Soon, the news of Armand being an escort’s son and the news of him grievously injured and unconscious after an accident spread.
In mere few days, the stock prices of Faulkner Group and Central Group plummeted as a result of those pieces of news.
The losses of both companies totaled over eight hundred billion.
However, Faulkner Group’s shareholders were all big shots in Xedells. Moreover, with Samantha’s swift return to Faulkner Group to take over the management of Faulkner Group, the storm soon calmed down.
On the other hand, the situation at Central Group worsened. Every single soul in the company was growing more and more anxious after each day.
All of the shareholders were informed about Samantha’s replacement of Armand. The morning shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday was for them to pick someone to manage Central Group and cease its chaos.
Some reporters who received news from Central Group employees quickly waited by Central Group’s entrance early on Wednesday morning.
Not long after, a few cars stopped by the building’s entrance. Then, the reporters saw Samantha, Peter, and Isabella—Armand’s adoptive mother—came down from the cars.
In an instant, the reporters surrounded them. As they snapped photos of the group, they bombarded them with questions.
Nevertheless, they were quickly and mercilessly pushed aside by the bodyguards.
The shareholders of Central Group had already arrived in the conference room. They were sitting close to each other and whispering about Armand’s condition after his car accident with similar frowns on their faces.
When they saw Samantha and the others entering the room, they nodded as a greeting.
“What happened to Mr. Faulkner?” one of the shareholders asked Samantha. “I heard that he has been in a traffic accident. How long will he be in the hospital for?”
After pulling out the chair and taking a seat, Samantha squeezed out, “Armand’s suffering from grievous injuries. The doctor said that he has sustained injuries to his head, and the chances of him waking up are… slim.”
The shareholders were all taken aback by that.
If the chances of him waking up are slim, doesn’t that mean he’ll be bed-bound for the rest of his life?
“I’m sure everyone has seen the news about Armand. Although he’s not my biological nephew, he’s raised by the Faulkner family, and Central Group is his blood, sweat, and tears.” At that, Samantha wiped the corner of her eye with her finger. “Even if he’s no longer around, we’ll still make sure that his company is well-managed.”
Then, Samantha glanced at Peter. “This is my brother, Peter. I’m sure some of you here know him and how he’s like in the corporate world.”
Hearing that, some of the shareholders turned to look at Peter.
They knew who Peter was, for he was the one managing Faulkner Group before Armand took over the company. He was an impressive man, and he was from the Faulkner family.
Right then, someone opened the door to the conference room. In the next second, the pregnant Marilyn entered the room with a servant supporting her.
“Marilyn, why didn’t you ask me to pick you up?” Samantha cried out with a smile. After she stood up, she then pulled the chair beside her out for Marilyn to sit on it.
“Uncle Peter, Samantha,” Marilyn greeted the two.
After sitting down, Marilyn said, “I’m fine. It’s good for the baby if I take more walks. I heard that there’s a shareholders’ meeting going on today, so I came.”
“But, Ms. Wood, why are you here?” a shareholder queried. “If my memory serves me well, you don’t have any shares in Central Group. Could it be that Mr. Faulkner has privately made another will?”
“Yes.” Marilyn nodded before giving a look to her servant.
A minute after the servant went out of the room, she returned with a solemn-looking man in a suit.
All the shareholders in the room knew who he was. The man was Wilfred Shipman, a lawyer whose law firm was working closely with Central Group.
The many cases that Central Group were all handled by the law firm that Wilfred was in.
Wilfred then placed the documents in his hands on the table so that the shareholders could pass them around once they were done reading them. “Mr. Faulkner has set up his will a long time ago. Once Ms. Wood has given birth to her child—regardless of whether the baby is a boy or a girl—he will transfer all the shares he has in Central Group to Ms. Wood’s child.”
Once all the shareholders were done reading the documents, they began sporting varying expressions.
They never thought that Armand would prepare a will like that.
