12. It could have been worse

“You should not come here.”

Sara Owen stood up, “Uncle, I never wanted to leave this house. I love you and Aunt Natalie more than anything in this world. You both are my family.”

Bruno Dixon patted her head gently, “I know that, my child. And that’s why I am telling you that we will not force you to stay here if it makes you uncomfortable. But remember, you will always have a place in our hearts.”

Sara Owen hugged him tightly, “Thank you, Uncle. I will never forget this kindness.”

Bruno Dixon hugged her back, “Don’t thank me, my child. It’s my duty as a father to protect my children.”

"You're making me feel uncomfortable. Ever since I married Yohan, I've become connected to the joys and sorrows of this family. I've tried my best to fulfill my responsibilities. You know, I don't come here just because Aunt insists. I come because I genuinely want to be here. This is my family."

"I knew you would say that. But Neel..."

Sara Owen interrupted him, "Uncle, do you think I'm scared of Neel's threats? Do you think I'll make any wrong decisions?

"If he behaves badly with you, I won't be able to face Ricky."

"Trust me, please."

Bruno smiled with a hint of regret and proudly rubbed her shoulder, "Natalie and I wished for a daughter like you, and our wish has come true."

Sara Owen gently held his hand, smiling gratefully.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Bruno comforted her by patting her head, noticing the tears in her eyes. He could sense her gratitude because he trusted her.

...

Sara Owen showed up at her workplace on Monday morning after staying at the Dixon Villa overnight.

A lot had taken place in the past two days, including a murder attempt on her in the swimming pool, Neel's unexpected threats, Bruno overhearing their conversation, and Gracie's pregnancy.

Most importantly, Yohan Dixon knew about her miscarriage, and this had left her thoughts in turmoil. As she wasn't in the mood for work, her assistant Neha reminded her that she had a hospital check-up scheduled. Sara was about to leave the room when Neel Dixon showed up, but she didn't acknowledge him. She put on her coat and headed towards the door.

"Sara," Neel Dixon called out from behind her.

"If you're here to threaten me, I don't have time for that. And if it's about work, schedule an appointment with Neha," she replied in a cold tone.

"What I said to you yesterday... I said it in the heat of the moment. Please forgive me."

Sara Owen turned around and looked at him with a blank expression on her face.

"Your threats won't affect me. And let me tell you something else. I have a lot of work to do. Don't try to waste my time. Otherwise, you might have to go back abroad. Once again."

Sara Owen quickly left the office, leaving Neel Dixon stunned as he stared at the closed door.

After few days…

Sara Owen, the leader of the IT department, was wrapping up her tasks before meeting her friend Gracie for dinner. Despite her commitment to catching up with Gracie, her workload seemed to keep growing, making her schedule increasingly hectic.

As Sara made her way towards the presidential elevator, Neha hurriedly approached her.

"Madam, I apologize for interrupting, but the elevator is out of service."

Sara glanced at the electronic display, which indicated that the elevator was turned off.

"Oh... Why did it suddenly stop working? It was functioning fine earlier today.”

"Suddenly in the afternoon, there was an error in its software.”

Sara sighed, "Didn't you call the technician?"

"I did. He must have come. You can use the staff lift, Madam.”

Sara followed Neha to the staff elevator. As they approached the lift, two staff members were already waiting for elevator. Seeing Sara holding her stomach, they greeted her and politely made way for her to enter first.

Just as the elevator arrived and Sara was about to step inside, Nolan called out to her.

"Madam... The documents are prepared. If you could check and sign them, I can proceed.”

Sara glanced at the staff members, who were patiently waiting for her to enter the elevator.

"You can go ahead. Thank you," she said to them before turning her attention to Nolan. "I will review them later. Right now, I have to leave.”

The floor numbers were displayed on the screen, and Sara was engrossed in reading the papers when suddenly the elevator jolted, accompanied by a loud noise.

Sara looked at Nolan with fear in her eyes. "What just happened? Is everyone okay?"

Assistant Nolan swiftly took out his phone to make a call. Just then, his phone rang, indicating an incoming call from the security team.

After a few seconds, he put his phone back into his pocket and turned to face Sara.

"Madam, the security team just called me. The lift is broken and two employees are badly injured."

Sara's heart sank. "Oh my! We need to do something. Can you call for an ambulance and get the security team to help?"

Assistant Nolan nodded and quickly made the necessary calls. Meanwhile, Sara asked Neha to inform the family members of the injured employees.

Assistant Neha assisted Sara Owen in sitting on the couch, and the latter remained tense. Once the presidential lift was fixed, Neha accompanied Sara to the first floor, where the incident had occurred.

Sara and Neha rushed towards the lift to see the injured employees.

Sara's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the injured employees. "We need to take better care of our staff. This is unacceptable."

Nolan nodded in agreement. "I'll make sure to investigate the cause of the accident and ensure that it never happens again."

Sara nodded and turned to Neha. "Please inform everyone in the office about the incident and make sure they take extra precautions while using the lifts."

As the injured employees were taken away in the ambulance, Sara, Neha, and Nolan headed back to Sara's cabin. They were all shaken by the incident, but grateful that it wasn't any worse.

Sara couldn't concentrate on anything after that. She cancelled her meeting with Gracie and stayed in her cabin, thinking about the seriousness of the incident.

After an hour, Assistant Nolan entered her cabin. Seeing his flushed face, Sara Owen stood up from her chair quickly.

“What’s wrong? Did you check what cause the error in lift?” She asked impatiently.

“Madam, after finding out about this incident, I feel that it could have been worse.”

“What do you want to say?”

“Someone deliberately messed up with the system.”