A few days later, Ribbs leaned back in his recliner and read the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
"A generation of empire collapses: Thorn Group (SORN)'s stock price fell below $1 and may enter bankruptcy liquidation procedures!" In the picture below, the once magnificent Thorn Group headquarters building is crowded with suppliers seeking debt collection and numb-looking employees.
The heavy door was silently pushed open, and Alfred slipped in and whispered, "Speaker, Mr. Frank has something important to report."
Frank Ribbs hadn't seen this guy in a long time.
During this time, Frank managed the foundation well and was a very honest person. Apart from holding cocktail parties and flirting with women, he didn't do anything bad behind Reeves' back.
Reeves was now much more reassured about Frank. He nodded and gestured for Frank to come in.
As soon as Alfred opened the office door, Frank flashed in, with an exaggerated smile on his face that could squeeze out honey. As soon as he entered the door, he opened his arms and said in a loud voice:
"Mr. Speaker! Oh my goodness! Please allow me to express my utmost respect and admiration!" Frank strode forward, bowing slightly. "Destroy the Crips and sweep the streets! You're like a modern-day Caesar returning to Chicago! That photo of the National Guard's steel torrent rolling through Milwaukee Street—it's definitely worthy of being on the cover of Time magazine!"
He paused for a moment and swallowed, as if recalling the spectacular scene. Then he gestured with his hands and spoke in an even more passionate tone:
"And that Thorne! Haha! That old bastard who doesn't know how to live or die! SORN has fallen below one dollar! Mr. Speaker, you've stepped him straight from the clouds of New York into the sewers of Wall Street! Use your iron fist to tell all of America what the true 'Chicago Rule' is! Such tactics, such courage, he can make things happen with a flip of his hand! I, Frank, have been in the financial circle for so many years, and I've never seen anyone else with your ability to turn the tide! It's my great honor to work under you!"
Frank's flattery came like a barrage of cannonballs, full of flowery words that smelled of money, almost setting Reeves's quiet office on fire.
Ribbs leaned back in his chair, listening expressionlessly, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, neither interrupting nor expressing approval.
The calmness itself made Frank subconsciously restrain his overly exaggerated expression and bend his waist even lower.
"Stop talking nonsense and just get to the point!" Reeves replied.
Frank's flattering energy subsided a little. He stood up cautiously, rubbing his hands. A more "pragmatic" smile appeared on his face, and his voice became lower, with the mysterious aura of a "close counselor":
"Mr. Speaker, this...actually, I rushed here today not only to express my admiration for you, but also to have a small suggestion. I wonder if I should say it or not?"
Libus raised his eyelids, and a short syllable fell like an ice bead: "Speak."
Frank perked up immediately, speaking faster with the shrewdness of a financial broker: "It's about the Thorne Group! They're completely hopeless now, their stock price is worthless, and their assets will be liquidated in a few days. But..."
He deliberately dragged out the words, his eyes sparkling. "Even a rotten boat still has three pounds of nails! Thorne has been entrenched in the New York real estate world for decades. All that land, projects, even his construction qualifications, his long-standing bank connections... wow, that's all real, solid stuff!"
He took a step closer, lowering his voice even more, as if afraid of being overheard from the corner. "This is a godsend! It's the perfect time to buy at the bottom! With the current strength of our foundation, it's easy to take down Thorne!"
"Mr. Speaker, this is the acquisition plan I compiled overnight. Please take a look!"
Frank handed over a stack of documents attentively, carefully observing Reeves' reaction.
Ribbs took the document and glanced at it, his brow furrowing even deeper. The flame of revenge flickered in his eyes. "Buy Thorne? Frank, you want me to use my brothers' blood to clean up that old man's mess? Take his money? Every single bill of his carries the stench of the Crips and the blood from Guan Hai's legs!"
Frank keenly caught the hesitation in Reeves' eyes and immediately quickened his speaking speed, lowering his voice with an urgency to seize the opportunity and not miss it:
"Speaker!" He whispered almost in a whisper, but every word was clear and powerful. "The Thorne Group's core assets—those prime plots of land in Manhattan, the development rights on Long Island, even the construction bidding qualifications they've been cultivating for years—these are the real treasures! Now that the market is panic-selling, the prices of those high-quality assets have plummeted to rock-bottom prices! They're practically a steal!"
Seeing that Reeves's expression was frozen and he didn't refute it immediately, Frank knew there was a chance and quickly handed over the key weight:
"And, Speaker, this is a godsend! Speaker!" His face lit up with an irrepressible glow of excitement. "Do you remember that $200 million in construction funds from the early stages of the Blue Roof Project? It was transferred to the foundation's account a few days ago. The money is clean, legal, and has a clear source, and it's right here at hand! This is the perfect fulcrum to pull the trigger! Using this $200 million as 'bait' and operating through the foundation's shell companies, we can intervene in the bankruptcy proceedings through a debt-for-equity swap or a super-low-price takeover offer!"
Frank excitedly waved his arms, outlining a grand blueprint: "With just this little bit of start-up capital, we can swallow up Thorne, that skinny camel! Imagine controlling the remains of an empire that nominally still has a market capitalization of tens of billions—although it's severely diminished now, the net value of those assets far exceeds two hundred million! The development rights of those lands alone, if handled properly, could generate astronomical profits in the future!"
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