“It's okay. It's okay. It's going to be okay in the end,“ Bonnie comforted herself between sobs.
When the issue regarding the excess sodium was reported by the media, the company's reputation dwindled drastically. The stock price began to fall, and the public was furious at their company. After Darren got arrested, most of their investors withdrew their investment. The capitalists who saw the news also lost their interest to cooperate with him and the company.
To make matters worse, the turnover rate of their employees increased after the news broke out. Every day, they would get several resignation letters from their employees. Once, Bonnie paid a visit to the HR department, and what she witnessed that day broke her heart.
Each time that one of their employees chose to resign, the KING Group's competitors would have the chance to hire a hardworking and capable employee from the KING Group. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the company ended up with a shortage of employees.
The board of directors even decided to sell most of their shares in order to reduce their losses.
When the decision was made, some of the netizens immediately started to complain on major social media platforms about the KING Group.
“I hope you go bankrupt!“ they would post on those social media platforms.
“The boss of that heartless company was arrested. Is it because of the loss of humanity or the loss of morality?“
As she read the nasty comments on several forums, Bonnie wanted to defend the KING Group and Darren, but she didn't know how to do it. She looked up and saw her tear-stained face in the mirror. She wiped her tears away from her red cheeks and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
If she wanted to solve this problem, then she needed to find out the root of all this mess.
After she made up her mind, Bonnie asked Harlan to find out the address of the patient who claimed to have been poisoned. She also brought some gifts with her as a gesture of goodwill and went to the address by herself.
She parked her car in the remote parking lot of the run-down neighborhood. She meticulously followed the directions she was given and found the house without difficulty. Then, she started to loudly knock on the door. “I am coming! Stop knocking,“ she heard an irritated female voice yell after a few more knocks.
The door opened wide with an aggressive creek. Bonnie was greeted by an older woman who was wearing a scowl on her face. It looked like she wasn't keen on getting surprise visitors.
The woman looked a little over fifty years old and had a chubby figure. She was wearing a floral dress and a pair of slippers. She squinted her eyes at Bonnie. She looked like she was in a temper.
“Who on earth are you? Why have you come here?“ The woman blocked the door instinctively as she snapped at her.
Bonnie was shocked at the discourteous welcome. She quickly showed her the fruit basket that she was hiding behind her and gave a warm smile. She said, “Hi there! Nice to meet you, ma'am. I am an employee of the KING Group. I came here today because I would like to express my condolences…“
Bang!
Before she could even finish her sentence, she suddenly felt a strong gust of wind crash against her when the woman slammed the door right in her face. Bonnie was frozen with her mouth wide open. She stood there motionless as she tried to process what had just happened.
“Ma'am, please open the door. I promise I came here with good intentions. I just want to talk about your son. I believe that there must be some misunderstanding about this. Our company has always been strict, especially with the production process. It's highly unlikely that they would make a mistake like that.“ Bonnie tapped on the door repeatedly. She couldn't give up just because someone slammed the door in her face. Her voice was desperate and anxious.
The decaying wooden door was no match for Bonnie's rigorous knocking. The thumping of her knuckles echoed inside the apartment. The woman's annoyed voice replied from inside, “I have nothing to say to you! My son ate your crappy food. A heartless company like yours should be closed down as soon as possible to avoid hurting anybody else!“
“Ma'am, please just listen to me…“ Bonnie cried out desperately.
“Get out of here right now! If you keep harassing me, I will call the police and expose your company. These matters should be reported to the police. How dare you not correct your errors but send employees to pester me like this instead!“
Hearing this, Bonnie immediately stopped her repetitive knocking on the door. Her eyes started to blur as tears threatened to come out of them. She shook her head in an attempt to stop the tears and let out a heavy sigh. Then, she quietly put down the fruit basket in front of the door and went downstairs.
As soon as she stepped out of the apartment building, she felt something thrown from above. Her body subconsciously moved just in time to dodge it. Something crashed on the same spot that she had just been standing on. A variety of fruits and some flowers were scattered all over the ground.
Wasn't that the fruit basket that she had placed by the door just a few minutes ago?
Bonnie looked up. The resident of the fifth floor closed her window in a haste. However, Bonnie was able to recognize her nonetheless. It was the same woman that she was talking to earlier. Bonnie froze where she stood and felt her heart sink to her stomach again. Her feet felt like they were numb and it was as if she had lost the ability to walk.
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