Chapter 358 Meeting
Benjamin was getting impatient. This airport bathroom was huge, so why did someone have to use his stall?
Finally fastening his pants, he twisted the lock and frowned, saying, "I told you it's occupied..."
The door barely opened a crack before it was violently shoved open. A rough hand reached in from outside and grabbed Benjamin's arm.
Before he could react, a cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose.
Oh no! Ether!
Benjamin struggled to hold his breath, but he couldn't overpower the adult's strength. Within moments, his limbs went limp, and he fell unconscious.
At the fast-food restaurant, Tristan was ordering food while keeping an eye on the bathroom exit.
Even after the kids' meal was ready, Benjamin still hadn't come out.
Tristan's brow furrowed as a bad feeling crept over him.
He quickly got up, his chubby body moving surprisingly fast toward the bathroom.
"Benjamin? You in there?"
No response.
Panic set in as he began checking each stall. All the empty ones were searched, but there was no sign of Benjamin.
"Benjamin!"
Tristan's voice grew louder as he started knocking on the occupied stalls.
The people inside, annoyed by the interruption, cursed at him.
"What's wrong with you? I'm taking a dump, and you're knocking on the door? Get lost!"
But Tristan didn't care. He had been watching the exit the whole time, and apart from a janitor leaving, he hadn't seen anyone else.
Benjamin had to still be in the bathroom.
"Open up!" He pounded on the door, nearly breaking it.
The person inside, unable to finish their business, flushed and opened the door.
"What the hell is your problem? Why are you banging on my door? You think I stuffed him in the toilet?"
Ignoring the outburst, Tristan checked the stall, finding nothing. The commotion caused others to hurriedly leave their stalls as well.
With a grim face, Tristan searched every stall, but Benjamin was nowhere to be found.
How could this be? He had been watching the whole time, and no one had left.
How was he going to explain this to Dean?
Tristan smacked his forehead and rushed out to find airport security.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, and a single suspicious figure came to mind.
When the janitor left, he was pushing a half-height garbage bin—large enough to hide a child.
At the Percy Group.
As the vice president of the Percy Group, Zachary was under constant scrutiny. His death quickly spread among the shareholders.
The previously calm shareholders were now in a frenzy, urgently demanding to see Charles.
The meeting room buzzed with noise. Nolan sat beside the head chair, his face cold.
A shareholder named Orville, seeing that Charles hadn't arrived, sternly addressed Nolan, "Nolan, if Zachary is really dead, Mr. Percy should be heading to Horizonia immediately, whether by blood relation or professional duty. But he's not even attending this shareholders' meeting. Doesn't he care about the Percy Group's stock price?"
Orville's arrogant attitude made it seem like he was someone important, but he was just a parasite living off the company.
Nolan rolled his eyes internally but responded politely, "Orville, don't worry. Mr. Percy will definitely attend today's meeting. We just need to wait."
A cold laugh echoed, "Always waiting. Do you know what time it is? Are we waiting for the news to come out and the media to start bashing the Percy Group?"
Another shareholder, more impatient, couldn't stand Charles' attitude, and by extension, Nolan's poker face, as if the world owed them something.
Nolan's face turned icy as he looked at the speaker, Clifton.
Clifton, meeting Nolan's gaze, felt a pang of guilt and raised his voice to seem confident, "Am I wrong?"
"Enough, Clifton. There's no use in getting worked up. Let's just wait."
"Yeah, getting worked up won't help."
Other shareholders, sensing the tension, quickly tried to calm things down.
Suddenly, a discordant voice emerged from the crowd, "We don't even know if Zachary is really in trouble. If Mr. Percy leaves now, who will run the company? After all, Mr. Percy is the largest shareholder."
"What did you say?" Clifton turned towards the voice. "Stefan, what do you mean by that? Are you saying we're wrong?"
Stefan, a mild-mannered man, had invested a bit of money when Charles' grandfather founded the company, earning some shares.
Over time, as the Percy Group's shares became more valuable, he ended up on the board.
He had no business acumen and usually stayed out of shareholder disputes, content to live off his shares.
But now, with the company in crisis, the shareholders wanted Charles to go to Horizonia, a place rife with terrorist attacks.
If something happened to Charles, the company would be doomed.
Stefan, though old, knew that Charles was the one holding the company together. These shareholders, who contributed nothing, had the nerve to cause trouble now.
"I don't mean that, but with Zachary just having an incident, we don't know the situation outside. If something happens to Mr. Percy, who will control the company?"
Stefan's tone grew more serious.
Clifton scoffed, "That's ridiculous. Terrorists aren't professional hitmen. How could they target Mr. Percy specifically? Besides, the Percy Group is huge. If Mr. Percy leaves, there's still..."
Before he could finish, the meeting room door opened. Charles entered, exuding an intimidating aura.
The shareholders quickly greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Percy, you're here."
Charles walked up to Clifton, looking down at him, and said in a deep voice, "Continue."
"Mr. Percy..."
Clifton, intimidated by Charles' presence, immediately softened his tone.
"If I'm not at the Percy Group, who do you plan to have in charge?" Charles coldly interrupted, his face expressionless.
The room fell silent, the atmosphere tense.
Nolan watched coldly, not intending to ease the situation. 'Serves them right for being so arrogant. Now they don't dare speak?'
Seeing Clifton's inability to answer, Charles turned and took his seat at the head of the table.
Looking at the varied expressions of the shareholders, he got straight to the point.
"Our vice president in Horizonia has confirmed with the embassy. Zachary is dead."
His tone was cold, devoid of any sorrow for a lost family member.
The shareholders, hearing his declaration, erupted in discussion. Though they had braced themselves for this news, the confirmation still shocked them.
Zachary, as Charles' brother, was the only one who could challenge him for the Percy Group's leadership. He was also Elise's trump card against Charles.
But now, he was dead.
This meant Elise had no chance of rising to power.
The shareholders loyal to Elise panicked, some looking anxiously at Charles.
"In three days, the Percy Group will hold a press conference to officially announce this, and a memorial service will be held," Charles continued.
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