Chapter 131

131 The New Chairman’s Speech

Maxwell smiled devilishly at the decorum that was achieved by Leon’s first act as the chairman of the Treshvire empire. He was highly impressed by Leon’s audaciousness and fierceness.

‘What better way to imprint your authority, if not with the blood of an enemy,’ Maxwell thought to himself. He stared at the blood-splattered stakeholders; who were closely seated to the dead man and chuckled.

Maxwell quickly made a short call and two hefty-looking men came in and took out the dead man’s corpse.

Everyone in the room aside from Maxwell, acted as though they were spellbound by Leon. They were too horrified to say anything or voice out their opinion for fear of meeting the same fate as the deadman. Even those that had blood splatters on their face simply took out their handkerchiefs and wiped off the blood. They were too scared to excuse themselves from the conference room until the chairman was done addressing them.

“Impressive work, nephew!” Maxwell gave Leon a thumbs up, which Leon returned with a grin.

Although Leon had earlier armed himself, he had not planned on using the weapon at the meeting. However, the dead man had touched the wrong nerve and met with his untimely doom at Leon’s hands.

Leon slowly walked towards the chairman’s seat with his Ruger 1911 Commander pistol firmly held in his right hand. He carefully pulled out the emperor-like chairman’s seat and sat down, while maintaining eye contact with everyone in the room. He slowly placed his gun on the table for everyone to see, took in a deep breath to articulate his thoughts, and spoke up.

“I’ll start by expressing my gratitude to everyone who nominated me to succeed a legendary icon like my father. It is with great honor that I humbly accept this position that has been bestowed on me.”

A short clap erupted and immediately died down.

.....

“Thank you,” Leon said curtly. “Before I make known my plans for this great empire, I will start by sending a note of warning to all who think age, level of experience, and high net worth connection are the rudiments of being a successful chairman. I am my father’s son and more. I’ll ruthlessly deal with anyone who dares oppose me in any way.”

Leon paused for a while and glowered at all remaining six stakeholders; who had looked down on him ever since he stepped into the conference room.

“The Treshvire empire was built by my grandfather with his tears and blood. It took decades before the world accepted and recognized us. When my grandfather died, my father and uncle took over the hurdles, and together, they turned this empire into a living legend. Hence, you all should count yourself privileged to profit from this great empire.”

Some persons nodded their heads to Leon’s speech, some shook in anxiety and fear, while others secretly sneered in disgust at Leon’s boldness.

“If my father had dealt with his enemies with an iron fist, I will deal with my enemies with a thunderbolt. We can either work together to take this empire to levels of greatness or not. But, one thing is certain, I will keep this empire’s magnificent light burning for years to come with or without your help.”

Another round of applause erupted, with Maxwell and some loyal friends of Rex, cheering Leon on.

After two hours of discussion and deliberation, the meeting came to a successful close and everyone left the conference room.

——-

At the lobby and reception hall of the presidential hotel, Rodriguez men lurked in the shadows waiting for the right opportunity to strike either Leon or Maxwell. They had been debriefed by their boss that Leon must never see the light of the next day.

While Rodriguez was on his way out of the city in his private jet, he got a heart-wrenching message about how Leon had killed his best friend and partner in cold blood. He was also briefed on Leon’s outrageous speech.

“Oh, this small boy has bitten more than he could chew. I will make sure I squeeze the living soul out of his miserable body.” Rodriguez swore under his breath while gritting his teeth and clenching his fist. “I’ll feed his heart to his wretched father when I’m done with him.”

———-

Back at the presidential hotel, Leon and Maxwell stepped out of the conference room, discussing.

“Leon, I will see you later for dinner,” Maxwell said in a mischievous tone. “I need to take a walk outside the hotel. I need a breath of fresh air.”

“Sure, uncle,” Leon smirked. He knew his uncle’s bloodthirsty mode had been activated and he was going for a haunt. “I’ll see you by dinner, have fun.”

“Fun is my middle name,” Maxwell gave a devilish grin and left the premises.

After leaving his uncle to return to his hotel room, Leon intentionally took the stairs instead of the elevator. He knew he was been followed, hence he decided to lure his enemies to their doom.

Unknown to Rodriguez men, Leon men of the underworld had taken a separate chattered flight a day ahead of Leon and his uncle. When they arrived, they infiltrated the presidential hotel acting as businessmen, tourists, celebrities, and some hotel staff workers. Hence, Leon was constantly briefed on all of Rodriguez’s plans and that of his cohorts.

As Leon ascended the stairs towards his room, five of Rodriguez’s men followed him at a safe distance; where they could easily aim and blow his brains out. However, one by one, each of them was whisked by an unknown ghost until only the leader was left.

Suddenly, the lights on the staircase went off and the last man standing attempted to run down the stairs to call for backup. Unfortunately for him, something hard hit the back of his neck and he fell and became unconscious.

When the light came on again, Leon was standing over the unconscious man’s body by the stairs smiling like a hyena about to feast on self-acclaimed prey.

He squatted beside the unconscious man’s body and took pictures of the tattoo on his arms. He neatly severed the man’s right thumb and forefinger with his combat knife; which he always kept handy, and took them as a souvenir. Then he sent a message to his men, instructing them to sever the man’s head and mail it to Rodriguez as a gift.

When Leon stood up to leave, his phone beeped with a message. As he read the content of the message, the color drained from his face.