Chapter 21
"So, did he agree?" Sophia asked, slowly stirring her coffee as she sat across from Josephine in the café.
"No," Josephine replied simply.
That was Gideon for you—a control freak who never let go of anything in his grasp, whether objects or people.
"But those rights were yours to begin with! What gives him the right to hold onto them?" Sophia looked indignant, her spoon clinking against the cup.
Josephine's lips curved slightly. "I don't plan to tell him about my true identity."
She'd actually intended to at first. The day she discovered her pregnancy, she wanted to come clean about everything. She had always held marriage and relationships to the highest standards, believing spouses should support each other and be completely honest.
"Honestly, just thinking about him running around like a headless chicken right now makes me want to laugh." To Sophia, a cheating scumbag like him deserved to get hit by a car the moment he stepped outside.
Josephine smiled softly. "He'll agree eventually."
"You're that confident?"
"I know him." After years of marriage, she wasn't just his wife—they'd built their careers together. What mattered most to Gideon? Once upon a time, it was her. Now, as a man lost in power, his weaknesses were painfully obvious.
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Gideon had been frantic these past couple of days. He finally managed to contact Marshall, but just as Josephine predicted, it didn't help—Marshall lacked the ability to resolve the situation. Pushing him forward to take responsibility wouldn't satisfy the victims and their families.
He ordered the research team to work around the clock on a solution, but the system had originally been Aiden's team's responsibility. By the time they were fired, the system had already been completed. The new staff weren't familiar with the detailed operational model.
Two days passed without progress.
Starlight Group's PR department wasn't completely useless—they'd been suppressing online rumors with decent results. But the victims and their families continued blocking the entrance to the building, taking shifts day and night, seriously disrupting operations.
As CEO with assistants and bodyguards, Gideon wasn't personally blocked, but his employees suffered, sneaking in and out of work.
The incident had also caught David's attention. No one knew what was said during their two-hour conversation at the Getty Manor, but Gideon emerged limping on one leg.
Two days later, Gideon found Josephine.
"I'll give you the property rights, but I need to know—how do you plan to fix this?"
After years of marriage, Gideon was truly seeing Josephine again. She handed him a detailed plan.
The immediate action: download all error report location data, combining it with network security laws to prove the legality of emergency risk avoidance. Then, Josephine and Aiden's team worked through the night to push correction plugins to the hospital's PACS system, immediately fixing all the errors.
By morning, she was exhausted when she saw Gideon waiting at the door.
She rubbed her temples. "I'm going to rest now. I've reviewed the PR department's proposal—you really should go apologize sincerely." Marshall might have caused this disaster, but Gideon was the one who foolishly put such an idiot in the research department.
Gideon followed behind her. "I'll do as you say."
Josephine returned to Clearwater Ridge. She was too tired to deal with Gideon trailing her, so she locked the door behind her. Gideon found himself locked out. He tried his fingerprint—it didn't work. He froze.
When had she changed the fingerprint access? That was a question he couldn't answer. He stood there at the door until noon.
Josephine woke up hungry and headed out for food, startled to find a man standing at her door.
"What are you doing here? Something wrong?"
"I was worried you'd be hungry."
Gideon had brought food. After pulling an all-nighter, Josephine was starving and didn't hesitate to take it to the living room and dig in.
Gideon watched her. "I want you to come with me to the hospital."
Josephine eventually agreed—not for Gideon's sake, but for the young woman. She wanted to see her.
The girl looked young, lying in bed pale-faced from a surgery she never should have had. When they entered, she instinctively offered a faint smile, which vanished the moment she learned who they were.
"I don't want to see you."
Gideon stood frozen at the doorway, but Josephine pushed him forward.
"I'm deeply sorry. Our company's negligence caused this tragedy—it's entirely our fault." Josephine gave Gideon another shove.
"I'm sorry," he said.
The girl's eyes reddened. "From what I understand, Starlight Group is a major corporation—publicly traded. As CEO, shouldn't you think beyond profits? When you deployed this system, did you consider the innocent people who might suffer? Why weren't you more careful from the beginning? Why didn't you choose your employees more wisely?"
So much pain and resentment had transformed her. She was only twenty, her life just beginning. How could anyone handle such a devastating blow?
Gideon spoke softly. "I'm truly sorry for my negligence. I've fired the employee responsible. Starlight Group will cover all your medical expenses and provide compensation. After you recover, I'm willing to offer you employment if you wish—our doors will always be open to you."
"Please leave. I need to rest."
Despite her immense pain, the young woman recognized this was the best outcome possible.
Her mother asked, "We're just letting it go like this?"
"What else can we do?" The girl lowered her head, hair falling to hide her face. "Mom, you know our financial situation better than anyone. Ongoing treatment, financial compensation, job opportunities..." She closed her eyes. "It's enough."
Her mother, at a loss for words, could only embrace her.
Josephine and Gideon left the hospital. When he naturally reached for her hand, she dodged him and got in the car first.
"There are other victims. You'll need to apologize to each one personally."
"I understand."
On the way back, Gideon drove, occasionally glancing at her through the rearview mirror. He was happy. Though their initial deal used the property rights as leverage, her dedication in helping solve his problems showed that only she would go to such lengths for him.
Back at Evercrest Manor, when Gideon reached for Josephine's hand, she placed a document in his instead.
"Sign it."
The property rights transfer agreement.
Gideon's expression froze. "Is that all you care about?"
"This is what we agreed to initially. Don't tell me you're backing out now." She wasn't about to let him off easy. Just as capable of solving his problems, she was equally capable of creating them.
Gideon smiled bitterly. "I won't."
He sat on the sofa, opened the document, quickly flipped to the signature page, and signed without hesitation. He didn't even glance at the other terms.
Josephine narrowed her eyes slightly. "Aren't you going to read it?"
"I trust you." In this world, Josephine was the only person he trusted.
Josephine took the document, giving him a rare smile he hadn't seen in ages. "Thank you, Gideon."