Chapter 603 How to Punish You Is My Business

Chapter 603 How to Punish You Is My Business

"James?"

When Mary saw James walk in, her pretty face froze for a moment, then quickly turned cold again.

She didn't rush over to hug him, but she didn't ignore him either. She just gave a slight nod as a greeting — not warm, not cold.

But Poppy caught it — that tiny flash of excitement buried deep in Mary's eyes.

"Bankruptcy?"

Bobby blinked, then fixed his eyes on the uninvited guest James and sneered:

"Even your Ms. Smith wouldn't dare say something that stupid. Who do you think you are, coming in here running your mouth?"

"Ten minutes? Give you ten months, and you still couldn't bring down WAVE Digital Media."

He looked at James with total contempt, writing him off as some clueless rookie from the company.

James glanced at the clock and said calmly, "You have eight minutes left."

"Ha ha ha—"

Bobby burst out laughing, staring at James like he was an idiot:

"Kid, that act you're putting on isn't cute at all. It's just boring."

"Ms. Smith, you're really just going to let this moron employee of yours come here and waste my time?"

He turned to Mary: "Looks like Ms. Smith is dead set on going down this road."

His crew laughed along. This James guy had no idea what he was dealing with.

Since its founding, WAVE Digital Media had built its empire on digging up dirt, finding leverage, and shooting compromising photos. No one had ever stopped them.

Listed companies, local powerbrokers, celebrities — WAVE Digital Media could take any of them down with ease.

A media company with around a hundred people, pulling in over a billion in profit every year, with connections running through every industry.

Put it this way: WAVE Digital Media was the one that threatened to ruin others. No one had ever dared challenge them to go bankrupt.

So James saying that just made them laugh.

James ignored their mockery, looked at the clock, and said flatly, "Six minutes left."

"You little punk — I joke around with you for two seconds and you think you're somebody now?"

Bobby's expression suddenly turned ugly. "Whatever's going on between me and Ms. Smith — you think I can't make one call and destroy you?"

"Six minutes, six minutes — what, you think you're God? Even if you had sixty minutes, what could you do?"

"Ms. Smith, I'm about to deal with this employee of yours. You don't have a problem with that, right?"

He turned to look at Mary.

The female secretaries giggled, sure that James was about to have a very bad day.

"Bobby, let me say three things."

Mary looked at him and sighed quietly:

"First, the patient situation — I'll handle it through legal channels with the family. I don't need you stepping in."

"It's not that I don't have a billion. I just don't want to hand it over to people like you."

"Second, I'm asking you not to stir up trouble. It won't be good for you or for WAVE Digital Media."

"Making dirty money corrodes your conscience. And it'll destroy you in the end."

"Third, his name is James. He's not my employee, and he's not here to mess with you."

"But I will say this — if he says he can make you go bankrupt, he means it."

Bobby didn't take Mary's words seriously at all. He just grinned nastily:

"Even better that he's not your employee. Makes it easier to deal with him."

"Make me go bankrupt? Who the hell does he think he is? What's he gonna do, hammer me into bankruptcy?"

Bobby looked at James with wild arrogance. "Fine, I'll give you ten minutes. Show me how you're going to bankrupt me."

"But let me warn you — if you can't take me down today, the moment you walk out that door, you're the one who's going to be sorry."

With that, he picked up his lighter and lit his cigar with a click.

"Time's up."

James knocked the cigar out of his hand, then pulled out his phone:

"Use everything we've got. Shut down WAVE Digital Media."

At this point in his life, James might not be able to easily make a company take off — but tearing one down? That was no trouble at all.

The moment that call went out, Sky Peak Club kicked into motion.

To Bobby, though, what James just did looked completely insane — one phone call to bankrupt him? Even TV dramas wouldn't write something that ridiculous.

His crew stared at James like he'd lost his mind, wondering what the point of this performance was.

Poppy, on the other hand, was staring at him with pure admiration, eyes lit up.

"So when exactly is this bankruptcy coming? An hour? A day? A year?"

Bobby sneered. "Maybe I'll give you a hundred years. By then I'll be dead anyway, so sure, the company will be gone too."

The female secretaries shook their heads, smiling silently.

Ding—

Then, all at once, phones started ringing. Bobby's secretaries and legal staff scrambled to answer them.

After a few seconds on their calls, their expressions changed completely. They turned to Bobby in a panic:

"Mr. Owens, it's bad — Mr. Foster's been arrested. He's being charged with extortion."

"Mr. Owens, twelve of our top photographers have been detained — suspected of secretly filming and invading people's privacy."

"A large team from the Secretary of State's office has entered our headquarters. They're auditing our accounts and have ordered us to suspend operations."

"Hundred Flowers Bank, along with several other banks, has frozen our funds. They say certain accounts are under investigation for money laundering."

"All of our media accounts across every platform have been suspended..."

The news kept coming like bombs going off one after another. Bobby's smile faded, bit by bit.

How was this possible?

Who had this kind of power to come after him?

Could it really be this guy standing in front of him?

Bobby stared at James in disbelief, then shook his head hard, refusing to accept that James was behind all this.

He pulled out his phone and started making calls. After a few of them, his face went dark.

It was real.

He was in serious trouble.

And people he'd crossed before were now joining forces against him — not just filing extortion charges, but leaking damaging information about him from every direction.

The company was on the verge of collapse.

One of the secretaries who had been laughing at James earlier whispered, "Mr. Owens... what do we do now?"

"Stop panicking. It's a minor setback. Why is everyone losing their heads?"

Bobby snapped at them, then turned back to Mary and James with a cold smile. "Decent move. But you still haven't finished me."

"Oh, I forgot to mention — the Rivera family has my back. Kaida is my cousin."

"These little tricks of yours? One phone call and it's done."

He picked up his phone and dialed. The other end picked up quickly, and a woman's voice came through.

"Bobby, what is it?"

She added, "I'm busy."

"Kaida, someone's coming after me. I need your help."

Bobby spoke quickly. "They're going after my company, trying to bankrupt me. This is an attack on the Rivera family too."

James smiled slightly. "She can't help you with this one."

Bobby exploded:

"Bullshit — Kaida, do you know who she is? Of course she can—"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The line went dead before he could finish. Then a busy tone.

He called back. Couldn't get through.

What... what was going on?

Bobby stood there, confused.

But he was smart enough to figure it out quickly — this had to be James's doing.

Mary's warning, Kaida hanging up, and everything happening to his company — it all forced him to accept just how dangerous James really was.

He stared at the man in front of him, completely stunned. He never could have imagined James had this kind of power.

Then, with great difficulty, he spoke:

"Brother, I'm sorry. I was ignorant. I completely misjudged you."

"I was out of line earlier. I apologize to you, and to Ms. Smith."

"I'm also willing to help Ms. Smith resolve the issue with the patient's family, free of charge."

"Please, give me a chance."

He was backing down, and he thought he was being more than generous about it.

Bobby's apology made the secretaries gasp behind their hands. So it really was James who did all this.

One phone call had brought a well-connected company like WAVE Digital Media to its knees. That was unreal.

Her face felt hot.

James didn't move. "I told you — kneel down, apologize, and cut off one finger."

Bobby's mouth twitched. "Look, I know I was wrong. But cutting off a finger? Come on."

"You came here to extort someone. There has to be a price for that."

James's voice was calm and even:

"Whether you accept the punishment — that's your call."

"How you get punished — that's mine."