The employees murmured among themselves.
Likewise, Roxanne was in disbelief. Although I haven’t been in the research institute for a long time, I know all of them. The man before me is an experienced employee at the research institute. Besides, he always seemed like an honest man. He doesn’t even look like he’s capable of doing something like this. I can’t think of a reason for his action.
It took a while for Roxanne to think of a reason for Jason Coleman’s action. “Dr. Coleman, did you accidentally misplace some medicinal herbs and didn’t store them properly? Is that why the fire started?”
That was the only reason she could think of. Surprisingly, Jason shook his head and subconsciously looked at the man standing next to Roxanne.
Colby looked somber when he met Jason’s gaze. “After you guys left yesterday afternoon, I was also getting ready to leave. However, I bumped into Jason. He told me he needed to fetch something from the research institute. I didn’t think so much about it, so I let him in. I only locked the door after he came out.”
In other words, Colby was telling everyone that he didn’t know what Jason was doing after he went inside.
Roxanne was still in shock, so she merely nodded absentmindedly.
Colby could tell she was still in shock. With a glimmer of darkness flashing across his eyes, he asked Jason on her behalf, “What did you do after you came in?”
Jason lowered his head guiltily and uttered apologetically, “I…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence. It was as if he was utterly ashamed of his actions.
A while later, he uttered through his gritted teeth, “I’m so sorry, Dr. Jarvis.”
He had basically admitted his crime with that sentence.
Finally, Roxanne managed to calm herself down. She then clenched her fists and asked, “Why did you do it?”
At that point, what Jason did the day before didn’t matter to Roxanne anymore.
After all, the storage was filled with flammable substances. For a researcher who was an expert in chemicals, setting the storage ablaze was child’s play.
Therefore, she just wanted to know what drove Jason to do things that would destroy the research institute.
Jason heaved a sigh and answered, “I-I needed the money.”
Roxanne furrowed her brows when she heard that.
Jason sounded extremely helpless when he said, “My son is sick, so I need a lot of money. My salary for working at the research institute isn’t enough. So…”
Roxanne finally understood what was going on. Someone found out Jason’s son was sick, and that person offered him money to do such a thing.
At that thought, Roxanne clenched her fists even tighter. “Who is it? Who told you to do it?”
Everyone in the research institute knew Jason’s son was sick.
Outsiders, on the other hand, wouldn’t know unless they investigated Jason.
Roxanne was afraid that someone in the research institute was responsible for offering Jason the money.
Jason shook his head and whipped out his phone from his white coat. “I don’t know who, but that person sent me an email.”
As he was saying that, he tapped on his phone and showed the email to Roxanne.
Roxanne looked at the email and saw a few simple sentences. The sender told Jason to do it in exchange for a huge sum of money so that Jason could help his son get treatment.
Obviously, the sender told Jason to set fire to the storage room.
“You did it because you received this email?” Roxanne was so angry that her voice was trembling. “Dr. Coleman, you know me. If you need money for your son’s treatment, you can always come to me. I’m a mother, too. Did you think I would sit back and do nothing to help you? If necessary, I would even find the best doctor to treat your son. Why did you have to do something so foolish?”
Jason was regretting what he did dearly. In fact, he regretted it the moment he did it the day before. However, Colby had already locked the research institute up, so he couldn’t salvage the situation, even if he wanted to.
That morning, he made the effort to arrive at the research institute to see if there was anything he could do to fix it.
However, he was wrong when he thought he had arrived early enough. By the time he arrived at the entrance, the firefighters were already at the scene.
Jason couldn’t help but slap himself twice across the face when he recalled the burnt storage and what Roxanne had said.
“This is my fault, Dr. Jarvis. I’m so stupid!” Utterly embarrassed, he asked, “Since I’ve come forward on my own, c-could you please let the matter slide? My son is still in the hospital…”
Roxanne dug her fingers into her palms to force herself to stay calm. “That’s not up to me, Dr. Coleman.”
“This matter is being investigated by the police. Jason, how could you be so foolish?” Colby chimed in.
Upon hearing that, Jason became flustered. “I was wrong! I’ll return the money! Dr. Jarvis, for my son’s sake, please let it slide. I promise I won’t commit the same mistake again!”
Roxanne stared at the person in front of her blankly and went silent. I have children, so I know how Jason feels. Having said that, it doesn’t mean I should forgive him.
“Tell me who told you to do it. I can write a memorandum of understanding on behalf of the research institute. As for your son, I’ll also lend a hand,” Roxanne uttered indifferently.
Jason’s gaze dimmed when he heard that. In the end, he had no choice but to give in. “That’s all I know. As you can see, the sender sent the email without a name. I don’t know who sent it to me.”
Indeed, he took the risk solely because he was tempted by the money offered.
Roxanne frowned and took a photo of the sender’s email address. After that, she sent it to Benny to see if he could do something about it.
Meanwhile, the police arrived at the scene.
Jason turned himself in before the police even said anything. “It was me.”
Soon, the police put a pair of handcuffs on Jason and walked him to the police car.
With a complicated expression, Roxanne was watching Jason from behind.
“Dr. Jarvis, could you please help my son?” Before stepping into the police car, Jason suddenly turned around to look at Roxanne.
Roxanne sighed and agreed to it.
Seeing that, Jason cooperated with the police and stepped into the police car.
The people at the research institute were all feeling melancholic as they watched the police cars drive away.
Roxanne suppressed her disappointment and turned toward the crowd. “I don’t want something similar to happen again. Since you are all working with me, please come to me if you need anything. I’ll help you guys the best I can. I don’t wish to see any of you sacrificing the research institute in return for personal benefits ever again.”
The crowd acknowledged her words and felt sympathetic toward Jason. There are so many reputable doctors in the research institute, but instead of looking for any one of them for help, Jason resorted to crooked ways.
With Jason gone, Roxanne assigned his ongoing work to the other researchers before walking back to her office tiredly.
Concerned, Colby followed her from behind. “Dr. Jarvis.”
Roxanne only noticed there was someone behind her when she wanted to close the door. “Is there anything else?” she asked in confusion. Yesterday was a tough day for me, and I had just gone through something disastrous this morning. I really don’t have much energy left in me to deal with anything else.
Colby’s face was full of concern when he answered, “Nothing much. It’s just that I thought you would be in a bad mood, considering what had happened.”
Roxanne froze for a few seconds before flashing a helpless smile. I trusted all my colleagues in the research institute, but I ended up getting stabbed in the back. Anyone would be as moody as me if they were in my shoes.
“Jason is an old-timer in the research institute. I also didn’t expect him to do something so foolish.”
Colby followed her into the office and uttered apologetically, “If I had known, I would’ve kept an eye on him yesterday.”
Roxanne sat on her chair dejectedly and said, “It has nothing to do with you. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t have expected him to do something like that either.”
At that moment, all she wanted to know was the identity of the person who sent Jason the email.
As Colby was taking a seat opposite her, he was observing her expression silently. “I wonder what the mastermind’s motive is. Coincidentally, the storage room that Jason burned down stored Herbscape Group’s medicinal herbs.”
Roxanne’s heart skipped a beat when she heard those words because she suddenly realized something.
“It’s so weird. Who else would know about Jason’s son apart from the people in the research institute? I can’t believe the mastermind ended up using that against Jason,” Colby continued.
He was hinting at the fact that someone had gone to great lengths to destroy Herbscape Group’s batch of medicinal herbs.
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.