<h4>Chapter 210: Shareholders Meeting VIII</h4>


    Shock and disbelief rippled through the boardroom, canceling every noise in every way that it could; and a tense silence settled in, heavy with unasked questions and confused emotions, underscored by barely restrained anger.


    Zack, for one, was grappling with a potent mix of rage and confusion, his heart racing in his chest.


    "So, you’re trying to tell me, Mr. Ethan, that when you purchased mypany, it was actually Doctor Athena who gave the order? Thepany is actually hers?" He clenched his fists, needing to confirm this absurd reality for the sake of his sanity. His mind was threatening to unravel!


    "Yes," Ethan replied calmly, a single word that detonated a bomb of expletives throughout the room.


    <i> "Shit!" </i>


    <i>"Oh, my God!" </i>


    <i>"What the hell!" </i>


    <i>"This is crazy!"</i>


    <i> "Damn!!" </i>


    The shareholders could barely contain their shock, each voiceyering on the disbelief that permeated the air.


    Even Old Mr. Thorne and his wife were not exempt from the wave of astonishment washing over the assembly.


    So, all this time, Ethan, the business guru, had merely been a pawn in Athena’s grand scheme? Old Mr. Thorne shook his head slowly, awe etched onto his features.


    He had truly adopted well! No wonder she disyed such little concern for his wealth; no wonder she didn’t care if he left the twins anything in the inheritance. She had more than enough of her own.


    As he nced at his wife, he found a simr awe-stricken expression reflected back at him.


    "We have an awesome daughter," She whispered with a smile, her eyes glistening with pride. The smile widened when her husband bobbled his head eagerly in agreement.


    Meanwhile, Zack’s fury escted, sparking as he mmed his fist angrily on the table. He couldn’t contain his frustration any longer, rising to his feet. "How dare you, Athena?!!"


    "I suggest you watch your mouth, Zack. Don’t forget your ce, unless you want to lose everything," Ethan spoke, tilting his head to the side with an air of calm authority. "Just because I’m an employee doesn’t mean Ick power over anything."


    "You... you..." Zack stuttered, baffled, turning to Athena, pointing a condemning finger at her.


    But Athena remained unfazed, nonchnt, her focus entirely on her nails as if she were getting a manicure in a salon rather than sitting in a high-stakes business meeting.


    Eventually, Zack copsed back into his seat, resigning himself to the futility of his fury when Athena didn’t even spare him a nce.


    "You did it, didn’t you? You finally achieved everything you wanted. You finally had your revenge." He muttered bitterly, but this time there was no response, no balm to soothe the gnawing ache in his soul.


    Here he had been,ughing at Alfonso for selling out to Athena, blissfully unaware that the same fate had quietly befallen him as well.


    "So, if Athena is really the owner of Zack’spany, does that mean she is also the owner of Alfonso’spany?" Madam Ruby asked, her voice rising to echo the thoughts of everyone in the room.


    "Yes, she is," Ethan replied, his tone as dispassionate as if he were discussing the weather, oblivious to the copse of Alfonso’s world.


    He didn’t need to remain in the oblivion for long. For within seconds, Alfonso surged to his feet and charged toward Athena, rage radiating off him.


    To strangle her neck? No one could tell—his anger seemed almost palpable, yet he didn’t even cover five feet before Aiden intercepted him.


    "I suggest you stay where you are, Alfonso. Or leave, since you’ve just signed the share transfer. You are no longer a shareholder in thispany," Aiden warned.


    Alfonso’s bitterness manifested as an inward thought: <i>neither did he own apany of his own anymore.</i>


    <i>At least rk still has apany to run!</i> He wallowed in silent despair. <i>At least he has a family to return to. A grandchild, even,st I checked.</i>


    But not him. He had nothing now.


    Alfonso’s mind and eyes burned with angry tears as he reflected sorrowfully on what he had lost: his wife, hispany, his position in the elders’ council, his shares in Ewan’spany, and what felt like his entire reputation among his townspeople.


    The only thing left was Fiona, and that was contingent on whether Morgan really would rescue them.


    <i>Well, if that brat doesn’t pull through, I would rathermit suicide than be subjected to more of Athena’s schemes—more of her revenge ys. </i>He thought, seething.


    Yet, if the Morgan did pull off this escape n, then Athena should brace herself for a fight to the death because he would make sure she regretted the day she was born.


    Meanwhile, while Alfonso battled with rage, Fiona grappled with disbelief.


    Was this what Morgan had meant when he suggested that Athena was an enigma? That she could never truly be the illiterate she was perceived to be six years ago, considering the extraordinary strides she had taken since then?


    "You are supposed to be an illiterate," She blurted out, her voiceced with incredulity.


    Ethanughed, a sound mismatched for the tension-filled atmosphere. "Didn’t you learn enough from the council case? My boss was never an illiterate to begin with. You all just assumed that because she didn’t attend a physical school..."


    "But..." Fiona felt herself cut off sharply by Ethan, who had taken on the role of Athena’s advocate.


    "Be mindful of your next words, Fiona Adams. As you know, I’m not from around here, so I’m not beholden to the council’s rules. I’m free to speak about what transpired there merely days ago."


    Fiona went pale, her mouth snapping shut immediately. She couldn’t afford to lose thest semnce of dignity and reputation she had left in front of these gossips.


    "Good," Ethan muttered, as if he were offering praise to a dog.


    "Is she the owner of yourpany too?" Madam Ruby asked, her inquisitiveness piqued, demanding further rity.


    "Yes, she is," Ethan confirmed, his voice remaining steady despite the chaos that apanied the announcement, the room now teeming with curiosity about the implications of Athena’s power.


    "The branches too..." Madam Ruby continued, her awe evident in her voice.


    Ethan chuckled, appearing almost amused. "She is the owner of everything," He stated. "And with that, my work here is done. On to the next."


    "The next?" Zane finally found his voice, bewildered. "What’s next?"


    Ethan raised an eyebrow, his expression yful. "That’s none of your business, Mr. Zane."


    Zane swallowed hard and nced at Athena, who appeared lost in her thoughts, seemingly detached from the unfolding drama. He then darted a nce at Sandro, whose shock mirrored his own father’s expression.


    Well, the old man had always suggested that Athena was an astute chess yer, but even this was unforeseen.


    Next, Zane turned to Ewan. To his disbelief, he saw admiration in Ewan’s gaze directed at Athena.


    Zane’s eyebrows shot up. Did his friend truly understand that Athena now held thirty percent of shares in hispany without lifting a single finger?!


    His mouth fell slightly open as he observed Ewan pick up the pen beside him and sign the document Ethan had handed to him. What on earth!


    "Wee to thepany officially, Athena. Everyone, give a round of apuse to the highest shareholder, Athena Caddels, second only to me..." Ewan spoke calmly, initiating the pping.


    The others followed suit, albeit slowly at first, the tempo speeding up with every passing second, spurred by renewed thoughts of Athena’s cleverness and ambition.


    The apuse eventually came to a halt when Alfonso pounded his fists on the table—rage spilling over as he rose to his feet.


    "Enough of this nonsense!" He yelled, ring at Ewan. "Can’t you see she wants to take over yourpany too? Are you that stupid?"


    Ewan chuckled, a hint of defiance in hisughter. "Stupid? Alfonso, you need to tread carefully here. Trust me, you don’t want to provoke me..."


    Alfonso gritted his teeth in response.


    "If Doctor Athena wanted to take thepany, she would have made her move by now. Do you recall the upheaval mypany experienced previously?"


    The shareholders nodded their heads; the grim memory was collective.


    "That was the perfect moment. If she wanted to seize mypany, she would have done it then. If not then, perhaps now. Maybe she would have poisoned my drug dosage while treating me, and then take control of my empire, considering she’s the one with thergest amount of shares. But she did not."


    But Ewan wasn’t stupid. Of course he knew now that taking over thepany had been Athena’s first n when she had arrived in the city—when he had provoked her on her first night in Zane’s party—just like she had taken over Alfonso and Zack’spanies.


    He wasn’t stupid not to know that she had returned to have revenge on the people who had wrecked her life six years ago, of whom he was the chief oppressor.


    Ewan kept his calm demeanor as his eyes rove over Athena’s beautiful face which was still masked with boredom. He would have preferred though, to be in his children’s lives, to y with them, to see them everyday, than be a CEO of hispany.


    If there was an opportunity for a trade, he would have chosen the twins in every asion, without thinking twice. His children. His first strength. The next generation of the Gietti name.


    He sighed, as his thoughts spiraled, threatening to plunge him into a depressive state. But just then, Fiona dered her intent to leave.


    "I’m being suffocated here. I’m out." She stood, attempting to escape the clutches of the tension that had seeped into her very bones.


    "Oh, don’t be so hasty, Fiona. Remember, we’re going to the hospital together," Ewan said lightly, shaking off the oppressive mood.


    He would drown in his mncholyter; he would sulk over his many mistakes at another time.