Chapter 100: Who Has The Most Money?
The Stern Manor wasn’t just large and luxurious, it was iconic. A one-of-a-kind estate with history carved into every stone wall and wooden beam.
It was the kind of manor that rarely, if ever, came up for sale. And when it did, money alone wasn’t enough to buy it.
For places like this, the price wasn’t determined by who could offer the most cash. If it were, the value would spiral into absurd territory, far beyond what the property was actually worth.
No, buying a manor like this required something else: influence. Power. A presence in the business world strong enough to pull the right strings and apply pressure in all the right places.
And when it came to influence, the Sterns were unmatched.
Currently, inside the grand meeting room of the estate, the same room where Dennis Stern would normally gather with his board of directors, there were only two people present.
Dennis, and Fred.
Dennis sat at the massive, polished table, large enough to seat thirty people comfortably. Instead of working from his personal office, he had spread out numerous documents across the table’s surface, files, printouts, charts, photographs.
"I know everything’s done digitally these days," Dennis muttered, running a hand along the edge of the table, "but I can’t process things the same way unless it’s all laid out in front of me. I need to see it."
He reached out and picked up one of the files.
Attached to the inside was a photo of Max, clipped neatly in the corner. Underneath it, several sheets of paper were stacked, each one filled with information.