Chapter 2

"Secondly, I am your mentor, but this isn't a simple mistake at work," I said. "You were reckless and stupid, and I have no obligation to clean up the mess you made."

Suddenly, the colleagues who had been quietly blaming me seemed to wake up.

"You've caused enough chaos and relied on Ms. Griffin to cover for you on other days. Now that you've stirred up a disaster, you pinned it on Mr. Jameson instead? How shameless can you be?"

A tide of angry accusations crashed down on Elijah. His face went deathly pale, his eyes filled with despair. At that moment, the control room door swung open.

Wallace Brown, the manager of the cryobank, and Maya walked in. Elijah scrambled forward, almost crawling to her feet, and whined, "Maya, I was just trying to help! I didn't expect to cause such trouble!"

The moment she entered, her gaze softened and locked on him. Tenderly, she wiped his tears.

"Don't cry. I know it was just a mistake. The samples got ruined, sure, but according to regulations, compensation is enough. This is nothing. No matter what mistakes you make, I'll cover it for you."

Wallace, fully aware of the situation, flew into a rage. He kicked over the chair beside him and pointed at Maya, shouting, "We just received the last vial from Mr. Quinlan! He's injured and infertile. That was his final sample, and now it's destroyed!

"We're done. We'll all pay the price for this, and you say you'll cover it? What can you even do about it, huh?"

Despair settled on every face. A flicker of panic crossed Maya's usually composed expression.

Elijah clung to her and burst into loud sobs. "Help me, Maya. Mr. Quinlan is ruthless! If I fall into his hands, I'll suffer worse than death!"

Maya looked at me, her tone firm and unquestionable. "Theo, as the chief person in charge of the security system, you failed to arrive in time to eliminate the virus. That is what caused this catastrophe, so this responsibility should fall on you."

The unfair decision sparked anger on everyone's faces. Before anyone could speak, she swept a sharp gaze across the room. "Anyone who disagrees can step forward and sign this liability determination statement."

I looked at her, my heart turning cold. Maya was my wife, the person supposedly closest to me. Yet from the moment she walked in, her eyes had never lingered on me. Now, she even wanted me to take the blame.

When we first founded the cybersecurity company together, our lack of experience had caused losses in the tens of millions.

I had thought I would be sued by the client and end up in prison, but she lowered her head and apologized repeatedly, even offering ten times the compensation to protect me.

She had said, "My man deserves my protection. If I don't care for you, who will? Go all out and chase your dreams. I'll always stand behind you."

Her vows to me were still fresh in my memory, yet somewhere along the way, we had drifted further apart.

A flicker of sorrow crossed my eyes, but my voice was resolute. "I won't sign the liability determination statement."

Maya came to my side, only to spit the most vicious words ever. "Your dad is still in the sanatorium. If you don't want me to pause his treatment, you'd better sign."

I stared at her in disbelief, roaring, "Maya, have you lost your conscience? My dad took ten blows to protect you and ended up paralyzed in the hospital! And now, for some pretty boy, you threaten to let him die?"

My outburst drew everyone's attention. They looked at Maya and Elijah with open contempt.

She wasn't the least bit affected, though. Instead, she waved her phone like a weapon. "Are you signing or not?"

"Wait! Let me talk to him first!"

Just as I was forced into succumbing, Wallace suddenly pulled me into the control room.