still be standing after the old world falls."