The notice was issued suddenly in the early hours of the morning. The HR used it as an excuse, and said that “employees will not be allowed to resign during their suspension”. So, Anna’s resignation was firmly rejected.
Anna couldn’t go back to the office, so she had no way to vent her anger. After a while, Peace brought breakfast to visit them.
Tammy sat on the bed drinking milk. In a still hoarse voice, she asked, “Mommy, is Matthew coming today?”
Anna was stirring her milk with a spoon. She frowned at the words and replied, “I’m sorry, honey. Matthew isn’t feeling well now, and he’s in another hospital. He’ll come to see you when he’s better.”
“Okay. So, what about Daddy?”
Peter had always wanted Tammy to call Wayne “daddy”. As time went on, Tammy got used to calling Wayne that.
Anna looked up abruptly. She said unhappily, “Oh, no, he’s not your daddy. Tammy, don’t you ever call him daddy again!”
Tammy didn’t expect Anna to scold her. She immediately looked like she was going to cry and whispered, “Mommy.”
Peace immediately took Tammy into her arms. To smooth the thing over, she said, “Gee, okay, okay. Anna, what’s wrong with you? Wayne is the one who made you mad. So, don’t talk to Tammy like this. Tammy, don’t cry, okay?”
Tammy was never a crybaby. However, she was scared by the fire yesterday and had been uneasy since she woke up in the emergency room. The way Anna just spoke to her frightened her again.
See Tammy whimpering in Peace’s arms, Anna was frustrated. She said, “Oh, my God. Tammy, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I was just…”
“You were just thinking about something else.” Peace finished her sentence.
Peace then rolls her eyes at her and says, “Anna, I know you’re feeling sad and indignant because Wayne wronged you. You think the incident isn’t as simple as it seems and suspect that you‘ve been set up. But, you know, Wayne is not a fool. Both of you got angry yesterday and said something unpleasant to each other.”
“After he gets to the bottom of it later, he’ll regret treating you that way. You know, you can find out the truth yourself if you really can’t wait. If you need help, just say it. Matthew is your son, but Tammy is also still your daughter. Anyway, stop talking like that to Tammy. Tammy was scared yesterday, too.”
Anna was embarrassed that Peace knew what she was thinking. “Well, I know you feel guilty about Matthew as you were not around as he grew up. If you want to do it, just go ahead. I can take care of Tammy for you.” Peace was angry, so she spoke in an irritated tone.
Anna knew that she did pay most of her attention to Matthew since she knew that he was her son. She didn’t ignore Tammy. But, she let them play together at the hotel because she wanted them to get along. Tammy wouldn’t have been trapped in the fire if that wasn’t the case.
Anna knew that Peace was angry, but she had no idea how to explain what had happened to her. And she knew that she had to find out the truth about the fire.
“Fine. I’ll deal with the incident as soon as I can. Then, I’ll resign from the hotel.” Anna said.
She assured Peace before she left, “Don’t worry, I promise you that something like this will never happen again.”
“Oh. Then, what about Matthew?”
“I’ll have him back with me.”
Peace looked less angry. She lowered her voice and said, “I’ll help you get a lawyer by then.”
“Thanks,” Anna said. Then, she had an urge to cry.
She had been through so much in the past few years, and the only by her side was Peace. They met by chance, and neither of them expected that they would be with each other for so many years at that time.
The hotel later issued an official notice to explain the cause of the fire. The notice said that the fire was caused by an employee who broke the rules and smoked in the storage room. Also, they compensated the customers who were frightened and those whose properties were damaged.
There was hardly any discussion about the incident on the Internet. The PR work worked on time and quickly deleted the negative news on the Internet. However, although the official statement was released, they still didn’t find out the truth.
Wanting to know how the investigation was going, Anna asked John to meet her at a cafe to talk about the matter.
“Ah, tell me, what is going on? Did Mike Smith actually smoke in the warehouse? Did he admit it?” Anna asked John.
John replied doubtfully, “Oh, I’m not sure. Mr. Jones issued this statement after discussing it with several managers in the HR and PR departments. Mr. Smith has retired and is now in his hometown in Liverpool. So, we have no way to ask him. Moreover, if Kenny hadn’t rushed in to get him out, he might have died in the fire.”
“Kenny? Oh, yeah, I was just going to ask you about him. I don’t remember meeting that guy before.”
“Kenny came to the hotel half a month ago, and he came from Liverpool with Mike. He’s a new employee, so you probably hadn‘t seen him before. Well, honestly, he got into the hotel because he pulled some strings. He was an apprentice in the kitchen before, but not a regular employee.
So, he was paid as a trainee. After the fire broke out, he officially became employee. HR department did this because they thought he had saved someone’s life and our property.”
Anna nodded. Instead of asking more about Kenny, she asked, “Can you find the security footage inside the kitchen and the entrance that day?”
John looked in a dilemma. He said, “Ah, to be honest, it’s quite difficult. The police department took the originals away when they were searching for the evidence. There is a copy left in the security room. But, you know, no one dares to ask for the video now.”
Anna looked at him and said, “Oh, don’t be afraid, I’ll take responsibility if something goes wrong. Do you still think I’m your boss now? If so, get the footage for me.”
John said thoughtfully, “Well, I’ve always treated you as my boss. Don’t worry! I’ll get the footage and prove your Innocence.”
Anna looked at him suspiciously and asked, “Innocence? What do you mean? I was suspended for dereliction of duty.”
“Ah, you don’t know about that yet?” John opened his mouth wide in surprise.
He hesitated for a moment and decided to tell Anna the truth. He said, “Now, people in the hotel are spreading rumors about you again. They say that you deliberately did not save Matthew. And that you did it so that your daughter would inherit Mr. Wright’s property after you married him. Also, everyone says that Mr. Wright suspended you because he knew about this.”
Anna frowned and said irritably, “Damn! This is nonsense! Who the hell is spreading these rumors? When I go back to work, the first thing I’ll do is to tell them to stop blabbing. I’ve told them many times, but no one listens to me.”
John immediately laughed and said, “Wow! It seems that they were wrong about that.
What a bunch of blabbers! You and Mr. Wright are so in love, so I knew you couldn’t possibly do that. They even said you guys had broken up. Ha, that’s ridiculous!”
“But we did break up.” Anna said slowly and indifferently.
Hearing that, John winced. He immediately regretted joking about them being a lovely couple at that moment and showed an embarrassed and sad expression.
What the hell?! Did they really break up? But I just promised her I‘d get her the footage! It turned out I picked the wrong side. John thought.
Although John acted a little reluctant, he still sent Anna the footage a few days later.
That night, Anna opened her laptop and began to watch that video. She stared carefully and tentatively at every detail on the screen
The fire broke out at around 11:30 in the morning. At that time, all the junior and senior managers were having a meeting in the conference room on the second floor. Since it was lunchtime, many people were walking around in the kitchen. So, Anna didn‘t notice anything wrong for a while.
She saw Mike, the pastry chef, baking, and Kenny standing next to him to help. It seemed that Mike kept telling Kenny to get something, so Kenny left every few minutes and then came back. Each time he came back, he carried some ingredients.
At 10:54 am., the two children walked into the kitchen. Tammy walked in front, and Matthew followed her. Then, they stopped in front of Mike.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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