Everyone in the room turned to look at the door, and two officers in police uniforms entered. "Sorry to disturb you all. We're here on official business."
The officers walked up to Henry Morgan, showed their badges, and handed him a summons. "Mr. Morgan, we suspect that you've manipulated the stock of Silverstone Group, causing damage to the company. Please come with us to the station and cooperate with the investigation."
Henry Morgan's face turned pale, and his mind raced. But being escorted away by the police in front of so many investors would certainly damage his credibility. "Officers, you've got the wrong person. I'm the largest shareholder in Silverstone. How could I harm the company's interests? This shareholder meeting is being disrupted, and your actions are damaging my reputation. I will sue you!"
The investors in the room started murmuring, discussing the unexpected situation that was unfolding before them.
The economic crimes officers weren't intimidated at all. One of the older officers spoke firmly, "Mr. Morgan, please take a good look at the summons. We're just doing our jobs. You'd better cooperate with us, or we'll have no choice but to take more serious measures!"
"You..."
At that moment, Emily Porter, who was sitting next to Henry Morgan, stood up. She looked at the police officers and asked, "Excuse me, do you have any evidence?"
The officer responded, "We received a report and have gathered some evidence. The case is still under investigation. Please cooperate with us, Mr. Morgan."
Emily Porter gritted her teeth, her eyes locking onto Henry Morgan. They had just gotten married, and now her newlywed husband was being escorted out by the police. This was a huge embarrassment for her.
She demanded, "Henry Morgan, what's going on?"
Henry Morgan quickly denied it. "Emily, this is a misunderstanding!"
He pointed at Aiden Thompson, who was sitting there casually, and accused, "It's Aiden Thompson! He's framing me. He knows our shares have surpassed theirs, so now he wants to ruin my reputation in front of everyone at the shareholder meeting."
Aiden Thompson sneered. "Henry, that's not how this works. You've done something illegal, and now the police are here. How can you blame me for that?"
Henry Morgan glared at Aiden. "Isn't it? You know I'm the largest shareholder of Silverstone Group now. You don't want to lose control, so you framed me!"
Aiden Thompson replied calmly, "You might want to educate yourself. It's not that easy to frame someone and get the police and legal system involved."
The economic crimes officers had no intention of waiting. "Mr. Morgan, please come with us."
Henry Morgan wanted to argue further, but the more he spoke, the worse it would get. He decided to swallow his pride and follow the two officers out of the room.
Emily Porter, feeling utterly humiliated, turned around and left as well.
The conference room fell silent, with the remaining shareholders exchanging stunned looks.
One of them finally spoke, "Given everything that's happening, should we continue with the meeting?"
Aiden Thompson addressed the room, "I'm truly sorry for the interruption. Since Henry Morgan, a key shareholder, has been taken by the police, the shares involved in today's vote are now less than two-thirds, meaning we can't proceed with the election of the board of directors or the audit committee. Therefore, the voting session of today's meeting is canceled. If any of you have concerns or other suggestions, please feel free to raise them."
The room was filled with murmurs. Some shareholders were clearly worried. "Do you think it's true that Henry Morgan manipulated the stocks?"
Aiden Thompson responded, "I can't verify that yet. I believe the police will have an answer for us once their investigation is complete."
Rex Thompson added, "If it's true, it would explain the abnormal fluctuations in Silverstone's stock price over the past year."
One shareholder spoke up, "Chairman Thompson, if it's true that Henry Morgan manipulated the stocks, then he should be removed from the shareholder list."
Another shareholder added, "Yes, not only should he be removed, but he should also compensate for the damages he's caused!"
The shareholders began to discuss it among themselves.
After the meeting ended, Rex Thompson and Aiden Thompson returned to the chairman's office. With the voting session canceled and Henry Morgan taken away by the police, Rex Thompson remained the chairman of the company.
Rex sat down. "Is this the method you were talking about, the one where we hurt both the enemy and ourselves?"
Aiden didn't deny it. "Yes."
"How did you know Henry Morgan was manipulating the stocks? You've only been back at the company for a short time."
Aiden sat down, crossed his legs, and leaned back on the sofa, resting his elbows on the armrests. "At the board meeting two months ago, Vice President Pan clearly hid the fact that you had a heart attack. But that afternoon, several financial bloggers posted that you had been unconscious and hospitalized, and even mentioned a rift between us. That same afternoon, the stock price started dropping, and the next morning it plummeted. If that wasn't insider manipulation, the timing doesn't make sense."
"So, I reached out to a friend at the SEC to look into the transactions from those two days. The records showed several accounts with abnormal activity that had very similar patterns. This wasn't the first time either. After further investigation, I found these accounts were mostly managed by an investment firm called Jintai, and Henry Morgan is one of its shareholders."
After hearing this, Rex Thompson had a new understanding of his son. He didn't expect that, in these two months, Aiden had not only been learning to manage the company but had also been digging into such matters behind the scenes.
If Henry Morgan were convicted of stock manipulation, the shareholders' meeting could vote to remove him from the list of shareholders on the grounds of harming the company's interests and reclaim his shares.
However, once the news of a shareholder manipulating stocks spread, Silverstone's stock would undoubtedly suffer. Shareholders in the secondary market would rush to sell their shares, and in the worst-case scenario, it could lead to a potential delisting.
This was the "hurt the enemy a thousand but lose eight hundred oneself" strategy Aiden had warned about.
Although Rex didn't object to what Aiden had done, he knew the consequences were serious. "This will impact the company significantly. Henry Morgan is a shareholder, and his stock manipulation would damage the company's reputation. Have you considered how to manage that?"
Aiden said, "Some losses are inevitable. But my plan is to use this opportunity to buy back some shares. I also know a founder of Meco, a leading AI company. Their smart chips are made in the European, and after some recent talks, they're interested in a strategic partnership with us. If we announce this, it could be great news for Silverstone."
Even though the stock manipulation news would hurt the company and the stock price would fall, buying back shares could help mitigate the damage.
Meco is a well-known AI company with a market value of over ten billion in just five years. They're planning to enter the domestic market, and their chip demand will be enormous.
Partnering with them could be a huge opportunity.
Rex nodded and rarely praised his son. "Well done."
Aiden seized the opportunity. "So, what's my reward?"
Rex's face turned serious. "What, you did all this just for a reward?"
Aiden smiled. "Not entirely, but no reward? How would I stay motivated?"
Rex picked up his cold tea and took a sip. He looked at Aiden over the rim of the cup. "I'll cut the time by six months."
The conversation was a bit cryptic, but both of them knew exactly what it meant. Aiden leaned back. "Six months is too little."
"Then forget it. No reduction."
Aiden sighed and reluctantly agreed. "Six months it is. If I close the deal with Meco, you'll need to knock off another six months."
Rex looked clearly irritated. "Do you think this is some sort of prisoner negotiating a reduced sentence?"
To Aiden, being forced to be apart from Grace Li was like a prison sentence.
Aiden smiled slyly. "Well, if you want me away from Grace, I'm going along with it. But if I perform well, I expect a proper reward. Dad, I'm just following your example."
Rex waved him off impatiently. "Get out. Let me be alone for a while."
Aiden stood up and left.
As he walked out, Vera Thompson passed by. Seeing him, she asked, "How's Dad?"
"He's fine."
Vera and Aiden had worked together today. Aiden handled the shareholders' meeting while Vera took the evidence to the police station. She had only learned about the plan the day before, and Rex had just found out.
"You should have discussed this with him first."
"His acting skills are too obvious. I was worried it would give everything away."
Vera chuckled. "Well, we managed to get through this crisis."
Although they had overcome this immediate crisis, many more unknowns lay ahead. They couldn't afford to relax just yet.