Chapter 5

The final message was sent the day after Seren and I became a couple.

William asked her, "Has he withdrawn the complaint yet?"

Seren replied, "Almost. He's easy to handle."

The pages rustled softly in my hand.

Just then, my phone lit up.

It was my mother calling.

She was scheduled for surgery to remove a tumor today.

Seren promised that she'd be there.

By the time I arrived at the hospital, the nurse had already reminded us twice that it was time.

Mom lay in the hospital bed, her face pale.

"Is Seren stuck in traffic?"

"Yeah," I lied. "She'll be here soon."

I walked to the stairwell and called Seren.

The first time, no one answered. The second call was declined, and on the third attempt, William picked up.

"Charles, Seren isn't available right now."

"Put her on the phone."

"Bun ran away. We're looking for him now. He's timid, and it's raining outside. He could be in real danger."

I gripped my phone.

"My mom has surgery in half an hour. She promised she'd come."

William fell silent for a moment.

"But your mom has the doctors and you. Bun only has us."

Seren took the phone from him.

Her breathing was slightly ragged, and I could hear the sound of rain in the background.

"Charles, I haven't forgotten about your mom's surgery, but Bun is missing."

"You can still make it in time if you come now."

"William panicked so hard he had an asthma attack. I can't leave him here alone."

"What about my mom?"

"It's just a routine procedure. The risks are very low. You being there is more than enough."

She paused, softening her tone slightly.

"Be good. I'll come straight over as soon as we find Bun."

Be good.

Those were the same words she used to convince me to withdraw my complaint three years ago.

"Charles, be good and just let it go. You'll create even better work in the future."

I leaned against the cold wall and asked her, "Seren, did you approach me in the first place because of William?"

The other end of the line went completely quiet.

All I could hear was the rain pounding against an umbrella.

Her silence was answer enough.

"What did you find?"

"Just answer yes or no."

"It's complicated. I can't explain everything over the phone."

"So it's a yes."

Seren's voice dropped.

"William was part of the reason at first, but that changed later. Don't be so obstinate, Charles."

I ignored her and asked, "Who damaged my evidence drive?"

"I don't know."

She answered too quickly.

In the background, William shouted desperately for Bun.

Seren immediately said, "I have to go. I'll call you later."

The call ended.

The stairwell door opened, and a nurse approached.

"Mr. Leed, your mother needs surgery now."

I wiped the tears from my face.

As they wheeled Mom away, she was still trying to comfort me.

"Don't blame Seren. Work is important."

I squeezed her hand, smiling as I nodded.

Four hours later, the surgery was a success.

Seren finally sent me a message.

"We found Bun. How is your mom?"

I didn't reply.

I scanned every page of the old complaint records and logged back into an email I hadn't used in three years.

In the recipient field, I entered the email addresses of the competition's organizing committee, the client for our joint project, and the professional industry association.

Along with my original design drafts, I attached Seren's internal emails and the cloud backup records I had just recovered.

Finally, I opened the joint project's online portal.

I revoked the design authorization and my personal electronic signature.

Two warning messages popped up in succession.

"Once authorization is revoked, the project will no longer be eligible to participate in the bidding process.

"Proceed?"

I clicked "Confirm".

At the same moment, Seren sent me a voice message.

"Charles, I'll give you access to my apartment. Stop making a fuss. I'll come pick you up at the hospital tonight."

I didn't listen to the rest.

On the screen, the progress bar for the complaint email reached the end.

Sent successfully.