Chapter 137: Surprising, Right? Honestly, I Didn’t Expect It Either

Falsifying financial reports—once a publicly listed company faces such accusations, even if it was a stock market darling just moments before, it only takes a second for it to become a worthless junk stock.

Junk stocks—shares with no value. The market’s understanding of a public company’s operations mainly comes from its periodic financial reports.

These reports contain detailed operational data, including clear conclusions on how much the company earned or lost, its assets, and its performance over the period.

Even insiders may not fully grasp a company’s situation. In a society that values integrity, people generally trust that listed companies wouldn’t dare manipulate financial data, so few question the accuracy of these reports.

Most people lack the means to investigate anyway. Even if they sense something’s off, they have no way to uncover the truth.

But for a listed company, falsifying financial data is like standing at the mouth of a volcano—if the fall doesn’t kill you, the heat will.

After Neo spoke, a flurry of noise erupted over the phone. It was obvious the people on the other end were panicking—but Neo didn’t care. He and his father-in-law, Alben, were no longer the company’s majority shareholders.

If things collapsed, they wouldn’t escape unscathed, but neither would the others. The remaining shareholders would also face bankruptcy. That’s why Neo was confident no one would rat him out.

“Neo, Alben—what you’re doing is criminal!”

“I’m going to report you!”

The largest shareholder of Liston Group’s board yelled, clearly out of control. His voice trembled with rage and desperation.

Neo stayed calm and even sounded amused. “Feel free to hang up and report me for financial fraud.”

“I’m sure the Federal Financial Crimes Bureau, the IRS, and the media would all be very interested.”

The Federal Financial Crimes Bureau operates independently under the FBI, investigating all financial crimes.

Neo’s words stunned the major shareholder into silence. After four or five seconds, other board members began calming him down. If that man really lost his head and reported them, everyone would be doomed.

Eventually, the shareholder relented—with a condition. “You have to explain why you did this. If you can’t convince me, I’ll report you immediately.”

Though his words sounded harsh, it was clearly a veiled offer—an exit strategy. Neo understood perfectly.

“Of course. That’s exactly what I wanted to discuss. This concerns our next steps.”

“Actually, Liston’s profits began to shrink three years ago, and around two years ago, we recorded our first loss.”

In simple terms, Neo—then company president—noticed something was wrong. Cash flow slowed, unsold inventory piled up, and consumer spending dropped. Even a corporation with over a hundred brands wasn’t immune to the same issues plaguing small businesses.

Neo, Alben, and their trusted circle didn’t see this as a coincidence. They instructed the finance department to alter the financials—turning losses into continued profits, even showing growth.

This decision paid off. Liston’s stock price continued to climb, and the rising value made the losses seem trivial.

As Neo once put it, the increase in market capitalization driven by higher stock prices more than offset operational losses in the annual report.

But it was poison. Behind the rising stock price was a failing business. Everything was built on lies.

Two years of falsified reports was enough to bring Liston crashing down in an instant. Neo made no effort to hide it—he bluntly told the board that he and Alben had already cashed out about half their shares.

In other words, they no longer held enough stock to maintain control.

Despite the board’s anger and curses, Neo and Alben didn’t care. They were even a little smug.

Yes, many of their actions were illegal. That’s why they still clung to their positions as board chair and CEO. If they wanted to avoid prosecution, the best strategy was to ensure no one pursued those illegalities.

“Based on what I know, Liston is in a critical situation. That’s why I pushed so hard against Landon…”

Landon was the mayor of Sabin City.

Neo sat in his study, a high-end cigarette in one hand and the phone in the other. His eyes were hazy, as if the rising smoke blurred his vision—or perhaps he was staring through reality into the void.

“Only by acquiring a few of EverBright’s most valuable core assets can Liston transform quickly and grab a lifeline.”

“We were halfway through secret negotiations with EverBright, but a sudden investigation by the IRS halted everything. If we don’t pressure Landon, we’ll never escape this quicksand. And now… we’ve failed.”

EverBright’s shareholders were preparing to withdraw and return home to rebuild after the war. Once valuable assets and networks had now become cash-out tools.

Had the IRS not intervened, Liston might’ve secured the deal they needed.

But it was too late. Everything was ruined.

The phone line fell into silence, broken only by heavy breathing. No one had realized just how dire Liston’s situation had become. Externally, just the name of the company inspired pride.

In this state, everyone in the state proudly claimed to work for Liston Group.

Yet here it was, on the verge of collapse—hard to believe, but true.

It wasn’t really unexpected. Once sales slowed, the winter was inevitable.

Tens of thousands of workers, and millions in monthly wages—but revenue and returns had slowed to a crawl.

On one hand, they laid off employees to cut costs. On the other, they falsified reports to inflate stock prices and used those gains to cash out.

Much of the money Neo and Alben pulled out was actually reinvested into the company—but through third-party loans, not out of generosity.

The silence from the board pleased Neo. It meant they were now aligned. He continued with his plan.

“I’ve been in contact with people in the Conservative Party. They’re more cooperative than Landon and agree with my views on restructuring. They’re willing to work with us.”

“They’re offering generous policies. More importantly, this is our chance—a chance to shed our burdens.”

“We’ll cut off the bloodsucking workers and employees, take the wealth, and leave. That way, nothing we’ve done will come back to haunt us.”

“Most importantly, I need you to do nothing. By Monday’s market open, rumors will spread that I’ve fallen out with Landon and that the governor hates Liston.”

“Our stock will plummet. I want you to sell off some shares and help drive the price lower. Once the authorities intervene, I’ll announce our privatization plan.”

“Then… we can leave quietly. And I promise, every one of you will retain your wealth.”

Neo and Alben had spent a long time devising this plan. Initially, they aimed to acquire the assets promised in the EverBright deal, merge their networks and industries, and use that to restart their existing projects.

But since the current situation doesn’t allow it, they would take an unconventional route—leave with the core assets of the company while leaving some of the troubles behind locally.

By then, when people talked about Liston, it wouldn’t be that certain individuals ran the company into the ground and were forced to leave. They could even use the narrative that Landon and the governor disliked them, giving their departure a certain political angle.

As for the financial fraud, those who knew wouldn’t speak, and those who wished them ill wouldn’t know about it.

It was a perfect plan. Even if someone brought up these issues in the future, at most it would lead to a fine—just a bit of money. It might even end peacefully, becoming a classic case of financial maneuvering.

As long as the group and the shareholders didn’t pursue legal responsibility, he wouldn’t even need to face punishment. After privatization, he would only be accountable to the shareholders, and if they chose not to hold him accountable, he wouldn’t be prosecuted.

Of course, that was for later. Right now, they needed to survive the crisis.

He thought the governor’s aide was right: only unity could get them through this. And that’s exactly what he was doing—uniting the board members to carry out this rapid transformation with him.