Chapter 119: Solterra’s New Owner

The tour concluded soon enough and Ethan was soon back at Maria’s, and she still hadn’t returned yet.Everything for the downfall of those three was already in place and they’d be soon met with waves of surprises the next day.

While he was at it, Ethan already planned what to do with Solterra Development Group.

OmniTech was branching out into different fields and home tech would be one of them. Which reminded him, he really had to get more hires. y-nine percent of this planet’s capacity. Even most of the leading scientists on Earth are at Tier 2. You must learn patience. The higher you climb, the steeper the fall if you are careless.]

The system was right, but it’s reasoning definitely didn’t align with what Ethan suspected.

Did growing his knowledge too fast the things the system is was hiding from or was it something else entirely.

Anyway, that wasn’t important for now. OmniTech Corp’s expansion into different fields was imminent, and although his previous roadmap had been changed a bit, the company still needed to expand past just the US.

And that was where Irina’s real importance came to play, as the underworld queen, she definitely had connections in various parts of the world, and those connections were what he needed.

But he couldn’t put the horse before the cart just yet. OmniTech Corp needed to establish an importance that would be impossible to ignore.

Though Sentinel achieved that to a degree, making most of the tech in the US the most secured right now, in just a few days of its release.

With interest coming from the government itself. Though, in his past life, the government wasn’t a body he was really fond of, mostly because of Victor and Nathaniel.

But since they were now out of the picture, one was six feet deep, the other, on the verge of losing everything he had worked really hard for.

So all Ethan saw now was profit.... Massive profits.

But all that was for later, right now, he was on vacation and he had a few people to deal with.

__________

Victor Carroway’s week was going as it normally did, well apart from yesterday, since they had an unexpected visit from the actual owner of the company.

Who was it? He had no idea but he was sure the person was pretty important for their identity to be kept this air tight.

Still, he was uninterested in finding out who the actual owner was, since he was so close to gaining that old building at the hotspot.

"Maybe I’d even get a promotion for getting that land," he fantasized as he continued driving towards the company, completely unaware of what was waiting.

Pulling up at the parking lot, he parked his car, exited it and walked with a confident stride towards the main entrance.

Pushing the glass doors open, he was welcomed in by the cool AC air.

He was ready for another round of trying to threaten people out of their properties, a job he was pretty good at.

But the moment he stepped into the lobby, his stride faltered. Something was... off.

Too quiet.

The receptionist, who usually gave him that sugary smile, wouldn’t even meet his eyes.

A few employees who normally scrambled to greet him were whispering in corners instead, their glances darting toward him like he had suddenly become a leper.

Victor frowned. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered under his breath.

He straightened his tie and headed for the elevators, pretending not to notice their looks as they whispered to themselves.

The elevator took him to his floor and that’s when the feeling of something being wrong grew heavier.

Usually, the office was alive with phones ringing, assistants shuffling papers, and voices bouncing back and forth in hurried conversations.

Today, however, it was unnervingly still. People were at their desks, yes—but their heads were down and their voices came out hushed.

And all their eyes... locked unto him the moment he walked in.

Victor’s frown got darker as his irritation rose. He wasn’t used to being stared at like a criminal walking into court.

"What the hell is wrong with everyone today?" he muttered. His voice sounded far louder in the silence than he intended.

Trying to brush it off, he strode toward his office. But before he could open the door, a familiar voice called out.

"Mr. Carroway."

Victor turned and spotted his assistant, Clara, was standing stiffly by her desk, her hands clasped nervously in front of her. She looked like she’d rather be anywhere else but here right now.

"What is it, Clara?" he snapped. "If this is about rescheduling the Brighton Estates meeting, tell them I’ll fit them in next week."

Clara shook her head quickly. "N-no, sir. It’s not that. The board has... requested your presence in the main conference room. Immediately."

Victor narrowed his eyes. "The board? At this hour? What’s this about?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she gave the smallest shake of her head. "I think it’s best if you hear it from them, sir."

He frowned even more but said nothing as he took the elevator again, this time, heading to the floor at the very top.

Reaching the top floor, the elevator let him out. Slowly, he walked forwards heading towards the door of the boardroom, the air getting heavier as he walked forward.

Reaching the door, Victor pushed it open, forcing himself to walk with that same swagger that had gotten him through countless negotiations.

But his confidence shattered the moment his eyes fell on the scene inside.

Every board member was already seated around the long mahogany table. Their faces were stiff, unreadable, their gazes shifting between him and the big screen behind him.

But that wasn’t the reason why his heart dropped, the reason was because two other familiar faces were standing in front of in front of the board like two kids before their parents after they had done something wrong.

Anthony and Melissa.

Seeing the two here was enough to explain exactly why the board had summoned him.

But they wouldn’t dare say anything now right? After all, he knew that they already had an idea of what the three were doing and he had been doing it for years now.

So they wouldn’t suddenly start questioning it right?

That would be absurd and hypocritical of them.

But before he had the chance to say anything, a voice called out from the screen behind him.

"Victor Carroway," the voice said, "we’ve been waiting on you."

Victor slowly turned around and was met with what he would describe as ridiculous in this setting.

What seemed to be a cartoon character with black hair, blue eyes and a suit was on screen, looking directly at him.

"What’s the meaning of this?" Victor asked with an even deeper frown.

Was this some elaborate plan the executives had decided to pull because they were bored or something?

"I’d advise you choose your words well Mr. Carroway," one of the executives quickly informed, "you’re in the presence of Solterra’s new owner."

Victor’s brain seems to hit the restart button because he just stood stood there not knowing how to react.

"My experience with Victors hasn’t been the most pleasant, but I hope we get along," the avatar on screen said with a grin on its face that showed it meant the opposite of what it said, "now then Mr Carroway, let’s talk about your future in this company."