All Chapters of The Retreat Got Canceled: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Veyron Corp was in its sixth year.Back then, four of us crammed into a rented house. Three brutal years later, we finally built something real.I made one rule for myself."Every year, fifty percent of the company's net profit goes to employee benefits."Not free break room snacks. Not sad little afternoon teas. Real money.Last fall, every employee got a $1,200 holiday bonus and three extra paid days off.Last year, our company retreat was skydiving in New Zealand. $4,300 per person. Fully covered.The core team that had stuck with me from the start got more in annual benefits than they made in salary.And it paid off. Company culture was solid. Revenue doubled every year. Our turnover rate was low enough to make competitors cry.So this year, I went bigger for the long weekend.Seven days in the Maldives. All expenses paid. Overwater villas included.A $2,000 stipend per person. Senior employees could bring family. Flights and hotel deposits had been paid two weeks ago.

Chapter 2

I had just sat back down when my phone buzzed again.Sophie had posted another video.In it, she faced the camera with red eyes and a trembling voice."Thank you all for your support. I'm just an ordinary worker. I don't want more people getting hurt by this toxic corporate culture."I set my phone aside and reached for my coffee.Cold.A loud bang echoed from outside.Someone had slammed a desk again.Michelle lingered in the doorway.I looked up."Pull Sophie's onboarding file too."***Sophie didn't show up the next day.She called in sick.The doctor's note claimed acute gastroenteritis from an outpatient visit.But when I opened social media, she was livestreaming from her bedroom with a virtual crown floating over her head.[Exposing Workplace Abuse]"Guys, ever since I told the truth, the company's been targeting me. I'm honestly scared to even go to work today."No makeup. Thin white T-shirt.She looked fragile enough to earn sympathy on sight.The livestrea

Chapter 3

Ryan had been in sales for four years.Long enough to know exactly how the game worked.He'd gone on the New Zealand skydiving trip last year, collected last year's holiday bonus, and never once missed out on a company perk.I took a screenshot of Sophie's onboarding form and sent it to Michelle.[Check Ryan's system login records for the past three days.]***By day three, the backlash had spiraled completely out of control.At nine that morning, my phone rang.Larry Cole.Our biggest client for the past three years.There was no small talk."Mr. Tyley, I'll be straight with you. Our company has a partner risk monitoring system. Your company is all over the trending feed right now. We're putting next quarter's procurement contract on hold. We'll revisit it after things settle down. This isn't just my decision. The board is watching."The line went dead.The office suddenly felt a lot quieter.Eight million dollars.Forty percent of next quarter's revenue.Thrown into l

Chapter 4

I stood up. "Notify everyone. Three p.m. tomorrow, main conference room. All staff. No exceptions. Sophie included."Put it in the company chat and keep it professional. Tell them it's the final all-hands before the long weekend and part of the Department of Labor compliance process. Everyone attends. Everyone signs in."Michelle hesitated. "Will she come?"I shut off the surveillance feed.A faint smile touched my lips.Oh, she'd come.Someone riding a livestream high would never pass up a chance to humiliate the boss in public.***The day before the long weekend, three p.m. sharp.The conference room door opened.Sophie walked in first, phone held high.Her livestream notifications chimed nonstop.She had light makeup on today. Four young employees trailed behind her, all dragged in by Ryan.Her voice was crisp. "Guys, I'm in the company's main conference room. The boss called this meeting. I don't know what he has waiting for me, but I'm not scared."Viewers jumped fr

Chapter 5

The comments froze.One second.Two.Three.Then the floodgates burst.[Wait. WHAT?][Nearly half a million dollars for a company retreat? Overwater villas? Business class? That's forced overtime?][I checked the contract. Business class flights, overwater villas, and $2,000 per person. That's not an evil boss. That's a freaking saint.][Sophie, are you actually insane? You reported this company?]The comments flew by faster and faster.The wall of support she'd built over three days was cracking apart.The camera swept across the contracts on the table.Every date.Every amount.Every company seal.Clear as day.Sophie's face changed three times in six seconds.Confusion.Panic.Then all the color drained out of her face."Th-That's impossible." For the first time, her voice shook. "You made all this up to trick people—""Trick people?"I picked up one of the bank transfer approvals."Stamped financial records are fake? When the Department of Labor shows up tomo

Chapter 6

The second slide came up.Export logs.Three client pricing files.The core of Veyron Corp's pricing system for our biggest accounts.Total file size: forty-seven megabytes.Every file had been exported through Ryan's account and sent to an outside email address.I pointed at the screen. "That email belongs to Harrison Trade."The third slide appeared.A transcript from a voice-message chat.Sender: Ryan Peck.Recipient: Sophie Rowe.Timestamp: two days before Sophie's video.[Sophie, just record it the way I told you. I already wrote the script.][Relax. A company retreat like this is basically survival training out in the middle of nowhere. I've been here four years. Trust me.][Once the video blows up, you'll start getting sponsorships. Just remember who connected the dots for you.]The conference room went dead silent.More than forty pairs of eyes swung toward Ryan.His throat bobbed.Once.Twice."Th-That doesn't mean what you think it means.""Then tell us w

Chapter 7

"Mr. Tyley, we didn't know the whole story. Mr. Peck told us Sophie was being bullied. We just wanted to help.""Help her do what?""Help her... Help her get justice."I looked at Felix. "You've been here three months. Have you used the company gym?"He froze."Yeah.""For free?""...Yeah.""What about the cafeteria?""Also free.""How much was the year-end bonus for new hires last year?"He went quiet.A girl beside him answered softly. "Eight hundred dollars."I nodded. "Eight hundred dollars for employees who hadn't even been here six months."And that's your idea of being bullied?"Nobody answered.Suddenly, Sophie broke free of Henry and rushed toward the conference table."Mr. Tyley, I was wrong!" Her voice cracked. "I really didn't know the retreat was like that. Ryan told me it was basically wilderness training. I'll return all the donation money. Okay? Please. Please don't hold me responsible."Some comments in the livestream immediately started defending her

Chapter 8

"You want to hold me accountable? Fine."But you're not getting that money back. Consider it a 'breakup gift.'"The conference room went dead silent.Michelle's face drained of color.Someone nearby sucked in a sharp breath.Even the livestream comments seemed to freeze.[This guy is unreal.][He stole a $3 million order and he's proud of it?]I looked at him.One second.Two.Three.Then I smiled.Ryan froze."What are you laughing at?""Henry. Open the last file."Henry stepped up to the computer and tapped a few keys.A corporate registry record appeared on the projector.Company name: Denton Industries.The same client Ryan had just bragged about.A bright red warning label sat beside the owner's name.[Court-Flagged Debtor.]Ryan stared at the screen.Not moving."This company was flagged by the court last week," I said. "Its owner owed suppliers more than seven million dollars. Before he vanished, he placed orders everywhere he could, took the goods, and n

Chapter 9

The livestream was still running.Nobody wanted to shut it off.The four younger employees huddled together in the back corner, barely daring to breathe.I didn't spare them another glance.Instead, I looked at the senior employees sitting in the middle of the room.Sharon.Zack.Michelle.Henry.Owen from backend.Bernard from admin.Not one of them had posted online.Not one had joined the mob.Not one had jumped on the trend and started trashing me.For three days, they had done exactly two things.Finished their work.And quietly asked Michelle if I was okay.I smiled.My first real smile in three days."The bad apples are gone."Sharon's eyes instantly turned red.Henry rubbed his nose and looked away."But our vacation is just getting started."I pulled another document envelope from inside my jacket.Not the one I'd put on the table earlier.A different one."The Department of Labor required the company retreat to be canceled. I complied."I opened the

Chapter 10

"Mr. Tyley... Mr. Tyley, you can't do this. I'll give all the money back. I'll post a public apology..."I picked up the prepared documents from the table and walked over."This is the police case filing notice."I flipped to the next page."This is the company's loss assessment report. The direct and indirect damages caused by you and Ryan exceed three million dollars."Another page."And this is the court summons. Your hearing date is right there."I placed the documents in her hands.The stack shook against her fingers."You said you were speaking up for workers? Workers don't need lies to be heard." My voice stayed calm. "What you destroyed wasn't just my reputation."It was the trust and livelihood of more than forty people in this company."Sophie's head dropped.Tears splashed onto the summons, smearing the ink.Ryan had already been escorted to the doorway.He glanced back at the livestream comments still racing across the screen.[Bro really ruined his own life.

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