Chapter 111
The night grew late, but the Langley Group headquarters was still blazing with light, figures moving back and forth behind the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Charlotte's office had only one desk lamp on, its dim yellow glow lighting up the mountain of files in front of her.
She flipped through the documents Mireille had sent over, calm and focused, her brow tightly knitted.
Charlotte had been sitting there for a full five hours, running every name and every number through her head.
Finally, after turning the last page, she snapped the folder shut.
She leaned back and sank into her chair.
By now, she had a rough picture of things.
The accident itself wasn't complicated. Defective safety fasteners were the most direct cause.
But there was a lot more hiding underneath. From procurement to inspection to oversight, not a single step had caught the problem — which was more than enough to prove this was no simple "oversight."
Someone was pulling strings behind all of this.
The thought made Charlotte draw a slow breath. She pressed her fingers against her tired temples, then turned back to her computer screen.
Time slipped away. The clock quietly crept toward midnight, and the office was so still she could almost hear her own heartbeat.
Then a gust of wind pushed through the cracked window, lifting the sheer curtain — and a dark figure flashed past.
Charlotte's fingers paused on the keyboard. She looked up toward the window.
Something felt off. Her expression shifted slightly, and her eyes narrowed.
"Come out. I know you're there."
A long moment passed after she spoke. Then a figure stepped out of the shadows by the window.
He was dressed in a black outfit that fit close to his body, outlining a strong, lean frame. The silver mask still covered the upper half of his face.
In the dim light, the man's lips curved into an amused smile.
"Haven't seen you in a few days, Ms. Johnson, and you're still just as sharp. You spotted me that quickly."
His voice carried a tone somewhere between admiration and surprise. Charlotte's eyes darkened. She glanced up at him.
She had to admit — this man was no ordinary person. The Langley Group's security was tight. Yet he came and went as he pleased, more at home here than in his own place.
While Charlotte was turning this over in her mind, the man had already strolled up to her desk and pulled out a chair like he owned it.
When he noticed the open files spread across the desk, a faint smile crossed his face.
"Looks like Ms. Johnson has been busy."
Charlotte's eyes narrowed. She closed her notebook.
Her mind was racing, but her face stayed surprisingly calm.
"I want to know how you got in here. The Langley Group's security is supposed to be solid. Or did you use some kind of special method?"
The man shook his head at her question, his sharp eyes fixed directly on her.
"That's not important."
"Besides, I don't think we should waste our time on that."
He paused, then continued.
"I'm here to offer you a solution."
Charlotte stared at him for a long moment, then let a small smile touch her lips. "Oh? Let's hear it."
"The Langley Group's stock price can stop falling and bounce back first thing tomorrow morning. The families downstairs demanding answers will disappear right away. And all the negative coverage targeting you online can flip around overnight."
The man smiled like everything was already under control, his tone as easy as if he were talking about the weather.
"All you have to do is nod. That's not too hard, is it?"
This guy was well-informed.
Charlotte pressed her lips together and looked down.
She couldn't deny it — the offer was tempting. But she knew nothing came for free. And she had no connection to this man whatsoever. He wasn't doing this out of kindness.
"What do you want in return?"
"Simple." A hard-to-read look flickered in the man's eyes. "The security system upgrades and smart management for the Lakeside Estates project going forward — all of it goes to my people."
"Not a bad deal, right?"
Charlotte went quiet after he finished.
On the surface, it did sound like a good deal.
But in reality, security was the lifeline of a residential complex. If anything went wrong down the line, she still wouldn't be able to escape the blame.
And once she handed this over to him, getting any real information about what was happening inside the complex would be nearly impossible.
The man didn't rush her. He just sat back and waited, perfectly at ease.
Watching him look so completely in control, Charlotte found herself thinking again about how he'd approached her to work together in the first place.
The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt.
"Who exactly are you?"
She asked the question again.
But as before, the man didn't answer. He just let out a quiet laugh.
"Does it matter who I am?"
"What matters right now is getting this resolved quickly. Unless I'm wrong, Ms. Johnson is running out of time."
Charlotte fell silent.
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Whoever was working against her was dead set on bringing her down.
Breaking out of this wasn't going to be easy.
The silence stretched through the office again, but the man across from her showed no impatience. He just kept waiting.
After a while, Charlotte finally looked up at him.
"Fine. I'll agree. But—"
Before she could finish, she moved.
Like a leopard that had been coiling for the perfect moment, she struck without warning.
Her eyes went sharp, and her hand shot toward the mask on his face.
There was only one thought in her head.
She had to see who this person was.
She was fast — but he was faster.
The instant her fingertips were about to touch the mask, the man threw himself back in his chair, which slid away at an impossible angle.
The cool surface of the mask grazed her fingertips — smooth and sleek.
Charlotte missed. The surprise on her face was impossible to hide.
She hadn't expected him to be that quick.
The thought had barely formed before she launched at him again, pressing forward like a wave.
The man probably hadn't expected her to keep coming. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but his defense didn't slow down.
He spun, used the momentum to kick the rolling chair toward Charlotte's legs, and at the same time crossed both arms to block her knife-hand strike.
A dull thud broke the silence of the office.
The force that hit her arm sent a shock through Charlotte. Her eyes sharpened, and something surged inside her.
He was the real deal.
But she didn't step back. Instead, she grabbed his arm and whipped a fast, hard kick straight at his head.