Chapter 2

Joe came over clutching the documents. His voice trembled slightly.

“Mr. Seymour, the only way to turn this around now is to quickly send out that passing lab report to set the record straight…”

My cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

It was a message from Joanne. The texts were as cold as a bucket of ice water.

[It’s not advisable to make the positive lab results public at this time. We want to avoid raising public doubts about the credibility of law enforcement.]

[Kevin is about to be named one of the ‘Top Ten Heroes of the Year.’ We can’t afford any negative publicity right now.]

[Just play along. Issue a statement admitting that ‘negligence in warehouse temperature control led to the product’s appearance changing.’ Once the storm blows over, I’ll find a way to compensate you.]

I stared at those words. [Just play along.]

My stomach twisted.

The year she joined the Health Department, a small restaurant was maliciously reported by a competitor.

As just a young woman, she spent three days and three nights reviewing surveillance footage and checking purchase orders.

Finally, she defied pressure from her superiors. She slammed her fist on the table and declared, “Public authorities cannot take away someone’s livelihood without evidence.”

Back then, I absolutely loved that headstrong streak of hers.

It was precisely because of that statement that I quit my job at a multinational corporation and founded this company.

I wanted to produce the cleanest food possible and be the strongest support behind her.

At this moment, she sat in her position as deputy chief, facing her own husband’s shipment.

It was 30,000 portions of life-saving meals for the disaster area. Yet she burned them all just because Kevin’s mentioned it was “suspicious.”

After burning it all, she expected me to swallow my pride and pave the way for Kevin.

I slammed my phone down on the table.

“Hold onto the lab reports. Don’t let anyone release them,” I told Joe.

Joe froze. “Mr. Seymour, have you lost your mind?”

“I haven’t lost my mind. If we release them now, the Health Department will find a hundred ways to water down the issue with bureaucratic jargon. We just have to wait for the storm to pass.”

After thinking for a moment, I looked at Joe.

“Our goods have been destroyed, and tens of thousands of people in the disaster area are waiting for food. The Emergency Response Office will inevitably have to make emergency purchases of substitutes.

“Go find out who landed that contract.”

Joe’s expression changed instantly. Having been in this line of work for over a decade, he caught on immediately.

The next day, an exclusive interview from an official media outlet went viral online.

[The Lone Hero Heading Into the Disaster Zone: Making Sure the People Don’t Eat a Single Bite of Spoiled Meat.]

Kevin stood in front of my company’s impounded truck wearing a windbreaker. His eyes were red with tears, and his voice was choked with sadness.

“There are people who say I’m meddling and cutting off people’s livelihoods. But I’m a journalist. My pen is my sword.

“I’d rather wrongly accuse a thousand people than let the disaster-stricken people eat a single bite of spoiled meat!”

The comments section hailed him as a “beacon of justice.”

Under my company’s account, the comments said things along the lines of [May those who profit from national misfortune die a horrible death.]

Scrolling through my feed, I saw Joanne had reposted that exclusive interview with a caption.

[Stand firm under pressure. Hold onto principles.]

I stared at those words for a long time.

A dull ache gripped my chest.

Her “principles” were to trample on the very lifeblood of my company to pave the way for someone else’s glory.

At 3:00 p.m., my personal phone rang.

I answered. It was my comrade in arms, David, from the disaster zone. His voice came out hoarse and frantic.

“Mr. Seymour, what is going on with that shipment of yours?!”

David was leading the Blue Sky Rescue Team on the front lines in the hardest-hit area. He was gasping for breath.

“The Emergency Response Office sent over a batch of replacement self-heating meals, but the meat smells sour and rotten. Some evacuees have already eaten it and thrown up!”