The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 349

474

Chapter 259 Something Doesn’t Click, Part 2.

Claim

Chapter 259: Something Doesn’t Click, Part 2.

Clara

The coffee smelled of cinnamon and roasted coffee; normally, I would have found it pleasant. Not today. Today, everything felt too tense.

I arrived a few minutes early and chose a discreet table near the back. I wore dark glasses and a light coat over my suit so as not to draw too much attention.

I checked the time again: 2:33. Then I saw him walk in. Howard.

He looked worse than last time, more exhausted… He was carrying a thick folder under his arm and a

tablet in his hand.

When he saw me, he walked quickly to my table.

“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Sinclair.”

“Please sit down.”

He obeyed immediately.

I noticed his hands tense as he arranged everything on the table.

“I know you probably think I’m trying to save my job.”

I looked at him intently.

“Are you?”

He shook his head immediately.

“No. Well… yes, I need the job, of course I do. But this is something else entirely.”

He opened the folder, started pulling out printed sheets, dates, emails, records, comparisons. He slid a

sheet toward me.

“These are the original permissions I sent.”

I took the document, then he placed another one on top.

“And these are the ones that reached the committee.”

I frowned slowly; they weren’t the same. At first glance, they looked identical. But certain numbers were modified, digital signatures altered, dates changed.

My heart started beating faster.

“What is this…?”

Howard quickly opened the tablet.

“Here are the automatic system backups before the modification.”

Chapter 259 something Doesn’t Click, Part 2

He showed me records, times, changes. Administrative users.

My breathing became heavier.

“How did you get this?”

“I always keep external backups.”

He leaned slightly toward me.

Claim

“Because I’ve been working on this for years, I’ve led projects like this, Ms. Sinclair. And when something goes wrong… the first one to fall is always the techie.”

I looked at him silently, and for the first time since Boston… I felt real fear. Because this no longer seemed like a mistake, it seemed like something done deliberately.

Howard lowered his voice slightly.

“Someone moved information.”

My fingers tightened on the paper.

“Who?”

He shook his head slowly.

“I don’t know.”

And that was the worst part, because if it hadn’t been Howard… then someone within the project had manipulated everything, someone close, someone with access, someone smart.

My thoughts began to tumble over each other. Alexander saying he had a bad feeling, Alexander finding solutions, Alexander moving with too much precision, Alexander insisting so much that the company needed him.

I felt an uncomfortable emptiness in my stomach, no, it couldn’t be. Or could it?

I slowly raised my gaze to Howard, and for the first time since all this started… I don’t like to doubt my intuition, because I usually read situations well, but this is… What the hell is going on? It makes sense to doubt him, but at the same time, it doesn’t.

Howard continued looking at me with a strange mix of anxiety and hope. As if he were waiting for me to say something that could fix his life immediately. But I still couldn’t, because I didn’t even fully understand what I was seeing.

I looked down again at the documents spread out on the table. Altered dates. Modified permissions. Duplicate records. It was all there… Too organized to be a mistake.

I felt a small emptiness in my stomach, took a slow breath, and carefully closed the folder.

Howard’s jaw tightened.

“Mrs. Sinclair…”

I looked up at him.

Ting to keep this”

He nodded immediately

“Of course

1 also picked up the tablet and checked some open files one last time. Backup screenshots Schedules Administrative access. Then I handed back to him.

“I reed to analyze this further”

My voice came out calm, although inside my head was racing

Howard swallowed.

“So you believe me?”

I didn’t answer immediately, because I did believe him. Or at least. I wasn’t sure I didn’t believe him anymore. And that changed a lot of things

1 placed both hands on the closed folder

“I think something strange happened here

I saw the air leave his shoulders a limie Reilet, but not complete pecause we both knew this was just the beginning

I leaned slightly forward

For now, don’t talk to anyone about this

His expression changed, more serious, more alert

Not even Hi?

With no one

1 held his gaze

“Not colleagues Not former employees. Not people from the Boston project.”

Howard owned slightly

‘Do you think someone within the company?

don’t know ye

And that was the truth i didnt want to much we anything, I didnt want to point the finger at anyone without being completely sure. But I also couldn’t ignore what I had just seen, because there was something I couldnt get out of my head Someone manipulated all of this. The question was who And worse yet. Why?

toward towered Nie walce

whand this will and up hurting me even more

Chapter 259-something Doesn’t Click, Part 2

I felt quilty again. I was the one who had given him that termination letter. I had seen his face crumble before my eyes. And now… Now I was beginning to wonder if I had condemned the wrong man.

“I’ll contact you later,” I finally said. “But I need to review everything first.”

He nodded slowly.

“Thank you for listening.”

I carefully placed the folder inside my bag.

“And Howard…”

He looked up.

“Don’t make any hasty moves. If someone really did tamper with information… we need to handle this carefully.”

His throat moved as he swallowed.

“I understand.”

We were silent for a few seconds, then he stood up, and I did the same.

Howard took a breath before speaking one last time.

“I would never have harmed this project, Mrs. Sinclair.”

His voice sounded honest, painfully honest.

“I know…” I murmured.

And for the first time since Boston… I felt that perhaps there were many things that I didn’t really know about what happened there.

Comments

LUCK DRAW >

280

3

Vote

Claun