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Chapter 1613
Chapter 1613
Chapter 1613
In the office of Vinci Rivera at ten past nine, every shareholder had arrived at the venue, except for Keegan. Only the seat in front of Aldor was empty.
Chandler swept his gaze across Keegan’s seat and pushed up his sleeve to check the time.
A board member sitting beside him immediately understood what he was doing.
Then, he cleared his throat and said,” Aldor, we’ve waited long enough. When will your boss arrive? The whole board is waiting for him. He can’t disregard us like this even if he’s very confident in winning, right?”
Aldor lifted his gaze and said, “Mr. Kane has been kidnapped. I would like to request an extension for this meeting.”
Everyone in the room fell silent upon hearing what Aldor said. Then, someone chuckled softly, followed by a wave of loud laughter.
“Aldor, today isn’t the first of April.”
“Kidnapped? Are you filming a movie here? You’ve got to be joking.”
“Is he just hiding somewhere because he’s afraid that he’ll lose the election?”
Aldor did not respond and remained silent.
“Quiet, please.” Chandler knocked on the table, and the laughter gradually subsided.
He glanced at Aldor and said, “I’m sure you know how important this meeting is, and no one has the authority to stop this meeting today. There are…. three minutes left until his entry is prohibited. He’s free to arrive any time before that.
But, if he doesn’t, according to the rules, he loses the election by default.”
“Who’s losing by default?”
An old woman’s voice came from the door, and Chandler’s heart skipped a beat.
He turned around and saw Cordelia standing at the door with the support of Baldwin.
He immediately stood up and said, “Mom, I thought you weren’t feeling well and that you wouldn’t be coming.”
Cordelia replied flatly, “I’m just dropping by to have a look.” She scanned the room before she asked, “Where’s Keegan?”
Tears welled up in Aldor’s eyes, as he spoke. “Chairwoman, something has happened to Mr. Kane. He might’ve been kidnapped, and I can’t reach him right now.”
Someone who was on Chandler’s side chimed in and said,” One of us saw you driving Mr. Kane here this morning. It has only been less than two hours and now you’re saying that he’s been kidnapped? Who would dare to do such a thing at the company in broad daylight? Aldor, you must be joking.”
Chandler said softly, “Mom, Keegan would always hide himself whenever he’s scared since he was a child. I noticed that he has been very anxious in the past few days, and he just might be hiding again. We can let him do whatever he wants if we were at home, but there are so many people waiting for him at the company today. We can’t give him any special treatment.”
Cordelia pursed her lips, and her gaze gave Chandler an unsettling feeling. She then said, “Do you think that Aldor would joke around with something like this?”
“He works for Keegan. He’s just doing everything he can to delay the meeting for his boss.”
Cordelia clenched her fists tight. “We’ll just give a call to the police and see if
Aldor is lying or not. How can you just assume that Keegan is hiding without verifying if what Aldor said is true?”
Chandler paused before saying in a deep voice, “Mom, Vinci Rivera is no longer just our family’s business. It involves the interests of many other shareholders. If I were to cancel this meeting just because Keegan was said to be kidnapped, what would our shareholders think? You’ve got to see the bigger picture even if you favor Keegan.”
Cordelia’s expression turned cold. “Favor? Do you think that Vinci Rivera would still have a place for you if I had favored him? I should’ve just directly handed
Vinci Rivera to Keegan on the day your brother passed away! When you demanded to start a business on your own, your brother allocated his research and development funds for you despite facing financial difficulties at that time.
You didn’t earn any achievements, yet he chose to forget the past and let you work in his company. It’s true that you’ve gotten several promotions over these years, but do you think they’re all because of your capabilities?”
Chandler froze, and his expression was filled with disbelief. He could not believe that his own mother would say something so harsh in front of everyone.
Chandler choked, as his expression turned from pale to stern.
“Yeah. To you, I am never as good as Quentin.” His tone turned cold, and he continued, “But he’s dead and Vinci Rivera doesn’t belong to him anymore. You were the one who set the rules of the board back then, and I’m merely following them.”
He then glanced at the time and added, “There’s only one minute left. I’ll declare him absent if he doesn’t show up.”
Cordelia got so angry that her face turned pale. At that moment, the meeting room’s door swung open, and the police went inside.
The leading police officer said, “Hello, we’ve received a report about a kidnapping in this vicinity. We need to access the surveillance footage. May I know who the person in charge is?”
Suddenly, the entire room fell silent. Cordelia’s heart tightened, as she said in a low voice, “Aldor, bring the police to the surveillance room.”
Aldor heaved a sigh of relief and left the meeting room with the police.
It really was a kidnapping.
The meeting could not proceed anymore because Keegan’s absence was not voluntary.
Chandler pursed his lips, trying to maintain a calm expression.
He turned around and noticed that Cordelia had not followed the police downstairs. Instead, she stood there and looked at him expressionlessly. When nearly all the people had left the meeting room, she asked Chandler, “Do you have anything to do with Keegan’s disappearance?”