Chapter 147: Someone Poisoned in the Gallery
This was the exhibition hall that Catherine had heard those workers mention last night—the one with problems.
Probably to avoid suspicion and clear herself in advance, Jennifer had used the tampered materials in the hall that Elijah was responsible for.
All it took was finding the central stress point of the load-bearing columns and giving it a light push according to the force distribution. The hollow materials in this exhibition hall would all collapse, turning into the ruins now before their eyes!
The employees Catherine had called out all looked confused.
What was going on?
Fortunately, no visitors had entered yet. If something had happened when people were inside, wouldn't their gallery be finished!
Elijah's legs were trembling.
"What's all this about? I really didn't know anything! Please believe me, I had no idea about the things in this exhibition hall..."
Catherine said coolly, "You're in charge of this hall, you're the hall manager, yet you say you didn't know there would be problems with things inside? You haven't come to check on this hall even once since it was built, have you?"
"I've been busy with other things, Ms. Windsor. You don't know how much work our gallery has to handle. I have to deal with so many things every day, I really didn't have time to pay attention to all this."
Catherine let out a cold laugh, her gaze falling on the ruins before her.
"I'm going to report this to the police."
This exhibition hall was just a product of the power struggle between Elijah and Jennifer, and the Hughes family had taken advantage of the gap.
"You two fight for power, but you make others your sacrifices. Throwing your weight around in front of employees, making them take sides. If I remember correctly, Odette used to be an intern under Jennifer, right?"
Elijah making things difficult for Odette was purely for his own selfish desires!
What kind of person bullies a fresh graduate intern?
"Ms. Windsor! I really didn't know about this. Please don't let the police take me away. There's still so much work at the gallery that needs me to handle. I've contributed so much to the gallery over all these years!"
Catherine's expression remained calm.
"I know this incident isn't related to you, but what about other things? You were the one who sent Jennifer's criminal evidence to my email, weren't you? Unfortunately, Jennifer also sent me a file about what you've done. You don't need to tell me what you should confess."
Elijah had been lining his own pockets, oppressing employees, causing many junior staff members to have their wages docked—money that went into his pocket. He even withheld employees' basic welfare benefits.
Those junior employees had just graduated and didn't even know they could file for labor arbitration. They were brainwashed by Elijah into thinking they should contribute to the gallery, that this was all art.
Bethany had circled all that data yesterday but didn't spell it out too clearly, wanting Catherine to handle it herself.
After all, the gallery was now Catherine's property, and Bethany wouldn't interfere too much!
Bethany had already thought it through—if Catherine didn't notice these things, he would quietly deal with them himself without upsetting Catherine.
"Ms. Windsor, you can't do this to me. I'm innocent!"
"Whether you're innocent or not, tell it to the police."
Catherine withdrew her gaze, handed him over to the waiting police behind her, and turned to walk into the office.
At the office door, a group of anxious employees had gathered.
Although they had all been mistreated by Elijah, seeing how Catherine had dealt with both Elijah and Jennifer—two gallery managers—in such a short time, they were still somewhat afraid they might be the next ones affected.
Catherine looked up, her expression cool.
"Who is Elijah's assistant?"
A man in the crowd raised his hand. "That's me. My name is Landon Fisher."
"Good. From now on, you'll temporarily take over all of Elijah's responsibilities. During this time, compile everything Elijah has done that damaged the company's interests. Can you do that?"
"I can! Thank you for the promotion, Ms. Windsor!"
Landon never thought he'd have a day when he'd be promoted!
He had always been suppressed by Elijah and couldn't get ahead. He didn't even have a chance to speak with Catherine—Elijah was afraid they would curry favor with Catherine and take away his power. Now Catherine had directly placed that power in his hands!
"Who is the deputy manager of the exhibition hall area?"
"Me. My name is Sarah Turner."
"From now on, you'll do Jennifer's previous work. Whether you can secure this position depends on your ability."
Sarah was thrilled and declared earnestly, "Don't worry, I can definitely prove myself!"
She had worked at the gallery for twenty years. Most of the exhibition halls Jennifer had done were basically using her design drafts as her own. No one understood better than her how to arrange exhibition halls!
Catherine appointed several more people to new positions.
The employees, who had been somewhat scattered and demoralized, all perked up one by one!
"One last thing. We're not opening today. The police will take away all our gallery's paints and canvases for testing. I suspect someone has poisoned them."
Poisoned!
Sarah was shocked. "Ms. Windsor, how could someone poison them? Those canvases and paints are used every day!"
If someone really had poisoned them, no one in the entire gallery could escape unharmed.
"Don't worry, just cooperate with the police investigation."
Catherine had checked today—the poisoned paints and canvases hadn't been put into use yet, and the paintings already in the gallery were safe.
The police soon brought up the investigation report.
"Ms. Windsor, your gallery's paints contain large amounts of sarin, also known as isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate. The canvases also have quite a few toxic chemical agents, and the drinking water in your office also contains some agents. If accidentally consumed, they could be fatal."
All the employees present gasped!
Not only were the canvases and paints poisoned, even the drinking water in Catherine's office wasn't safe?
Who could have done this! How bold!
Simply insane!
Catherine already knew which items had problems; she was just confirming the quantities.
"Thank you. We'll cooperate with the investigation and replace these things as soon as possible."
After registering the data and all surveillance backups and seeing off the police, Catherine turned to look at Sarah and Landon.
"All done?"
"Yes! The paints and canvases have been taken away. Some surveillance footage is missing, but we found most of it."
The entire gallery staff's opinion of her had completely changed!
Catherine was not only Dominic's student but also so composed and elegant.
Even when encountering such matters, she remained calm. While cooperating with the police investigation, she would occasionally comfort the employees' emotions, unconsciously becoming their anchor.
Everyone's gaze unconsciously followed Catherine's figure.
That slender, spirited figure stood at the gallery entrance, hands in her pockets, her hair flowing in the wind, her presence like a queen!
Catherine spoke coolly.
"You don't need to work today. Go home and rest. Your wages will still be paid. Sort out all the materials and data. From now on, I want to see a brand new gallery. No more scheming and plotting, and I don't want to see employees being exploited again."
"Yes! Don't worry, we all understand!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Esme, wrapped up tightly, got into a car on the street, looking around nervously, afraid of being discovered.
Michael looked at her with disdain. "Why are you looking around so nervously? What are you afraid of?"
Esme bit her lip.
"Michael, what I'm giving you is extremely important. It absolutely cannot be discovered by anyone!"