Ch. 611..620
Life at the Top Chapter 611
In Skyward Aluminum Co., Ltd.
The atmosphere was suffocating. Expressionlessly, Conrad took the main seat and slammed his palm on the table, frightening the senior executives who shuddered in fear.
“Are all of you useless? I spend a few millions each year on you and you’re telling me none of you have a single plan when someone is trying to acquire our company?!
“They’ve just made their move and you guys are already frantic? How do you expect me to believe in your abilities from now on, huh?”
Conrad’s reprimand echoed in the meeting room, and everyone looked down silently.
No one dared to meet their boss’ eyes at such a critical time.
Conrad’s sinister eyes swept through the meeting room before they finally fell on a balding middle-aged man.
“Benjamin, you’re the manager of the investment department. This is part of your business scope. I want a report written right away and given to me today, or you can go to the Human Resources Department, finalize your salary, and leave.”
Benjamin looked distressed as he spoke, “Please calm down first, Mr. Monty.
“There’s something strange with the funds that were used to increase our company’s share price this time. The evidence we have on hand shows that these funds were from Harbor City, not the Mainland.
“So I’ve been wondering if our share price rising to the limit is a result of an investor who decided to enter the market to benefit from it, seeing how JW and Haddock are going to team up and acquire.”
Benjamin’s words had everyone’s eyes shining with hope.
Everyone had assumed that the rise in share price was caused by Jasper and Haddock, so they had not thought of it from such an angle.
If what Benjamin said was true, then the nature of the matter was completely different.
It did not matter who bought those shares, as long as it was not Jasper.
Conrad furrowed his brows and pondered aloud, “Not bad. This is a completely different view on the matter. Continue.”
Seeing that his thoughts had been approved of, Benjamin let out a sigh of relief and continued to speak, “If that’s the case, then the situation is much better. Despite being faced with a forceful acquisition, I believe that there’s quite a lot we can do.
“You currently hold 40% of the company’s shares, Mr. Monty. Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd holds another 30%, leaving 30% more in the stock market. This is the situation now.
“We have two options. We either officially announce that the company is buying back its shares, or negotiate with Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd to see if we could take back a percentage of the shares they hold.
“We just have to ensure that you have more than 50% of shares in hand, Mr. Monty. Because even if Jasper manages to buy all the shares and becomes one of our shareholders, what can he do?
“Nothing.
“He’d have wasted all his hard work only to advertise for us in the end. Plus, if we manage to buy our shares back this time, our share price would increase quite a bit as well.”
…
While Conrad had summoned all of Skyward Aluminum’s senior executives to discuss plans to retaliate, Jasper was currently on a video call with Jake who was far away in Harbor City.
“As per your requests, Mr. Laine, we’ve spent 1.2 billion in funds to purchase 3.96% of Skyward Aluminum’s shares.”
Skyward Aluminum as a whole had a market price of around 30 billion. This purchase was not unnecessarily expensive.
Jasper nodded. Looking at Skyward Aluminum’s market, he spoke, “Continue tomorrow. Buy as many shares as you can. Don’t worry about the money, someone will pay for it.”
Jasper thought of how wealthy Gale was. Despite never once feeling like he was broke after reincarnation, Jasper could not help but be stunned over how exceptionally rich this old man was.
Not only had he transferred the funds needed to acquire Skyward Aluminum in advance, but he had also promised to give Jasper a 1% commission after everything was done.
1% of a business with a market price of 30 billion was 200 million.
That was enough to replenish the loss the real estate company made.
Since it was a condition that was already agreed upon, Jasper was very happy to earn such a commission.
Jake nodded in understanding and spoke, “We’ve investigated Skyward Aluminum’s share structure and realized that Conrad currently has the most shares. He has a total of 40%, while the remaining 60% is split between Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd, which runs on state funds, and the general public.
“In such a situation, we’ll need Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd’s support to take their 30% of shares or it won’t be enough for us to acquire it just by buying the 30% open to the general public.
“Plus, the stock market right now only allows a maximum purchase of 22%. The remaining 8% are in the hands of countless retailers so it’s impossible to buy all 30% of the shares.”
Jasper nodded. “I’ve already accounted for this. Don’t worry about it, just focus on the share market over at your side.”
Jake acknowledged, saying, “Yes, Mr. Laine. I understand.”
“Tell me how the investment is going with the Harbor City Stock Market that I had you invest in.”
“Basically, the situation now…”
More than an hour later, Jasper exited the study and made his way to the airport.
It was evening by the time he met Henry at the airport.
The man got into the car excitedly and grinned almost maniacally at Jasper. “You have no idea how absolutely amusing it was to see the look on that f*cker Mitch’s face. The scene of what happened, oh my God. Harbor City’s gossip magazines got such a kick out of it that they’re just churning articles after articles. Oh, man, those were some f*cking hilarious articles they wrote.”
“Will they still get married? Even after you released news of Mitch getting another girl pregnant in front of his fiancée?” Jasper asked with a chuckle.
Henry pursed his lips. “It’s not that big of a deal. This is mostly a hiccup for the Langdon family. Plus, it’s not like the girl can do anything even if she wanted to. This is a marriage union between two families, so the family’s benefits come first. They’re going to have to marry no matter what happens.
“Or no one would let Wallace’s and the girl’s families live this down.
“But a few slaps from his dad is pretty much guaranteed for Mitch, though. Hahaha. Damn it, I should’ve recorded the scene when it happened so that I can rewatch it every day and relive that moment.”
At that, Henry suddenly remembered something and turned to Jasper. “Oh yeah, I heard my dad say something about the Langdon family ordering a large batch of electronic goods before I came here. I think they plan to send it over to the Southeast Province after customs clearance.”
“That’s probably their support for the Hanks family. What’s going to happen to it now?” Jasper asked.
Henry snorted. “Dad’s going to take a trip over there himself. He told me to tell you not to worry. With him there, the Langdon family won’t even get a chip out of Harbor City.”
Life at the Top Chapter 612
“If that’s the case, I can get rid of one of them first, then.”
Jasper smiled and sent Dawson a message.
Since the beginning, neither Jasper nor Dawson had found the Hanks family’s tricks worth their attention.
With the power they held now, it was not a difficult feat to completely destroy the Hanks family.
The Hanks family only became a tough nut to crack when Conrad was there supporting them.
Now with the Law family giving them trouble at Harbor City, Jasper and Dawson’s plan could immediately begin.
“Are you sending me back to the hotel?” Henry asked.
“Do you still have more work to do?” Jasper asked curiously.
Henry chuckled and waved his phone. “I know a few beauties in every single place I’ve been to before, so I can contact them at any time.”
Jasper scoffed. “Your dad said that the playground project at the Southface River will be done soon. He wants you to supervise the finishing touches.”
Henry replied irritably, “I don’t understand a thing about construction. As to what the workers are doing, who am I, an outsider, to ask?”
“You might not have to pay attention to the specifics of the construction, but what about the quality specifications, the final checking, and the financial aspects? You need to at least know something, don’t you? Else, you’ll be the one suffering when you get back. Don’t say I never warned you, but your dad is definitely going to ask you about it when you get back.
“I’m sure you’re much more aware than I am of the consequences if you can’t answer him.”
Henry’s expression darkened as he spoke in an upset tone, “This old man is controlling my every second here. Fine, fine, we’ll go back to the hotel. I’ll read through the playground’s documents first then.”
Leaving Henry at the hotel, Jasper returned home.
Dawson returned very late that night, but he had a mirthful smile on his face when he came back.
Dawson pulled out a thick stack of documents from his briefcase and smiled widely at Jasper. “It’s done. We’ve bought all of their debt contracts. This alone is enough to crush the Hanks family to smithereens.”
Jasper took over the thick stack of documents.
These papers were the reason behind Dawson’s busy day.
“The Hanks family previously signed a total of 48 sales businesses. I found 38 of them today, and these are all of them for now.
“The remaining ten are probably the Hanks family’s loyal partners, so they’re not worth us using such a large amount of money to bribe them over.
“The 38 businesses I’ve negotiated with come up to a total of 2.7 billion worth of compensation. And we’ve bought their contracts with 2.4 billion.”
“Tsk, tsk. And we made three hundred million too? What good business.” Jasper smiled.
“Just suing the Hanks family would cost these businesses a huge amount of expenses. It’s expected that they were willing to sell us their contracts at a discount.”
“Now we wait. Tomorrow, we can make our move.”
…
The following day, the Hanks family seemed to have noticed something for they began to attack JW Real Estates’ projects maddeningly.
In a few days’ time, they had caused Jasper 200 million worth of loss.
Not that Jasper cared.
It was because swallowing the Hanks family would easily cover this loss.
At the same time, there was no halt in the purchase of Skyward Aluminum’s market shares. If anything, the purchase continued unrelentingly.
However, Conrad was a capable man. Excluding the first day when he was caught off guard, he had been fiercely fighting back in all the following days.
Life at the Top Chapter 613
Jasper had spent 4.8 billion to buy 10% of Skyward Aluminum’s shares.
In truth, Skyward Aluminum had no more than a market price of 30 billion. The only reason it cost 4.8 billion to buy 10% of its shares was that 1.8 billion was spent on acquisition premium.
In other words, they had benefitted retail investors who decided to jump on the bandwagon.
Not that Jasper cared, since he was spending Gale’s money.
That old man had too much money that he would never get to spend it all, and there was nothing wrong with benefitting the general public.
That day, Jasper arrived at Hanks Residence with Julian in tow.
Despite having such a long-standing battle with the Hanks family, this was still the first time Jasper had stepped foot in their house.
They were a wealthy family, after all, so the entire park was the Hanks family’s property.
As for their base, the Hanks family had exquisitely renovated the park, which was by both the mountains and bodies of water.
“Not bad. I’d say this entire park as a whole could be sold for 100 to 200 million,” Jasper chuckled and said.
“Who are you two looking for?”
An old man walked out of the park and asked Jasper confusedly.
Jasper smiled. “Help me inform Sirius that his creditor is here to collect his debts.”
The old man was stunned for a moment before he spoke in a tense voice, “What kind of nonsense are you saying? Leave. This isn’t a place for you to fool around.”
“Please pass the message, sir. You only need to tell him that the creditor’s name is Jasper. He’ll want to see me.” Jasper was very polite to the old man and did not give him any attitude.
Sensing the situation, the old man glanced at Jasper and Julian suspiciously before turning back.
Soon later, the old man rushed out again. “Mr. Hanks wishes to see you.”
Entering the park, Jasper saw Sirius standing in a large estate.
“How dare you come to my house, Jasper?” Sirius demanded coldly as he stared at Jasper.
This was Sirius’ home, after all, so there were several family members present.
Among them was an old man who had a head full of white hair. He was possibly an entire generation older than Sirius. There were also two younger men who were around Zayden’s age when he passed away.
“This isn’t some lion’s den, so why won’t I dare?” Jasper asked with a smile.
The two youths were Neville and Dave. Between the two, Neville had once fought Zayden for the role of heir.
Seeing Jasper, Neville, who was hasty to show off in front of his family, scoffed. “You’re Jasper, aren’t you? Tsk tsk, I suggest you get your head out of your *ss and stop acting like you’re above us all. Do you even know where you are?
“You were still a nobody when the Hanks family became one of Southeast Province’s upper class.”
Dave laughed and agreed, saying, “Exactly. Seriously, Dad, just throw this ignorant b*stard out as I said. He’s an eyesore.”
Jasper did not even spare the two of them a glance and spoke calmly, “I thought Zayden was useless enough, but I didn’t expect you two to be even worse. It explains why Zayden was the only one from his generation in the family who managed to make a small name for himself.”
“You b*stard! What did you say?” Dave was furious.
Neville stared at Jasper coldly and sneered, “Looks like you’re just an arrogant b*stard who wants to die.”
With that, Neville whistled and a huge German Shepherd that reached the waist of a fully grown adult ran over. It sat beside Neville and glared at Jasper who was a stranger.
“I’m going to have my dog bite you to death.”
Life at the Top Chapter 614
This was an extremely smart dog. Hearing its master Neville’s words, it barked twice at Jasper.
The sight had all the Hanks present chortling.
Everyone looked at Jasper with disdain as if they were looking at a beggar who had come asking for scraps.
Julian, who had been standing behind Jasper the entire time, took a step to stand beside Jasper with a cold gaze.
Everyone then watched as Julian took a deep breath, one that went straight to his core. The man’s eyes widened abruptly as he opened his mouth to shout.
It was a loud growl that was deep, powerful, and extremely thundering. It reminded Jasper of a lion’s roar in the savanna.
Everyone felt their chests stifle while their hearts seemed to skip a beat. Their breathing grew heavy and they felt uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, the fierce dog beside Neville let out a pitiful whimper. His tail shook between his legs as a puddle of liquid began to form between its hind legs.
It had peed itself in fear.
That scene shattered whatever dignity the Hanks family had.
“What do you think you’re doing, Jasper? So you’re bringing people over to my house to assert dominance now?” Neville’s face was flushed red as he looked up to Jasper to shout. He felt the urge to kick this shameful dog to death.
“A dog will always be a dog. Fierce as it is, it’s still just a dog, no?”
Jasper spoke with a subtle smile, and all the Hanks family present felt the color drain from their faces in anger.
While it seemed like he was talking about the German Shepherd, it was really an insult to the Hanks family.
Neville roared, “Who are you calling a dog here?”
“So you acknowledge it then?” Jasper commented calmly.
“You f*cking b*stard…”
“Enough!”
Sirius shouted to interrupt Neville, glaring at the young man who had an indignant expression on his face. He said, “Don’t you think that we’ve made a big enough fool of ourselves already? Either shut up, or bring your dog and get out!”
Neville clenched his jaw. Flames of fury were set ablaze in his eyes and he balled his fists, glaring at Jasper resentfully.
However, since Sirius had already spoken, Neville remained silent regardless of how pissed he felt.
“Is that what you came to do today, Jasper? To scare a dog?” Sirius looked at Jasper and spoke calmly.
With that, smiles reappeared on the Hanks family’s faces.
Sirius was much more experienced than Neville, after all. A mere sentence was all it took for him to slap Jasper in the face. It was a great relief to the other members of the family who were greatly infuriated by Jasper’s taunting a second ago.
Jasper did not waste time on Sirius and waved a hand at Julian.
Julian immediately pulled out some documents from the briefcase that he carried with him everywhere and handed them to Sirius.
Sirius looked at Jasper suspiciously before taking a look at the papers.
One look at the contents of the documents was enough to stun Sirius. His eyes widened as he stared at every single word on the papers, rereading it as if he had read it wrong the first time.
Following that, Sirius’ hand trembled as he held the papers. His breathing turned heavy.
The scene startled the members of the Hanks family. Reflexively, they were about to ask what the documents entailed and why it had caused Sirius to lose his composure.
Just then, Jasper spoke up instead.
“As you can see, Mr. Hanks, I’ve come today to collect your debts.”
Neville stared at Jasper and scoffed at his words. “Are you so broke that you’ve gone f*cking mad? Go on then, bark twice for me, and if it’s to my liking, I might just give you 100 or 200 bucks.”
Life at the Top Chapter 615
“You came to Hanks Residence to collect our debts? Since when did my family owe you money?”
“Will it hurt for you to shut up?!” Sirius turned to shout at Neville.
Having been shouted at, Neville looked at his dad who had a wretched expression on his face and looked like he was about to eat himself alive. Terrified, Neville spoke with a quivering voice, “I’m your son, Dad. Jasper’s an outsider who’s coming to bully us at our house, what’s wrong with me standing up for our family?”
At that moment, the only old man in the room realized that there was something wrong with Sirius and asked with a frown, “What’s going on, Sirius?”
Sirius took a deep breath and looked up at the old man. “This is a notice of breach in contract, Uncle Silas.”
With that, Sirius turned to look at Jasper coldly. “What a trick you’ve got here, hmm?”
Jasper replied calmly, “You’re not so bad either.”
“I’d like to know how you managed to get your hands on so many sales business’ contracts in just two days. How’d you get them to agree to transfer the contract compensation rights to you?” Sirius asked coldly.
At that, the expressions of all the Hanks family members changed.
The Hanks family was currently in a great crisis as their main pillar of income, the electronics orders, had been stolen from them. The sales businesses that they had signed contracts with were rioting every day as well.
As members of the Hanks family, they were well aware that it would be the end of the Hanks family if they could not brave through this.
However, Jasper had now brought those contracts over to collect their debts.
Everyone, including Neville, now looked at Jasper with absolute resentment. They wanted nothing more than to rip Jasper apart.
“Faith County had only developed its electronics market after signing a contract with the Hanks family for a year’s worth of goods. The contract amounts to a total of 1.5 million, with an advanced prepayment of 800,000. The moment either party breaches the contract, they are required to compensate the loss with twice the contract amount. So, I decided to buy that contract with 1.3 million Somer Dollars.
“And the same followed with other sales businesses you signed with. There was no reason for them not to take my offer, especially when they’d have to come up with the expenses themselves to sue you otherwise. There’s no point in dragging debt on forever, correct?”
Sirius paled at Jasper’s words.
Then, he cruelly barked out a laugh. “Wow, very well done, Jasper. Very well done! Aren’t you afraid that I’d go bankrupt and you wouldn’t even get a cent out of me?”
Jasper shrugged and replied calmly, “Even if you went bankrupt, I’m sure the Hanks family’s properties are still worth something. I’ll just have to treat it as picking up the scraps and helping you repay your debts at a discounted price. Even if you’re unwilling, I’m sure the court will agree.
“Plus, let’s be honest, I can afford that bit of cash.”
Sirius glared at Jasper menacingly and was utterly infuriated.
Yet no matter how angry he was, the situation left him no other choice but to surrender.
“Is there truly no way we can negotiate this, Jasper?”
Hearing him, Neville and his brother Dave looked at Sirius with disbelief. They did not understand why their father was surrendering to Jasper.
“Negotiate? My only suggestion is that you repay your debts as soon as possible. That’s 2.7 billion. Ordinary people can live their entire lives on one day of interest alone,” Jasper spoke calmly.
“What? 2.7 billion?!” Neville shrieked.
Dave’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Dad, he’s obviously just extorting us here! We won’t be able to come up with such a large sum of money in such a short time even if we liquidated all our properties!” Neville explained to Sirius.
Neville was very well aware of the Hanks family’s current situation. They had lost a lot of money ever since the Southface River Project, and the family’s wealth had shrunk greatly.
Over the past few days, they had made losses after losses from taking deals that did not benefit them just to attack Jasper and Dawson. Not to mention that Sylva had also taken an amount of the family’s wealth and vanished!
‘So what if our family has a lot of assets? They’re all side businesses and only a small number of projects are actually profitable! There’s no way we can procure 2.7 billion in such a short time to repay our debts!’
“Then liquidate it!’
Jasper spoke indifferently, “The Hanks family has quite a number of assets. Plus, with all the money each member of the family has, I’d say it’s enough to pay what you owe. Even if it isn’t enough, we can bring it to court. The worst-case scenario? You get blacklisted. But the Hanks family is so formidable that this should be the least of your problems, no?”
Life at the Top Chapter 616
“You’re going too far, Jasper!”
Dave stared at Jasper and roared.
“What’s wrong with a creditor coming to collect my debtor’s debts? How am I going too far? Or are you telling me that I’m just supposed to give you that 2.7 billion? Is that it?” Jasper asked curiously.
“You won’t get anything good out of crushing the entire Hanks family to bits! Doing so will only make the situation more difficult to deal with,” Dave spoke grimly.
Smiling, Jasper replied to Dave calmly, “Then how would you propose I do this?”
“We’ll pay you 20 million a year until we repay everything. That’s the most we can do.” Dave’s eyes shifted as he spoke.
Jasper chuckled at the suggestion and turned to look at Sirius, ignoring Dave. “Mr. Hanks, should I take this as your family’s final decision?”
Dave roared. “I’m talking to you here! What’s with your attitude?”
“Enough,” Sirius suddenly spoke, interrupting Dave.
“Jasper, it’s not a lie that we can’t pay you such a large sum right now. The Hanks family is now a mere shell of its former glory. We have no other choice but to run it through the official procedure if you’re so adamant about getting the money back. That’s all I have to say,” Sirius replied calmly.
“But I don’t believe that’s the result you wish to see.”
Jasper chuckled and turned to ask Sirius, “Did you have anything to do with Zayden’s death?”
Sirius frowned slightly at how Jasper asked him a tricky question instead of replying to his question.
“What are you saying? You were the reason Zayden was put in the detention center in the first place. He killed himself because he couldn’t take the reality of it. If anything, you were the one who directly caused his death!” Sirius spoke grimly.
Jasper replied calmly, “He had it coming, being put behind bars. But I’ve never once thought of killing him. After all, this is a federal society we live in. It would do you good not to spout nonsense.
“But you didn’t answer my question at all. So tell me, what role did you play in his death?”
Sirius’ expression darkened. He did not need to turn back to know that his family was looking at him with shocked, complicated, and confused gazes.
“I’m the one who’s suffering the most. I swear, I’ll find the person who killed Zayde—”
“Didn’t you just say that he killed himself because he couldn’t handle the fact that I put him behind bars? Now you’re telling me that you’re going to find the killer who killed him? Aren’t you contradicting yourself here?” Jasper interrupted Sirius and asked.
Being interrogated by Jasper, Sirius roared with his face pale from anger, “What the hell do you want? Are you going to take revenge for Zayden?”
“He and I are enemies, not friends. I’d be the last person to help avenge him. In fact, I should be here clapping my hands in joy about the fact that he’s dead. But this incident has also shown me how cruel and heartless you and Conrad are. How do you expect me to let people like you off the hook?”
Jasper spoke softly, “You treat an illness by treating its cause, do you not? You might not know this, but Sylva came to me with a lot of information after Zayden passed.”
Sirius’ eyes widened as he asked aggressively, “Where is he? Tell me! Where is he?”
Jasper was shocked. “You seem very interested to know where he’s gone?”
“No sh*t. He took 600 million in cash from the family’s funds when he left! I…” Sirius spoke without hesitation. Halfway through, he realized how he had said something he should not have.
Looking at Sirius whose face had been drained of all color, Jasper replied calmly, “What a close relationship you have with your brother. Who’d have thought that this so-called family had already fallen apart long ago?”
With that, Jasper then walked to leave and spoke slowly, “Just wait for your subpoenas. Oh, my lawyer has probably already filed for a case, so you should be receiving a notice about the freezing of your assets soon.”
Watching Jasper leave, Dave and his brother Neville could not hold it anymore and ran over to block Jasper’s path. Neville spoke to Jasper with a cold look in his eyes, “What, you’re just going to leave now?”
“Why? Are you in a rush to transfer this park to me?” Jasper asked calmly.
Life at the Top Chapter 617
Neville took a deep breath. He was so infuriated he felt like he was about to explode.
“Stop dodging the question, Jasper. So what if you’re good at talking? Tell me, where’s Sylva Hanks?”
Dave agreed. “Exactly. You want money, don’t you? He’s taken all the cash in the family. Find him and you’ll get the money!”
“What makes you think that he’d tell me where he’s going and when he’s planning to flee?” Jasper frowned slightly. “How can you two be so stupid?”
“You’re going too far, Jasper!”
Neville could no longer control the rage within him and raised his fist to punch Jasper in the face.
Jasper stood expressionless in place and did not move at all.
Julian reached out from beside him and grabbed Neville’s wrist. Before anyone could register what was happening, Julian flicked his wrist and Neville’s sharp cry sounded in the air. His arm was immediately fractured.
A young master like Neville could hardly endure such immense pain. Tears and snot began to flow freely that instant, and he grabbed his arm while hopping around.
“Insolent b*stard.” Jasper shook his head and turned to look at Dave who was gulping with a pale face. “Are you going to block my path as well?”
Dave could neither move nor stay, so he remained rooted in place. Regret filled his heart as he wondered why he rushed out on impulse.
His elders had yet to say anything, so who was a youth like him to act out?
“Come back, Dave.”
Sirius’ words saved Dave from embarrassment, and he quickly ran back to Sirius’ side.
Sirius looked at Jasper with a deep gaze and said, “You’ve won.”
“As expected.”
Jasper glanced at Sirius and spoke, “The Hanks family never had the right to join the game since the very beginning. But since you had decided to join, then it’s only right you pay the price.
“The Hanks family is out.”
With that, Jasper brought Julian and left Hanks Residence.
After standing in place for a long time, Sirius’ family members all surrounded him and asked him what they should do next. Then, he finally exploded.
“Stop asking me what to do! I don’t even know what to do now!”
“What else can we do? We’re screwed. It’s over for us! It’s over for the Hanks family!”
Silas asked with trepidation, “Should we ask Conrad’s family for help?”
Sirius scoffed. “This is a huge sum of 2.7 billion, not 27 million. There’s no way we can come up with so much money even though we have got a good amount of assets. Conrad has his own issues to deal with already, and I haven’t been able to contact him since yesterday. We’re discarded pawns now, do you hear me?”
Silas shuddered and hissed. “Then what are we supposed to do now?”
“Let’s split up. At least then, we’ll still get to stay alive.”
Sirius waved his hand dismissively. “You heard Jasper, didn’t you? I know all of you have your own hidden reserves. Take that money and run as far as you can. This is it for the Hanks family.”
With that, members of the Hanks family felt their hearts shake in their chests. It felt like the end of the world to them.
Life at the Top Chapter 618
The fall of the Hanks family caused an uproar within the entire Southeast Province.
It was abrupt and under the intervention of the Provincial High Court where all courthouses in prefecture-level cities within the province were to investigate all of the Hanks family’s assets.
Seeing the red tape that sealed off the Hanks family’s properties, people could not help but remember how the Hanks family had blindly attacked JW Real Estates’ projects. In the end, JW Real Estates stood strong while the Hanks family had fallen.
Everyone could not help but look in the direction of JW Real Estates. No one dared to look down on this company anymore.
They knew that change was about to hit Southeast Province.
At Nauritus City in the provincial capital, in the study of Monty Manor.
Conrad had his hands under his chin as he listened to his subordinate’s report.
“Mr. Monty, that’s basically the situation now. All members of the Hanks family have already left Southeast Province last night. They’ve all gone to other places and some even left the country. It seems like it’s truly over for them.”
Conrad was unfazed, and there was no sign of mirth nor anger in his eyes.
“What about Sirius?” he asked faintly.
“Unreachable. He’s completely dropped off the grid and our people are unable to find any traces of him,” the subordinate replied carefully. He was afraid that his inability to trace Sirius would irk his employer.
Conrad separated his hands and pulled out a cigar from his drawer. Cutting it carefully, he spoke with his head still down, “It’s not your fault. Sirius had spent decades working in Southeast Province, after all. It’s only normal for him to have a few methods to save himself at such a time. If he truly wishes to run, then there’s no holding him back.”
“Should we continue searching for him?” the subordinate asked, exhaling a breath of relief.
“No need. The Hanks family is over.” Conrad sighed unexpectedly.
Not even the man himself remembered when was the last time he sighed, but it must have been years ago. He had lived his life confidently since he made a name for himself at a young age, and nothing nor anyone seemed to be worthy of his sighs from then on.
However, Conrad could not help but feel a wave of exhaustion wash over him now.
“Jasper has dealt me a heavy blow and he’s not giving me the chance to take a breather at all. Should we borrow money to help the Hanks family at such a time? Then we’d surely lose when it comes to Skyward Aluminum’s shares.
“He has already foreseen that we won’t give up Skyward Aluminum just to help the Hanks family, so I have no other choice but to take the hit. I have to say, this hit hurts.”
Conrad slammed his palm on the mahogany table as he spoke, and there was a cold glint shining in his eyes.
“So what if this is the end of the Hanks family? We’ve already wrung them dry of their use to us anyway… How’s the progress with Colin from Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd going?”
The subordinate’s expression changed slightly and he looked down, not daring to look at Conrad’s expression. He spoke softly, “Mr. Monty, Colin claimed that he had left Nauritus City for a business trip… but our men saw him in the city yesterday.”
“This fellow knows that there’s another party also seeking his mining company’s support, so he’s only agreeing to whoever pays the higher price then?” Conrad spoke coldly.
“Call him again. Tell him that I’m treating him to a meal and ask if he’s free enough to talk. If he can’t come down to the city, then I’ll look for him where he is. He’s just a general manager. We can find someone else to take his place if he’s unwilling to listen. No matter what, I will not let Jasper get his hands on this.”
The subordinate hastily replied, “Yes, I understand.”
“Go, then.”
With a wave of his hand, Conrad had the subordinate leave. Peace returned to the study, and Conrad walked toward the window with his hands behind his back. Staring at the newly sprouted grass downstairs, he murmured, “The year 2001 sure is filled with hardships!”
…
In a hotel, Jasper was currently treating someone to a meal.
It was none other than the general manager of Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd, Colin Walter.
Even though Jasper was hosting, the main character of the night was Henry instead.
This little brat had indeed brought Jasper a surprise.
“Here, a toast to you, Mr. Law.” Colin raised his wine glass and stood, leaning over lightly as he proclaimed courteously.
Henry beamed as he knocked his glass with Colin’s. “Don’t worry about your daughter and son-in-law’s businesses in Harbor City, Mr. Walter. I’ll call them in a bit and put my name in. I’ll make sure they earn a lot.”
Colin brightened up immediately. “Mr. Law, I’ve lived more than half my life and the most important part of my life is this daughter of mine. I’m not too outstanding myself, so I sent both her and her husband to Harbor City.
“It’s not easy for those from the Mainland to make a living in Harbor City, and I’d be very grateful if you could look out for them, Mr. Law.”
Henry gave Jasper a weird look when he heard Colin claim that it was hard for those from the Mainland to make a living in Harbor City.
“Don’t worry about it, I already promised that I would help.” Henry grinned and then spoke intently, “But about my friend’s situation? What do you think we should do about it?”
Colin’s expression changed slightly as he looked at Jasper with a smile. With a conflicted look on his face, he replied, “Mr. Law, Mr. Laine, I’m not trying to decline you, but there really isn’t much I can do.
“You should know that even though I’m the mining company’s general manager, it still isn’t my company. It’s the higher-ups who decide what happens and they’ve already told me we will remain impartial to the situation between Mr. Laine and Mr. Monty.
“Both you and Mr. Monty are formidable men, Mr. Laine. I’m merely someone who survives on a salary. I cannot afford to offend anyone.”
Henry’s expression darkened instantly at Colin’s words.
It was a rare chance that he got to show his abilities in front of Jasper, yet this *sshole was about to screw him over.
“Now, this, Mr. Walter, I don’t like hearing. Don’t pull the higher-ups into our conversation now. I’ve promised to help your daughter and her husband, so I will. I have no complaints. But the moment I ask you for a bit of help, you start giving me excuses and whatnot. Are you looking down on my abilities?”
People like Henry mainly came in contact with other big shots. Even in situations where Henry’s existence was just as an insignificant youth, he was still much more formidable than nobodies like Colin.
Colin’s words had also ignited Henry’s spoilt temper at that moment and he exploded.
“Look, there’s no point in saying nonsense now, so let me just get straight to the point and tell you what’s going to happen.
“If you promise to help, then everyone will be happy and I promise that your daughter and her husband will live a sophisticated life worthy of the upper class. You know my family background, so I’m sure you know that I have the power to make that happen.
“But if this really is out of your hands and you can’t help, then that’s alright too. I don’t like forcing people to do things. But I also can’t promise what’s going to happen to your daughter and son-in-law in Harbor City. As I said just now, I have the power to make anything happen.”
With that, Henry then clapped a hand on Colin’s taut shoulder while grinning. “Understood?”
Life at the Top Chapter 619
What were trust fund babies?
Henry was the epitome of one.
‘Work for me, and I will reward you.
‘Yet the moment you’re unable to do your part well, I’ll screw you over.’
While it may sound like a simple piece of logic, it was in truth filled with bossiness and arrogance.
They did not fear revenge. In fact, revenge was welcome. ‘Go ahead. Let’s fight, shall we? Let’s compete to see who has the more formidable parent.’
There was no way Colin could compete with Henry’s parents, so after a moment of pondering, he smiled bitterly and replied, “Mr. Law, what else can I do but listen when you’ve already made it so clear?”
Henry’s expression finally brightened as he laughed out loud. “There we go. Here, come, Mr. Walter, let’s have a drink. As for tonight, don’t be in such a rush to return, okay? Let me make preparations.”
Colin immediately raised his glass and replied, “Next time, Mr. Law. I’ll treat you next time. The issue now is to make a stand, isn’t it? So I’ve got to go back and make preparations in advance. I’m not the only employee in the office, after all.”
Henry was very understanding and nodded. “Sure. I like your attitude toward work, Mr. Walter.”
After eating their fill, Jasper and Henry sent Colin off.
“Mr. Laine, Mr. Law, there’s no need to send me off any farther. I’ll be getting into the car now,” Colin told the two.
Jasper smiled and reached out to shake Colin’s hand. “There’s something else I would like to discuss with you, Mr. Walter.”
After the dinner, Colin could tell that Jasper was someone whom Henry held in extremely high regard.
Even if it was not the case, Jasper was not someone he could afford to offend considering the former’s prestige in Southeast Province.
Thus, Colin replied courteously, “Do tell, Mr. Laine. I’m listening.”
“It’s for your sake as well, Mr. Walter,” Jasper smiled and spoke, “If I’m right, Conrad must’ve been contacting you over the past few days, right?”
Colin smiled bitterly.
To be frank, Colin would undoubtedly choose Conrad if it were a choice between him and Jasper. It was Henry’s existence and his hold over his only daughter’s family that he had to concede.
“Indeed. But don’t worry, Mr. Laine. I definitely won’t contact him in the future anymore,” Colin promised.
Jasper shook his head instead and replied meaningfully, “Actually, what I wanted to say was please feel free to agree to whatever requests Conrad asks of you, Mr. Walter.”
“The Monty family is very prominent in Southeast Province and I fear for your position should you end up offending him.”
Hearing Jasper, Colin was stunned.
Honestly speaking, if possible, Colin was very much open to the idea of not taking the dangerous role of being the mining company’s general manager. Being a simple chief in some other company was a much better option.
However, Jasper’s words swarmed Colin with a feeling he had never once felt in more than half his life of working in the system.
“What do you mean, Mr. Laine?” Colin asked dumbfoundedly.
Jasper smiled. “You’re a smart man, Mr. Colin. I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say. Two days, at most. Two more days and all of this will be over. I promise to return the favor once all of this is over, Mr. Walter.”
Colin looked at Jasper with a deep gaze. Before this, the reason why he had agreed to stand on Jasper’s side on the Skyward Aluminum incident was that he was terrified of Henry’s threats.
However, Colin now truly believed that the so-called genius from Southeast Province that appears once every half a century might truly be thrown off his high horse by Jasper.
No matter what, Colin still had to decide. Naturally, he would stand on Jasper’s side since the odds were in his favor.
Colin clenched his jaw and spoke, “I know what to do, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper smiled as he opened the car door for Colin who thanked him with a bow before getting into the car.
Watching Colin’s car vanish into the distance, Henry suddenly sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Jasper asked.
“Motherf*cker! Seriously, if not for the fact that it’d obstruct your plans, I really wish he’d say no. The number of people who’d risk disrespecting me now is dwindling. What a bunch of cowards.”
Henry did not seem to realize how arrogant and irking his words were.
Then, Henry turned to ask Jasper, “You said that you’ll finish it in two days. You mean it?”
Jasper smiled. “Why? Are you interested in this too?”
Henry snickered, saying, “My dad has actually told me so many times before that the most important thing I should learn from you is not how to make money but how to fight people.
“That’s more important than making money. My family’s rich, I don’t even need to work and it’d still be impossible for me to spend all of our money. There’s no need for me to make more money, but it’s a different story with fighting people. I want to be the number one young master in Harbor City. Do you know how cool that’ll make me?”
Jasper hummed noncommittally at Henry’s very outstanding ambition. As he walked to his car, he said, “I’ve already bought 15% of Skyward Aluminum’s shares. Conrad has been fighting with me the entire time and he bought another 5%.
“Now that I have the support from Southeast Province Mining Co., Ltd, their 30% will then belong to me. That leaves both 45% in both mine and Conrad’s hands.”
At that, Jasper opened the door and glanced back at the brightly lit restaurant. Bending his head, he got into the car and continued calmly, “Therefore, the fight for another 5% of shares tomorrow will be the most important battle of all. But Conrad doesn’t know that.
“Conrad’s lack of knowledge on that will be enough to secure his loss.
“Think about it, we’ll be fighting the battle tomorrow with the courage and commitment to end it all, while he’s still contacting Colin and receiving a verbal promise from the man. Conrad will think that victory is in his hands.
“In that case, what reason do I have to lose?”
Henry got into the car with him. After hearing Jasper, Henry felt enlightened.
Then, he turned around to look at Jasper weirdly and said, “Just hit me if you ever get pissed at me in the future, okay? I promise I won’t fight back. Just don’t plot against me, please? I won’t be able to sleep normally if you do.”
“Your dad’s rich, isn’t he? Think you could ask him to buy you a bit of intellect?” Jasper commented.
It took Henry a long while before he understood what Jasper meant and he shouted, “What the f*ck, man? Who the hell talks about their brother-in-law like that?!”
…
In the blink of an eye, it was already a new day.
At 9:30 a.m., the country’s share market A opened as usual.
Jasper sat before the computer at nine that morning. He would do the work himself today and claim victory in this battle.
Life at the Top Chapter 620
After a week of having its price blown up, Skyward Aluminum had now become a hotspot in share market A.
All investors knew that there were dealers trying to fight for control in this company.
Therefore, both retail investors with idle funds and organizations are trying to do everything they can just to get their hands on even a slight portion.
In truth, these past few days, investors who had shares in Skyward Aluminum had indeed made a lot of money.
Jasper alone had thrown in more than two billion Somer Dollars, while Conrad had thrown in 1.5 billion.
Jasper did not care though, for this was all Gale’s money, after all.
That morning, Gale had transferred another 1.5 billion over to assist Jasper.
Jasper was truly impressed by Gale’s wealth.
Work was much easier this time compared to the other trades he had done in stock markets before.
All he had to do was buy.
It was not his money anyway, so Jasper immediately bought all available shares the moment the market opened with nothing remaining.
Such a transaction instantly caused the share price to increase.
“Holy sh*t. It’s going to rise to the limit in five minutes with how you’re buying the shares. How are you planning to buy 5% of the shares?” Henry asked in shock when he saw the scene upon his arrival.
Jasper smiled. “I have my ways.”
With that, Jasper then canceled all transactions that had yet to be confirmed backstage.
There was a sudden stunt in the momentum of purchasing.
At that, retail investors who were filing in maddeningly were instantly stunned.
An extremely expensive order had been canceled. Did that mean the share price had reached its maximum?
At the same time, Jasper called Jake.
“You can release the news now.”
A few minutes later, the news spread like wildfire among the investors.
[JW Capital and Haddock Mining Group have come to an agreement regarding Skyward Aluminum. They’ve decided to cancel their plans to merge and acquire Skyward Aluminum.]
There was no need for a formal statement for the investors to feel panicked. They immediately sold all their shares.
Over the past week, Skyward Aluminum had already risen to the limit seven consecutive times and the market had closed every business day with the prices rising to the limit.
Anyone with the slightest sense of stock speculation would know that any single share could have their market price increase by 95% after rising to the limit seven times.
Skyward Aluminum that once had a market price of 30 billion was now approaching a market price of 60 billion. It was almost twice the amount it started with.
It was a miracle.
Yet at the same time, this news had frightened the investors who had calmed down amidst the frenzy. The share price was just too high now.
A pause in an upward trend was followed by none other than a revengeful drop.
As such, investors all began to sell their shares crazily.
Even a few large organizations within the country had sold their shares as well.