Chapter 232 Nguyen Tech Group Faces a Crisis

Chapter 232 Nguyen Tech Group Faces a Crisis

Maggie smiled without saying anything. She lowered her head and gently ran her finger along the rim of her coffee cup.

Frank's expression shifted for a moment, but he quickly recovered and smoothly stepped in, "Albert, you're too kind. Ms. Smith's excellence is there for everyone to see. But no matter how many admirers she has, it still depends on whether Ms. Smith herself is willing."

As he spoke, he glanced at Maggie.

Maggie kept her head down and didn't respond.

Albert laughed a couple of times.

The atmosphere relaxed a bit, and both sides began discussing the specific terms of the cooperation.

Maggie went through BlueSky Biotech's strengths and technical expertise.

Albert listened carefully, nodding from time to time. The few questions he asked all hit the key points.

Frank also helped Maggie out. Both sides talked smoothly, going over the contract draft several times and basically reaching an agreement.

Maggie had her assistant print out the formal contract and place it on the table, waiting for Albert to sign.

Albert picked up his pen, opened to the last page, and just as the pen tip touched the paper, his phone rang.

He frowned, put down the pen, picked up his phone to glance at it, and answered.

"What is it?"

His voice wasn't loud, but the impatience in his tone could be felt even through the receiver.

The person on the other end said a few things.

Albert's frown deepened, and his expression darkened almost instantly.

He said "Got it" and hung up.

"Ms. Smith, Mr. Hernandez, I'm sorry."

Albert stood up, put his phone in his pocket, his tone rushed, "Something urgent came up at the company. I need to go back right away to handle it. Let's reschedule to discuss the cooperation."

As he spoke, he grabbed the contract draft from the table, stuffed it into his briefcase, and turned to leave.

Maggie stood up, trying to persuade him to stay, "Albert, we've pretty much settled everything. Why don't you sign the contract first?"

Albert waved his hand without looking back, "Next... next time."

He strode out of the private room.

Maggie stood there, staring at the closed door, her fingers slowly clenching.

She turned her head to look at Frank, her voice a bit hoarse: "What just happened? Everything was fine a moment ago."

Frank also frowned and tried to comfort her: "Don't worry, I'll make some calls and find out what's going on with Albert."

He picked up his phone and walked to the window to make calls.

Maggie sat in her chair, waiting, her fingers unconsciously gripping the contract cover, creasing the paper.

The door to the private room was pushed open.

It wasn't Frank—it was Maggie's assistant.

She was holding her phone, her face deathly pale, as if she'd been frightened by something. She rushed in, her lips trembling.

"Ms. Smith, something terrible has happened!" The assistant's voice was very low, but the panic in her tone couldn't be hidden.

"Nguyen Tech Group is in crisis! Their medical devices were found to have cut corners—illegal metal content exceeding standards. They're under investigation now. The news has already gotten out, the stock market keeps dropping, and many partners are pulling out."

She took a deep breath, her voice even lower, "And because Nguyen Tech Group is affiliated with BlueSky Biotech, BlueSky Biotech has also been put on the industry blacklist. Several partners who were about to sign contracts have all paused, saying they'll wait for the investigation results."

Maggie's head buzzed, as if someone had hit her hard with a stick.

She sat in her chair, her vision going dark in waves. She gripped the edge of the table to keep from falling.

She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.

Frank finished his call and turned around. Seeing Maggie's expression and the assistant's face, he quickly walked over, "What's wrong?"

The assistant repeated what she'd said, and Frank's expression changed too.

Maggie steadied herself, picked up her phone, found Luke's number, and dialed.

The phone rang twice and was answered.

"What is it?" Luke said.

Maggie took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible.

"Luke, have you heard about what happened with Nguyen Tech Group?"

Without waiting for Luke to answer, she began apologizing: "I'm sorry, I don't know why this suddenly happened. I'll definitely get to the bottom of it and won't drag you down."

Her voice was trembling a bit, but she tried hard to hold it in.

Luke was silent for a second, "It's okay, I'm also investigating now. If there's a problem, we'll face it together."

Maggie's fingers tightened, but she felt relieved: "Thank you."

She hung up.

Frank stood nearby, watching her finish the call with that forced composure on her face, his heart aching.

He walked over, softening his voice: "Don't worry, I'll make more calls and find out exactly where the problem is."

Maggie shook her head, already giving up: "Just take me home."

Frank nodded, picked up her bag, and helped her walk out.

In the car, Maggie leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed, not saying a word.

Frank looked at her several times in the rearview mirror, wanting to say something, but seeing her pale face, he swallowed his words.

The car stopped in front of the Nguyen Manor.

Maggie pushed open the car door. Frank handed her the bag, "Call me anytime if you need anything."

Maggie nodded and walked into the courtyard.

The living room was already in chaos.

Hannah sat on the sofa with red-rimmed eyes. As soon as she saw Maggie, she stood up, grabbed her hand, and cried.

"Maggie, you're finally back! Something terrible happened at the company, what are we going to do? Your uncle, he... he..."

She couldn't continue and tears fell again.

Benjamin stood by the window with his back to everyone, his shoulders slumped, looking like he'd aged ten years.

Eleanor sat in a corner, hugging a cushion, her eyes also red.

Hearing the commotion, she looked up at Maggie. Her lips moved but no words came out.

Maggie walked up to Benjamin, her voice cold: "What exactly happened? Explain it to me clearly."

Benjamin turned around and looked at her, his eyes evasive, not daring to meet her gaze.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke hoarsely: "It's my fault... it's my fault. To cut costs, I... I found a cheap materials supplier. I thought I could save a bit here and there. I never thought... never thought it would cause such a big problem."

He paused, "That batch of materials had metal content exceeding standards. It should have been detected during testing, but I used my connections to get it through."

Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She opened her eyes and looked at Benjamin. There was no anger in her gaze, only disappointment and exhaustion.

"Do you know the consequences of doing this? Do you know BlueSky Biotech would also be implicated? Do you know how many nice things I've said to people, how many smiles I've put on to get just one partner?"

She was almost shouting, each word like ice, stabbing into Benjamin's heart so deeply he couldn't say a word.

Eleanor stood up from the corner, her voice tearful:

"Maggie, what's the point of saying all this now? My classmates are all asking me if there's really a problem with Nguyen Tech Group's equipment, and I don't know how to answer. Maggie, please think of something."

Maggie didn't look at her and turned to ask Benjamin: "The person who exposed this scandal—have you found them yet?"

Benjamin was stunned for a moment and said: "I just found some leads, haven't confirmed yet, but should be able to find them soon."

Maggie closed her eyes and said: "When you find them, bring them to see me immediately."

Benjamin quickly nodded and turned to make phone calls.

Maggie took out her phone from her bag, glanced at Eleanor, and said: "Come upstairs with me."

Eleanor wiped her tears and followed her upstairs.

Entering the room, Maggie closed the door, looked at Eleanor, her tone serious: "Listen carefully. From now on, if anyone outside asks you anything, you say you don't know. You know nothing, you've heard nothing. Those messages on your phone—don't reply, don't delete them, just pretend you haven't seen them."

Eleanor nodded, "I got it."