"Mr. Stark, do you remember me?"
At a charity gala hosted by Stark Industries, a woman approached the despondent Tony and asked him bluntly.
Tony sat quietly in a corner, sipping his drink. As he had anticipated, his decision to shut down Stark's weapons development division faced immense opposition, and he was even ordered by the company's board to step down. The board stripped him of all his powers in the company. In other words, he was now nothing but the largest shareholder.
Although he looked down on all the shareholders except Obadiah, these people still caused him a lot of trouble. From various indications, it seemed that his attack was a premeditated case, and although he was reluctant to admit it, his uncle's shadow was indeed involved.
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He felt he should give his uncle another chance. After all, over the years, Obadiah had worked hard, and he didn't want to discard him like a worn-out shoe. He still held great respect for this uncle who had shown him much care.
He sat at the bar like a statue, silently savoring the spicy taste of his drink, until a lady came to his side and asked the question above.
Tony looked at the familiar beauty in front of him and was sure he had slept with this woman.
"You are Yi..." After uttering the first syllable, Tony couldn't do more. He had had intimate relations with many women, which wasn't the problem. The real issue was that he couldn't remember most of them. Or rather, very few could be remembered by him.
"Yilindisi, thank God I had no hope of you remembering my name when I realized what kind of person you are."
The woman named Yilindisi had a smile on her face, but her words were full of sarcasm, almost making Tony choke on his drink.
He admitted that playing with women's bodies was improper behavior, but generally, it was consensual. So Tony rarely encountered women who would turn the tables and fire back. In such cases, he couldn't say much because he was the one at fault.
"Sorry, if you're here to hold me accountable, I can only express regret." At this point, Tony still regarded this woman as someone trying to use sympathy to climb the social ladder. After all, even though he had been removed from his position by the board, he was still the largest shareholder and one of the world's top single men. This alone was enough to make many women have inappropriate thoughts.
But this time, Tony was overthinking. Yilindisi had no such intentions; she simply threw a photo in front of Tony.
"In your home, on your bed. You told me yourself that you never sold weapons to the Middle East. Damn it, I actually believed you! Can you still say that with confidence now?"
Tony picked up the stack of photos in front of him, showing a small town after a war, now in ruins. There were wandering residents and corpses lying on the ground everywhere. But these weren't Tony's focus; he was concerned about the things that caused all this.
Stark Industries' weapons, whether the firearms used by both sides of the conflict or those large missiles and tanks, all bore Stark Industries' logo. Seeing these logos, Tony's face turned so dark it seemed like water might drip from it.
"Seeing these, do you have any explanation?" As a journalist, Yilindisi loved to pursue relentlessly, especially when the evidence was conclusive.
"I never signed such orders!" At this point, Tony was no longer calm. He remembered clearly that he had signed a contract with the U.S. military to only sell weapons manufactured by Stark Industries to them, a proposal approved by all shareholders.
"What, is this the measure of Tony Stark, not daring to admit to things you've done?" Yilindisi mocked. She had already seen the suspicion in Tony's eyes. Journalists never fear making a big deal out of things, and she was no exception.
"Or are you saying you don't even know what you've done?"
"I can only tell you, I haven't done this. Not before, and not in the future." Tony gave her a cold glance, took the photos, and strode away. He didn't choose to leave the venue but went to find someone. He had to get to the bottom of this.
Watching Obadiah confidently chatting among the guests, as if Stark Industries bore the name Stan instead of Stark.
Tony approached Obadiah and said, "Obadiah, I have some questions for you. Can we talk privately?"
"Oh, my dearest nephew is here, of course. We can certainly talk." Obadiah, clearly having had quite a bit to drink, waved to the guests and walked to the side with his arm around Tony's shoulder.
"Go ahead, Tony. What do you want to ask your Uncle Stan?"
"I want to ask you, did you approve the sale of that batch of weapons to the Middle East?" Tony held the photos and placed them in Obadiah's hand.
Obadiah shook the ash from his cigar, glanced at the photos, and patted Tony's shoulder, speaking earnestly.
"Tony, you're an adult now. Stop acting like a child. You should know, we're just businessmen. We don't need to care about what our products are ultimately used for."
"So, it was you who approved it? How could you do this?" Tony's tone was full of surprise as he looked at Obadiah; these were lives!
Obadiah replied indifferently, "Tony, you know the company needs to survive, to grow. For the company's stability, what's wrong with me approving a sales plan?"
"But those are lives, Obadiah. Don't you know what I've been through? Can't you understand my thoughts?"
"I certainly don't understand, but I know now is not the time for you to throw a tantrum. Tony, you've already caused enough trouble."
Obadiah's face darkened, glaring at Tony, speaking angrily, "Over the years, do you know how much effort I've put into this company, how many problems I've solved for you? To make a breakthrough in the company's performance, do you know what price I've paid? Almost every day, I pray to God, hoping Tony won't make any more ridiculous decisions."
"But you, Tony. You always surprise me. Canceling the weapons division, do you know how much loss that statement caused us? Stark's stock dropped forty points, and that's after I used all my power to stabilize the situation. And you, you just moved your lips. It's time you grew up, Tony. I really don't want to clean up after you anymore."