Building The Strongest Family-Chapter 65: Always Three Steps Ahead

Ophelia sat behind the chair, her eyes narrowing as a flicker of surprise crossed her face before she regained her composure.

"So that's why he wasn't intimidated by Christopher and the others. It seems he had everything planned from the very beginning," she murmured with a slight smile.

Truth be told, Ophelia was genuinely astonished by Arthur's foresight; she hadn't expected him to think so far ahead.

"President, it appears Mr. Arthur anticipated that people would target him the moment he chose not to collaborate with other companies," said the secretary standing nearby, her eyes wide with amazement.

"The best way to undermine him would be to strangle his material supply chain, but it looks like he took precautions before they could even act."

"Who knew?" Ophelia muttered under her breath.

Just months ago, she had viewed Arthur's refusal to compromise as foolishness or naivety,after all, those attended the meeting were no ordinary players; they were titans of industry capable of toppling small economies when united.

With their vast networks and connections, Arthur's modest family seemed utterly outmatched.

Yet here was Arthur, already several steps ahead of everyone else.

It all made sense now; he wasn't reckless enough to offend so many powerful figures without being prepared for the consequences.

If he hadn't been ready, the future for both him and the Osborn Family would have been nothing short of catastrophic.

But now? Even with Christopher's formidable connections and those massive corporations backing him up, they couldn't touch Arthur, not unless they resorted to official channels and dubious means, and even then, success wouldn't come easily.

"I wonder what Christopher will do next! I can only imagine how furious he must look right now!" Ophelia chuckled softly at the thought.

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"Damnit! Dammit! Dammit!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a lavishly decorated office filled with opulence, chaos erupted as Christopher unleashed his fury, throwing objects around like confetti at a parade gone wrong.

Computers shattered against walls; laptops crumpled beneath his wrath; documents flew through the air like autumn leaves caught in a storm.

"How can this be happening? How?!" His eyes blazed red with rage as disheveled hair framed his furious face, a man who hadn't eaten or bathed in days.

At the far corner of the office, a group of department heads huddled together, their faces pale with fear as they cast anxious glances at Christopher.

He was a storm personified, fuming and shouting like an injured beast.

The tension in the room was palpable; none dared to be on his bad side. Just looking at him sent chills down their spines.

They could hardly recall how many times he had wrecked his own office, smashing everything in sight, computers, laptops, even crucial documents were casualties of his rage.

Yet, no one had the courage to speak up; after all, they valued their jobs, and more importantly, their lives.

"Tell me how this happened! How can they still be building on that land? Didn't I instruct you to cut off their material supply? Bribe the construction workers to stop? Make sure those supervisors use inferior materials?"

Christopher's voice thundered through the room as he turned toward the trembling heads of departments. His eyes blazed with fury.

Gulu! Gulu!

The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically as everyone turned pale, swallowing hard.

Cold sweat trickled down their backs, soaking their shirts.

"Thomas!" Christopher's voice sliced through the tension as he fixed his gaze on a bald, middle-aged man with a hook nose and sunken beady eyes.

Thomas stood there, thin as a bamboo pole, visibly trembling.

"Mr. Christopher," Thomas stammered, adjusting his collar while taking hesitant steps forward.

His face was ghostly pale, and his wide red eyes glared back at Christopher with fear. "I did what you asked, I swear I did! But... but I don't understand why the building project is still moving forward!"

"So, you're telling me that the money I spent bribing construction workers, supervisors, and everyone else in charge was all for nothing?" Christopher's voice thundered through the room.

Bang!

A phone crashed against Thomas's forehead with brutal force, splitting his skin open and sending blood gushing down his face.

Thomas cried out in agony and crumpled to the floor, clutching his head. Within moments, his shirt was soaked with blood, and his complexion turned ghostly pale.

The others exchanged frantic glances before rushing to help him up.

They worked quickly to staunch the bleeding, wiping away the crimson streaks from his face.

Although they managed to stop the flow of blood, Thomas remained in visible pain.

Christopher's gaze didn't waver; if anything, it grew colder as he surveyed Thomas's injury, his anger only intensified.

"Mr. Christopher," Thomas stammered while holding his forehead, fear flickering in his eyes. "I dug deep into this situation and found that our methods have failed because the Osborn Family, specifically Arthur Osborn, has secured a massive supply chain for materials.

They've established their own sources for construction supplies and equipment. We can't touch them."

"Dammit!" Christopher slammed his fist onto the table, frustration radiating from him like heat from a fire.

"Heheheh! Arthur," he cackled maniacally, shaking with rage. "I underestimated you, I didn't expect you to think so far ahead!"

"That's not all," Thomas continued cautiously. "Every industry under the Osborn Family has its own supply chain locked down tight, they control everything: sales channels, material sources... It's like they've built an impenetrable fortress around their business."

"Good! Good! Good!" Christopher growled lowly; hatred simmered in his eyes as he clenched his fists so tightly that nails bit into flesh, drawing blood without him even noticing.

"Get out!" he roared at Thomas and the others. As if released from a spell of dread, they scrambled out of the office.

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind them. Outside in the hallway, they exchanged anxious looks and took deep breaths to steady their racing hearts; sweat soaked their clothes as fear gripped them tightly.

They were terrified of Christopher's volatile state,he seemed capable of anything right now.

"Thomas! Are you okay?" one department head asked with genuine concern etched on her face.

The others looked at him anxiously too; after all, when a phone breaks upon impact like that… it spoke volumes about how hard it had been thrown.

"I feel really dizzy," Thomas murmured weakly as he shook his head; trembling lips mirrored the pallor of his face.

"Let's get you to a hospital before things get worse," another suggested urgently.

"Yes! We need a doctor to check on you!" someone else chimed in agreement.

Thomas nodded, a silent agreement hanging in the air, and soon after, he was whisked away to the hospital.

Meanwhile, back at the office, Christopher lounged in the boss's chair, a cigarette dangling from his fingers as tendrils of smoke curled around him.

His red eyes glimmered ominously through the haze, giving him an unsettling presence.

He sat there in silence, methodically lighting one cigarette after another until the entire room was thick with smoke and the ashtray overflowed with cigarettesbutts.

For half an hour, he remained motionless, lost in thought.

Finally breaking his stillness, he reached for his phone and scrolled through his call log until he found a familiar name.

With a deep breath that mingled with smoke, he dialed.

"Hello!" came a calm voice from the other end.

"I have a job for you," Christopher replied hoarsely.

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"Arthur," Nathaniel said earnestly, "it seems your speculation was spot on! If we hadn't acted swiftly, we'd be in quite a bind right now." His gaze locked onto Arthur's with genuine emotion.

Emily chimed in, nodding vigorously. "Absolutely! If we hadn't secured our industrial supply chain ahead of time, our future business prospects would have been bleak."

A smile spread across Arthur's face as he took in the relieved expressions of his aunt and friends.

They were gathered around a table in a private box at an upscale restaurant, Julian, Nathaniel, Emily, and Ashley had made it; others were busy elsewhere.

"Yeah," Ashley added with a chuckle. "After you gave me the data for the projects for the company. Just last month, we noticed some people trying to persuade our suppliers to cut us off! They didn't realize those suppliers belong to us!"

Arthur chuckled too but kept his thoughts to himself.

In his experience with business, before launching any venture, it's crucial not to rush into it.

The first step? Secure reliable sources for your materials! If possible, buy them outright. Then focus on establishing solid sales channels.

This strategy ensures that once your products hit the market, you won't have to worry about competitors or rivals choking off your supplies or blocking your sales avenues.

Why do so many startups fail or get swallowed by larger companies? It's often because big corporations will send representatives to discuss investments or acquisitions when they see potential threats, like revolutionary products that could disrupt their market dominance.

If negotiations fail and they can't replicate your product? They'll target your material sources instead!

They'll cut off supplies and block sales channels while hiring internet trolls or using media smear campaigns to tarnish your reputation online.

Before long, performance plummets, and guess who ends up buying your company? That's right, the very giants who orchestrated this downfall!

Arthur refused to let that happen to him; he wouldn't allow those what benefit him to fall into enemy hands.

He preferred keeping control over everything rather than sharing it with those who might betray him later on.

Call him greedy if you like; all he cared about was satisfying his hunger for success without worrying about others' opinions.

For him Arthur, he always likes to be three steps ahead of his enemies not giving them any chance to do anything to him at all.