Outside the Shen family estate, a crowd of people had gathered, with the media capturing them live.
The Shen estate was located in what most would consider an upscale neighborhood but it wasn't one of the most prestigious areas in the city, and did not had top notch security.
Which was why nobody had suspected anything when several cars that looked like they belonged to funeral guests pulled up to the estate gates. By the time anyone realized what was happening, people had come out holding banners and started to protest.
The banners said: JUSTICE FOR SHENCHENG WORKERS, WE WERE FRAMED, SHEN CHENGWEI LIED.
They were all families of the workers of Shencheng technology who had been disposed of and arrested just a few days ago. There were even children and older men in the crowd.
According to Shencheng Technology's official statement, these workers had stolen a project from Kiaros Tech and released it under the Shencheng name without the company's knowledge. Shencheng Technology had issued a formal apology to Kiaros on their website while maintaining that they thought the project was proposed by those workers and they had no idea it was stolen. They'd positioned themselves as victims too who were betrayed by dishonest employees who'd acted behind the company's back.
It was a clever strategy. By throwing these low-level workers under the bus, Shencheng Technology and by extension, Shen Chengwei had presented themselves as innocent parties who'd been taken advantage of.
With all the attention on the death of Old Master Shen and the cause being his sister, this corporate scandal could be quietly swept under the rug. By the time anyone thought to look into it, everything would be back to normal.
Shen Chengwei had even instructed his secretary to pay off the workers' families as the company being 'supportive during these difficult times' even though the workers were 'in the wrong'.
So who could tell him what the hell these people were doing here, protesting at his father's funeral?
Most of the guests realized that the Shen family might have messed with the tech giant Kiaros that had emerged out of nowhere in recent years and now dominated the industry. Though Kiaros was a relatively new company, they were not someone to be messed with as they had become one of the top tech companies, not just in the country but in the world. None of them wanted to be caught in the crossfire.
The moment they saw Mo Jingrui leave, they did not hesitate and got into their cars. Within ten minutes, the courtyard had cleared out almost entirely.
After an hour of struggle during which the police were also called, the media and protestors were finally sent away.
.
.
Standing by the window, Shen Yelan enjoyed the view outside and murmured. "Zhao Zhan is taking longer than expected to handle Shencheng Technology."
"I keep telling you, boss, he is useless. You should not have entrusted this task to him." Sun Lili pouted.
"Alright, stop causing trouble for him," Shen Yelan told her.
"Oh," Sun Lili muttered.
Shen Yelan glanced at her sulking and shook her head. Then, she took out her phone and sent a message to Zhao Zhan.
[End this in two days.]
.
.
By morning, the news had exploded across every media outlet in the country.
SHENCHENG TECHNOLOGY SCANDAL: Workers Framed for Corporate Theft
Evidence Points to CEO's Direct Involvement in Kiaros Espionage
Police Arrest Shen Chengwei's Personal Secretary
Even those who had not paid attention to the previous news articles knew about it now. Afterall, last time, it was just one news article, and it was suppressed almost immediately. This time, it was blown on every news outlet.
To make things worse, the police had somehow found evidence against Shen Chengwei's personal secretary, who had been the one giving out instructions and had arrested him. Now, there was no direct evidence linking Shen Chengwei himself to the crime, but everyone knew that the secretary didn't make decisions like that on his own.
Within hours, Shencheng Technology's stock prices plummeted. Partners who'd had contracts with the company began backing out, even though it meant paying hefty penalties for breach of contract.
By afternoon, Shencheng Technology was declared bankrupt.
As a subsidiary of Shen Industries, the parent company also took a massive hit. Their stock prices fell and their reputation tanked. Companies that had partnerships or deals with Shen Industries started pulling out. Nobody wanted to be associated with a company that had dared to mess with Kiaros.
It was only thanks to emergency intervention from the Feng and the Kai family business that the company didn't collapse entirely.
But there were consequences.
The board of directors held an emergency meeting. Shen Chengwei was temporarily removed from his position as CEO and was replaced by Shen Meli.
The decision was presented as temporary until everything was settled because the board members had no intention of letting Shen Meli stay in that position permanently. But for now, they had no other choice. They needed someone competent to steady the ship, and Shen Meli was the only option available.
Inside an office room located on the top floor of Shen Industries, the sound of trashing and objects breaking could be heard. Outside, the staff who passed by pretended they did not hear anything and immediately changed the direction they were going.
Suddenly, the elevator doors opened, revealing Shen Meli dressed impeccably in office attire. A step behind her, her secretary followed. She was struggling slightly with a large cardboard box full of various personal items, including a gold-plated nameplate with Shen Meli's name carved on it.
She stepped out of the elevator and smiled at the staff members she passed by. When she walked closer to the CEO's office and heard the sounds coming from the inside, she clicked her tongue in dissapointment but there was obvious happiness on her face.
Without bothering to knock, Shen Meli opened the door and stepped into a room full of broken items lying around.
"You should really work on your temper, big brother. It would get you into trouble one day," she paused, as if realizing something. "Oh, wait. It already did. This is why you should have listened to Dad when he would tell you to always think twice before making a decision."
Shen Chengwei's hands clenched into fists at his sides. His voice came out as a low growl. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't tell me you forgot already, brother." Shen Meli walked further into the room, her heels crunching over broken glass. "This is my office now. It should be me asking you what you're doing here, trashing the place."
She gave it a light kick broken vase near her feet. "Though I must thank you, actually. I was planning to redecorate this entire office. It's far too masculine for my taste. I was worried about what to do with all your things, but now that you've so helpfully destroyed most of it, I can just have everything cleared out and start fresh."
Shen Chengwei gritted his teeth, seething in anger. "You must be enjoying this."
Shen Meli smiled brightly. "I sure am."
Shen Chengwei stepped closer and stopped right before her. He looked down at her, glaring daggers. If looks could kill, she would already be dead by now. "Good. Cherish your time in this office. "He lowered his voice, "because you and I both know no one wants you here."
A smile appeared on his face, which was identical to that of his younger sister. "No matter how much you try, no matter how good you are...in the end, this seat will always belong to me."
The smile on Shen Meli's face stiffened. Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into tight fists.
Seeing her reaction, Shen Chengwei chuckled. "Have fun, little sister." He patted her head the way he used to when they were children and walked past her.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Shen Meli stood stiff, staring far ahead at nothing in particular.
"Dream on, Shen Chengwei. Now that I'm here, nobody's taking this away from me." Slowly, a grin spread across her face.
Her secretary stared at her boss's expression and visibly gulped. She remembered the last time she had seen that look. It was two years ago, on the day she had reported to her that Old Master Shen was slowly being fed poison. She had expected Shen Meli to be shocked and try to save her father. Instead, Shen Meli had smiled just like this and had said.
"Since big brother is so willing to clear the path for me, who am I to stop him?"