Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 442

The assistant stood with his head bowed, not daring to make a sound.

It wasn't as if Lawrence hadn't harbored suspicions about Willow recently.

From her rifling through documents in the dead of night, to her unnatural obsession with Project Morning Star Phase II, to the way the Langford PR scandals surgically deflected heat onto Stellaris over and over again. He'd experienced multiple moments of sharp wariness.

But suspicion and irrefutable proof were two entirely different beasts.

He had once enjoyed her dependency, and in turn, indulged her ruthless ambition.

He had given her money, resources, unprecedented access to Langford's internal pipeline, and the freedom to let people mistakenly believe she was the future Mrs. Langford.

Now, every single one of those privileges was coming back to take a chunk out of Langford Medical—and out of Wren.

He slammed the report shut.

"Where is Willow?"

"She was in the project department just a moment ago," the assistant whispered. "She said she was waiting for you."

Lawrence's gaze turned glacial.

"Send her up."

Ten minutes later, Willow walked into the office.

Looking as if she already knew exactly what was happening, her face was ghost-white and her eyes were rimmed with red, though she hadn't shed a tear. She walked up to Lawrence, her voice so fragile it seemed it might shatter at a touch.

"Lawrence."

Lawrence shoved the report across his desk.

"Explain."

Willow glanced down at it but didn't open the folder.

"I don't even know where to begin."

"Start with using Jude's credentials."

Her tears finally spilled over.

"I just wanted to figure out what was going on. My parents refused to tell me anything, Wren has been obsessively digging into Aunt Vivian's past, and Langford's archived projects were being dragged into the spotlight. I was terrified something would happen to the Whitaker family, and I was terrified you'd misunderstand me."

Lawrence stared her down.

"So you used his account to pull the grievance reports?"

Willow frantically shook her head.

"I didn't leak them!"

"I asked if you pulled them."

Her breathing stuttered.

"I looked at them. But I didn't send them to anyone."

"And the conference audio?"

"I only downloaded it. Someone asked me for background material, and I thought they were just compiling a timeline of the project disputes." Crying, she took a step forward. "Lawrence, I swear I had no idea they'd splice it like that. And I never imagined they'd dox that child."

Lawrence's eyes grew colder by the second.

"Who is 'they'?"

Willow froze.

She instantly realized she'd slipped up.

The temperature in the office plummeted below freezing.

Lawrence stood up, slowly closing the distance between them.

"Who asked you for those materials?"

Tears streaked down Willow's face, her voice quivering. "I can't say."

Lawrence let out a dark, mocking laugh.

The sound sent a horrific chill straight down her spine.

"You actually have someone you're protecting from me now?"

She desperately grabbed his sleeve.

"Lawrence, everything I did was for you! Wren completely humiliated Langford Medical at the banquet, bringing up Aunt Vivian and the data outsourcing. The entire industry was laughing at the Langford family. I just wanted to show the world that she wasn't some flawless saint, that her project was fundamentally broken too."

Lawrence stared down at her trembling hands. For the very first time, the sight invoked absolutely nothing in him.

"You handed over a child's medical grievances to the public... for me?"

"I never wanted to hurt that little boy!"

"But the child was hurt."

Willow sobbed hysterically.

"I know, and I was terrified! But you've backed me into a corner where I have no way out. Jude refuses to help me, the Langford team ignores my orders, and Wren has absolutely everything! She has Stellaris, she has Julian York, she has Harrison Xander, and now she has your guilt! What do I have? I only have you!"