Chapter 177
Josephine reassured her, "Don't overthink things. We'll handle this. What you need to do now is go back and work diligently, process every piece of data carefully, and make absolutely sure no more errors occur."
Sensing the shift in the room, Haven didn’t venture another word, choosing instead to swallow the questions still burning on her tongue.
She walked back to the main office area in a daze. She was supposed to focus on her work, but how could she concentrate now? Just looking at the data on her computer screen filled her with visceral resistance.
She was afraid.
Afraid of making another mistake. Even one wrong number, just one misplaced decimal point.
She couldn't bear the consequences.
Josephine hadn't come out of her office since returning. By the time evening approached and workday was almost over, Haven still hadn't seen her.
She hadn't seen Cedric or Noah either.
Usually, Cedric and his assistant were the ones who visited their department most often. Not seeing them now only made her panic worse—it meant the situation was extremely serious.
Haven sat at her desk, lost in thought, when someone suddenly tapped her shoulder. She jumped, turned to see who it was, and her expression immediately went cold. "What do you want?"
With his arms crossed and a triumphant glint in his eyes, Ryder leaned back. "I’m only here for one thing: to witness your spectacular downfall."
"You think you're getting out of this just because I'm in trouble?"
"Wrong." Ryder gave a mocking wag of his finger. "Tomorrow, I’ll be miles away from this office for good. But you? Your nightmare is just beginning."
"You got fired?" Haven frowned.
Ryder laughed coldly. "Of course not. I resigned voluntarily."
"Are you insane?" Haven couldn't understand. The Getty Group's benefits were famously good—high salary, generous vacation time, and minimal overtime. Thousands of people would kill to work here.
"Just because Mr. Getty and Ms. Kennedy said a few things to you, you're walking out in a huff?" Haven was about to face accountability, possibly even the end of her career, but she hadn't considered resigning. Because if she left this place, she didn't know where else would be better.
"You think I'm stupid?" Ryder sneered, looking at her like she was an idiot. "Staying now is basically asking to get destroyed."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"Stupid. So incredibly stupid." Ryder mocked Haven mercilessly. "When everything is going smoothly, sure, they seem like great bosses. But when something goes wrong? Who knows if they're human or demons? You think that because Ms. Kennedy said a few nice words for you in that meeting, it means she's on your side? Don't forget—they're all capitalists. When something goes wrong, they'll only push us out to take the fall."
He spoke with absolute certainty, convinced he was right, convinced Haven was a complete fool for actually believing them.
Ryder finished packing his box and prepared to leave. Haven blocked his path. Her face pale as she struggled to keep her voice from trembling.
"Don't spread this kind of panic. I know you've never liked me. You think you're more talented than me, that I stole opportunities that should have been yours. So I don't believe a single word you say."
Ryder rolled his eyes and shifted the box higher in his arms. "Anyone with eyes can see that this time, both companies have been affected by public opinion. To protect their reputation and stock price going forward, the best solution is to push someone forward as a scapegoat. Let that person take all the blame and restore the company's image."
He looked at Haven with eyes full of mockery and pity. "That person is you."
"Impossible." Haven shook her head. Her hands hung at her sides, clenched into tight fists, nails digging painfully into her palms. But the pain helped her maintain some shred of rationality. "Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Getty would never do that."
"Then tell me—do you have a better solution?" Ryder found her naive, foolish appearance irritating and cruelly crushed her last thread of hope. "They throw you out, their reputation gets restored, the online backlash dies down, and the company's losses are minimized. They're only losing you... one foolish employee. Why wouldn't the company do this?"
Haven wanted to argue back. She wanted to say that Cedric and Josephine weren't like that. Since they had said they wouldn't fire her, that they would only dock her pay as punishment, they would definitely keep their word.
She believed them!
The words withered on her lips before she could utter a sound, leaving her speechless and trembling.
Perhaps she had seen too many capitalist faces, witnessed too much workplace cruelty.
Ryder looked at her knowingly. "See? Even you don't believe it yourself. How are you going to convince me?"
His box was quite heavy. He adjusted it, looking at Haven with pity. "If I were you, I wouldn't just stand here stupidly waiting for others to deal with me. I would figure out a way to avoid becoming cannon fodder."
Haven gritted her teeth. "I don't believe you."
"Believe me or not, I've said my piece." Ryder glanced around the workplace where he had worked for years. Just half an hour ago, his heart had been full of reluctance—he hadn't wanted to leave at all.
But now, he could walk away without any attachment. He almost wished he could leave immediately. "If you want to stay, go ahead and stay. Just don't come crying when they throw you to the wolves."
Ryder freed one hand, pushed Haven aside, and strode out.
Haven stood frozen in place. Her mind completely blank. It felt like a thousand threads of yarn tangling through her brain, impossible to find the starting point.
It wouldn't happen.
It definitely wouldn't.
Even if Cedric agreed, Josephine wouldn't.
Josephine called a department meeting. Nearly everyone arrived—except Haven.
A colleague offered, "I'll go get her."
"No need. I didn't notify her about this meeting," Josephine said.
The colleague slowly sat back down.
Everyone's hearts simultaneously sank to rock bottom.
In the heavy atmosphere, no one spoke. Emma couldn't help but ask, "Ms. Kennedy, I think this incident definitely has underlying reasons. Haven is usually careful with her work—she's not someone who would mix up data."
"That's right, Haven's been working here for three years. She's always been diligent and never made a mistake."
"This time, something must have distracted her. She definitely didn't make the mistake on purpose."
The others chimed in on her behalf.
Josephine said coolly, "I'm aware. I called you all here to discuss the NGRAS project. You've all been pushing this project forward lately. I've reviewed the recent data reports—you're doing well."
She didn't mention Haven at all. The others didn't dare press further.
No one noticed the figure that flashed past the doorway.
Haven left the company under the cover of darkness. She walked aimlessly along the side of the road.
Her phone suddenly rang. It was her mother.
"Haven, when are you coming home? Why are you working so late today? We're still waiting for you to come back for dinner."
Haven forced a smile. "Mom, the company suddenly has overtime tonight. I probably can't come back right away. Don't wait for me—you all eat first."
"I thought your company didn't require overtime?"
"The project has been busy lately..." Haven couldn't hide things well. She could fool her mother over the phone, but saying too much risked exposure. "I still have work. My colleagues are calling me. I have to go."
She hurriedly hung up.
She gripped her phone, feeling utterly lost inside.
They hadn't called her to this meeting either—that wasn't a good sign. Perhaps Cedric and Josephine had already agreed on a solution. That was why they didn't invite her—they simply didn't want her to know what they were planning.
Could it be...
Had Ryder actually been right?
Meanwhile, after the meeting ended, Josephine returned to her office exhausted and finally turned on her phone.
The online storm hadn't died down at all—in fact, it seemed to be intensifying.
The Getty Group had sent people to handle PR the moment they learned of the public opinion issue. By all rights, it shouldn't have escalated like this. From the looks of it, someone seemed to be fanning the flames behind the scenes.
But who would do such a thing?
Gideon?