Chapter 1

I took my ring and casually tossed it onto the table.

Joanne furrowed her brow and stared blankly for several seconds before adopting an exasperated expression.

“Liam Seymour, can’t you act a little more mature?

“I’m cooperating with the media to handle food safety investigations. Procedurally, there’s no issue.

“You know full well what the situation is like in the disaster area. With tens of thousands of lives at stake, I have to minimize the risk as much as possible.”

When she said that before, it used to sound reassuring. Hearing it again at this moment felt as cold as a scalpel cutting through bone.

Before the emergency rations were incinerated, I handed her the quality inspection report.

She did not even glance at it. She looked down, tapped her phone, and then spoke one word into the walkie-talkie. She said, “Proceed.”

Kevin wore that “I’m here to mediate” look of discomfort.

“Mr. Seymour, this is my fault.”

He kept his tone controlled, filled with guilt and self-criticism.

“I’ve done plenty of undercover investigations into black-market workshops before.

“When I saw the meat in the meal boxes was the wrong color, I was afraid the people in the disaster area would get sick. So, I quickly reported it to Joanne and exposed it on the livestream.

“It was just my professional instinct kicking in. Don’t take it out on Joanne.”

During the livestream, he had looked straight into the camera, expressing deep outrage and accusing me of profiteering off a national disaster.

At this moment, he was standing right in front of me while pretending to be an impartial observer.

He sure changed his tune fast.

“If you suspected it was a coincidence, why did your live-streaming team set up four camera angles in advance?”

“The press release about ‘Poisoned Meals for Disaster Relief’ was released exactly one minute before the raid. Mr. Stafford, does your professional instinct come with the ability to predict the future?”

Kevin’s mouth twitched slightly.

Joanne immediately stepped forward and stood in front of him.

“Liam, don’t go too far! The media just happened to capture it while covering the relief efforts.

“Kevin is a journalist who’s serving the people. Do you really have to assume everyone is so sinister?”

She spread her arms to shield him.

I looked down at the ring on the table.

It was a simple silver band. She had slipped it onto my finger herself three years ago. She had said, “From now on, you’re under my care.” Her eyes had crinkled with a smile.

“May your light illuminate all the darkness.”

With that, I walked out.

“Liam!” she called after me.

I did not turn around.

Back at the office, the air was thick with the stifling smell of printer paper mixed with instant coffee.

Dozens of people sat at their desks. None of them spoke.

Correspondence lay spread out on the tables. Grand Skies Cinema Chain, Everstar Supermarkets, and seven state-level city distributors had all halted their purchases.

The reason for termination was the same across the board: to mitigate the risk of major food safety issues.

The 30,000 emergency meals were an official aid project approved by the board of directors.

I personally oversaw the production line. The suppliers we selected provided the highest-quality meat and vegetables in every portion.

All that food was in the incinerator. Not even ashes remained.

The company had been unfairly accused of “profiting from national misfortune.” Half of our tens of millions in business collapsed overnight.

Colette from the administrative department was slumped over her desk. Her shoulders were shaking.

She had been with me for three years and was usually the most efficient worker.

I walked over and tapped the edge of the desk. She looked up at me with teary eyes.

“Mr. Seymour, my parents called today asking if I was working at some unscrupulous factory. I told them no, but they didn’t believe me.”

Behind her, someone pushed their keyboard away. The metal base clunked against the desk with a dull thud.

No one spoke, but that dull thud carried more weight than any words could.