Chapter 4

Kayla ignored her completely. Her gaze swept across the room before settling on Issac.

She stepped forward. Her voice was soft but unmistakably clear.

"Would you mind repeating what you just said?"

Issac froze for a moment before trying to bluff his way through.

"What did I say?"

"You said I was the college girl Steven was keeping on the side."

Kayla stood in front of the desk, her expression perfectly composed.

"Isn't that right?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned to me.

"Did they try to force you to sign anything?"

"Yes."

I picked up the document and handed it to her.

She scanned it once, and her expression turned cold.

"Voluntarily suspending your promotion? Voluntarily relinquishing your position as project lead?"

She lifted her gaze to Laura.

"Is this part of your process for verifying the facts?"

Laura opened her mouth, then hesitated.

"It's only a temporary arrangement. Your husband's position can be reinstated once the investigation is complete."

"Then why does it say there was no coercion?"

Kayla placed the document back on the desk and pressed a fingertip against the fine print.

"Is it because you know this document does not look like something anyone would sign voluntarily?"

Issac shot to his feet.

"Ms. Stone, I suggest you watch your language. We received a complaint and are conducting an investigation in accordance with company policy."

"Photographs, a formal complaint, hotel records. Which of those have you actually verified?"

"The photographs are genuine, and there's more than one person making the allegations."

"So you simply assumed he was guilty?"

"I said there were reasonable grounds for suspicion."

Issac clenched his teeth and held on to the last bit of justification he had left.

"Any man seen entering a hotel late at night with a girl who looks barely 20 is bound to raise suspicions. As for whether she's really your wife, we can discuss that once her documents have been verified."

Kayla glanced at the marriage certificate on the desk before looking back at him.

"The certificate is right here. You have not verified the hotel registration or the identity of the other guest, yet you're already asking my husband to give up his promotion. And you call that reasonable suspicion?"

Issac swallowed hard.

"The company isn't a court of law. I'm simply carrying out my managerial responsibilities."

"Then why did you send those photos to the executives' group chat before checking whether they were even true? Why encourage other employees to file complaints against him? Why try to make him sign a statement saying he stepped down voluntarily?"

Kayla never raised her voice.

Even so, with each question, the atmosphere in the conference room grew heavier.

Selene could no longer stay quiet.

"Who's to say you didn't have that marriage certificate made? It isn't hard to fake documents these days."

I turned toward her.

"The registration number and the official civil records can both be verified, but none of you bothered to check them."

The color drained from Selene's face.

Kayla set the black document bag on the desk with a quiet thud.

"I came here to cooperate with your investigation. Before I even walked through that door, you had already decided my husband was guilty. Now you're trying to make it look like all of this was his own choice by pressuring him to sign a document saying he volunteered."

Issac was starting to sweat, but he stubbornly maintained his composure.

"Ms. Stone, there's no need to make this bigger than it is. If the investigation confirms that you're legally married, then at worst, this will turn out to be a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding that costs an employee his promotion, strips him of his authority over a project, and gives more than a dozen people an excuse to gossip about his private life?"

Kayla held his gaze.

"Mr. Walls, please tell me, is this investigation really about uncovering the truth, or is it about making sure Steven loses his chance at a promotion?"

Issac was about to respond when the door swung open again.

The chairman strode into the room, accompanied by two formally dressed men.

The moment he saw Kayla, he hurried over with a polite smile.

"Ms. Stone, I didn't expect you to come in person. I was just planning to contact you about the contract renewal."