"The Ryan family has formally announced their withdrawal from Enssea Chamber of Commerce," Derek Hines replied.
"From what I've learned, there was an internal upheaval within the Ryan Family regarding this matter. Led by the second person in command of the Ryan Family, a group attempted to break away from the clan and join forces with the Doman family. However, they were suppressed by their patriarch."
"Furthermore, it's said that representatives from the Doman family visited the Ryan Family yesterday. The specifics of their discussion are unknown, but it seems the Ryans is going through a tough time."
Billy nodded slightly, picked up his tea cup, and took a sip. He then looked at Judge and Derek. "How's the preparation for the next step?"
"Everything is ready!" Both of them responded in unison.
"Very well!" Billy nodded again. "Then, let's proceed!"
"Understood!" They responded once more and sent out a message on their phones.
As this message was sent out, the entire Enssea began to tremble.
Around 10 AM, nearly simultaneously, a barrage of news articles exposing the wrongdoings of the three major families in Enssea flooded the internet. Each article was accompanied by videos and images, most of them featuring supporting evidence and even testimonies from victims, forming a complete chain of evidence. Even those completely unaware of the internal affairs could easily see from the materials that these accusations were not baseless.
Public opinion erupted!
Around the same time, various law enforcement agencies related to Enssea started arriving at the compounds of the three families and their group company headquarters. Some were taken away by the authorities, including the heads of these families and all their core members
Initially, they resisted, demanding to speak with the responsible heads of the law enforcement agencies. However, after making several phone calls, any trace of optimism was dashed. Any person who had dealings with these three families before chose to remain silent. If they answered the calls, they either turned off their phones or immediately hung up. Even if one or two calls were answered, the response was the same. The others all wanted to find a way out fro themselves. By this point, the three families understood, even if they were slow, that someone very powerful was suppressing them. Therefore, they abandoned their resistance.
Meanwhile, the capital market reacted swiftly. Stocks of the three families' companies, which were listed on the market, had their trading halted due to massive sell-offs, each hitting the daily limit. It seemed like they wouldn't stop until the stock became worthless.
Apart from the core members of them, those shareholders holding non-publicly traded shares also began to publicly announce their intention to sell their holdings at a discounted price. Some panicked smaller shareholders even directly offered a 50% discount on their shares. They understood that given the current situation, their shares would likely turn into scrap paper within a few days. As they teetered on the brink of despair, someone reached out to them, offering to buy their shares. However, the price was at most a 70% discount. Initially, many hesitated, wanting to negotiate, but the buyers weren't interested. Sell at a 70% discount or not at all.
Not long after, as people began to sign the deals and receive money, most of them began to follow suit. They feared that if they waited too long, they might not even get a 70% offer. Even some peripheral members of the three families followed suit, selling off their shares.
In less than three days, almost 80% of the non-publicly traded shares, excluding those held by the core members, were sold at a 70% discount. Meanwhile, the stock market, after several consecutive daily limit downs, showed signs of loosening. Money started to flow in, although the volume was not substantial. By this time, stock prices had been halved and still had a lot of sell orders pending at the daily limit.
Around noon, inside the Ryan family's mansion, in the living room of Sam Ryan's villa, the grandfather, father, and granddaughter sat together.
"This is really an unexpected turn of events!" Pan Mu took a sip of tea, his face showing a hint of lingering fear.
If it weren't for Audrey Ryan's determination and her ability to convince the Ryan family to withdraw from Enssea Chamber of Commerce, they might have been completely ruined like the other three families. While the Ryan family didn't have as much hidden wrongdoing, the capital market was not a place that believed in evidence. As long as there was even a hint of suspicion, there would be a reaction, and no chance for explanations.
"I didn't expect Mr Gardner to be so influential. He didn't make a move, but when he did, it was like a thunderbolt." Dean Ryan also appeared relieved.
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