Donald's face turned incredibly sour after hearing Old Mercer's words.
"You claim that my family, the Joyner family, colluded with outsiders. What evidence do you have?"
"The evidence exists, naturally, but we must wait for Lance to return," Old Mercer stated bluntly, no longer engaging in verbal sparring with Donald.
Donald laughed mockingly, "Old Mr. Mercer, everyone knows that Lance has been missing abroad for a long time due to some mishap. You say we wait for Lance, I suspect you're just stalling for time."
"Do I need to stall? Even without the evidence Lance holds, you can't make much of a splash in my presence."
Old Mercer looked at him disdainfully, then walked over to his desk, pulled out a document, and threw it at Donald's feet with a cold voice, "I had promised my father that as long as your family, the Joyner family, doesn't go too far, this agreement would never be disclosed. As long as Mercer Group is profitable, the Joyner family will get its shares of profits. But seeing that you will never be satisfied, we don't need to wait for Lance. Let's settle this now."
As these words fell, Donald felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
He suddenly remembered his father's instructions on his deathbed.
"If you are not completely sure, never provoke the Mercer family. Remember this, or our family, the Joyner family, will be completely kicked out of the Mercer Group's board!"
Thinking of this, a fine sweat covered Donald's forehead.
He remembered questioning his father at the time about why he said this, but his father refused to tell him. After his father's death, he gradually forgot about it.
Looking at the document at his feet, Donald suddenly dared not pick it up.
Old Mercer noticed his fear and knew well enough that the two foxes of the Joyner family must have given him plenty of last-minute instructions.
"What's wrong? You were quite spirited just now; why don't you have the courage to pick it up now? Are you scared?!"
"Who says I'm scared!"
Donald retorted impulsively.
But he regretted those words as soon as they were spoken.
Old Mercer snorted coldly, "Since you're not scared, then take a good look at the information on the ground."
With no choice, Donald picked up the document and began to read.
As he digested the contents, his face turned pale.
The documents included some detrimental actions taken by his grandfather and father during their time in charge of the company. Each incident had caused significant losses which were still remembered today. But that wasn't the main point.
The main point was an agreement clearly stating that if the fourth generation of the Joyner family again acted against the company's interests, they would be removed from the company's board!
"This can't be possible!"
Donald looked incredulously at Old Mercer.
Old Mercer remained indifferent and calmly said, "If you don't believe it, take this agreement to your family's usual lawyer. They also have a copy."
Hearing this and seeing Old Mercer's genuine demeanor, Donald's face suddenly turned ashen.
Meanwhile, Logan was stunned; he hadn't expected his father to hold such an ace up his sleeve.
Thus, Donald, who had come arrogantly looking for trouble, left like a beaten dog with his people.
Shortly after, only the Mercer father and son remained in the office.
Old Mercer was somewhat worried about Deanna and instructed, "Go check on Anna. While Lance is abroad dealing with those restless people, we can't let Anna be bullied here. Otherwise, Lance will have complaints when he returns."
"I understand, it's just..."
Logan looked at Old Mercer hesitantly.
Old Mercer glanced at him and said calmly, "Speak your mind."
"I was thinking... letting Donald go like this. If he talks to the people behind him recklessly, could it alert them and add pressure on Lance?"
Logan shared his concerns honestly.
Old Mercer's eyes flickered with a dark glint as he spoke confidently, "Don't worry; those behind the scenes won't believe Donald."
Seeing his father's confident demeanor, Logan was puzzled but nodded and then turned to leave.
Meanwhile, at the police station, Deanna had explained everything and was waiting for the police's verification; thus she couldn't leave yet.
About half an hour later, the officer handling her case entered with respect on his face.
"Miss Jones, we've verified with our superiors that your laboratory is indeed registered."
He paused for a moment and continued indignantly, "It's despicable that someone would blatantly steal laboratory results. Rest assured, we will help you recover your work; it's something that benefits the public!"
Seeing the officer's righteous anger comforted Deanna somewhat.
She gratefully looked at him and said, "Thank you for your efforts."
"It's no trouble at all; it's our duty. By the way, Miss Jones, there are rumors online claiming your lab conducts human experiments. Do you need our official help to clarify this?"