Chapter 916: This Time, No One Objected

Sanchez remained cautious when it came to Lynch.

Even before coming to the Federation from Marilo, he knew it all started because Lynch had orchestrated the short-selling of EveryMoment, which led his uncle to misjudge the situation and temporarily block the cruise ship from docking early.

They had a supply point on the West Coast. At full speed, it would’ve taken about four days to reach it. Had they docked there before dealing with anything else, there wouldn’t have been a problem.

But docking ahead of schedule would’ve raised questions, especially under the pressure of aggressive short-selling. If the media got involved, it could easily create the illusion of internal chaos, driving the stock price into a free fall.

From another perspective, this couldn’t even be called a major misstep. The true irreparable damage was caused by the captain and first officer on board.

They failed to grasp the seriousness of the threat and were blindly optimistic, believing pirates wouldn’t dare to board the ship.

But this was a cruise liner, not a private yacht—you could board it if you had hands. Their misjudgment triggered a chain of disastrous events.

Regardless, someone had to take responsibility.

Dead pirates didn’t count. Someone with real weight had to be held accountable. After all, so many Federation elites had been frightened. A few pirate corpses weren’t nearly enough to show sincerity or remorse.

Dismissing the CEO of EveryMoment was a clean solution. Plus, the company would buy back all his shares per the agreement.

In other words—he was done.

Lynch’s role in all this might not have seemed significant on the surface, but Sanchez had received word through certain channels: Lynch had played a key part behind the scenes.

Sanchez smiled at Lynch. “Is there something I can clarify for you, Mr. Lynch?”

Lynch smiled back. “Nothing too serious. I just want to know—in what capacity are you dismissing the CEO?”

“And also, how exactly will the repurchased shares be distributed?”

His gaze swept across the table, catching flickers of reaction on the faces around him. “There are so many of us here. Will the shares be split evenly? Will they be offered for subscription? There has to be a process.”

His eyes returned to Sanchez. “Can you answer that for me?”

It sounded like a normal question, but it pointed directly at the fact that Sanchez had no legitimate authority to dictate terms here.

He wasn’t a shareholder. He wasn’t a founder. He didn’t even hold a single share. What gave him the right to command the board?

The representative from Prosperity Bank subtly adjusted his posture. He realized he was witnessing a familiar Eminence spectacle: a power grab.

Boardroom coups were a regular occurrence in Eminence. Founders and major shareholders were routinely ousted by boards, their shares forcibly reclaimed, leaving them out on the street.

Some of the vagrants wandering Eminence’s streets might well be former CEOs, board members, or even founders of once-prominent corporations.

Capital loves expansion, plunder, and takeover. Just like now.

The banker cleared his throat. “I believe Mr. Lynch has raised a very valid question.”

He looked at Lynch; Lynch returned the gaze and nodded. The banker continued, “If you’re acting on behalf of someone with authority, we welcome it.”

“But if you hold no shares yourself and still wish to overrule the board and shareholder decisions, then I don’t recognize those actions. They’re invalid.”

“Mr. Sanchez, whatever issues you and the CEO have are family matters. They don’t concern us or the company.”

“If you wish to exercise executive power in his place, I suggest settling that privately first.”

“But before any of that, I recommend calling a formal shareholder meeting and restructuring the company’s power according to the current share distribution.”

Lynch almost laughed. If capital was the shark, banks were the piranhas. They’d bite the moment they saw an opening.

Sanchez’s expression darkened as his eyes flicked between Lynch and the banker.

Finally, he narrowed his eyes slightly and flashed a bright, toothy smile. “I was reckless. We’ll resolve this soon.”

“I’ve only just arrived in the Federation. I’m still learning how things work here—perhaps I expressed myself poorly.”

“In any case, I’ll speak with my uncle about the share transfer shortly.”

He stood. “Thank you all for coming. Your presence gives me confidence that we’ll get through this crisis. The meeting is now adjourned.”

He said the meeting was over—but no one moved. Every shareholder remained seated.

Sanchez had already stood. Seeing that not a single person even shifted in their seat, his smile began to fade.

His eyes roamed over the crowd until they landed on Lynch. He gave a small nod, the grim smile on his face devoid of warmth, then turned and walked out.

He still didn’t understand how the game worked in the Federation. Here, having force or weapons didn’t solve everything.

If it did, with the current scale of Blackstone Security under Lynch, who would dare touch him?

But that’s not how things worked here. A pack of predators was waiting to tear Sanchez apart the moment he made a mistake.

In this world, you had to follow the rules of capital.

You don’t even own a single share—what the hell have you been rambling about?

The shareholders silently watched Sanchez leave. Then, all eyes turned to Lynch.

Lynch stood, adjusted his jacket, walked to the head seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

“I’m sitting here. Anyone object?”

His tone was gentle, his smile calm. Like a spring breeze in March, his face was dazzling with sunlit confidence.Besides all this, there was also an unspoken kind of pressure.

Lynch simply sat there, and no one thought it was inappropriate.

“The CEO is absent from this shareholder meeting. As the current largest shareholder, I will chair this emergency meeting. I assume no one objects.”

The major shareholders tried to maintain some composure, but the minor ones looked like they were ready to jump up and wave a flag that read: Always follow Mr. Lynch.

This was the kind of society that two centuries of capitalism had built. Even though Lynch had caused heavy losses for many of the shareholders, everyone respected his success and wanted to befriend him, to learn his secrets.

It was twisted, yet no one could fault it. Becoming neighbors with the successful, becoming their friend, serving them—

this was the core value of the Federation.

After the minor shareholders finished their flattery, Lynch raised his hand slightly, signaling for quiet.

“Actually, what Mr. Sanchez just said aligns quite well with our current needs. I’ll add a few more points.”

“Anyone who wants to cash out their shares can come to me.”

“And regarding the company’s founder, I believe we need to have a serious discussion.”

“The company’s international nature and cultural conflicts might bring… complications to its future. I’m not sure if that’s the right word, but that’s how I see it.”

“This family brought customs that don’t align with Federation norms. We’re civilized men, gentlemen.”

“This is a company with a market cap over a billion—it’s not a gang. We should not be witnessing violence here, and yet…”

Lynch spread his hands. “Just moments ago, some individuals used violence to force the CEO out.”

“They’re relatives, from the same family. I won’t speculate on their motives, but I can’t help but wonder—if more people from Marilo arrive, will we still be as safe as before?”

“Warlords, smuggling, violence, terrorism—those are the words that will start to surround us.”

“We need to reconsider whether the founder is still fit to hold shares and occupy a key position in this company.”

Someone voiced concern: “Mr. Lynch, if we oust the founder, where will we get high-quality raw materials?”

EveryMoment’s scale had everything to do with its control over smuggling along the border and its raw material exports.

It was hard to believe, but the warlords behind EveryMoment cracked down on bulk tobacco smuggling inside Marilo more aggressively than the Federation’s anti-smuggling task force.

In fact, a large part of that task force’s annual sponsorship came from EveryMoment.

They wanted exclusive trade. To maintain that, they needed to block competitors. If every warlord could ship tobacco into the Federation, EveryMoment’s edge would disappear.

They only opposed bulk smuggling to suppress rival warlords. Letting small-scale smuggling slide helped maintain their support among the local people.

You can’t go too far with anything.

Given how often they raided other tobacco-growing regions, there weren’t many factions left in Marilo that could supply large quantities of premium tobacco.

And even those few already had buyers. After all, all high-grade Coluff tobacco in the world came from Marilo.

After hearing all that, Lynch shook his head. “You’ve misunderstood supply and demand. The entire world is a buyer’s market now. As long as you have the money, someone will sell to you—even with tobacco.”

He crossed his legs, rested his hand on the edge of the table, and said calmly, “If not this warlord, then another one. In a place that chaotic, you never know when someone might fall from power.”

“People are fragile.”