The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

"What’s this?" Chloe asked, looking curious. "The Cole Group came with a backup plan."

A flicker of understanding crossed Leila Jennings’s eyes. It seemed she already knew what it was.

Everyone in the main conference room, including the representatives from the major corporations, sat back down. They were also curious to see what other preparations President Cole had made. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Sean Sinclair frowned slightly.

A faint sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

Nathaniel Cole had always been a cunning schemer, and there was no telling what he was plotting now. Sean figured it was likely a plan targeting his competitors.

He wanted to see it for himself.

But the twenty documents were passed first to the evaluation committee members, then to the other company representatives. Since he was at the very end of the line, they were all gone by the time they reached him.

Everyone casually opened the documents. The moment they read the first page, their expressions darkened instantly, and their gazes shot in unison toward Mr. Jacobs.

Mr. Jacobs was still slowly taking his time and hadn’t opened his yet.

Facing the collective stares, he reached out and flipped it open. The very first page made his eyes go wide.

As he flipped further, he became so enraged that he threw the documents down.

"President Cole! What is the meaning of this!"

Mr. Jacobs’s sudden outburst left both Sarah Lynch and Sean Sinclair confused.

Leila Jennings, however, was now certain. These were the documents Nathaniel Cole had given her as a parting gift when she left her job.

She looked at Sarah Lynch.

Sarah Lynch was still frowning, muttering under her breath, "What’s going on?"

Nathaniel Cole quickly provided an answer for the bewildered crowd.

"President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies and Ms. Lynch, the external expert on the proprietary chip project, have been more than just friends for four years. For over three years, President Sinclair has been transferring a million yuan in ’research funds’ to Ms. Lynch every month. Before Ms. Lynch returned to the country, the total was approaching one hundred million."

An uproar erupted in both conference rooms.

Sean Sinclair and Sarah Lynch shot to their feet, staring at Nathaniel Cole in disbelief.

Nathaniel Cole continued, "If this was simple research support, then how do you explain the multi-million-yuan property and the millions in jewelry Ms. Lynch acquired after returning to the country?"

"I urge you all to strictly investigate the dealings between President Sinclair and Ms. Lynch."

Sean Sinclair now understood Nathaniel Cole’s objective and glared at him furiously. "Nathaniel Cole! You’re despicable!"

’To think he’d use such a dirty trick to make me lose the bid!’

Nathaniel Cole remained perfectly composed. With his sharp brows and piercing eyes, he regarded Sean Sinclair’s insults as nothing more than a brief, cold, and insignificant gust of wind.

The others all turned to Mr. Jacobs, asking, "What’s going on here?"

Mr. Jacobs’s old face turned a livid purple. He knew everyone was now suspecting his granddaughter of leaking confidential information.

"Ms. Lynch wouldn’t do anything reckless. She signed a non-disclosure agreement."

"Then what about the tens of millions in research funds, plus the house, car, and jewelry?" Someone from the leadership finally challenged him. It was one thing for Mr. Jacobs to slip one of his own people onto a project—that was a minor squabble—but this concerned a national secret!

Mr. Jacobs said with a stern face, "Ms. Lynch and President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies are in a romantic relationship. Isn’t this all quite normal?"

’In truth, he didn’t think it was normal at all, but what could he do? Should he just wash his hands of the matter because his granddaughter had hidden it from him?’

Nathaniel Cole sneered. "A romantic relationship? Then where does that leave President Sinclair’s wife?"

The room was stunned into silence.

The color drained from Sean Sinclair’s face.

"Disbelief" and "shock" were no longer sufficient to describe Mr. Jacobs’s wide eyes. His hands trembled as he stood up, his aged face twitched, and his nostrils flared, as if he might pass out at any second.

"President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies has been married for four years." Professor Cheney, who had been silently reading the documents, looked up. His eyes were clouded and bloodshot. He put the papers down. "Let’s have the police investigate. Stellaxis Technologies can no longer participate in the bidding."

No one objected.

Stellaxis Technologies was completely out of the running.

The police arrived quickly, and Sean Sinclair and Sarah Lynch were escorted from their respective conference rooms.

Mr. Jacobs was no exception; he was also taken in to cooperate with the investigation.

Everyone sighed with a mixture of shock and pity.

President Cole of The Cole Group was truly ruthless. He had taken down his strongest competitor, Stellaxis Technologies, right from the start.

Liam Forrester was stunned. He thought victory was in the bag, so how had President Cole managed to crush them so suddenly?

And so utterly, at that.

Stellaxis Technologies itself had been dragged down with him.

Secretly contacting people on the project team was a common occurrence. Who could get by in the business world without resorting to a few dirty tricks? Not even The Cole Group could claim that everything they did was aboveboard. But getting caught red-handed—that’s where you went wrong.

Sean Sinclair was not only implicated in bribing personnel with access to state secrets but also in having an extramarital affair.

And now he’d been taken away by the police.

The official media was present today, too.

Liam Forrester’s vision went dark. He asked Charles Jordan, "What do we do now?"

His father had sent him to learn from Sean Sinclair, but before he could learn anything, he was already facing a corporate crisis.

"Notify the PR and legal departments to get ready." Charles Jordan had been by Sean Sinclair’s side for years; his ability to handle emergencies was second to none.

Losing the bid was now a certainty. The priority was to go back and handle the impending public relations nightmare for both the company and President Sinclair.

Liam Forrester could only nod. He rushed back to the company, preparing to call his father on the way.

Charles Jordan stopped him. "Mr. Forrester, there’s no need to alarm the chairman about this just yet."

"I know you want to protect Sean, but you have to understand that the truth will out. Even if my dad and the Forrester shareholders don’t hear it from me, they’ll hear it from somewhere else." Liam Forrester made the call anyway.

...

Sean Sinclair, Sarah Lynch, and Mr. Jacobs were taken to three separate interrogation rooms.

The first question Sarah Lynch faced was:

"What is your relationship with Sean Sinclair?"

Sarah Lynch bit her lip and answered, "Friends."

"Friends who give each other cars, houses, and money? Tell the truth. What is your relationship, exactly?"

"I said we’re friends, and we’re friends! I didn’t leak any confidential information. I don’t even know the core data for the proprietary chip project! You can ask Leila Jennings. She was wary of me from the very beginning and never let me near the core lab, let alone see the data," Sarah Lynch said, furious.

The officer rapped the table. "Stop shouting and answer the question properly."

「Meanwhile.」

The first question Sean Sinclair faced was also: "What is your relationship with Sarah Lynch?"

Sean Sinclair answered without a change in expression, "Friends. She did not leak any confidential data to me. With my capabilities, I don’t need that data anyway."

"You’re that generous with a friend? Sarah Lynch lives in a large, high-end apartment downtown, while the only property in your name is a three-bedroom apartment. You live quite frugally, President Sinclair."

For a moment, Sean Sinclair was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, he caught a key piece of information. "You’re saying that three-bedroom apartment is registered under my name?"

"Who else?"

Sean Sinclair frowned. ’Hasn’t that apartment already been transferred to Leila Jennings?’

’He’d signed the papers himself.’

’Even if the processing was slow, it couldn’t possibly take more than a month.’

"Are you and Sarah Lynch lovers?"

Faced with this question, Sean Sinclair was again speechless, his gaze falling slightly.

When he looked up again, he said, "This question has nothing to do with whether secrets were disclosed."

"Just answer what you’re asked, President Sinclair."

Sean Sinclair finally nodded.

Next question.

"Do you know who your wife, Leila Jennings, is?"