Lila’s POV
At four o’clock in the afternoon, we finally finished the new proposal. Just as I was about to print the documents, the office door was pushed open. Caleb stood in the doorway, his face grim.
"Lila," he said in a low voice, "I’m giving you one last chance. Accept my terms, and we can pretend this never happened. Otherwise, Goodrich will issue a formal letter of accountability within the hour."
Eleanor immediately stood up. "Mr. Caleb, please respect our work process!"
Caleb didn’t even look at her, his eyes fixed on me. "Are you really going to ruin your own future for an outsider?"
I stood up, looked him straight in the eye, and handed him the newly printed proposal. "I don’t need your charity. This is the revised structural optimization plan. Please have Goodrich review it. If you find it unreasonable, feel free to send your letter. But I will publicly explain the entire course of events at an industry hearing—including how you used your position to try and coerce a married woman."
His pupils contracted sharply. He clearly hadn’t expected me to fight back.
"You... How did you become like this?"
I sneered. "Did you think I was still the little adopted girl you could push around?"
His face turned livid. He snatched the documents from my hand and flipped through them quickly. As he read, his expression shifted from anger to shock.
"You actually... you actually fixed it?" he muttered.
"So," I said, taking a step forward, my tone firm, "now, please provide a fair assessment in your professional capacity as the client, instead of using personal feelings to blackmail me."
He was silent for a long time before finally closing the file and giving me a deep look. "Lila, you’ve really changed."
"I haven’t changed," I said calmly. "I’ve grown up."
He turned and left, his retreating figure looking somewhat desolate. I thought that was the end of it.
However, five minutes later, an email from the Goodrich Group’s legal department suddenly landed in my inbox.
Subject: Formal Inquiry and Breach of Contract Warning Regarding Major Project Design Flaw
I opened the attachment, and my hands instantly went cold.
The email was harshly worded, demanding that AR provide a complete technical review report within 24 hours. It also implied that if we couldn’t prove the design’s compliance, they would initiate breach of contract claim proceedings—for a sum as high as two million dollars.
But the deadliest part was that the email was CC’d to AR’s CEO, the board of directors, and... Jasper Hale.
Eleanor’s face was pale after reading the email. "They never intended to give us a chance! They’re trying to force AR to abandon the project and ruin your career in the process!"
I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms. ’Caleb’s expression just now... was it all an act? He never planned on letting me off the hook!’
Just then, the office lights suddenly went out. The entire floor plunged into darkness.
"What’s going on?" Eleanor exclaimed.
I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight. The beam swept across the desk—the new proposal I had just printed was gone.
"Lila!" Eleanor suddenly whispered, pointing toward the door. "Look!"
Under the dim emergency lights of the hallway, a blurry figure was striding quickly toward the elevator, a stack of papers clutched tightly in their hand.
Was that... David?
’But why would he steal our proposal?’
I rushed out, but the elevator was already descending. I could only watch as the indicator light stopped at the B2 parking garage.
"Where is he going?" Eleanor ran over, her voice trembling. "Could he be... taking the proposal to Caleb?"
I stood in the empty hallway, a chill running through me.
’If David gives our revised proposal to Goodrich, how will they use it?’
’As proof that we admitted our mistake? Or... will they turn it around and accuse us of falsifying data?’
What was even more terrifying—’Why would he do this?’
By the time Eleanor and I burst into the B2 parking garage, we only saw David’s taillights disappearing through the exit gate. The night was dark, and a cold wind whipped dead leaves against my face, making me shiver.
"He must be going to Goodrich Tower!" Eleanor said frantically. "We have to stop him!"
But we didn’t even have a car. I took out my phone and dialed Jasper’s number with trembling fingers. He picked up after three rings.
"Jasper, David stole our revised proposal! He just drove away from the AR building, heading downtown!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then his voice came, terrifyingly deep. "Stay where you are. Don’t move. I’m on my way."
Less than ten minutes later, two black SUVs glided into the parking garage like ghosts. Jasper got out of the first car, followed by four tall men dressed in black. His face was dark, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade.
"Get in the car," he ordered curtly, then murmured a few words to one of the men behind him. The man nodded and quickly pulled up the city’s surveillance footage on a tablet.
The car sped off. Jasper was silent, exuding a suffocating, oppressive aura. Sitting next to him, my heart pounded like a drum.
"How do you know where he is?" I couldn’t help but ask.
He glanced at me, his expression complex. "He can’t escape."
Sure enough, ten minutes later, David’s car was "accidentally" blocked at a red light by a construction vehicle at the intersection ahead. Our SUV instantly boxed him in.
The doors opened. Jasper got out and walked straight to David’s driver-side door. David’s face was chalk-white. His hands were clamped tightly on the steering wheel, and he was still clutching the stack of blueprints to his chest.
"Get out of the car." Jasper’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
David shook his head, his voice trembling. "Mr. Hale, please... my wife is dying... They promised me five hundred thousand..."
Before he could finish, Jasper yanked the car door open and dragged him out. At that moment, a bizarre scene unfolded—the four men in black behind Jasper suddenly expanded in size, their bones letting out sickening CRACKING sounds. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into four enormous gray wolves, their fearsome fangs bared as they surrounded David!
David let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed to the ground.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, watching in shock. Even though I already knew Jasper was from the Wolf Clan, seeing his men transform with my own eyes still made my skin crawl.
Jasper knelt, grabbed David by the collar, and demanded in a voice of ice, "Who put you up to this? Speak!"
Tears streamed down David’s face as he broke down completely. "It was... it was Mr. Arthur Goodrich! He said if I gave him the proposal, he’d immediately pay for all of my wife’s future medical expenses, plus an extra five hundred thousand for my family! I... I was truly desperate..."
’Uncle Arthur? My adoptive father?’
My heart felt like it had been viciously stabbed. ’So all these years, I’ve been living a huge lie?!!’
"Please..." David knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. "I know I was wrong... I still have the proposal..."
Watching his desperate state, I thought of his wife in the ICU and his two young children, and a wave of sorrow washed over me. No matter how great his mistake, it couldn’t outweigh a father’s instinct to save his family.
"Jasper," I said softly, "let him go. As long as we get the proposal back, that’s enough."
Jasper glanced at me, the violence in his eyes receding slightly. "Are you sure?"