Chapter 208
Josephine stared at the text on the document for a while, took a deep breath, and opened the file.
The content was concise. The old district development was the government's decision, and Getty Group was responsible for the development work. The document also listed several rather outdated residential areas.
The old district was just one of them.
Josephine organized all the document contents and delivered the file to Cedric's office that afternoon.
Cedric took the document. Seeing she hadn't left yet, he looked up and asked, "Is there something else?"
Josephine pressed her lips together and asked the question that had been circling in her mind. "Was the old district included in the government's planning?"
"More or less."
Josephine couldn't quite control her inner anxiety. She braced her hands on the desk, her tone sharpening. "You're lying to me."
Cedric looked up and met her eyes.
Josephine reached out and flipped open the document, her fingertip pointing precisely at a line of small black text. "This line is bolded, and it doesn't match the format of the other text. That means the old district was a demolition site added temporarily after this document was finalized."
Cedric followed her finger to look at that line of text, leaning back slightly in his office chair. "Yes."
"Who added it?"
Cedric questioned instead of answering. "Why ask me that? Maybe I added it."
"Impossible." The words escaped Josephine's mouth before she could stop them. Even she was surprised after saying it.
A smile curved Cedric's lips. "You trust me that much?"
"You're thorough in everything you do. If you'd added it, you wouldn't have given me this document through Noah." Josephine thought calmly. "You wouldn't stoop to such tactics."
Through their time working together, Josephine couldn't say she fully understood Cedric, but she had some insight. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush.
Whatever he wanted to do or say, he never hesitated and didn't need to. After all, he was the Getty family's eldest grandson, deeply trusted by David and carrying his expectations.
He had the confidence to speak plainly and didn't need to worry about offending anyone.
Josephine smiled self-deprecatingly. "Moreover, you had this document personally delivered to me."
"Very clever." Cedric sighed softly. "But sometimes, clever people don't get satisfactory results."
"I just want to know who added it." Josephine's mind was in turmoil. She couldn't catch the double meaning in his words.
"Does it matter?"
"Of course."
Cedric glanced at her, slowly stood, and walked to the window. His finger tapped the glass lightly, then tapped again on the left side.
Winter had arrived. The window had frost. Wherever his finger passed, it left a mark.
"Do you know Getty Group's founding history?"
Josephine shook her head, not understanding why the topic had suddenly shifted.
When Cedric withdrew his hand, his fingertip carried a trace of coolness. He rubbed his fingers together lightly, his voice cool. "Of course it's because of my grandfather's excellent business acumen. Everyone says I'll be the second him, but I've never considered that a compliment."
Josephine frowned slightly. "What does this have to do with my question?"
Cedric didn't turn around. His gaze fell on the glass, which reflected Josephine's face. "I just want you to know that in this company, only two people have real authority. One of them is me."
Josephine frowned and thought for a moment, then had a sudden realization.
Besides Cedric, the person who had authority at Getty Group and could decide which districts to develop was—David.
Her heart sank.
This wasn't good news. If David was the one who added the old district to the proposal, it meant the old man had been scheming from the start.
Her so-called "need for time" was just a delaying tactic. But if the old man had been calculating from the beginning, delaying was pointless.
Because she had nowhere left to retreat.
David's methods were ruthless. He never gave up until he achieved his goals, and he wouldn't be swayed by past sentiments. In his eyes, people fell into only two categories.
Useful, or useless.
Lost in thought, her shoulder was suddenly patted. Josephine looked up to see only Cedric's back. He faced away from her, organizing the opened document on the desk.
"There's a phrase I particularly like."
Josephine asked, "What phrase?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way." Cedric turned his head to look at her, a faint smile playing at his lips. "Human ability and potential are unlimited. Any predicament can be solved."
Was he trying to comfort her?
Josephine smiled bitterly. "Natural disasters and human-caused calamities often carry irresistible forces. You really overestimate human capability."
She asked herself—could she outmaneuver David?
Forget how many years that old man had lived and how deep his scheming ran, far beyond ordinary people. Just considering his position and methods, Josephine admitted she wasn't his match yet.
Her weakness was too obvious.
—Family.
But Cedric said, "Everyone has weaknesses. Human calamities are easier to resist than natural disasters."
Weaknesses...
What was David's weakness?
Josephine couldn't figure it out. At least she hadn't discerned it yet. She left Cedric's office dejectedly.
Everything had been developing in a positive direction, but it seemed various obstacles kept waiting for her.
That evening after work, Emma came to find Josephine. Seeing her still sitting in her chair in a daze, she couldn't help asking, "What's wrong? Did you run into some problem?"
Josephine rubbed her face. "Tell me, when facing a powerful, immovable enemy who's seized your weakness and demands you do certain things you can't resist—what should you do?"
Emma frowned. "Well, it depends on what he's asking you to do. If it violates the law or moral principles... I think even if you can't win, you should still resist."
Josephine asked again, "But what if it doesn't violate the law or moral principles, just asks you to do something you don't really want to do—something that goes against your heart..."
"Then just do it."
Josephine froze.
Emma spoke confidently. "If it doesn't break the law and doesn't violate morality, what does going against your heart matter? Living in this world, we often can't do things according to our wishes. Besides, doing something today doesn't mean we can't get revenge tomorrow. Even the most powerful people have weaknesses."
Weaknesses.
Her words echoed Cedric's.
Josephine rubbed her throbbing temples. "The problem is, I can't find the other party's weakness."
But Emma said, "Impossible. Unless this person has no family, no work, no friends. Unless they've lived an upright life from childhood and never done anything wrong. Otherwise, even the most powerful person has weaknesses."
The phrase "upright life" certainly didn't apply to David.
In fact, it had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
When he ran the company, how many underhanded things had he done? Josephine didn't need to investigate—she'd heard plenty.
Wait!
Josephine suddenly stood up. "Say that again!"
Emma blankly repeated it.
"Unless this person has no family, no work..."
Family.
Josephine smiled and patted Emma's shoulder. "See, I knew you had insight. You're smart."
Emma was still confused, even jumping to conclusions. "You're not planning to kidnap his family members, are you?"