Chapter 55
Charlotte’s expression changed subtly.
suppressed ber usease, keeping her composure as she asked, “Why lock the door? Is that par matter of confidentiality?
question.” the paused, looking around at everyone,
Mateus quickly smiled. “No, no, Miss Whitmore, don’t misunderstand Supervisor Carlos has no ulterior motive. It’s just that this matter… knot meant for public knowledge”
I see. So there’s a backstory,” she remarked.
“Yes. You see, Miss Whitmore, these two individuals were among the Exctory’s earliest werkers–a married couple. Later, they were involve
safety incident that left them disabled and unable to work. To avoid escalating the situation, we reached a settlement with them. The couple made an interesting request: to continue receiving salaries for fifteen years despite their disability.”
That’s quite the creative story.
Charlotte pressed her lips together, remaining silent for a few seconds. She furrowed her brow, pretending to believe him as she nodded and continued the conversation. “Then why not inform headquarters about this arrangement?”
“Well those office types don’t understand workers struggles. If we’d reported it, many people would have been implicated. Jobs arent easy to come by. Besides, whether paid as a lump sum or in installments, the total amount is similar.”
“Mr. Costa, while I understand your compassion on a personal level, professionally speaking, this circumvents proper procedures. And look what’s happened–uninformed workers now think the place is haunted. That’s quite disturbing.”
“Yes, yes, we know it’s against protocol. That’s why we wanted to discuss this with you directly. Perhaps we could handle this discreetly? Such a miner isse shouldn’t trouble the CEO. He manages an entire corporation–bothering him with something this trivial would be unconscionable.”
Charlotte pretended to consider the proposal
After a moment, she said, “Very well. However, I need to meet this disabled couple to verify the situation. If everything checks out, I won’t report
Mateus hesitated briefly. “Of course, no problem.”
5:00 PM.
Zarek finished the sunumit and attended the host’s dinner reception.
He returned to the hotel around eight o’clock.
With a video conference scheduled for later that evening, he was resting briefly in his room when Rex burst in urgently. “Charlotte still hasn’t returned. Her phone isn’t answering either.”
Zarek frowned deeply, his hand pausing as he opened his laptop. “You haven’t been in contact all day?”
No. We agreed last night she’d call if anything came up. She never called, so I assumed she’d already returned to the hotel”
“Call the factory. Ask about the situation.”
“Right away.”
Rex immediately made the call. When he finished, his expression had darkened. “The l
should have been hack hours ago
Zarek’s expression grew increasingly severe
factory says she left around 1:00 PM. Given the timing, she
He canceled the evening’s video conference and summoned Victor Ferreira, the VP in charge of factory operations, to accompany them to the site. Meanwhile, he instructed factory personnel te redew serturity footage mul
Upon hearing the news, Olivia tested on joining them.
As Zarck and Rex were leaving the hotel, they encountered a man in a darkcidue that appenaching w
with a murdersssexpression, accompanied by
Zarek was checking the time on his phone, not noticing them, Int Rex spotted “potemial threat”
and topped forward quickly to shield his boon from thin
“Mr. Wood!”
M Rex’s exclamatiom. Zarek looked ups
The two men’s gazes met in the night.
“Where is my wide?” Every muscle in hac’s body was tease, le male lion intruding on other’s territory, radiating aggression.
“She’s massing
Zarek’s expression remained calm as he uttered those words.
Slightly taller than lesac, he returned the stare with downcast eyes that were both serene and cold, regarding him with an innate sense of superiority–as if looking at a dop
“What do you mean she’s missing? Issac’s fists clenched, his knuckles audibly cracking.
Fearing the New York CEO might start something physical at the entrance, Rex quickly stepped between them
He explained. “Mr. Wood, Miss Whitmore applied for the position of executive secretary at our company. She now serves as our CEO’s personal assistant. Early this morning, she visited the factory under our branch office. She hasn’t returned yet, and her phone is unreachable. We’re heading to the factory now to look for her. That’s the situation.”
Applied for a secretary position? Zarek’s personal assistant?
These two pieces of information alone were enough to send Issar’s blood pressure soaring. Add to that her visit to a factory, her failure to return, and her unresponsive phone everything together nearly made his head explode.
Zarek’s car was already waiting at the entrance, the driver holding the door open. Without acknowledging Issac farther, he turned and got in
As his car pulled away from the hotel, Issar’s vehicle followed closely behind
Rex glanced in the r rearview mirror. “How did Wood track us down? Liam bandled the trail so carefully.”
“Those determined to find something always will”
Zarek wasn’t surprised, nor was he concerned about Issac’s presence. Right now, his priority was Charlotte’s whereabours “What exactly did she discover yesterday?”
Only then did Rex explain what Charlotte had found the previous night.
After listening, Zarek immediately sensed trouble. “Why didn’t you tell me this clearly this morning? if there’s something under handed going on and she went to investigate, would they simply let her leave?”
“That” Rex began to panic as well. “Surely it’s not that serious? She was just conducting an investigation under the guise of a factory inspection. They wouldn’t even know her purpose. Even if they did, they wouldn’t go so far as to detain her.”
“What if word of this had already leaked, or what if she discovered something and instead of backing off, was bold enough to confront them directly?”
tely would be that bold.
Given how she played poker, she absolutely
Zarek rubbed his forehead angoly, then decided, “Send word: if we don’t have news of Miss Whitmore within one hour, the entire management team of both the branch office and factory will be dissed.”
Chapter 55
Rex was alarmed. “What reason will you give? They’ll demand justification, claiming it’s unfair.”
Zarek’s demeanor was that of an imperious march making a decisive judgment: “No reason needed. If they dare harm some under my protection, they’ve demonstrated their disregard for me,”
Rex hesitated. “But… we have no proof that something happened to her at the factory”
Zarek’s voice was resolute. “I trust my instincts”
Besides, there were no other options now. She had come with him, and he was determined to ensure her safety.
“Mmph
Charlotte’s bands were bound behind her to a chair, her mouth covered with duct tape, her surroundings pitch black. She could hear onean waves and smell the musty scent of rotting wood.
That afternoon at the factory, Mateus had sent someone to fetch the couple. After half an hour, he’d told her they were waiting at a restaurant near the factory.
She had thought: it’s broad daylight, the restaurant would be crowded, they wouldn’t dare try anything. She also wanted to see how far they would take their charade, so she agreed to go
But before she even reached the restaurant, walking through an alley, she was knocked unconscious
When she awoke, she found herself imprisoned here.
After what felt like an eternity, the door creaked open.
A shaft of moonlight illuminated the malicious smile of the person entering
It was him!
