Chapter 177: Choose One of Two
Before dawn, Silas Norwood rose quietly.
"My dear, I’m heading out for a bit." His voice was gentle as he murmured his schedule in her ear. "I’m having morning tea with a few clients from Port Sovereign. You get some more sleep. I’ll be back to have breakfast with you."
Celia Sterling mumbled an affirmation, half-asleep and likely not registering his words.
Several kilometers from Jade Orchid Manor, in a commercial district, the private room of an exquisitely decorated teahouse was filled with people.
It was only five in the morning. Metropia had seen a sharp drop in temperature recently, and a bone-chilling cold permeated the quiet, empty outdoors. Inside the private room, over a dozen guests from Port Sovereign exchanged uneasy glances, all of them on edge.
They hadn’t arrived together.
But from the moment they received the "invitation" from Silas Norwood, none of them dared to delay. They had all boarded planes and flown straight to Metropia, filing into the room one after another.
If they hadn’t known what had prompted a summons from this Metropia tycoon before, seeing over a dozen directors from the entertainment industry gathered here now, they instantly figured out most of it.
Vying for resources was business as usual. But for more than a dozen media outlets and entertainment agencies to be involved in the same affair, there was only one recent event that fit the bill.
Theo Chambers was waiting, having arrived just on time.
Star Sovereign Entertainment had a powerful background and a long history in Port Sovereign, so its chairman took the initiative to voice the question on everyone’s mind:
"Chief Assistant Chambers, could it be that Chairman Norwood... has some connection to Miss Summer Sutton?"
This concerned a woman other than his boss’s wife, so Theo Chambers didn’t dare speak out of turn. He replied with a placid expression, "The boss will be here shortly. If you have any questions, you can ask him yourselves."
With that, he stood up and walked out to greet him at the door.
The others exchanged glances, seizing the last few moments to compare notes.
"Besides the rumors about Summer Sutton, are we sure we haven’t crossed paths on anything else recently?"
"Two or three of us might have had some overlap on a project here or there, but for a group this large... the only thing is that we all acted on Second Young Master Sutton’s instructions yesterday and casually wrote a few lines about Summer Sutton."
"So Chairman Norwood is really here because of this? Damn... What does he want? This is a nightmare. Didn’t Second Young Master Sutton swear up and down that Summer Sutton had no backer anymore?"
"I just landed at Metropia Airport an hour ago. My assistant told me Kian Sterling has descended on Port Sovereign and specifically asked to see me..."
"What a setup! If Kian Sterling is still backing Summer Sutton, and now possibly Chairman Norwood too... We’ve been royally screwed by Second Young Master Sutton!"
"Everyone, be smart when Chairman Norwood gets here. Unlike Kian Sterling, Chairman Norwood controls the entire domestic entertainment industry. If he wanted to, he could crush us in minutes."
...
Outside the door, the sound of elegant, unhurried footsteps drew near.
Inside, everyone fell silent. They masked their shock and uncertainty, rising respectfully and politely to face the door.
Silas Norwood’s tall, noble figure entered, bringing a gust of the early morning chill with him as he stepped into the room with a cold expression.
"Chairman Norwood!" The chairman of Star Sovereign Entertainment, along with the other dozen leaders, greeted him with effusive enthusiasm. "We set off as soon as we got Chief Assistant Chambers’ call. We’re so glad we could make it for morning tea with you."
"Sit." Silas Norwood took the head seat, his expression unreadable. Once everyone had nervously sat down, he deliberately took out a stack of Port Sovereign entertainment tabloids and tossed them onto the table.
"Should I give you all ten minutes to defend yourselves?" His long, slender fingers leisurely lifted a cup of tea, his gaze cool.
Since he had given them a chance, they had to at least try to talk their way out of it.
The chairman of Star Sovereign Entertainment once again took the lead. "Thank you, Chairman Norwood, for being willing to hear our explanation! Miss Summer Sutton and our company parted on amicable terms. Logically and emotionally, we had no reason to backstab her. But yesterday, Second Young Master Sutton from the Sutton Group came to me. First, he offered a huge incentive, which of course I refused. Then he resorted to direct threats. Star Sovereign Entertainment hasn’t had it easy all these years. While I’m not afraid of the Sutton Family, we all know what the Suttons are like. Getting on their bad side is a chilling prospect. I figured it was better to avoid trouble, so I just put out a couple of statements to placate him..."
It wasn’t that he intentionally wanted to sell out Second Young Master Sutton. But since Silas Norwood was inquiring, he must have already investigated and found out exactly who was behind it all. Hiding it was useless. Besides, Silas Norwood had personally laid this trap for them; if he didn’t throw Second Young Master Sutton under the bus, was he supposed to take the fall himself?
The Star Sovereign chairman’s words were like a cue, and the others quickly chimed in.
"Chairman Norwood, Oceanic Magazine was also threatened by Second Young Master Sutton! That report you’re holding wasn’t our original intention. In fact, what we wrote was very euphemistic and subtle. But Second Young Master Sutton didn’t trust us. He sent his own people to change it on the spot and used a fast track to rush the printing. I was completely blindsided by the whole thing..."
"It’s true that Summer Sutton didn’t attend Kenneth Sutton’s funeral, but we have a follow-up planned. I have all the materials about how Kenneth Sutton abandoned his wife and daughter back then. I’ll clarify the facts as soon as I get back..."
"Chairman Norwood, please rest assured! We will definitely compensate Miss Summer Sutton for the emotional distress she has suffered..."
One after another, they admitted their faults and pledged their loyalty with great enthusiasm. Silas Norwood just listened quietly, not saying a word the entire time.
Only when these normally domineering and arrogant leaders had talked themselves hoarse did he finally lift his gaze to Theo Chambers.
"Ten minutes are up." Theo Chambers cleared his throat and silently distributed the files he was holding to the respective leaders.
"Chairman Norwood, what is this?" Seeing the bold words "Acquisition Agreement" and "Restriction Order" on the contracts before them, the color drained from everyone’s faces.
Silas Norwood spoke, his voice cool and indifferent. It was a gentle sound, yet more chilling than the biting wind outside.
"I’m giving you all two choices. Either the Norwood Group acquires your companies within the next three months, or you will be placed under a restriction order from the domestic entertainment industry for a period of three years."
The crowd’s expressions shifted from deathly pale to ashen gray.
The title "Chairman" sounded impressive, but if they were the faint glow of a firefly, Silas Norwood was the brilliant moon in the sky. Aside from Star Sovereign Entertainment, a titan in Port Sovereign, most of the others had ugly balance sheets and were saddled with debt. Silas Norwood, on the other hand, was the patriarch of a Metropia super-family with centuries of history. He was a legend who perennially topped international rich lists, and it was rumored that his hidden financial network was so vast its full extent was impossible to grasp.
For a top-tier capitalist like him, acquiring most of the businesses in this room would be as easy as lifting a finger.
Moreover, while Silas Norwood appeared gentle, this man who had expanded the Norwood Group’s empire time and again was seen as a ruthless figure by many international tycoons. Many of the acquisitions he had handled were tales of cutthroat financial warfare, and few in the room could withstand such an assault.
But a three-year restriction order was just as painful, like cutting off a pound of their own flesh.
The domestic entertainment industry had been booming in recent years, with endless ways to make money. In contrast, the Port Sovereign entertainment scene was in decline. Many Port Sovereign agencies had shifted their focus to the domestic market and made a fortune. If they were barred from the domestic industry for three years, in a world as fast-paced as entertainment, they would almost certainly be washed away by rising stars. It was hard to say what status they would have left in the Port Sovereign Circle by then.
"Chairman Norwood..." One by one, they stood up, looking at the man in the head seat with terror and trepidation.
"Choose one of the two." Silas Norwood’s tone was absolute, leaving no room for negotiation. "Anyone who doesn’t state a choice will be considered to have chosen the first option by default."
They exchanged glances, knowing there was no way out. In a silent, mutual understanding, they each picked up the restriction order documents.
Inwardly, however, they were cursing Second Young Master Sutton to high heaven.
"I’ve already had my assistant arrange a flight. You will all take my private jet back to Port Sovereign." Silas Norwood was a master of social graces. You couldn’t tell from his expression that he had just viciously taken these men down a peg. His tone was as gentle as ever. "It’s still early, and the tea here is excellent. Please, help yourselves."