The atmosphere inside the company was extremely tense. Outside the building, the media was still reporting nonstop, while the fired employees continued shouting slogans against the company. Inside the conference room, however, silence filled the air.
Bill was pacing back and forth nervously while Barry Jonson sat on the sofa with a serious expression. Even though Steeven had exposed the corrupt employees and proved their crimes, the damage to the company's reputation had already started affecting the stock market.
The company's shares were falling rapidly.
Every second, the numbers on the large screen kept turning red.
Bill looked at the screen with panic in his eyes.
"Damn it… if this keeps happening, we'll suffer massive losses," he said while clenching his fists.
Barry also looked troubled. Even though he was an experienced businessman, the sudden crash was enough to make anyone nervous.
But unlike both of them, Steeven was sitting calmly on the chair with his legs crossed as if nothing had happened.
Bill looked at him in disbelief.
"How can you stay so calm in a situation like this?"
Steeven smirked slightly.
"Because panic never solves problems."
Barry narrowed his eyes while observing Steeven carefully. The more he watched him, the more he realized that this young man was far beyond ordinary.
Then suddenly, Steeven picked up his phone and dialed a number.
Bill looked confused.
"Who are you calling?"
Steeven simply replied,
"The person who's about to turn this entire game upside down."
The call connected.
"Start buying," Steeven said calmly.
The person on the other side immediately replied,
"Yes, sir."
Steeven disconnected the call without saying anything else.
Bill blinked in confusion.
"That's it? What exactly did you do?"
But before Steeven could answer, one of the employees suddenly burst into the room.
"Sir! Sir!!"
Everyone turned toward him.
The employee looked shocked and excited at the same time.
"Our shares… they're rising!"
"What?!"
Bill immediately rushed toward the screen.
Just a moment ago, the numbers were falling nonstop, but now the situation had completely reversed.
The red numbers started turning green one after another.
The company's stock price began skyrocketing at an unbelievable speed.
Not only had the fall stopped, but investors were suddenly buying huge amounts of shares.
Bill's eyes widened.
"T-This… this is impossible!"
Even Barry stood up from his seat in shock.
Within minutes, the company recovered all its losses.
The employees inside the office started cheering loudly.
"We're saved!"
"The company survived!"
"This is unbelievable!"
Bill looked at Steeven as if he was seeing a monster.
"You… how did you do this?"
At the same time, in another part of the city, Thomas Anderson was sitting inside his luxurious office with a confident smile.
He had been enjoying the news of the company's falling shares.
"Hah! Barry Jonson is finished," he muttered proudly.
But suddenly, his assistant rushed inside in panic.
"Sir!! Something bad happened!"
Thomas frowned.
"What now?"
"Their shares… they recovered!"
Thomas instantly stood up.
"What nonsense are you saying?!"
He immediately looked toward the screen.
And the moment he saw the rapidly rising stock prices, his confident expression completely froze.
"T-This…"
His face turned pale.
"How is this possible?!"
He had spent months planning this attack.
The corrupt employees…
The internal sabotage…
The media pressure…
Everything was supposed to destroy the company.
But now, all of it had collapsed within minutes.
Before Thomas could even process what was happening, his phone suddenly rang.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown Number.
Thomas answered angrily.
"Who is this?"
Then Steeven's calm voice echoed from the other side.
"What happened, Mr. Thomas? You sound stressed."
The moment Thomas heard that voice, his eyes widened.
"Steeven Walker…"
Steeven chuckled lightly.
"What? Didn't expect this outcome?"
Thomas gritted his teeth.
"What did you do?!"
Steeven leaned back comfortably in his chair while speaking casually.
"What did you think? That I'm some random idiot who became the head of this company by luck?"
Thomas stayed silent.
Steeven's voice suddenly became colder.
"You really forgot my background, didn't you?"
A dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"I'm the son of the owner of Walker Industries."
Bill and Barry looked at Steeven in surprise while listening to the call.
Steeven continued,
"I've been watching cheap tricks like yours since childhood. People like you aren't even allowed near the gates of my family's company… and you thought you could scare me?"
Thomas's expression became uglier with every word.
His fists trembled with rage.
"Y-You bastard…"
Steeven smirked.
"If this is the best you can do, then honestly, I'm disappointed."
Thomas completely lost control.
"Don't get too arrogant, Steeven Walker! This isn't over!"
Steeven laughed softly.
"Oh, I know. That's why I'm looking forward to crushing you personally."
Thomas slammed the phone down in fury.
Inside his office, he began throwing things around in anger.
Meanwhile, back at the company, Bill and Barry stared at Steeven with stunned expressions.
After a few seconds, Bill finally spoke.
"Okay… now you seriously need to explain everything."
Barry nodded immediately.
"Yes. How did you raise the share prices so quickly?"
Steeven calmly placed the phone on the table.
"It's simple."
Both of them listened carefully.
"I already expected Thomas to attack the company. So before coming here, I secretly instructed one of my managers to start purchasing large amounts of the company's shares the moment the prices crashed."
Bill's mouth slowly opened in shock.
"You bought your own company's falling shares…"
Steeven nodded.
"When people saw massive investments entering the market, panic disappeared. Investors regained confidence and started buying shares again. That's why the prices skyrocketed."
Silence filled the room.
Barry looked at Steeven with disbelief and admiration.
Then suddenly, he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!! Incredible!"
He walked toward Steeven and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Steeven… you're a genius."
Bill also looked amazed.
"You seriously planned all this beforehand?"
Steeven smirked.
"In business, if you only react after the attack starts, you've already lost."
Barry nodded proudly.
"At this point, I'm starting to feel bad for Thomas."
The three of them laughed lightly.
But after a few moments, Bill's expression became serious again.
"Still… do you really think Thomas will give up this easily?"
Steeven's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I know he won't."
A cold smile slowly appeared on his face.
"That's why…"
He leaned back on the sofa confidently.
"I still have one final gift prepared for him."