Chapter 143: Chapter 143
Adam was inside his hostel room for the whole day.
His body had recovered, but his mind was still busy. John was one problem. Aster Core was another. George and the government side were also still there, along with the new manufacturing setup.
In the afternoon, his phone vibrated.
It was a message from Senju.
Adam opened it at once.
Senju had written:
Adam, we have slowed the government agencies down for now. Their aggressive actions have been stopped to some extent.
We took the matter to court and got a stay on their planned moves because they could not give proper answers for the notices. For some time, they should not be able to act as freely as before.
I will keep handling the papers from this side.
----
Adam read the message twice, then took a deep breath.
The tightness in his chest loosened a little.
They had not won fully, but they had survived the first hit.
’John,’ Adam thought, ’I endured your move.’
His eyes became colder.
’Now it is my turn. Let’s see if you can endure what I am going to do.’
He kept the phone in his hand for a few seconds.
Then he suddenly remembered Darien.
It had been several days since he had spoken to him properly.
Adam had been busy with the foreign trip and the machine. After that, Aster Core and George’s side had taken his attention. He had not checked the investments Darien was handling.
He opened Darien’s contact and called him.
As the phone rang, Adam leaned back against the bed.
’There was pressure in the middle,’ he thought. ’I could not focus on that side properly.’
The other companies had been under pressure because of the chip situation. Adam had also pushed them through Gonda’s network. If that pressure was working, their share prices should be moving again.
’I need to see how much they recovered.’ Adam thought.
’Has Kenji started the manufacturing unit?’
That part was important, but Adam pushed the thought away.
’No. That is their work now. I gave them the machines. I am not going to get stuck in every small part.’
The call rang until it cut.
Adam looked at the screen.
Darien had not picked up.
That was strange.
Darien usually answered his calls quickly. Adam waited a few seconds and called again.
This time, Darien picked up.
"Darien," Adam asked, "were you busy?"
There was a short laugh from the other side.
"Walter," Darien said, "it has been many days. You came back and did not even tell me."
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
The words were normal, but the sound was not. Darien was trying to act relaxed.
’He did something.’ Adam thought. ’Or he is hiding something from me.’
Adam did not waste time.
"What did you do?" he asked.
Darien became quiet.
"What do you mean?" he asked after a second.
Adam’s suspicion became stronger.
"I asked what you did."
Darien stayed silent for a little longer. Then he spoke in a smaller voice.
"Don’t get angry."
Adam closed his eyes for a moment.
"If you did not spend all my money," he said, "I will not get angry."
On the other side, Darien’s face became awkward.
He had not spent all the money. He had only used a little for one or two things.
But this was not about that.
"Walter," Darien said carefully, "actually..."
Adam waited.
"Say it."
Darien took a breath. "I pulled out all the investments from those companies. The ones you told me to hold."
Adam sat straighter.
"What are you saying?"
"Listen to me first," Darien said quickly. "The market trend and the news around them were giving me a very bad feeling."
Adam’s voice sharpened. "A feeling? Is that how you work?"
"After I pulled out, their shares kept falling for three days," Darien said. "I was right at that time."
"And now they are standing back up," Adam said. "Idiot, you cut off our upper profit too."
Darien did not answer at once.
"Walter, I had to do it," Darien said, his voice turning serious. "My mind kept telling me not to repeat my old mistake."
Adam became quiet.
"I became greedy before," Darien said. "This time, I did not want greed to break my company."
Darien continued, "The news was bad. Everything in me was saying to protect what we already had. So I sold."
Adam stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then he let out a slow breath.
Darien did not sound like he was making excuses. He sounded truly scared of repeating his past.
"Fine," Adam said. "Tell me one thing. What is our total asset value now, and how much liquid money do we have?"
Darien was quiet for a moment.
Then his voice became excited.
"Around five billion dollars in liquid capital," he said. "Some money from the land side is still scheduled to come, but the main amount is already with us."
Adam’s eyes changed.
Five billion.
Even after missing the upper profit, that number was too large to ignore.
A slow smile came to his face.
"Fine," Adam said. "I think you did the right thing."
Darien blinked on the other side.
"You... think I did right?"
"Yes," Adam said. "Now listen carefully. Divide the assets into three parts."
Darien became alert at once.
"Three parts?"
"The first part will go into investments," Adam said. "Put it where money can keep growing. Use the market, but do not depend only on it."
"Okay," Darien said slowly.
"The second part will go into projects," Adam continued. "Use the land we have. Hire third-party companies to build there. After that, put the properties on rent. Residential and industrial both."
Darien cut in, unable to stop himself.
"Wait. What do you mean? We are not putting all of it into the stock market?"
"Listen first," Adam said.
Darien closed his mouth.
Adam continued, "The third part will go into companies. Buy enough stock in strong companies. We will try to enter their boards wherever we can."
"Money is useful," Adam said, "but influence is better."
Darien was quiet.
Then he asked, "Do we really have enough to do that?"
"Do not worry," Adam said. "I will give you more plans in the future. Those plans will double our money again. And I will move more money to you soon."
