You Were Stolen from Me, so I Will Live for Myself - Chapter 11

End of The Cheating Scumbag

“President, the next business meeting is this with company—”

My secretary checks my schedule while saying so.

“Who is it?”

“The Kanzaki Group.”

The moment I hear that name, something inside me freezes cold.

Kanzaki, that man…the one who stole Yuki from me and threw me into hell.

I know that Kanzaki has started his own company, but I never imagined I would her his name as my business partner—

“…alright. Proceed with the arrangements.”

I don’t show it on my face, but deep inside my heart, I can feel a flame quietly burning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day of the meeting.

A conference room in a luxury hotel. I sit comfortably on the sofa and wait.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.”

With those words, Kanzaki enters the room.

He is behaving as if we are meeting for the first time. Does he really think that I don’t remember him?

…fine. I’ll play along with his little act.

“No, no, the pleasure is mine. It’s an honour to meet you.”

I stand up with a smile.

At that moment, the scene of Yuki and Kanzaki going into that hotel comes to my mind, but I don’t waver.

“Well then, let’s get to the point.”

Calm down. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The business negotiation progress.

Kanzaki’s company is having financial difficulties and is seeking our investment.

Thanks to my team’s detailed investigation report, I have complete knowledge of his company’s internal affairs. It seems that the executives his company are also involved in fraudulent transactions.

As I listen to him calmly, I carefully observe his impatience.

How the tables have turned.

We are never deeply connected. I’ve only met him twice as Yuki’s Senpai, exchanging brief greetings. Yet, despite knowing that I was with Yuki, he stole her away from me. He snatched away my happiness as if it was his own right.

And now, here he is, sitting before me, asking for my support.

“The conditions aren’t bad, right?”

Kanzaki said so.

Flipping through the documents, I slowly begin to speak.

“The conditions aren’t bad…but I don’t see any reason for us to support your company.”

“Eh…?”

Kanzaki’s face stiffens for a moment.

“I’ll be honest with you. I’ve looked at your company’s financial situation, and it’s pretty grim.”

I close the document and slowly look up at Kanzaki.

Then, I grin, change my tone, and say,

“If you don’t secure this investment…you can imagine what will happen, right?”

“……”

Kanzaki’s expression turns to desperation. Seeing that, I laugh.

“Back then, you took something precious from me. Now, it’s my turn…don’t you think it’s fair, Kanzaki-senpai?”

Kanzaki’s eyes widen in shock.

“W-What are you talking about…?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t remember.”

I continue, my tone calm and unwavering.

“Right now, you’re begging for my help. Has it never crossed your mind that I might hold a grudge against you? Why would I ever help you?”

Kanzaki is at a loss for words.

“I’m going to buy out your company.”

I said so calmly.

“I can save your company. I can take on its debts. That way, you can avoid bankruptcy.”

The man in front of me can’t hide his agitation. Well of course, that’s understandable.

“But I don’t need you, and of course, all of your relatives who are executives in the company will have to step down.”

Kanzaki’s expression stiffens, but I continue regardless.

“Your family is pretty awful, aren’t they? They all received kickbacks behind your back. In the end, isn’t it their fault that your company is in this situation?”

(TN: Kickback is a business term for bribery)

Kanzaki’s expression freezes. He stops moving completely, as if he can’t understand what he has just heard.

…so he really didn’t know about his relatives’ kickbacks.

I press on.

“I’ve already negotiated with the bank. My company will provide the capital, and I’ll take over the existing loans under my own credit. With that, your joint liability as guarantors will be officially lifted.”

Kanzaki’s expression relaxes slightly. It’s clear that the personal guarantee has been a heavy burden on him.

“However, as long as you remain guarantors, you’ll still be responsible for the debt. If your company goes bankrupt, your personal assets will be seized. But if I buy out your company, you’ll get to keep your personal assets.”

I slowly lean back into my chair.

“Be grateful and hand over the company you’ve nurtured with care. I’ll cut out the rot and rebuild it into a real company.”

I can see Kanzaki’s face goes pale as he hears my words.

“N-No…! I’ve built this company up to this point! The company won’t be the same without me!”

“I don’t care. The company is in this mess because of you. Sorry, but business is harsh, get used to it.”

From my team’s investigation, I know Kanzaki has been investing his personal assets in order to keep the company afloat. He barely has anything left. It seems that he truly cares about the company.

However, if the company goes bankrupt, Kanzaki will be crushed under the debts he personally guaranteed. At that point, Kanzaki will have no choice but to declare bankruptcy. If that happens, he won’t even be able to survive.

He has no choices left. His negotiations with the bank are at a dead end. There is no time to find a new investor. If things continue like this, he will lose everything. He has no choice but to accept it.

“What will you do? This is your last chance. Make your decision right here, right now. I don’t care either way.”

I look at Kanzaki in the eyes and said so.

Silence falls over the room. Kanzaki bites his lip hard and his shoulders are trembling.

“…please take care of the company.”

Eventually, with a pained expression and a hoarse voice, he muttered so.

Kanzaki’s face turns pale. As if his soul has been ripped from his body, he staggers and clings onto his chair.

I slowly get up and walk past Kanzaki in silence.

“Hey, Kanzaki-Senpai. Is it really that fun to steal something precious from someone? I just can’t understand it.”

With those words, I leave the room.

Kanzaki collapses onto the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I step outside, the cold wind brush against my cheek.

To me, this deal is nothing more than business. Kanzaki’s company is indeed in a though financial situation, but I can see its potential. If handled well, the company can generate a lot of profit. It’s not a bad acquisition at all.

For Kanzaki, this outcome means he has no choice but to step down, but at least he avoided the worst-case scenario of being burdened with debt and forced into bankruptcy. In fact, you can even say that I saved him. Without my company, he would’ve been undoubtedly ruined.

I don’t know what will happen to Kanzaki now that he’s lost everything. Since he has no remaining debt, he should be able to get back on his feet if he plays his cards right.

However, I will file a lawsuit against Kanzaki’s relatives who are involved in fraudulent transactions. I will recover as many assets as possible and make sure they take full responsibility.

Kanzaki got caught up in this mess because he brought his foolish relatives in the company…what a pathetic man.

Even so, my employees did an incredible job uncovering the fraudulent transactions that even Kanzaki himself wasn’t aware of.

Well, that’s it for Kanzaki.

It was never supposed to be about revenge, but my emotions got mixed up in the negotiation.

I told myself that it was just to wrap things up quickly, but I’m fully aware that I’ve made unnecessarily harsh remarks.

Those parting words were completely unnecessary. Kanzaki has already given in.

But still, I feel satisfied.

I have suffered too. So that much is okay, right?

Serves you right.

I feel like a weight inside me has finally been lifted.