The Missing

Henry didn't continue talking about those supernatural things, but said, "You don't need to know too much about things that can't be verified. Just know that James Arden and Lilith Arden disappeared without a trace, no bodies, no blood. That's all."

The barrister stammered, repeating, "The Ardens have disappeared. There were no bodies, no blood."

Henry said seriously, "No, no, no! You didn't understand me. The Ardens are missing. There are no bodies, no blood."

"What If...? you can't get me out of here today, you must inform Mr. Tony Stark of this as quickly as possible."

"Although I don't know if you represent any of the Arden Family's foundations, What If...? you know anyone in the industry, you should know how valuable this information is."

The lawyer murmured, "The Ardens have disappeared. There are no bodies, and no blood!" And the more he spoke, the brighter his eyes became!

Henry smiled and said, "Very good, it seems you understood."

The barrister jumped up and said in a panic, "I will report to Mr. Tony Stark immediately. Mr. Brown, if Prosecutor Will or other police come back, please just keep silent. I can let you go back to your home to rest today."

Nodding, Henry knew that the battleground for the next struggle was no longer with him, but rather with the much-anticipated test of human nature.

On this battlefield, even as Kryptonian, I don't have the right to take the lead. Even Tony Stark would be in trouble; everything that follows will be determined by the greedy nature of humanity.

It didn't take long for Henry to walk out of the police station's interrogation room like a victor.

The Bodyguards, who were originally supposed to be "witnesses," were crestfallen. In addition to becoming defendants who made false accusations, they also had to bear the responsibility for shooting Henry.

Even though the person wasn't killed, it doesn't mean that shooting someone who is invulnerable is legally permissible. Everyone who fired the shot will be charged with attempted murder.

But whether these insignificant people are convicted or not is of little concern to most people. Those who have the capacity to care about this matter are preoccupied with another major storm.

Wealthy people in Europe and America often follow the Jews practice of not placing their assets in their own names, but rather creating various foundations and trusts under different names to avoid taxes and diversify their assets.

So, are those so-called "world's richest people" truly the wealthiest? Anyone familiar with that circle can confidently assure you, absolutely not!

What kind of rich person is someone whose personal assets can be accurately estimated by Forbes magazine? They're just easy targets for the government, plus a bunch of fools.

With their assets spread out, these wealthy individuals rely heavily on lawyers and accountants to help them manage their vast fortunes.

But who can guarantee that these lawyers and accountants have sufficient professional Moral and won't try to steal their clients' assets?

News of Hollywood stars and sports celebrities being scammed by their own lawyers or accountants is not uncommon.

The reason these people are so easily scammed is, of course, because they lack professional knowledge and don't pay much attention to the flow of money. For them, making money is too easy.

Truly wealthy people, of course, would not be so careless; they are very cautious in managing their assets. Even if they were to pass away suddenly, there would be corresponding clauses to ensure that their assets are handed over to the rightful Inheritors.

The lawyer responsible for executing a will is usually not the same person as the lawyer managing the estate, so that they can supervise each other.

But what happens What If...? this wealthy person simply cannot be found or is unwilling to come forward, and is not legally recognized as dead?

The answer is that, whether it's a board meeting in a business or a management meeting within a foundation, those who are able to attend can bypass those who don't show up and make all the decisions themselves, once they follow certain legal procedures.

The original intention of this law was to prevent certain shareholders from paralyzing the company's decision-making and operations by refusing to attend meetings or provide proxies; and to allow those willing to come forward to manage the company's operations.

However, in actual business dealings, this rule is often used to remove certain shareholders from the board of directors and other decision-making bodies.

For example, a board meeting is being held to decide whether to remove someone from the board. However, that person is delayed in attending the meeting due to other commitments.

Even if this person holds more than 51% of the shares, if he cannot cast a dissenting vote for himself, he will be considered to have no objection. In that case, he must abide by the resolution made by the attendees and be removed from the board of directors.

Of course, the detailed operation is not so crude, and there are many details to pay attention to. However, absolute control does not mean that the major shareholder is immune to conspiracies and schemes.

Returning to the Arden Family matter, the property directly registered in the names of James Arden and Lilith Arden cannot be accessed without their permission, or with the consent of their Inheritors after their death.

However, this portion is essentially zero. This is because these wealthy individuals don't want the government to have the opportunity to levy inheritance tax, so they dispose of their private assets long ago.

However, in foundations and boards of directors, large and small, where there are other decision-makers or managers, the Ardens' inability to appear is seen as a waiver of their rights. In this situation, is it possible for their interests to be preserved?

If these foundations and boards of directors had appointed secondary administrators, there might still be hope. But the Ardens, after becoming Vampires, genuinely believed they would be immortal and forever in power, so they abolished all secondary administrators.

Tony Stark's Stark Industries first launched an attack on the boards of directors or foundations within their reach, whether directly or indirectly, in which James Arden or Lilith Arden were involved!

Even if they can't take it all for themselves, they'll join forces with other directors or managers to share it. They want nothing left!

The second wave of attacks came from the lawyers and accountants appointed by the Ardens. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the operations, they quietly transferred the assets entrusted to them for safekeeping, even though the administrator was unable to stop them.

However, most people's attention was drawn to the ruthlessness of Stark Industries on the surface, and they didn't notice the underhanded dealings of these lawyers and accountants. By the time they discovered it, the foundations were practically empty shells.

The remaining portion is beyond the reach of Stark Industries; other families also act as co-managers, making it impossible for lawyers or accountants to siphon it off through procedures.

The Old Money, which has always been regarded as a single entity, unites because they have a reason for doing so: various forms of cross-shareholding. As long as they are intertwined, sharing both prosperity and adversity, it's difficult for them not to unite.

This is also the main reason why a former financial tycoon once told Tony Stark that the Stark Family hadn't yet entered the inner circle. Because the Stark Family is too independent, their main assets don't directly overlap with any other family, so they naturally aren't considered part of the inner circle.

This usually involves an exchange through marriage: the daughter who marries out brings her shares, and the wife who marries in brings her shares. Generation after generation of intermarriages have gradually made the network of relationships in this circle complex, turning it into a state that outsiders cannot understand or comprehend.

However, of the Arden Family's vast wealth, some fell into the hands of Stark Industries, and some was embezzled by their servants; what remained—would the other Old Money families stand by the Arden Family, embodying the spirit of shared prosperity and shared ruin?

The conclusion is that other Old Money families also joined this carnival! Because everyone believed that if they didn't take it, someone else would. So why not take it?

The concept of a typical prisoner's dilemma is embodied in this.

The members of the Arden Family could only watch helplessly as their family fortune was devoured by countless hyenas. This was because their current patriarch could not be declared dead, and it would take time to declare him missing or incapacitated.

During this period of vacancy, even if family members without management authority wanted to exert influence, they would have no legal basis whatsoever.

If those two patriarchs who turned into Vampires hadn't held onto their family power so tightly, they wouldn't be in this predicament today. Unfortunately, everyone who's still alive is powerless to change anything.

At this point, who remembers Henry Brown? Even those who profited from the situation will do everything in their power to prevent the murder case from being filed. Only if the Ardens remain missing will it benefit everyone.

It was only then that many people noticed a blind spot: laws enacted under capitalism may serve the wealthy, but they are never for Vampires.