Chapter 281 The Press Conference Begins!
The next morning, at a large press conference venue.
In Houston, the entire city was glued to their TVs today, watching this press conference.
Houston's business bigwigs were also watching, and some businessmen had already arrived at the scene.
They all knew that once this conference was over, there would be significant changes in Houston's building materials and real estate markets, inevitably affecting many other industries.
A business upheaval was about to begin!
At 8:40 AM, over ten thousand people had already arrived at the scene.
Reporters were everywhere, setting up various types of cameras and adjusting the lighting and sound.
There were rows of seats in the audience.
The left side was reserved for reporters, most of whom were from Houston, with a few from neighboring cities and the state capital. This showed the conference's significant influence, which was no longer limited to Houston.
The right side was for the powerful figures in Houston's business community!
Among them, the Johnsons and others were present today. They were all dressed to the nines, eager to show off their newfound wealth.
Matthew glanced at his Rolex watch, which he usually couldn't bear to wear, and said, "Less than twenty minutes to go; the press conference is about to start. I'm sure today will be very exciting!"
Lawrence said expectantly, "Maple Real Estate's collapse is inevitable today. Remember how they treated the Johnsons? This is karma! To be honest, I already booked a restaurant yesterday to celebrate tonight!"
Everyone nodded happily.
Compared to the time when Grandma Johnson was hospitalized due to Ryder's anger, she had now almost fully recovered.
Leaning on her cane, she had a cold glint in her eyes. "Don't forget that bastard Ryder Clark and that little bitch Sarah. No matter how miserable Maple Real Estate gets, I don't want to see them have any chances to rise again!"
Beside her, Sandra gently patted her hand and comforted her, "Mom, don't worry. From the beginning, I never planned to let those two have a good ending; especially Ryder. Since he has no future value, there's no need for him to stay alive!"
Hearing this, Matthew was a bit puzzled and asked quietly, "Sandra, last night Sarah contacted us and agreed to sign the contract to accuse Maple Real Estate of money laundering. The condition was to spare Ryder's life. If we kill him, won't she turn against us?"
Sandra replied calmly, "In the face of absolute power disparity, we don't need to keep our promises. Once Maple Real Estate falls, no matter what fuss she makes, what can she do to us? If she really poses a threat to us, we can get rid of her, too. After all, she is still part of the Johnsons, and some decisions are up to Mom!"
Grandma Johnson squinted, almost gritting her teeth as she sneered, "That little bitch Sarah who sides with outsiders doesn't deserve the Johnson name. If she dies, she dies. Sandra, you just need to be ruthless! Even if it's other family members, no matter who it is, as long as they do majorly harm us, you can deal with them as you see fit!"
Hearing this, the rest of the Johnson family secretly gasped.
Their fear of Sandra grew even more.
Sandra had essentially received Grandma Johnson's authorization, allowing her to make all decisions.
From now on, they would have to curry favor with her even more.
At this moment, Sandra suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Matthew, "Ryder is definitely under control, right? No more mishaps!"
Under her gaze, Matthew felt a pang of panic but forced himself to answer, "He's under control, there won't be any mishaps!"
She nodded in relief and didn't ask further.
Matthew secretly sighed in relief, but his heart couldn't stop pounding!
He glanced at his phone, seeing his dozens of messages to Orlando gone unreplied.
He had no idea what the situation was!
Maybe they had already caught him, and Orlando was just temporarily held up by something.
That must be it!
He began to silently reassure himself.
Not far from the Johnson family seats, Sarah was sitting.
She looked troubled, and her face was haggard.
In the past few days, she had barely slept or eaten; worrying about SR Group and Ryder!
Under immense pressure, she had finally agreed to Sandra's contract conditions last night.
Even if she'd be despised and scorned by Houston's citizens in the future, she was willing to bear it if she could save Ryder!
She just hoped he was still safe.
Behind her, a group of people were gossiping, "See that? That's Sarah, SR Group's president. She's had a rough few days!"
"Have you seen the news? Maple Real Estate's president is gay and even has a boy toy!"
"I've heard! What's so strange about that?"
"Well, you don't know, it's rumored that the boy toy is Ryder, Sarah's husband!"
"Oh my God, really? That's unbelievable! Rich people have no morals!"
"With Maple Real Estate in crisis today, SR Group is sure to go down with it. When Sarah falls from grace, let's see what she does then. Maybe one day we'll see her in the red-light district!"
"Then I'll definitely patronize her business and spend three hundred dollars to take her out; just thinking about it is exciting!"
"I want to do that, too!"
Their voices weren't low, deliberately letting Sarah hear them.
Hearing the insulting words, she tightly gripped her clothes.
She bit her lip, feeling extremely aggrieved.
The time quickly reached 9 AM, and the press conference began.
The venue's side door opened. Maple Real Estate's spokesperson, Sophia, along with some company executives, arrived.
When they entered, the reporters frantically started taking photos and videos.
At the same time, more than twenty people, looking like ordinary citizens, suddenly rushed out.
They threw water bottles at Sophia and the others, shouting, "Maple Real Estate, you heartless developers, give us back our homes!"
"You heartless people, you killed my parents, How dare you show up here?"
"Go to hell! I want you all to burn in hell!"
"I'm going to sue you and make you bankrupt!"
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