Chapter 6

ASTRA TECHNOLOGIES

Mr. Adolfo and his daughter, Annabelle, stepped into the grand structure of Astra Enterprises.

As they entered the elevator and the doors shut, Annabelle turned to her father.

"Father, since the CEO of Astra Enterprises is putting up 60% of the business shares for sale, don't you think taking just 15% would be a wrong choice for us?"

Mr. Adolfo looked at his daughter thoughtfully, considering her point.

"Yes," he replied, "Astra Enterprises is a significant name in the business world. Taking advantage of these shares could not only yield us a high profit but also elevate our third-level company to new heights. Since Astra is a second-level company, acquiring these shares would put our company on the forefront."

Annabelle's excitement grew as she pressed on, "So, does that mean you've agreed to request a double share, making it 30%?"

Mr. Adolfo sighed deeply as the elevator came to a halt.

He turned to Annabelle, his expression serious. "That would be impossible."

Annabelle's face twisted in disappointment. "But why, Father?"

"You know the current state of our income at Adolfo Enterprises," he explained. "It’s no longer encouraging. That's the major reason we're considering purchasing shares from another company. Adolfo Enterprise is on the brink of collapse, and we're running out of money."

Annabelle hung her head, understanding exactly what her father meant by their company was running out of money.

"I understand, Father. It took you four weeks just to raise the $600,000 needed to purchase a 15% share."

"Exactly," Mr. Adolfo nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Buying a 30% share, as you're proposing, would mean raising $1.2 million. That's impossible without shaking our company to its core, even if I had another four weeks."

Annabelle felt a pang of disappointment but knew her father's company, a third-level enterprise, couldn’t manage more than a monthly return of $500,000 to $800,000. So getting 1.2 million out of it that moment, might crumble the company.

"So, 600,000$ is all we can afford, meaning we can take just 15% share of ASTRA TECHNOLOGIES. Let's go," Mr. Adolfo said to her.

With that, he led the way toward the office of the CEO of Astra.

Reaching the door, Mr. Adolfo nodded at Annabelle, who then knocked on the door respectfully.

Without waiting for a reply, she pushed the door open and walked in, with her father following proudly.

They both nodded at the 50-year-old man behind the desk, his fingers crossed on the table.

Mr. Kelvin, the CEO of Astra, regarded Mr. Adolfo and his daughter with a mix of pleasure and confusion.

"Mr. Adolfo?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Mr. Kelvin asked curiously.

With a smile, Mr. Adolfo responded, "We're here for the shares, of course."

Mr. Kelvin's eyes widened in surprise. "The shares?"

"Of course, the shares," Mr. Adolfo confirmed. "I mentioned to you four weeks ago that I was interested in taking a 15% share of Astra once the shares were put up for sale."

Mr. Kelvin raised his eyebrows as he realized what Mr. Adolfo was referring to.

"Oh!" he exclaimed.

Mr. Kelvin then apologized, saying, "You have to understand, Mr. Adolfo, Astra is a major player in the business world. The moment the shares were put up for sale, investors jumped at the opportunity. The demand was immediate and intense."

A frown crept onto Mr. Adolfo's face as he processed what Mr. Kelvin was saying.

With a fierce expression, he asked, "So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Mr. Kelvin calmly replied, "What I'm saying is that the available shares have already been taken by someone. There are no longer any shares available."

Confusion filled Mr. Adolfo's eyes as he turned to his daughter, Annabelle, who looked just as bewildered.

He turned back to Mr. Kelvin and asked, "Someone? Are you telling me that one person bought the entire 60% share?"

Before Mr. Adolfo could continue, Mr. Kelvin interjected, confirming what he had just said.

"Yes, someone bought the 60% shares just this morning after learning about them last night," Mr. Kelvin said.

Mr. Adolfo turned to Annabelle in shock.

Annabelle, equally stunned, questioned Mr. Kelvin, "Are you lying to us? Are you seriously saying that someone paid for all 60% shares, which were meant to be sold for $2.4 million in total?"

Mr. Kelvin's brows furrowed as he heard Annabelle's words. "2.4 million dollars?"

"Where did you get that information?" Mr. Kelvin added.

Annabelle explained, "That was the information we received, that each share was priced at $600,000."

Mr. Kelvin couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Six hundred thousand dollars?" he repeated between laughs.

When he finally composed himself, he clarified, "Each share was not $600,000 but $2,000,000, making the 60% share $8,000,000."

Both Mr. Adolfo and Annabelle's eyes widened in shock, their mouths hanging open.

Annabelle stammered as she tried to process the information. "How could just one person afford that amount and pay $8,000,000 after receiving the information just last night?"

They were initially shocked that a single individual had bought the shares for $2.4 million, but learning that it was actually $8,000,000 left them utterly stunned.

Mr. Adolfo questioned, "How is that even possible? An individual, not even a company?"

Both Annabelle and her father were now embarrassed, realizing that they had struggled for four weeks to raise just $600,000, only to discover that one share was actually $2,000,000, and an individual had bought all the shares within 24 hours of learning about them.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Mr. Adolfo asked Mr. Kelvin, "are you lying to us?"

Mr. Kelvin scoffed, then his expression turned serious. "Why would I lie to you?" he asked.

"In the first place, you didn't even have $2,000,000 to purchase a share. And even if you had, a young man already bought all four shares for $8,000,000."

Before Annabelle could respond, the sound of the office door opening interrupted them.

Annabelle froze when she saw who was walking in.

Just as she was about to express her shock at seeing Miguel in such a place, Mr. Kelvin's voice cut through the silence.

"This is the young man who bought all four shares for $8,000,000 this morning," Mr. Kelvin announced, pointing at Miguel who just walked into his office.

At that moment, Annabelle's mouth dropped uncontrollably.

"Miguel??"