Standing in front of the meeting room, Logan made sure there wasn't anything wrong with his suit in silence.
Inhaling deeply before exhaling slowly, he prepared himself for what was coming.
Earlier, Edric had immediately sent an urgent message to all the board members. In the message, he'd asked them to gather in a meeting room on orders of Logan, now head of the Mercer family.
In that time, Edric made sure Logan was properly dressed before they both walked over to the meeting room.
"And now all that's left is walking through these doors," Logan thought, starting to feel nervous.
While he'd strategically planned most of this, needing to stand in front of a group of men and women, whom were both extremely rich and powerful was still enough of a reason to get nervous.
Especially considering the pushback he expected to face once he made the announcement.
"Then there's also the need to find a proper investigation team after this," he thought. "But there's nothing money can't buy."
Turning his attention to the door, he mentally prepared himself once more before pushing open both wooden doors.
Inside, he found a large room centered around a round agarwood table. On the ceiling hung a large chandelier made of pure white diamonds.
'There are 13 of them in total,' Logan thought, counting the people around the table. 'Quite the show-up.'
Logan's eyes moved from face to face. 'Not bad, considering the short notice. The other four must still be in the building but didn't bother showing up. As for the six stationed outside HQ, there was no way they could've made it in time.'
Sitting down in his chair, Logan studied each board member carefully. Unlike the first time he'd met some of them, he had no reason to fear them this time.
"Now, some of you might be aware of why this meeting was called while others aren't," he started, smiling softly."Just to get everyone on the same page, I'll explain exactly what happened."
Taking a short pause, Logan saw the board members all observing him very carefully.
"Yesterday evening, 1 billion dollars disappeared from the Mercer liquid holdings account."
Some soft murmurs spread out between some board members, but the majority of them stayed quiet.
'That's what I expected,' Logan thought. 'Most of them already know, probably through connections with some of the personnel involved in the recovery effort.'
"So far, it's been determined that this," Logan paused for a second, "was not an outside attack."
Logan let the silence hang for a few seconds before continuing.
"There wasn't any sign of forced entry, no cyberattack, no breach, no infiltration. All internal systems are completely secure."
Tapping his finger on the desk, he took in a short but audible breath.
"Which means this can only have been done from the inside."
Now the murmuring grew louder. A few crossed their arms. One or two leaned back, expressions unreadable.
One of the older board members finally spoke.
"Mr. Mercer," he said, his tone polite but condescension clearly audible. "You've only been here for a few days. Are you sure you're in a position to make that kind of conclusion?"
Logan turned to him calmly, mentally prepared for the pushback to start.
"I'm not making a conclusion," he replied. "I'm stating what the initial investigation shows."
Giving a nod, the older board member kept quiet.
Seeing the rest of the board members quiet, Logan continued.
"So, I've decided to hire an external party to do a full investigation into the current company."
Having dropped the bomb, Logan quickly scanned the room to check for any miniature facial changes.
Logan saw a few of the board members quickly exchange glances. The rest remained unreadable. One or two gave slight nods, though if it was out of agreement, Logan couldn't tell.
Then, a middle-aged woman cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention.
"Mr. Mercer," she said, polite. "May I ask why you've hired an external party to do a full investigation?"
"Doing so will expose our problems to the outside world, and most importantly, our lower-level employees."
Logan turned his eyes toward her, keeping his expression neutral.
"It's a fair concern," he said. "And one I've considered."
He let the silence hang for just a second before continuing.
"But the truth is, our problems are already known. The staff feel it. The market is reacting to it. Suppliers are pulling back, and competitors are catching up."
Some members shifted slightly in their seats, not because Logan was wrong, but because they hadn't expected an 18-year-old to understand the company's situation so well after only a few days of learning.
Another man cleared his throat. This was one of the men that had instantly drawn Logan's attention when he entered.
'Another S-rank hunter,' he thought.
"Even if people are starting to figure it out, wouldn't confirming their fears make the situation even worse?" the S-rank asked.
Smiling, Logan shook his head.
"To counter that, I've decided to announce my existence to the public before the investigation begins," Logan said, still smiling. "The heir of the Mercer family returning after the disappearance of the bloodline, it'll make headlines, redirect attention, and more importantly, stabilize the perception of leadership."
Some eyes widened slightly at the risk Logan decided to take. Silas and Edric also looked shocked, Edric in particular looked as if he'd seen a ghost. But Logan didn't stop.
"Once the investigation starts, we'll frame it carefully. I'll announce a full internal investigation as part of a broader 'structural recovery effort' following the year of stagnation. We won't say there was a breach," Logan paused. "We'll say we are reorganizing for the future."
He looked around the room.
"We control the message. That way, we contain panic, calm the shareholders, and buy time to clean things up properly."
The room fell silent again.
Even the S-rank leaned back slightly, thinking about Logan's plan.
"But what about your safety?" a low voice coming from an elderly man asked. "So far, we've managed to keep you hidden from the majority of our competitors, but once they know about you there'll be a large target on your back."
Tapping on the table, Logan thought for a few seconds before answering.
"Yes, there'll be a large target on my back." He paused. "But it'll only be a matter of time before they realize that I exist anyway. I might as well use it when it can deliver positive effects instead of waiting."
Then, he heard a scoff coming from his right.