Chapter 816: What is this?

Stephen unknowingly kept standing in the same spot, deep in thought. In his mind, if he was going to go along with the plan and do as the person told him, he should do it as soon as possible. Not because the person was in a hurry, but because Stephen would continue to waver if he kept delaying it.

Every passing day affected Stephen’s resolve. Therefore, he had come here with the intention of doing what needed to be done with his eyes closed.

’I can’t do that with Charles and his foolish youngest son here, can I?!’Stephen panicked, snapping out of his thoughts when Slater suddenly spoke.

"Uncle Stephen, what’s wrong? Why are you still standing?"

Stephen snapped his gaze to Slater, then shifted his eyes to the others in the room. All of them were already seated, looking up at him.

"Uh." He cleared his throat and awkwardly sat down beside Slater. He didn’t have a choice, as there weren’t any other seats available.

As soon as he sat down, Slater flashed him a beaming smile. "It’s good to see you, Uncle Stephen. You look nice. Did you lose weight?"

"What?"

"I mean, compared to the last time I saw you, you seem slimmer now," Slater explained innocently. "Have you started working out?"

"What is this brat saying?" Stephen murmured, casting Charles a glare. "Charles, why did you bring your son in here? It’s not like he can understand anything. He’ll just make things more confusing."

Charles shrugged. "I’m not the one who let him in here. If I remember correctly, I tried to take him far enough to lose him, but he ended up following us. Moreover, Dad is the one who let him join us. If you’re going to scold someone, this guy right here is the person to vent to."

Charles pointed his thumb at Chairman Bennet, earning a scoff from his father. However, that only made Stephen frown even more. How could he scold the chairman?

"Uncle Stephen, don’t worry. I’ll keep my mouth shut!" Slater zipped his mouth shut and nodded at him reassuringly. "Even though I’m a big boy and qualified to be here, I’ll let the big guys talk."

"Slater, are you saying you’re the bigger guy for letting us talk and not you?" Charles’s face twisted. ’Why does this son of mine so easily tug at my ego?’

At this point, Charles didn’t even question his third son’s talent—this was his talent.

Slater pouted and looked at the chairman with puppy eyes. "Grandpa..."

"Slater, he’s been my father for six decades now. That’s not going to work, trust me," Charles added, seeing that Slater was trying to charm the chairman.

Chairman Bennet clicked his tongue and glared at Charles. When his eyes landed on Slater, he just shook his head.

"Stop that. How can you act like that at your age?" he grumbled, but his tone was milder than usual.

Among Charles’s children, Slater was the one Chairman Bennet was most lenient with. Atlas and Hugo had already earned all the pressure and expectation from the chairman, so there was nothing more expected of Slater. As a result, Chairman Bennet had always thought of this grandchild as the family mascot.

"Anyway, what is it that you want to talk about, Stephen?" Chairman Bennet casually changed the subject, no longer paying attention to Slater.

Stephen let out a shallow sigh and cast Charles and Slater a quick glance. Seeing this, Chairman Bennet waved dismissively.

"Don’t mind them," said the chairman. "You and Charles used to discuss many private matters during his time. But this stubborn kid is too lazy to boot and retired early. Even so, just think of it as having the head of the family observing. It doesn’t really matter at this point."

"Chairman, how can I..." Stephen trailed off, sighing heavily in surrender. He took a deep breath, casting Charles and Slater another glance. When his eyes settled on the chairman, he huffed faintly again.

"Chairman, I came here to talk about Sven," he started, causing the chairman to raise his brows. But before Stephen could continue, Charles clicked his tongue while glaring at Slater.

When Stephen looked, he saw Charles seemingly warning his son to keep his mouth shut as promised. Slater pursed his lips into a thin line, stopping himself from commenting.

"What about him?" Chairman Bennet’s voice was distant and cold. "If you came here to beg for him, then you’ve wasted your time. I’m not helping that criminal—over my dead body."

Stephen pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes slightly. "That’s not it, Chairman. What I came to talk about is... please remove him from your will."

As soon as the words left Stephen’s mouth, everyone in the room furrowed their brows. For a moment, silence fell, and all eyes were on Stephen.

"Haha!" Chairman Bennet laughed in ridicule. "Stephen, I am surprised that you’re asking this. However, I’m even more surprised that you think I’d keep your son in my will after what he’s done. His first offense was sowing discord between our family and the Ito Family, which resulted in us losing our longest associate. If not for Atlas, it could have been disastrous for all of us."

He paused, his expression darkening. "However, I let it pass and let Atlas punish him by terminating him from the company. He could’ve been punished more severely, but he was still family. So, I let it slide."

"But this one... I removed Sven Bennet from my will the very moment I heard what he had done," he added. "He is not just a disgrace to this family; Sven Bennet doesn’t even deserve to be called a Bennet. You do not have to tell me what to do!"

"Is that all you want to say?" Chairman Bennet asked, clearly more displeased than understanding of Stephen’s situation. "If that’s all, then you’ve wasted my time as well. You better leave. I don’t want to hear anything more about that little fool. I’ve told you this before, and I’ll say it one last time. If you can’t disown him, then I’ll disown you. I don’t have a family member who is a criminal."

Stephen huffed quietly, keeping his mouth shut. Without another word, he rose from his seat and lowered his head.

"Then, I’ll leave now, Chairman."

"Tch." Chairman Bennet irritably clicked his tongue, watching Stephen leave quietly. But after a second, he spoke again. "Stephen Bennet, I’ll only give you some time. However, you don’t have much time. Remove him from your family registry, or I’ll remove you."

Stephen stopped and looked back at him, nodding in understanding. With that, he walked away without another word. Charles raised his brows and followed Stephen’s figure with his gaze.

Meanwhile, Slater smacked his lips and leaned back, whistling quietly at the sudden tension in the room. But just as he did, he noticed a small bottle near the armrest where Stephen had been sitting previously.

’What is this?’