Chapter 11
Evelyn froze. This kind of respect and sincerity formed a stark contrast to Matthew's coercive strong-arming.
A slight ripple stirred in Evelyn's heart.
"Thank you, Mr. Jennings. I'll give it serious thought." Her tone was more genuine than before.
"Good. I'll wait to hear from you." Zeal smiled, then asked casually, "How've you been feeling? You looked a little pale the other night."
This offhand concern brought a touch of warmth to Evelyn's heart, mixed with an inexplicable ache. "I'm alright. Thanks for asking." She replied softly.
"That's good. Take care of yourself. I won't keep you. Talk soon."
The call ended. Evelyn stared at the number for a moment, then saved it to her contacts, entering "Zeal Jennings" in the name field.
Fragmented sunlight filtered through the window. She suddenly felt like the constant tension she'd been carrying had eased just a bit.
When she returned to the executive office, Evelyn found someone sitting at her desk and couldn't help frowning.
It was Patrick, the PR director, his expression carrying a mix of awkwardness and discomfort.
"Evelyn," he stood up, his tone polite, "mind if we have a word in private?"
Evelyn led him to a conference room, her expression calm. "Mr. Davis, go ahead."
Patrick cleared his throat. "About the Sparkle contract situation last time—in my panic, my attitude was definitely poor, and some of what I said was inconsiderate."
"After Mr. Ellen personally called to clarify things and spoke highly of your professionalism... I realized I'd wrongly accused you. On behalf of the PR department, I apologize."
The apology wasn't particularly solemn, but it was reasonably sincere. Clearly, her follow-up actions and Ellen's strong endorsement had made an impact.
Evelyn didn't push further and nodded. "Mr. Davis, you're too kind. However," her tone shifted, "I think the root cause of this incident needs to be thoroughly investigated. Someone clearly sabotaged this deliberately—it's serious enough to constitute commercial misconduct."
Patrick paused, then nodded. "That's... I really didn't think of that. Could it have been sent by mistake?"
Evelyn was certain. "I remember very clearly—it wasn't a mistake. Someone deliberately framed me, and if we don't eliminate this threat, who's to say it won't happen again on other projects? I need you to coordinate access to the relevant file operation records and logs. I want to do a preliminary investigation myself. If there really is a mole and the evidence is solid, it won't be too late to report to legal and Mr. Perkins then."
Patrick nodded. "Alright, I'll grant you the necessary permissions. Just be careful not to tip anyone off."
"Understood. Thank you, Mr. Davis." Evelyn had achieved her objective.
---
The investigation went more smoothly than expected. Evelyn was a top-tier designer—tracking data flows and analyzing abnormal access patterns was her bread and butter.
Leads surfaced quickly. On that late night when she'd submitted the final design, aside from her own access records, there was an anomalous IP from within the company network. In an extremely short timeframe, multiple attempted accesses and modification overwrites had been made to the encrypted folder where she stored her source files.
Evelyn followed the trail and quickly identified an unexpected person. She also discovered a suspiciously large sum deposited into that person's account from an unknown source.
Motive, method, evidence chain—it was nearly airtight.
That evening, she arranged to meet the person at a Western restaurant near the office.
Rose from the executive office arrived as scheduled. When she saw only Evelyn there, a flicker of barely perceptible panic crossed her face.
"Eve, you wanted to see me... what's up?"
Evelyn pushed the evidence materials across to her without preamble. "The Sparkle source files—you swapped them, didn't you?"
Rose's face went deathly pale. "I... I don't know what you're talking about..."
"This money deposited into your account came from a company affiliated with Soar Tech." Evelyn's voice was calm. "Rose, your mother needed surgery—I understand you were desperate. But that's not an excuse to sell company secrets and frame a colleague. Do you have any idea? What you did almost ruined my career and nearly cost the company hundreds of millions in partnership deals."
"I'm sorry, Eve, I'm so sorry..." Rose's composure crumbled, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed Evelyn's hand, sobbing uncontrollably. "My mom couldn't wait... They said they just wanted to look at the design approach, that nothing would really happen... I didn't know the consequences would be this serious... Eve, please, don't tell the company."
She cried pitifully. In the past, Evelyn might have softened.
But after everything she'd been through, she knew better than anyone that once a line was crossed, there could be a second time, a third time.
Evelyn withdrew her hand, her tone even. "I'm submitting the evidence to legal. How they handle it is up to the company. You can cooperate with the investigation voluntarily and try to mitigate your responsibility."
At those words, Rose's crying stopped abruptly. Her expression shifted to one of desperate resentment.
"You... can't you just let me go? You already got the project back. Mr. Perkins values you again. Why do you have to push me to my death?!"
"I'm not pushing you. These were your own choices." Evelyn stood, preparing to leave, looking at her with pity. "If you really care about your mother, turn yourself in."
Rose's emotions spiraled completely out of control. She suddenly grabbed the fruit knife from the table and lunged at Evelyn.
"If I'm finished... you won't get off easy either!"
It happened too fast. Evelyn never expected her to suddenly attack.
She instinctively stepped back but her ankle caught on a chair leg. Her body lost balance instantly, falling sideways as she watched the knife blade coming straight at her chest.
In that split second, a figure rushed over from the side and yanked Evelyn forcefully into his arms!
A soft "thud"—the muffled sound of a blade piercing flesh.
Evelyn stumbled into a solid embrace. Still shaken, she looked up to meet eyes constricting slightly with pain.
It was Matthew!
He'd appeared out of nowhere and was now holding her protectively in front of him. His right arm, shockingly, had a fruit knife embedded in it. Blood was rapidly seeping out, staining his white dress shirt crimson.
Time seemed to freeze.
Evelyn saw his lips pressed tight with pain, saw the cold sweat instantly beading on his temples. Anxious words were about to spill from her mouth when an urgent shout came from behind.
"Matthew, are you okay?! Have you lost your mind?!"
Evelyn turned her head toward the voice behind Matthew and discovered it came from his soon-to-be fiancée, Marigold Quinn.
Marigold looked even more refined than in her photos, her bearing exuding wealth and status. But right now her hand covered her mouth, her face full of shock.
Matthew seemed oblivious to the pain and blind to his fiancée's gaze behind him.
His arm remained steady around Evelyn, keeping her firmly within the safety of his protection. His cold gaze shot toward Rose, who stood frozen in terror.
"How dare you!" His voice was dangerously low but carried murderous intent.