Chapter 433
Chapter 433
To be honest, I don't have any plans regarding this matter related to Alexander. Samuel's question has genuinely stumped me.
Sophia turned to look out of the car window and was quiet for a few moments before saying, "I don't have any plans. I just want to wrap my mind around this situation as best as I can and figure out what exactly is happening."
Samuel gazed at her with a somewhat dispirited expression. "You're right." After a brief pause, he added, "By the way, has Alex ever told you about Fortuna?"
When Alexander studied abroad years ago, he and a college classmate co-founded Fortuna. Afterward, his classmate returned home to inherit his family business and sold all his shares to Alexander, making Alexander the largest shareholder of Fortuna.
However, not many people knew about that.
Most people in the industry were under the impression that Fortuna's chairman was a foreigner. Despite that, no one knew what the so-called "foreign chairman" looked like, let alone associating him with Alexander.
Sophia averted her gaze and nodded. "I found out about that not long ago."
Samuel was a little surprised, but he quickly pulled himself together. "If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."
"Of course."
With Alexander missing, the biggest challenge Sophia had to face now was handling Odyssey.
Although Dillon was no longer a threat, not all the remaining old-timers at Odyssey were truly loyal to Alexander. They were more like fence-sitters, swaying between sides. Some shrewd or ambitious ones were even waiting to take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits after all the conflicts ceased.
The news of Alexander's disappearance wouldn't remain a secret for long. Once the word got out, Odyssey would definitely be in turmoil again.
As the largest shareholder of Odyssey besides Alexander, it was reasonable for her to take over his position and manage the company.
Unfortunately, since the shares in her possession weren't substantial, it wasn't impossible for those old- timers to join forces against her and seize the opportunity while Alexander was absent.
Even though she had never been afraid of them, it was difficult to guard against others' secret ploys, so who knew what would happen in the future?
Alexander's current predicament occurred precisely due to such concealed maneuver.
Samuel was initially worried about Sophia, but after seeing her current state, he realized he was concerned for nothing. "No wonder Alex likes you."
Sophia was a little curious after listening to his remark. She turned her head sideways to look at him and asked with her brow raised, "Why do you say that?"
"You're different from the others."
Be it Bethany or Kayla, there were many socialites and wealthy ladies like them who could be a good match for Alexander. However, Sophia was the only one who stood out.
Even without the Dawson family, everything Sophia owned now was enough for her to be on par with Alexander in terms of their background.
She wasn't a parasitic vine that couldn't survive without clinging to others, as she was more than capable of surviving by relying on herself.
If that incident had occurred to any other person, they would've panicked by now, but Sophia didn't.
Even though she mentioned she had no plans, Samuel could tell she had already devised strategies for what she would do next.
The car soon exited the highway and gradually entered the city. Samuel glanced at Sophia sitting beside him. "Do you want to have lunch together?"
She shifted her gaze. "Will you be treating me, Mr. Schild? In that case, I shall take you up on that offer."
"You really are a perfect match for Alex."
Sophia enjoyed hearing comments like that. Perhaps all women love listening to these words. If Alexander were also here, I'd be more thrilled.
After having lunch together, Sophia and Samuel went their separate ways. She first made a trip to Odyssey and brought all the documents related to the company's several ongoing projects back to the mansion.
"Ms. Yarrow." Complicated emotions churned within Felix's chest as he saw her off at the company's entrance.
Sophia looked at him. "What's the matter?"
"This is a gift agreement that Mr. Xenos signed previously."
She glanced down at the agreement Felix was handing to her. She knew about the content of the document without even reading it.
"I got it."
He feared she would misunderstand, so he explained, "Ms. Yarrow, Mr. Xenos notarized and signed this gift agreement a year ago, so please don't misunderstand."
"I didn't."
Sophia couldn't be more familiar with Alexander's personality.
She smiled at Felix before getting into the car.
When she reached the mansion, Sophia placed the pile of documents in her hands on the coffee table.
Then, she picked up the gift agreement, unsealed the envelope, and took out the paperwork inside.
If anything happened to him or if he betrayed Sophia during their time together, Alexander would gift her all his Odyssey shares.
Currently, he didn't do anything to wrong her, but an accident had occurred.
She closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch, covering her eyes with her hand. I still feel horrible.
Days passed, and Alexander remained missing. No one knew if he was dead or alive. Neither the police nor Yvonne managed to find any information about him.
The same applied to the strange woman, Qahira Lombard, who showed up at the hotel and approached Alexander that night.
However, as time went on, the news of Alexander's mishap couldn't be suppressed any longer. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
With Felix's help to appease everyone at Odyssey and Sophia's response to the public queries, they managed to suppress the spread of Alexander's disappearance.
Sophia and Felix both claimed Alexander had gone abroad to negotiate a partnership, but details about the collaboration couldn't be disclosed yet.
Still, that excuse couldn't hold up for long. Two weeks after Alexander went missing, rumors of his accident began to spread among the elite social circle. Some even claimed the case had been reported to the authorities.
Samuel was the first to catch wind of the hearsay. He grew so furious that he tracked down the person who spread the rumor and forced the latter to clarify the statement that very night.
However, there wouldn't be smoke without fire. As Alexander had been absent from public view for almost twenty days, no matter how hard Sophia and Felix refuted the rumors, Odyssey's shareholders no longer believed Alexander had gone overseas for business negotiations.
Upon learning an accident had befallen Alexander, Odyssey's shareholders grew restless.
Looking at the group of cunning old men in front of her, Sophia sneered inwardly but didn't let her emotions show as she maintained a poker face.
"Sophia, since Mr. Xenos was met with a mishap, we need to elect a new chairman for Odyssey. Aside from Mr. Xenos, you and Mr. Zaat hold the most shares in the company. However, since you are still young and Odyssey has a different nature of business from Sunshine Group, we, the shareholders, have briefly discussed this matter and believe Mr. Zaat is more suitable to become the new chairman. I assume you have no objections regarding our decision?"
Although the speech sounded innocuous, and the person who uttered those words even wore a cheery smile as he spoke, every sentence he said was meant to quash Sophia.
Sophia sat on the chair and flashed a faint smile. "Before I answer your question, I have something I'd like to show all of you." She turned around to glance at Felix as she spoke. "Mr. Lane, please show them."
"All right, Ms. Yarrow."
Felix nodded. Then, he distributed the photocopied documents to each shareholder.
Once he was done handing out the papers, Sophia uttered unhurriedly, "Mr. Ladd mentioned that besides Alexander, Mr. Zaat and I hold the most shares in Odyssey. However, I'm sorry to inform you that Alexander had notarized and signed a gift agreement last year. I've requested Mr. Lane to make copies of the agreement and hand them out to each of you. The agreement you now hold contains the details of that gift agreement I'm talking about."
She paused briefly before continuing, "If everyone's eyesight is still fine, I believe you can all understand the content of the agreement. Now that an accident happened to Alexander, the Odyssey shares in his possession have been legally transferred to my name. If my math is correct, I should now be the major shareholder of Odyssey. In that case, I think there shouldn't be an issue for me to fill the position of Odyssey's chairperson, right?"
"This..."
Alistair Ladd shot a quick look at Percy Zaat. He didn't anticipate Alexander to have that ace up his sleeve. As a result, he was at a loss for words to retort.
Percy, who was behaving smugly moments ago, now wore a cold expression. He stared at Sophia and snorted. "Ms. Yarrow, while it's true that you hold the most shares in the company, your understanding of Odyssey's operations is nowhere near half of mine. I, for one, cannot accept you as Odyssey's chairperson!"
Hearing his exclamation, several others also voiced their disapproval.
Sophia curled her lips into a smile. "You're right, Mr. Zaat. I am young and certainly not as knowledgeable about Odyssey's operations as everyone present. In that case, it is only fair for me to step down from the chairperson position and let someone more familiar with Odyssey handle the responsibility. However..."
At that point, her countenance grew solemn. "Odyssey is currently thriving. Our quarterly reports are also showing continuous growth. I can understand your concerns about my ability to manage the company. Similarly, as Odyssey's major shareholder, I'm even more worried about Odyssey's decline and seeing the fruit of Alexander and Old Mr. Xenos' labor be ruined. I don't care about the position of chairperson. Anyone can take on the role, but I have one condition. The chairperson needs to compensate threefold for whatever amount of losses Odyssey suffers. Whoever agrees to this can undertake the responsibility."
With that, Sophia stood up and vacated her seat.