Hollywood Zenith

Chapter 525 Annual Meeting-3

Park Myung-Dae and Benjiro looked confused for a second before Alastair arranged a few extra seats for them. They were sweating profusely and needed a few minutes to calm down. Samuel decided to wait for them. It was an unexpected visit, but they were not in a hurry to tell him about it.

" Shall we continue? I believe by now everyone is aware of the breath in our charity foundation." He didn't bring it up because he felt it would be too heavy to discuss bad news at the start of the meeting.

Few of them nodded, while others looked worried; most of them knew what had happened to the people who betrayed Samuel. Even their bodies were nowhere to be found; the last they heard was a special convoy had been taken into custody, and no news had been heard since then.

" It's been a few months, and we have managed to root out most of them, but I can't be certain if we caught every one of them. You are aware that they were in every level of our organization who were responsible for transporting children; that was how they managed to get away for so long."

Samuel told a plain lie; he had eliminated every rat that infiltrated their organization, but he didn't want his people to relax because of it. He wanted them to keep guessing and always watch their backs.

With such a large business structure, it was expected to have a few spies hidden within his corporation, which was why he only told vital information to a few people to keep his power centralized. Most of his companies and subsidiaries were not public, which meant a greater jealousy from his competitors.

If someone decided to sell out, it would be detrimental to his plan. And right now, he also needed to prepare for a literal war; he couldn't afford to divide his attention for next year. At least, that's the estimated time frame he thought they would attack.

" There is no need to be scared about it. I will be honest with you; don't be greedy. My company is paying everyone generously, and on top of that, we are giving large incentives so you don't have to worry about your health or taking a vacation. If any party approaches you with an offer, contact Alastair first. You can even take the money, but after you provide them with bogus information, I will guarantee that no one will take any action against you if you follow me wholeheartedly."

" There might be turbulent times ahead of us, but I will not treat any of you or your men unfairly. On that note, I want to introduce you to someone new who will be joining the company." Samuel stood up and pointed toward the very back of the conference room.

A man that no one recognized stood up from the shadows and made his way toward the front. He didn't look dressed for the occasion and was wearing plain clothes, which stood out more in the room full of suits.

" Many of you haven't seen him, but he has been working for almost a month, going through every department meticulously. He is part of an independent department solely responsible for corruption within the Alphabet group and has the same authority as me. He will also be responsible for forming a team that will oversee our charity foundation, Verdant."

The man walked confidently and stood beside Samuel, looking everyone in the eye. Despite his warm smile, his eyes gave a chilling feeling like a snake. He was short and skinny at first glance, but every time his clothes moved, it showed his toned physique that was hiding under his baggy clothes.

" You can take it from here." Samuel sat down, looking at everyone's reaction. It was the first time they had heard that there was an ongoing investigation; some were scared, while others didn't mind much because they knew they hadn't done anything wrong.

" It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Theo Baker and I will be head of the overseeing department. It currently doesn't have a name, but I can assure you it will remember it by heart in the next few months. My background is confidential, so I will not dive into it, but I do have a few things to report."

" I will start by naming a few individuals: Mr Carter, Miss Chapman, Mr Howard, Mr Kelly, Mrs Morris, Mr Price and Mr Wright." Every person he called tensed up; they didn't know what he was about to do.

" These people are clean. I didn't find a single thing wrong with their day-to-day operation. Even their employee praise their leadership." A few sighs of breath could be heard after he finished, but immediately, everyone other than them tensed up. Did he mean others did something wrong?

" Now, for Mr William, there is a minor complaint, but it will be good if you don't go around harassing your assistant. I asked you her to come forward, but she was so scared of losing his job, I had no other option but to obtain video evidence." Theo pulled out a thumb drive and inserted it for everyone to see.

Samuel didn't look pleased seeing it. It was not excessive, but the poor girl was so scared that she could barely move whenever he made some overly sexual comment or inappropriately touched her. In his mind, William's fate was sealed.

" You are representative of some large investor in our subsidiary, Alphatech, right?" He asked with a dark expression.

" Y-yes, sir."

" Pack your bags, and don't even let me see you around our building. Your contract is terminated."

" Y-you can't-"

" I will take to them and send them this video as proof. If they still want to work with us, fine, but I don't want you around my employees. Someone escort him outside." Just like that, William was gone. He couldn't say anything because he knew if he did, he would have hell to pay.

" Who else?" Samuel asked Theo, who named a few more people, but their offences were minor. Few tried to stash funds, while others used their power to employ their family members inside the company, effectively making it impossible for typical employees to work.

He didn't fire them but gave them a stern warning and a few month's pay cut. He didn't want to seem too heavy-handed and tried to give them a chance to change their ways. If they took his kindness for granted, they would regret it in future.