All Chapters of Lost In The Desert: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I set my suitcase down in the corner.“It’s fine. Just assign me a regular position.”Ms. Linney sighed and pulled up my file on the computer.“As for the five years of experience in the Northwest, your file says you voluntarily applied to support the frontier, overcame harsh conditions, and successfully completed your mission.”“That’s exactly what happened.”She lowered her voice as she replied, “But in the final reports for those three projects you led, Devin is listed as the first author on all of them.”I froze.“How is that possible? That was my…”“You signed off on it.”Ms. Linney opened a document and slid it toward me.“Look, this is the agreement from five years ago. You signed it and agreed to share the project results with the team.”The signature was indeed mine.However, I had absolutely no memory of signing anything like that.“You were in such a rush to leave back then. Ms. Stern handled a lot of the paperwork for you.”Ms. Linney seemed to be holding back

“Who else would do it besides you?”She grabbed my wrist.“Neil, calm down!”“How am I supposed to calm down?!” I yelled.“If anything happens to my mom, I’ll kill you!”The hospital room door opened.The doctor stepped out and took off his mask.“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”My world collapsed at that moment.The funeral was held three days later, and my father would not let me inside.“Go away,” he said through the door. “Your mother won’t want to see you.”I waited outside the door from morning till night.In the afternoon, Cyra and Devin arrived.They laid down a bouquet and paid their respects.The condolence note read, [In memory of Mrs. Spencer, with respect from Cyra and Devin.]Devin saw me and softly said, “Please take care.”I looked at Cyra with a gaze that could kill, and her face was deathly pale.Devin tugged at her sleeve.“Let’s go.”Then, they turned and walked away.My father finally opened the door.He looked at me, and his eyes fille

He folded his newspaper and set it aside.“My name is William Lowell,” he said.“I used to be a driver.”I looked at his empty left pant leg and did not dare ask any more questions.He did not seem to mind and continued, “Two years ago, I was in a car accident. I lost my leg, my wife ran off with someone else, and I lost my job.”He spoke matter-of-factly as if he were telling someone else’s story.“At my lowest point, I wanted to die too.”He pointed to the high-rise buildings outside the window.“But then, I saw those people sweeping the streets from dawn till dusk, and I thought, ‘Why shouldn’t I be able to live?’”He shifted over a little.“Want to sit for a while?”So, I sat down.Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on the blanket draped over his knees.“What about you?” he asked.“What happened to you?”I remained silent for a long time.It was so long that he thought I would not speak.“I was deceived for five years,” I said.“My job, my love life,

A week later, the Stern Group board of directors issued an announcement. They had suspended Cyra from all her duties pending an internal investigation.Someone dug up the truth behind my transfer five years ago. Discussions then began within the company about whether she was settling personal scores or abusing her authority.Her father rushed home from abroad overnight. At the board meeting, he slammed his fist on the table and called her a good-for-nothing.“You’ve ruined the company all for a man! How could I have given birth to such an idiot?!”Mr. Smith told me everything, as he still worked at Stern Group.“Neil, you’re really something,” he said over the phone.“Everyone at the company is talking now. They’re saying you’re the real tech genius, and Devin is just a fraud.”I did not say anything.Meanwhile, Devin had vanished completely.Cyra could not find him. He had taken all the money she had given him and disappeared without a trace.Cyra’s mother tracked down my pl