Chapter 178
The moment this thought came to the surface of her mind, Josephine shook her head in absolute denial. Although Gideon could be somewhat obsessive and petty, he wasn't stupid.
Both companies were jointly pushing the project forward—they were partners with shared interests. If public opinion truly fermented to an irreparable point, Starlight Group wouldn't benefit either.
Gideon was sensible enough not to do such a thing.
With a saddened heart, she glanced through the window.
She probably wouldn't be going home tonight.
Preston called and asked, "Still haven't left work? Do you want me to pick you up?"
"I have to work overtime tonight. No need to pick me up, and don't wait up. You and Mom should go to bed early."
"Work is important, but take care of yourself, too. Don't stay up too late. Get home and rest as soon as you finish."
Preston finally hung up.
Josephine walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Winter was drawing closer—darkness fell early now, and the overall temperature was dropping.She felt a slightly cool breeze.
She looked at her phone and sighed.
After the incident, countless people had flooded the Getty Group's official account with comments.
[I heard an employee's error at your company caused data deviation and nearly killed a volunteer?]
[Is this true? The Getty Group has always been dedicated to AI medical technology and never made such major mistakes. Is this really just an employee problem?]
[Could there be some internal corruption scandal?]
[It's been a whole day, and you still haven't responded. I see you just keep suppressing the news trend. Are those exposés actually true?]
Josephine felt a headache just reading these comments.
That night, Josephine wasn't the only one who was restless—Cedric stayed at the office too. Around 11 PM, the two of them held a meeting.
They pondered on possible ways to handle the public opinion. What Josephine found strange was that Cedric didn't contradict her either.
But he also didn't approve of her decision.
Josephine knew this was just a temporary delaying tactic. If public opinion couldn't be calmed for much longer, they would inevitably have to provide a perfect solution or they would have to face the wrath.
The optimal time for crisis management was within 24 hours.
Once this night passed, it would already exceed 12 hours. Their response plan couldn't be dragged out much longer. If they missed the golden window for handling this, it would trigger public suspicion about the Getty Group's PR and crisis management capabilities.
A whole chain reaction—the company couldn't risk it.
Josephine silently made a decision in her heart. No matter what, she couldn't sacrifice a team member. If someone absolutely had to take responsibility, it was no other than her.
Perhaps because she'd reached a decision internally, her anxiety suddenly lessened.
Working late into the night, she couldn't fight off drowsiness and fell asleep on the desk.
When Cedric came in with coffee, he found her lying on the desk in an extremely awkward position, her body half-twisted, one hand resting lightly on the desk edge. The phone in her palm teetered precariously, about to fall at any second.
Cedric caught it the second before it hit the floor. Crouching down, he looked up at Josephine.
Good—she hadn't woken.
He stood, placed the phone on the desk, went to the lounge for a blanket, and covered Josephine with it. Then he placed the cup of coffee on the table and sat down.
He opened the computer's surveillance system.
He had a theory that needed investigation, verification, and time.
Morning.
Josephine woke to find herself somehow on the sofa, covered with a blanket, her phone resting on the nearby tea table.
She sat up, rubbed her face, and tried to recall what had happened.
Cedric walked in just then, carrying breakfast—sandwiches and milk.
"Make do with this in the morning. I'm going to rest." Cedric set everything on the tea table and sat across from Josephine.
Josephine had no appetite then. Cedric remained compose the whole time and Josephine couldn't help but heave a sigh.. "How are you not panicking at all?"
"Panic about what? The company isn't going bankrupt."
"But it will be affected!" She even had a nightmare about the current situation. "If your grandfather finds out about this..."
That would be real trouble.
"Then we solve it before Grandfather finds out." Cedric's tone was flat.
"You have a solution?" Josephine asked.
Cedric shook his head. "Yes and no."
"What does that mean?" What do you mean by yes and no??
Josephine was completely confused.
But Cedric said, "I need a little time. You don't need to worry about this—I'll handle it."
Josephine didn't understand. Today, there was a very important data test in the lab that she had to attend. It was almost 8 AM, and she still needed to prepare beforehand. She really didn't have time to waste. "Thank you for the sandwich. I need to get back to the lab. As for this matter, I actually have some ideas too. After the data test is over, I'll come talk to you."
She grabbed a sandwich and hurried off.
When she left, Noah entered through the back, closing the door and saying quietly, "Mr. Getty, we've identified who's been fanning the flames behind the scenes. The poster's IP address... is from Evercrest Manor."
Cedric chuckled softly. "I knew it."
"So what should we do?" Noah carefully studied his expression.
Cedric thought for a moment. "Preserve all the evidence. Don't act on it yet. Have you looked into that other matter I asked you to investigate?"
At the mention of this, Noah's expression turned serious. "I asked the employees on duty that day. That data file was only passed between two people—Haven and Ryder."
Which meant the data problem could only have been caused by one of those two.
Cedric lowered his eyes, his voice cold and heavy. "Keep watch on him."
"Understood."
The data test ended two hours later. Josephine and the others were starving, but no one dared to complain.
Therigor was meant to avoid another situation like Haven's.
Colleagues gradually ordered food or headed straight to the cafeteria. Josephine looked around but didn't see Haven among them.
She asked Emma, "Did you see Haven this morning?"
Emma had a sudden realization. "I was wondering what felt missing today. Haven didn't come in—I haven't seen her this morning."
"She wouldn't have run off, would she?" Aiden muttered beside them.
Emma glared at him. "Don't talk nonsense. Haven isn't like that."
Aiden looked helpless. "Then how do you explain it? Something just happened yesterday, and today she doesn't come to work. Did she even ask for leave?"
If Josephine was asking about it, she obviously hadn't received a leave request call. That left only one person.
But Kenneth also shook his head. "I didn't receive any leave request either."