Chapter 262 Who Leaked It

Chapter 262 Who Leaked It

Abigail's resignation email was sent on Monday morning.

She sent the email to Dashiell, with HR copied. The wording was brief, with no unnecessary pleasantries.

[Thank you to Summit Tech Group for your support. Due to personal career planning adjustments, I'm applying to resign. Please approve.]

When Dashiell saw this email, he went silent for about ten seconds.

He didn't try to keep her.

It wasn't that he didn't want to—he just knew her too well. Once Abigail made a decision, no amount of persuading would work. Besides, with Ethan about to personally mentor her for three months, that opportunity was far more important than her staying at Summit Tech Group drawing designs.

He replied with an email.

[Approved. You're welcome back anytime.]

The news spread through the company faster than he'd expected.

That afternoon, people in the design department were already talking about it in the break room.

"Abigail resigned? Didn't she just get promoted to team leader?"

"I heard she got poached by some big company."

"What big company?"

"Don't know, but haven't you noticed? After Hubbard Corporation invested in Summit Tech Group, a lot of people have been asking about her."

John sat in his office, listening to the hushed discussions from next door, twirling his pen between his fingers a couple times.

He'd known all along that Abigail would leave.

A Hubbard family heiress drawing designs at Summit Tech Group? That situation wasn't going to last long.

He closed his office door and went back to handling his project files.

At four in the afternoon, his phone rang.

Caller ID: Robin Diaz.

John answered.

"Mr. McCoy, long time no see." The voice on the other end was warm. "We had a good chat at that industry summit last time. I'm calling today to ask you about something."

"Mr. Diaz, you're too kind. What is it?"

"I heard you have a designer at your company named Abigail who recently resigned?"

John's fingers stopped moving.

"I'm really impressed with her work. That Harborview Plaza project last year—she led that, right? Novalynx Group is expanding our team right now, and we'd like to talk to her. Could you give me her contact information?"

John was silent for two seconds.

"Mr. Diaz, sorry, but I can't provide employees' private information."

"Come on, Mr. McCoy, it's just a phone number, not some trade secret. I really want to hire her, and the offer would definitely be good."

"Sorry, company policy."

Robin paused, then tried a different angle.

"Let me ask something else then. Is Hubbard Corporation's investment in Summit Tech Group related to Abigail? Everyone in our circle is saying that Ethan invested that money purely because of her."

John's back tensed up.

"Mr. Diaz, I can't answer that question. The investment was handled directly between Mr. Blackwell and Hubbard Corporation. I don't know the specific details."

"Alright then." Robin's tone carried a hint of regret. "If you change your mind, contact me anytime."

The call ended.

John put down his phone. He stared at the project files on his screen and realized he couldn't focus on a single line.

Robin wasn't the first person to call asking.

This week alone, at least three headhunters and two design company executives had contacted him, all of them after Abigail.

These people had sharp instincts. As soon as news of Hubbard Corporation's investment in Summit Tech Group got out, everyone started guessing the reason behind it. After all the speculation, they'd zeroed in on Abigail.

After thinking for a moment, John picked up his phone and sent Dashiell a message.

John: [Mr. Blackwell, Robin from Novalynx Group just called asking for Abigail's contact info. I refused. He also asked about the Hubbard Corporation investment, which I didn't reveal either. But these calls are getting more frequent. I'm worried I won't be able to hold them off.]

Dashiell's reply came quickly.

Dashiell: [You did the right thing. From now on, no matter who asks, stick to the same line—don't know, not convenient, can't provide. Any information about Abigail, don't let a single word slip out.]

John was about to reply "Understood" when he received another message.

Dashiell: [John, you should still remember what happened with Lynn. She's still locked up in interrogation, and her sentence will be at least ten years. You're smarter than her. I trust you know what you should and shouldn't do.]

John stared at this message. A thin layer of sweat formed on his palms.

Of course he remembered.

The day Lynn was taken away, the entire company went as quiet as if someone had hit the mute button. That person who'd been working in the industry for so many years threw away the rest of her life just because she sold a colleague's information.

John typed out a message and sent it: [Understood.]

He locked the screen and set his phone down on the table, face down.

He had many questions he wanted to ask—like what Abigail's real identity was, why both Dashiell and Ethan were protecting her so fiercely, why an ordinary designer's resignation could cause such a big reaction.

But he didn't ask a single one.

After all these years working his way through the corporate world, he understood one truth too well—the less you know about some things, the longer you survive.

However, while John could block people from the outside, he couldn't stop what was happening internally.

Three days later.

Abigail's phone started ringing constantly.

The first call came at noon.

"Ms. Thomas, hello, I'm the assistant to the CEO of Horizon Real Estate. Our boss would like to meet with you next week to discuss a high-end residential interior design project. Would that work for you?"

Abigail frowned.

"How did you get my number?"

"Well... a friend gave it to me. I can't really remember who exactly."

Abigail hung up.

Half an hour later, the second call came in.

"Ms. Thomas, I'm the head of Trivera Holdings. We have a cultural space design project with a good budget, and we'd like you to be the lead designer—"

"Sorry, I'm not taking on external projects right now. May I ask who gave you my number?"

"Uh, a friend sent it to me. It's not really something I can talk about."

She hung up again.

Between two and four in the afternoon, three more calls came in.

These calls were all from different companies. Some were from bosses calling personally, others from assistants reaching out. Everyone's pitch was different, but the pattern was almost identical—they wanted to meet her, discuss collaboration, they were "very impressed" with her design abilities.

By seven in the evening, her phone's message inbox had six unread texts, all self-introductions plus project invitations.

Abigail sat on the living room sofa. She set her phone on the coffee table and stared at the screen for a while. These people came from different companies and different industries, with no obvious connection between them.

But they'd all gotten her phone number.

She'd been using this number for three years. When she joined Summit Tech Group, she'd put this number on her resume, and HR had it on file too.

The people who normally contacted her were just a few—Sophia, Dashiell, Ethan, Craig, and a few former colleagues from Summit Tech Group.

These strangers who suddenly appeared couldn't have gotten this number from her personal circle.

That left only one possible source.

Summit Tech Group's HR records.

Abigail picked up her phone and dialed Dashiell's number.

This time he answered quickly.

"Mr. Blackwell, I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"In the past three days, I've gotten nearly ten calls from strangers, all from various companies wanting to meet and discuss collaboration. They all have my phone number, but I haven't given it to anyone."

There was a second of silence on the other end.

"You think the number was leaked from Summit Tech Group?"