Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 486

"I hope you still have options."

Willow's gaze shifted slightly.

A second later, he continued, "But not options built on trampling others."

With that, he left.

Willow stood in the corridor, the color draining from her face bit by bit.

She finally understood that her lifeline with Jude was severed.

It wasn't just a fight or a fit of pique—the kind of break that could be mended in a few days if she just shed some tears.

It was truly severed.

She pulled out her phone and texted Gavin Shaw.

Jude is no longer useful.

Gavin replied quickly.

Then stop worrying about him. Meet someone you need to meet tonight.

Willow stared at the words "someone you need to meet," her heart gradually beating faster.

She knew Gavin had mentioned last time that someone else knew more about Vivian Vance's old case than he did.

That person might just be her next way out.

That afternoon, Jude moved into the temporary investigation office.

The room was small, equipped with only a desk, a computer, and a filing cabinet. The window faced the exterior wall of another building, offering a terrible view.

He set his box down. The first thing he did wasn't to log into his new account, but to open his personal encrypted drive.

Inside was a document he had yet to turn over.

It wasn't because he wanted to hide it.

It was because the source of the document was too personal.

It was a forwarding record he had accidentally saved two months ago when Willow asked him to review some materials for The Pediatric Rehabilitation Charity Gala. He hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, only thinking that a few of the external contacts seemed unprofessional.

Looking back now, that record was critical.

Forwarded by: Willow Whitaker.

Recipient note: GSH-Media.

Attachment names: Gala Buzzwords Options, Stellaris Risk Points, Vivian Vance File Summary.

Time: The day before the final itinerary for the Charity Gala was issued.

Jude stared at that note.

GSH.

Gavin Shaw.

Media.

This wasn't Willow's first contact with Starbridge Media or Gavin's channels.

Long before the gala, she had already packaged the risk points regarding Wren, Stellaris, and Vivian, sending them to external media contacts.

The subsequent complaint from Logan, the Stellaris email leak, and the public uproar over Vivian's initiative—none of those collided purely by coincidence.

Jude leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Handing over this record would completely expose the fact that he used to review materials for Willow.

But it didn't matter anymore.

He drafted an email, listing three recipients.

Clara Thorne.

Robert Lawson.

Langford Medical Legal Investigation Team.

Before uploading the attachment, he paused.

Then, he typed in the body of the email:

Submitting a supplementary external media forwarding record previously not included in the investigation. I assisted Willow Whitaker in reviewing related gala materials two months ago and failed to promptly identify the external PR risks involved. I am now providing this full account.

Send.

After the email went out, he let out a long breath.

It was as if he had finally moved the last boulder crushing his chest.

It wasn't easy.

But at least he wasn't hiding it anymore.

At 7:00 PM, Clara received the email while on a video call with Harrison Xander.

She opened the attachment, and her face darkened after the first read.

Harrison asked from his end of the screen, "What is it?"

Clara forwarded the file to him.