“Have they checked in with you from K City?” I asked with a frown.
“No, why would they? I’m a nobody!” He raised his voice a little.
“I meant your mother, Cameron. Did she text you saying that they’ve all landed safely in K City?” I didn’t know a lot of people in this circle, so Nick was the only person I could ask.
I heard a loud smack when he slammed his fist on his keyboard. “She has never talked to me about anything for over twenty years now. There’s no way she’d tell me about minor stuff like these! Anyway, why are you calling me this late at night? Is there something you wanted to ask me?”
“I’ve received word that the plane they took was involved in an accident. Could you please help me look into it?” He was the only person I could count on to find out more about what happened.
“Okay, I’ll go check!” he said after a brief pause and hung up the phone, leaving me to wait for his reply.
Feeling empty without Anthony around, I went downstairs and switched on all the lights in the villa.
I even tuned into the news on TV in hopes of hearing something about the accident, but there were no reports about it whatsoever.
Nick called me back about fifteen minutes later. “I’ve booked us tickets for the earliest flight. It departs at seven. Are you coming?”
I shuddered a little upon hearing that. “Yes!” My voice was weak, and I was finding it difficult to breathe.
I had a ton of questions in the back of my head, but they all ended up stuck in my throat.
“Things got a little bumpy when the plane made an emergency landing at the airport, but I think they’ll be fine,” he said after a long pause.
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
I couldn’t go back to sleep after hanging up the phone, so I sat in the living room with my arms wrapped around my knees. The next four hours felt like hell as I sat there in the huge and empty villa, waiting for time to pass.
I suppose a smaller house would’ve been better…
At dawn, I packed my stuff and left the house as quickly as I could.
Nick was already at the airport with the tickets in hand by the time I got there.
The airport wasn’t that crowded at the time as most of the people there were in a hurry.
Nick glanced at his watch when he saw me and said, “We’ve got half an hour left. I think we should go through security now.”
“You didn’t get any sleep at all, did you?” I asked when I saw how pale he looked.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “I could ask you the same thing.”
I kept quiet, simply nodding in response.
The queue at the security wasn’t long, and it was soon our turn. I handed my flight ticket and ID card over to the security officer, who gave me a strange look after seeing my name. “Sienna Stanhope?”
I saw that Nick had already cleared security on his end and urged the officer, “Yes, that’s right. Could you please hurry it up? We’re in a bit of a rush.”
“Sorry, but we’ll need you to cooperate with the investigation,” the security officer replied.
Before I knew what was going on, two young men in police uniforms had come up to me and began dragging me away.
Nick ran over and stood in front of them. “What’s going on here, officer?”
“We’re from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce (BIC). We’ve received reports of Featherstone Corporation being involved in the black market, so we’re having Ms. Stanhope come with us to aid the investigation.”
I had no idea what they were talking about.
Nick grabbed one of them by the arm and said, “Why are you guys arresting her? She’s an ordinary employee! If anything, you should be arresting the person in charge of Featherstone Corporation!”
“Sir, please don’t get in the way of us doing our job. Ms. Stanhope is an employee of Featherstone Corporation, as well as the wife of the person in charge. Most of the company’s documents were signed by her, so she has a direct connection to this case. You may consult a lawyer if you have any further inquiries.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll go check on things in K City. We’ll decide our next course of action then!” Nick called out to me.
This is bad… With both Anthony and myself absent from Featherstone Corporation during such a crisis, I’m not sure if Joe and Jared can handle it on their own…
The police officers brought me to an interrogation room where I was sat down in front of a middle-aged woman. “My apologies for bringing you all the way here like this, Ms. Stanhope. As your company has been involved in some legal issues, I will need to record my following conversation with you. I hope you will cooperate with me in this investigation.”
I nodded, having finally calmed down from the shock and fear.
The middle-aged woman continued, “According to our investigations, Featherstone Corporation has already been audited under the supervision of the public during this month, and you have submitted the audit report to the Economic Network.”
I nodded without saying a word.
“I’ve gone through the reports, and I see your signature on most of them. Are you aware of the company’s fiscal deficits, Ms. Stanhope?”
“Officer, that’s not illegal, is it?” I asked with a frown.
She shook her head and flashed a faint smile at me. “No, but the problems that arise from it are. HiTech, which’s owned by Featherstone Corporation, has caused the accidental death of four employees six months ago due to inadequate safety measures. However, Featherstone Corporation has tried to sweep everything under the rug instead of resolving the issue. That has resulted in three of the workers’ family members committing suicide last night.”
“Four employees died in an accident?” I stood up from my chair in shock. “How come?”
She sneered at me upon seeing my panicked reaction. “Drop the act, Ms. Stanhope. You were the one who handled those incidents, so you should know it better than anyone else.”
I stared wide-eyed at her in confusion. “I’m not putting up an act! It’s only been a little over a month since I’ve taken over HiTech, and the accident in South District happened about half a year ago! I wasn’t in charge of it back then!”
“I knew you were going to say that. It’s true that you’ve only taken over HiTech’s case recently, but HiTech was already under your management when you were made director of Featherstone Corporation a year ago. George Featherstone handed the company over to you along with 15% of its shares.”
I was completely bewildered and shook my head profusely as I said, “I’m not in charge of the South District. I have no idea about what happened!”
“You’re doing to need evidence to back up your statement, Ms. Stanhope. We have all the documents you’ve signed in HiTech throughout the entire year, so I suggest you plead guilty. Since you’re not the person in charge, your improper handling of the accident will only get you fired at worst.”
I began to calm down as I relayed what the woman had said. She’s right; this isn’t a criminal case at all! It’s just an industrial and commercial issue involving the company!
“Sorry, but I’m unable to answer your questions on this. What you’re doing right now counts as unlawful imprisonment, and I have the right to sue you for violating my human rights by interrogating me for a criminal case.”
There’s no way I’ll be the one being investigated for issues with Featherstone Corporation. As for the case with HiTech, I can only assume someone is trying to set me up! I mustn’t admit to any of these accusations, or my reputation will be ruined forever!
The middle-aged woman chuckled when she saw how calm I was. “Very well, then. You may have your attorney bail you out so you can go have a chat with Featherstone Corporation and its stockholders in J City!”
“Oh, you bet I will!”
I then quickly contacted my lawyer and was allowed to leave after taking care of the paperwork.
I drove straight to Featherstone Corporation and parked somewhere nearby when I saw a huge group of people assembled outside the building.
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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