Chapter 3

Ignoring Sandra's string of curses behind me, I walked straight toward a cab waiting on the street.

Once I was inside, I dialed Dad's private number.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable…"

A familiar robotic female voice sounded in my ear. It wasn't until then that I remembered that Dad was in Eropah for an important closed-door business deal. To keep the details confidential, all of his communication devices would be centrally managed.

The earliest opportunity I had to get in touch with him was three days later, at Lincoln Group's annual dinner event.

I gripped my phone tightly.

Fine. If that were the case, I would just let these clowns continue to make fools out of themselves for another three days.

I didn't stay idle for the next three days. I used my connections and began to look into Remy's background, and what I discovered was nothing short of hilarious.

Remy wasn't Dad's illegitimate child or anything. Instead, he was just the grandson of one of Dad's distant cousins, twice removed, who grew up in the country.

He had spent his days idling away without ever going to work, and his family shamelessly begged Dad for a job.

Since they were somewhat related, Dad casually told his subordinates to give Remy a low-level position at Lincoln Group's branch office in Waverton so he could gain some experience.

However, Dad's subordinates had misunderstood him. Remy also intentionally kept his explanation vague, implying that he had been sent by the "higher-ups" to join the management team.

Karen had always been a snobbish opportunist eager to curry favor with people with power and influence. She never bothered to verify his identity, yet she was already fawning over him and treating him like royalty at the branch company.

Remy just went with it, readily accepting the position and believing that he was the heir to the company, lording over everyone here.

On the third afternoon, I was in my apartment organizing the evidence I had collected when my doorbell began ringing urgently and relentlessly.

I opened the door and saw two uniformed policemen standing outside.

"Are you Alex Sutherland? Someone reported you for allegedly stealing Lincoln Group's confidential trade secrets. Kindly follow us to the police station for further investigation."

I cocked an eyebrow, instantly grasping the situation.

I guessed that those major clients refused to continue working with the Waverton branch of Lincoln Group the moment they realized that I wasn't working there anymore. Remy and Karen probably couldn't handle it, so they decided to pin the blame on me instead.

I didn't resist and cooperated fully with the police, following them to the police car.

Upon arriving at the police station, I immediately spotted Remy sitting in a chair with a leg crossed over the other. Meanwhile, Karen and Sandra were sitting on either side of him, fawning over him like loyal lapdogs.

The moment they saw me being escorted in, Karen jumped to her feet and screamed, "That's her, officers! This vile, vicious bitch is the one who did it!

"She held a grudge against the company after getting fired and didn't just delete the company's core client information. She even sold confidential trade secrets to our competitors!"

Next to them, Sandra wiped her tears. Her acting was quite convincing.

"I've always treated you well, Alex. How could you have responded to our kindness by committing such heinous acts? How could you do this to the company?"

Remy stood up, straightened his suit, and walked up to me. His eyes were filled with a smug, gloating, and malicious look.

"I gave you a chance, Alex. But you didn't take it, so you can't blame me for being ruthless with you. You stole trade secrets worth tens of millions of dollars. That's more than enough for you to be put behind bars for the rest of your life!"

I looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Is your brain filled with mashed potatoes or something, Remy Lincoln?

"Those clients were relationships I had cultivated long before I joined the company. They have absolutely nothing to do with Lincoln Group.

"As for the trade secrets? I wouldn't even take it from you if you begged."

The officers interrupted our argument and brought me into the interrogation room.

Two hours later, I was free to leave the police station without any consequences.

Remy's expression immediately changed when he saw that I wasn't being charged or detained for anything.

"Officers! How could you just let her go like that? She's a spy! A corporate spy!"

The lead officer glared coldly at him.

"We've already verified the allegations against Mr. Sutherland, and the evidence is conclusive. Those clients are indeed his personal connections. Furthermore, there is no evidence that he stole any of your company's trade secrets.

"On the contrary, you are all now being investigated for filing a false police report."

The officer had deliberately emphasized the title "Mr." when he addressed me. Hearing that, Karen's eyes widened into saucers, and she pointed at me as though she'd just seen a ghost.

"Mister? Officer, you must be mistaken! She's clearly just a flat-chested woman!"

I walked up to Karen and looked down at her condescendingly.

"You don't even know the gender of your employees, do you, Ms. Beech? Some HR manager you are."