The Expelled Obadiah

After receiving Rumlow's assurance, Obadiah relaxed a little, but once he calmed down, he felt that something was not right.

Why was my account frozen as soon as the money arrived? Although I did make a deal with terrorists, the funds had already been laundered. Theoretically, no one could track and lock down hundreds of transfers and obtain evidence.

There must be something wrong here. I can't just sit here and wait to die. Is Tony up to something?

All of this makes sense when you connect it to Tony; after all, he's a genius and might be able to trace the source of the funds. Does that mean my plan to kill Tony has also been exposed?

No, I need to go to the company and sound out Pepper first.

Suspecting that he had been exposed and that Tony was already suspicious of him, Obadiah dared not go to Tony Marbury's villa alone to confront him. After all, who knew what might be in Tony's house? In fact, the Jericho missile was originally a prototype that Tony built at his home.

He urged the driver to speed all the way to the Stark Industries building. Just as Obadiah was about to enter, a group of security guards ran over and spoke to him very politely.

"Mr. Obadiah, you cannot go in."

Obadiah was stunned, even thinking he had misheard, but seeing the group blocking his way, he quickly realized what was happening and said angrily:

"What did you say! I can't go in!"

Seeing the furious Obadiah, the security guard could only grit his teeth and say:

"Yes, Mr. Obadiah, the board of directors has removed you from your position. According to the company's confidentiality policy, you need to make an appointment to enter."

"You XXXX." Obadiah blurted out a curse, but quickly calmed down. There must be something wrong here. Was Tony behind this?

"Call your supervisor over." Obadiah needed a middle manager to tell him what had happened.

Seeing that Obadiah had stopped causing trouble, the security guards breathed a sigh of relief. They had been stunned for a long time when they received the order, but they dared not disobey it. After all, their supervisor had been dismissed that morning, let alone a mere security guard like themselves.

Soon, Happy, the head of security, arrived. Obadiah frowned slightly when he saw Happy, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get in by normal means today, since Happy would definitely carry out Tony's orders faithfully.

Obadiah looked back at the few bodyguards he had brought, and compared the numbers. Even if he could break through the security guards' wall, what would be the point?

"Happy, what's going on? Is this Tony's idea?" Obadiah tried to get some useful information from Happy.

Happy didn't actually know what was going on, but knowing that Tony's kidnapping was Obama's doing, he naturally wouldn't be friendly to Obama, and said expressionlessly.

"This is a decision made by the board of directors, and we cannot disclose the specifics."

Upon hearing "board of directors," Obadiah finally lost his temper and shouted, "Board of directors! I am also a shareholder, how can the board of directors remove me from my position!"

Obadiah became more and more agitated as he spoke, recounting how he had bled and risked his life for Stark Industries, and how he wanted to see Tony and convene a board meeting.

At this time, more and more people gathered on the first floor of the company. The lower-level employees were unaware of the changes at the upper levels and gathered together to discuss the matter.

As more and more people gathered, the company's directors emerged from the elevator.

Looking at the neatly arranged shareholders, Obadiah immediately realized that they had just finished a meeting and hadn't even called him yet; this was premeditated.

"Vic, what's going on here!" Obadiah immediately called out to a small shareholder who was on good terms with him and used to follow his lead.

Unlike before, when he would eagerly follow Obadiah around, minority shareholder Vic did not do so. Instead, he seemed to see something dirty and tried to hide behind him.

Other shareholders who were close to him shared the same attitude, while other shareholders who followed Tony made no attempt to hide the disdain in their eyes.

"What's going on?" Obadiah was completely enraged and didn't care about anything else. He rushed inside, shouting as he went, "I'm a shareholder, the second largest shareholder after Tony Stark! You can't treat me like this!"

Seeing this, Happy immediately rolled up his sleeves and started warming up, preparing to find the feeling he used to have when he was boxing.

The scene was so lively that Pepper finally couldn't stand it anymore and stepped out from among the shareholders. When Obadiah saw Pepper, he stopped making a fuss, knowing that the person who would give him the answer had arrived.

"Pepper, what's going on? Where's Tony?" Obadiah suppressed his anger and repeated his question.

"Mr. Obadiah, I think security has already informed you that you have been fired."

"Fire me? You weren't even born when I was working for Stark Industries. What right do you have to fire me? Because you slept with Tony!" Obadiah was already getting angry and resorting to personal attacks.

Pepper wasn't angry; after all, it was just the barking of a stray dog.

"This is the board's decision!" Pepper said coldly.

"Board of Directors? Why didn't I receive any notice of a meeting!" Obadiah pressed.

"We are about to inform you that, upon investigation, you have been found to have sold Stark Industries products to terrorists without authorization, which has seriously damaged Stark Industries' interests. As a result, the board of directors has unanimously decided to expel you from the board."

Obadiah laughed in anger and retorted, "What evidence do you have that I have connections with terrorists, and on what grounds are you expelling the company's second-largest shareholder?"

"What evidence do you want to see?" Pepper took out the data that had just been shown at the board meeting—copying it from Obadiah's computer and collecting it from various sources—and threw it at Obadiah.

Obadiah took the documents and glanced at them briefly. His face immediately turned pale. Although he could win an acquittal through his lawyer, the evidence was enough to ruin his reputation. However, Obadiah clearly did not want to give up so easily and insisted on speaking.

"Then you can't kick me out of the board. I'm still the second largest shareholder. I need to lose weight, Tony."

Pepper then took out the previous loan agreement and showed Obadiah the supplementary terms on it.

"Tony's busy, so you don't need to see him. This contract states that you've pledged your shares to Tony, giving him the right of first refusal to repurchase them should you default on the loan. I imagine you won't be able to repay the loan now that your account is frozen."

Obadiah then realized that everything had been arranged by Tony.

"You were the ones who reported the account; otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence!"

"Mr. Obadiah, I advise you to sell the shares to Tony as soon as possible, otherwise I'm afraid the longer you delay, the more the loan will be used to pay the interest."

Obadiah glanced at the shareholders gathered together, made sure Tony wasn't there, and then snorted before speaking.

"We'll see. Tell Tony this isn't over yet."

After making his threats, Obadiah left Stark Industries with his bodyguards and headed straight for the laboratory.

Now it all depends on the organization's strength. As long as the funds are unfrozen and a weapon that can be mass-produced is developed, then it will be time for them to turn the tide.