Chapter 180
In the office, the atmosphere was heavy.
Emma clutched a cup of coffee but had no appetite to drink it. "Where could Haven have gone?"
Aiden thought for a moment. "I think there are only two possibilities, either she fled out of guilt, or she's too ashamed to face us."
"However you put it, you're still saying she ran. Can't you hope for something better?" Emma didn't like hearing this. As a fellow woman, she felt Haven wouldn't just abandon everyone and run away alone.
"Then what do you think happened?" Aiden didn't believe in the goodness of human nature. In his view, the possibility of Haven fleeing was extremely high. "Don't tell me she got kidnapped?"
Emma rolled her eyes and, unable to take it anymore, grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa and hurled it at him. "Can you be serious? If not, just shut up. What's wrong with you?"
Aiden awkwardly caught the pillow. "I'm just trying to brainstorm solutions with everyone. There you go getting worked up again."
Emma was beyond exasperated, anxiety building inside her. "Ms. Kennedy, I don't think we can just sit here waiting. Should we all go out and search?"
"I think we should just call the police," Kenneth suddenly spoke up.
All eyes turned to him.
Kenneth said calmly, "This time, the company's caught in a public opinion crisis. Someone has to take responsibility. Besides, the whole thing started with Haven. If she hadn't run, that would be one thing. But now that she has, that's clearly a guilty conscience."
"Why are you saying this too?" Emma looked like her worldview was crumbling. Their deputy supervisor was known for being gentle, harmless, quiet, and reserved.
How had he become so cold today?
Josephine rubbed her temples and stood up. "Don't spread this around for now. Just keep it among yourselves."
With that, she headed for the door.
Emma called after her, "Where are you going?"
Josephine answered, "I have to notify Mr. Getty about this."
Things had escalated too much to keep hiding it. No matter what method Cedric ultimately decided to use, he had to know about Haven's disappearance.
But the moment she stepped out of the office, she received a call from Haven.
Josephine immediately answered. "Haven, where are you?"
The other end was silent for a long time, only wind sounds and Haven's breathing.
Josephine said calmly, "Haven, are you worried I'll push you forward to take responsibility?"
Haven still didn't speak.
Emma and the others came out of the office. Seeing Josephine on the phone, she gestured for them to be quiet. They immediatelykept silent, not daring to breathe too hard.
Josephine said steadily and calmly, "Haven, I'll keep my promise to you. I guarantee it."
"I know. You're a good person." Haven finally spoke.
Josephine's voice was gentle. "Since you understand that, why aren't you coming to work? You still have work left to do. Everyone's asking about you. I told them..."
As Josephine spoke, she gestured to Kenneth to find an IT expert from the company's PR department to see if they could locate Haven through the call.
Kenneth quickly left.
Josephine continued soothing the person on the other end. "I told them you're on a business trip I arranged for today, and that you'll be back tomorrow."
"Thank you, Ms. Kennedy." Haven sighed, her tone filled with self-reproach. "This is all my fault. I'm the one who messed up and dragged you all into this. If I'd been more careful at work, if that data hadn't been wrong, none of this would have happened today."
Her voice carried with the wind. "I'm sorry."
Josephine frowned slightly. "You don't need to apologize. I've told you before—everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes isn't scary. As long as you correct them in time and ensure they don't happen again, even mistakes can be a form of progress."
"Ms. Kennedy, you're such a good person."
Hearing this, Josephine's heart sank instead. She frowned slightly, her voice becoming more stern. "Where exactly are you?"
"I'm not going to tell you." Haven gripped her phone and looked up at the sky, murmuring, "I've always been the child who worried my family. From childhood, I've caused my parents nothing but trouble. I finally got a job, but I'm never smart enough. I mess up whatever work I do, always making mistakes. This time it's my fault too. So many people's hard work, and because of my carelessness, I created such a huge mess. I've let you all down."
Hearing this, Josephine grew increasingly uneasy. But Kenneth hadn't returned yet. She could only continue trying to calm Haven. "You haven't let anyone down. No one blames you."
"Whether you want me to take responsibility or restore the company's reputation, I'll cooperate with whatever you decide." Haven's voice became incredibly calm.
But the calmer it was, the more unsettling it felt.
"Haven, are you planning to run away ?" Josephine asked calmly.
"I'm not."
"Then why won't you come to the office? You're hiding somewhere no one can find you—isn't that because you're afraid we'll make you take the blame publicly?"
Haven, on the other end, fell silent for a moment, but ultimately didn't refute a single word. "You're right. I'm a weak coward. I'm sorry, Ms. Kennedy. The mistake I made... I have no way to make up for it..."
After saying this, she hung up.
Josephine listened to the busy signal, her brows furrowed tightly, her expression extremely serious.
Her expression frightened the others, especially Emma, who asked urgently, "What happened? She still won't say where she is?"
Josephine thought for a moment and made a quick decision.
"Aiden, go find Mr. Getty right now and explain everything. Emma, come with me to find Haven. I suspect she might be planning suicide."
Emma and Aiden both gasped.
"How big a deal could this be? Surely not worth giving up her life?"
"Enough talk. Just do what I said."
Aiden ran toward the door at full speed, afraid that being even a moment late would mean being unable to save that life.
Emma and Josephine left the company together.
In Cedric's office, he was video chatting with David.
The moment the video connected, David's first words were, "Is this how you manage the company?"
Cedric's expression didn't change. "There was a small incident. I've already sent people to handle it."
"I heard this incident involves a female employee at the company. Is this person Josephine?"
Cedric's brow twitched slightly. He said calmly, "Who told Grandfather this?"
"Answer my question."
David's expression on the video was extremely serious, as if one wrong answer would set him off.
Cedric remained quite calm. "It was indeed caused by a female employee's oversight, but it's not—"
Before he could finish, Aiden burst in. He'd run all the way here, gasping for breath as he braced his hands on his knees, his words coming out broken and stuttered.
"Mr. Getty, something terrible happened. Haven might be about to commit suicide."
Josephine and Emma drove at breakneck speed. Emma anxiously slapped the steering wheel. "We're just searching aimlessly like this, isn't this like looking for a needle in a haystack?"
Josephine thought for a moment.
She remembered that during the phone call, besides hearing Haven's voice, she'd also heard wind and faint music. Though the music was very quiet, she could tell it was a symphony.
In this city, there was probably only one place that would play this kind of music during the day.
"Go to the Concert Hall."