Chapter 66
These were all photographs pulled from Joseph's brother-in-law, Yves Evans.
Yves was the Deputy Director of HR at Ridgeway Tech. Officially, he handled campus and external recruitment. In reality, he controlled the entire entry point for new hires.
He and Joseph worked together, screening prey from the very first checkpoint in recruitment.
These girls all had pretty faces. But beyond that, they had nothing—no connections, no power.
Some came from poor families. Some from rural areas. Some had parents who lived far away. The more isolated and vulnerable the girl, the easier she was to control.
After passing their interviews, these girls were assigned to departments directly under Yves's supervision.
Three-month probation periods. They worked diligently, overtime without complaint, terrified of losing the job.
That was exactly the leverage Yves used. Once the three months were up, he'd start closing the net.
He'd hold their full-time conversion applications in his drawer, unprocedured. He'd withhold their salaries under various excuses. Their status in the HR system would remain perpetually "pending review."
Want your paycheck? Want full-time status? Come to his office alone for a "private chat."
And after that, only one fate awaited these girls.
Resignation—or harassment.
The more Lucinda read, the deeper the cold fury in her eyes became.
She flipped to the next page. Her fingers froze mid-air.
A girl named Gaia Fisher. Twenty-three years old. Out-of-towner. Single-parent household. Sick mother. Two years at the company. A year and a half of ongoing harassment.
The spreadsheet was packed with dates, locations, and drafts of complaint letters she'd written.
None of those drafts had ever been officially submitted. Every time she'd walked to the HR department's door, Yves would pull her conversion application out of his drawer, wave it in front of her face, and then put it back.
Lucinda snapped the folder shut.
Kenna stood beside her, lips pressed into a thin line. Silent.
She'd been with Lucinda for a long time. She'd never seen her slam a file closed like that.
Lucinda closed her eyes. After a long moment, she finally spoke. "Bring Gaia in."
Kenna nodded and left the office.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door. Kenna pushed it open, followed by someone else.
A young woman in her early twenties. She wore a faded blue work shirt tucked neatly into dark slacks.
She walked in with her head down. The moment her gaze lifted from the floor, Lucinda saw a pair of beautiful eyes.
Bright. Slightly upturned at the corners. They should have been lively.
But now those eyes held nothing. Like two wells drained dry, leaving only the kind of resigned compliance that comes from being crushed repeatedly by life.
"Sit." Lucinda gestured to the chair across from her.
Gaia sat down, spine straight, hands folded neatly in her lap.
Lucinda opened the folder, her gaze settling on the photograph on the first page. Then she looked up, meeting Gaia's eyes. "Regarding what Yves has done to you—the records are detailed. I called you in today because I want to hear it from you. In your own words."
Gaia's body jolted. The color drained from her face in real time.
"Ms. Wipere…" Her voice dropped. "I… I don't know what you mean. Mr. Evans has been very good to me. The company has been very good to me. No one has done anything to me."
Every word sounded like it had been squeezed through her teeth. Neat. Rehearsed. Like lines she'd repeated a thousand times.
Lucinda said nothing.
Her gaze drifted past Gaia's shoulder to the glass door of the office.
Through the semi-transparent pane, she could see a faint silhouette in the hallway.
That person had been standing there the whole time, gaze seemingly fixed on this office.
He was watching them.
More accurately—he was watching Gaia.
Lucinda pulled her gaze back and looked at Gaia.
Gaia's face had lost all color, but her lips were pressed tight, her back still ramrod straight. Like she was afraid of something.
Lucinda stayed silent for a few seconds. Then she closed the folder.
"Fine. You can go."
As she said this, her fingers tapped the cover of the folder twice.
Light taps. Deliberate. In the quiet office, they rang out clearly.
Gaia stood, bowed slightly, and turned toward the door.
The silhouette in the hallway was gone.
But Gaia hadn't taken more than a few steps when a hand shot out from around the corner, blocking her path.
"Gaia." A man's voice called her name, his smile nauseating. "Mr. Evans's office. Update him on your recent work progress."
Gaia's hands slowly clenched at her sides.
Her nails dug into her palms. The sharp pain briefly pulled her out of the numbness and fear.
She nodded and followed him deeper into the hallway.
Yves's office was at the very back of the HR department. The nameplate reading "Deputy Director" had been polished to a shine.
He pushed the door open, let Gaia enter first, then closed it behind them.
The lock clicked softly. Gaia's shoulders visibly flinched.
"Sit." Yves gestured to the sofa.
Gaia bit her lip but didn't sit. She stood in front of the desk, pulled a few sheets from the folder in her hands, and began her report in a steady voice. "Last week's initial screening of campus recruitment resumes is complete. We received four hundred thirty applications. Those who passed the first round—"
"No rush." Yves circled around from behind her, moving to her side. One hand landed on her shoulder.
His hand was hot. His fingertips carried a damp, clammy heat. Gaia's entire body shuddered.
"We'll get to the report later." His hand pressed closer against her. "What did Ms. Wipere ask you today?"
Gaia's breathing hitched.
She kept her head down, forcing her voice to stay steady. "She asked me… about work. What department I'm in. How long I've been here. If I was having any difficulties."
"And what did you say?"
"I said everything was fine. The company's been good to me. My supervisors have been good to me."
Yves laughed. His hand slid from her shoulder to her back, patting it lightly.
"You're smart. I've always known that. That Lucinda—" He scoffed. "Don't let her fool you just because she's sitting in that office now, acting like she runs the place. She's just some little girl who came back from who-knows-where. She can't stir up real trouble. Once the novelty wears off, she'll go right back where she came from. This building? At the end of the day, it's people like us—the veterans—who keep it running."
As he spoke, his hand started moving again.
From her back, slowly upward. His fingertips traced the line of her spine, one vertebra at a time, exploring the girl's body without restraint.
Gaia took a deep breath. She lifted her head and looked at Yves, even forcing a faint smile onto her face. "Mr. Evans is right. I understand."
Yves's eyes lit up. His hand slid from her back to her waist. He leaned forward half a step, his beer gut nearly pressing against her work shirt.
"You're smart. That makes things easy for me." His voice dropped low, sticky with heat. "Stick with me and work hard. I won't let you down."
Gaia took half a step back, turning slightly to clutch the folder against her chest. Her knuckles were white. "Mr. Evans, about what you promised me last time… the promotion to supervisor. Does that still stand?"
"Of course it does. Of course." Yves's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, reaching out to pull her shoulder again. "When have I ever lied to you?"
Gaia took another step back. This time, her back hit the edge of the desk. Nowhere left to go.
She felt her heartbeat hammering against her ribs, but the smile stayed plastered on her face. "What about Remy? When Remy was promoted to supervisor last year, you promised her too. Then you transferred her to a branch office. Why?"
Yves's hand paused. "Remy was transferred for work needs—"
"And Xyla, who quit last month." Gaia cut him off, her words coming faster now. "You promised her full-time status. Then her application sat on your desk for three months. When she left, she didn't even get her last paycheck."
Yves's smile stayed fixed at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes changed.
He looked at Gaia. His gaze grew colder, degree by degree.
"Gaia, what's gotten into you today?" His voice dropped, edged with warning. "Are you trying to trap me?"
The office fell silent.
Gaia gripped the edge of the folder tighter. Her lips parted, but before she could say anything—
The door suddenly swung open.
Yves whipped his head around. Froze.
Lucinda stood in the doorway. Kenna was half a step behind her. The force of her presence felt like it could tear him apart.