Unwavering Resolve

Nighttime~

In Tony's villa, he sat on the sofa, deep in thought, his head lowered, lost in contemplation.

Pepper, sitting beside him, was equally lost in thought, her mind replaying the moment she was unceremoniously thrown out of the company.

She had never imagined she would one day be so humiliatingly ejected from Stark Industries.

That morning, she was certain Obadiah would be behind bars. But then, Umbrella's intervention shattered all their hopes.

At this point, they had lost completely.

According to the company's rules, unless it was an emergency, a board meeting could only be convened once a month.

This meant that even if they managed to secure S.H.I.E.L.D.'s support, the earliest they could call for a board meeting would be a month from now.

Pepper doubted Obadiah would allow them a whole month without making any moves.

Her fears were soon confirmed when she received news from an insider still working at the company.

Obadiah had applied to the SEC for a ten-billion-share financing quota.

The moment Pepper heard this, her heart sank.

Currently, Stark Industries had a total of ten billion shares, each priced at $100. If the SEC approved Obadiah's request, the number of shares would double, diluting the existing shares.

Tony's 39% stake would shrink to just 19.5%.

Even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s support, they wouldn't have enough shares to regain control.

Worried, Pepper explained the situation to Tony.

But Tony's reaction was surprisingly calm; he merely nodded.

This puzzled Pepper.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't you understand what this means? Our shares will be diluted—we might never get back in."

"Maybe... maybe it's better that way."

Tony sighed softly as he spoke.

The votes cast by the shareholders and executives that afternoon had broken his heart. It made him realize some harsh truths.

He had always believed he was indispensable to Stark Industries. But today's events showed him that the company didn't need him anymore.

Perhaps letting go was the best choice.

After all, he was just a scientist, probably not suited to be in management.

Pepper was stunned by Tony's defeated tone, her eyes wide in disbelief. But reflecting on his past behavior, she realized this was just who Tony was.

After all, he had always been a hands-off leader, spending more time dating supermodels or lounging with celebrities than actually running the company.

But now, when things were at their toughest, he couldn't afford to give up.

"Tony, Stark Industries was your father's legacy. Howard Stark wouldn't want to see the company turned into an accomplice to the slaughter of innocent civilians."

"You have to pull yourself together. You can't give up!"

Tony gave Pepper a strange look in response to her pep talk.

"Pepper, I'm sorry, but I'm not cut out for management. From now on, it's up to you. I have other things to do."

Hearing her mention the slaughter of civilians reminded Tony that he had other responsibilities.

With that, he stood up and headed for the lab.

"Jarvis, any new findings on that gene we were studying?"

The insect-like man wasn't a mutant since no X-gene was detected. He was likely a product of some form of enhancement.

Since the 1940s, when Dr. Abraham Erskine created Captain America as part of the U.S. Super Soldier program, countries worldwide had launched similar programs.

For example, Great Britain had its Round Table Knight Program, which produced Arthur Pendragon. The Soviets had the Red Room program, which trained Black Widows.

Even Oscorp was rumored to have developed new enhancement technologies.

Tony suspected that the insect-like man was the result of some evil organization's enhancement experiments.

The Ten Rings was using such enhancements to enslave Middle Eastern civilians, leading to countless deaths—something Tony absolutely abhorred.

He felt it was his duty to eliminate such evil forces.

"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry, but I haven't found anything new."

"Alright, it looks like I'll need to find some experts."

Meanwhile, in the living room, Pepper watched as Tony disappeared into the lab. She could only shake her head in resignation before heading off to attend to her own tasks.

............

At the same time~

At Obadiah's villa, a celebration was in full swing.

Most of Stark Industries' shareholders and executives were mingling, holding glasses of wine, their faces beaming with joy.

Waiters moved through the crowd, offering drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

After a while, Obadiah, dressed in a sharp suit and accompanied by his wife, entered the scene. The moment the guests saw him, they all raised their glasses.

"To Obadiah!"

"For Obadiah, cheers!"

"To Stark Industries, and its continued glory!"

Obadiah responded to each toast with enthusiasm. After all, it was thanks to these shareholders that he had managed to turn the situation around, so he wouldn't dream of neglecting them now.

After a few rounds, Obadiah noticed Luna standing alone in a corner. He led his wife over to her.

"Miss Luna, this is my wife, Elena."

Luna turned at the sound of his voice, glanced at the couple, and raised her glass.

"Mrs. Stane, a pleasure to meet you."

In the U.S., married women often took their husband's surname. So, whatever Elena's maiden name had been, she was now Elena Stane, sharing Obadiah's last name.

Elena was a woman in her forties, with blonde hair and fair skin. She wore a purple, tight-fitting evening gown with a high slit.

Fine lines were visible around her eyes, and they deepened when she smiled.

"Miss Luna, it's a pleasure."

After exchanging greetings, Luna turned to Obadiah, "Congratulations. From now on, Stark Industries is yours."

"Haha..."

Obadiah let out a hearty laugh and raised his glass.

"I must thank you for your advice and assistance. Without it, I wouldn't have made it through this crisis. This toast is for you."

He downed his drink in one go, causing his wife, Elena, to frown slightly, a look of concern crossing her face, "Careful now, the doctor said you shouldn't drink too much."

Obadiah waved her concern away with a confident smile, "Don't worry, my dear. I've never felt better."

He patted his chest to emphasize his point, implying he was in peak condition.

Since injecting the T-2 virus, his body had returned to its prime. At that moment, he felt as if he could wrestle a tiger.

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