Chapter 4
"Hey, Levi! You were the one in charge of this product line—and the first person to know the pricing strategy! Now, Mr. McGrath's company suddenly releases a nearly identical product priced just a cent lower than ours.
"You expect everyone to believe that's just a coincidence? If that's not leaking our information, I don't know what is!"
Samuel's accusation immediately made the others feel like they had finally found concrete evidence. They started echoing him.
"That's right! We have proof now! Stop trying to argue your way out of this, Mr. Young!"
"Mr. Cooper is being way too merciful. If it were me, I'd make him compensate the company for its losses!"
Samuel let out another theatrical sigh before continuing in the group chat, "Forget it. Considering he did contribute plenty to the company in the past, I can ask headquarters not to pursue the matter, as long as he resigns voluntarily."
I bit down hard on my lip and immediately called Declan. To my surprise, that call led to an unexpected revelation.
A few minutes later, I reopened the group chat and saw hundreds of messages demanding that I issue a public apology.
After a brief silence, I replied, "Fine. I'll attend the product launch conference and apologize to Mr. Cooper in person."
The moment the message appeared, Samuel jumped out to put on another fake act of generosity.
"Well, that won't be necessary. We're not unreasonable people here. Of course, former employees are welcome to return and attend the product launch."
With that, he instantly painted himself as the understanding and magnanimous leader in everyone's eyes. But I knew he understood better than anyone else just how much effort I had put into that launch.
Not only did he want to steal all the credit, but he also wanted to snatch it right before my eyes.
I ignored the smug arrogance dripping from his words and contacted Declan again to make sure he would attend the event and coordinate with me from the inside.
Two days later, it was finally time for the company's new product launch event.
Dressed in an impeccable suit, Samuel stood onstage, looking polished and successful as he passionately introduced the company's newest product to the crowd.
Then, I appeared in the audience.
After receiving a signal from Samuel, Justin immediately pointed at me and shouted dramatically, "Hey, look! Isn't that Levi Young, the former employee who leaked corporate secrets? How do you still have the nerve to show up here?"
The second he yelled that out, guests all around us turned to scrutinize me.
I took a deep breath and pointed toward Samuel, who stood under the spotlight onstage. "Mr. Cooper, we talked about this before. What exactly will you do if I can prove I never leaked corporate secrets?"
His expression shifted. Under many watchful eyes, he answered without hesitation, "If you didn't leak corporate secrets as you claimed, how did Mr. McGrath's company release a product priced just a cent lower than ours?
"I even have photos of you meeting privately with him, plus surveillance footage of you reciting a string of encrypted numbers into your phone while on overtime duty, which you volunteered for!"
The moment those words came out from the loudspeakers, the entire venue erupted. The way people looked at me changed from initial doubt and suspicion to sheer contempt and disdain.
I didn't rush to defend myself. Instead, I glanced toward the staff member controlling the presentation screen and gave him a subtle signal.
He immediately understood and played the surveillance footage from my New Year's Eve shift on the giant screen.
At first, Samuel had still been wary that I might actually produce some kind of evidence to fight back. When he saw me replaying the same surveillance footage as the one he had, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Levi, are you seriously trying to hammer the final nail into your own coffin? I was actually planning to leave you a little dignity, but clearly, you've got a death wish."
I ignored his mockery and coldly addressed everyone present. "Mr. Cooper, as well as all my tech colleagues here, why don't you listen carefully to what I was actually saying in that recording?"
In the silent conference hall, my voice rang out clearly from the speakers, accompanied by faint little meows in the background.
"Hey, Snowball. Here to steal our Wi-Fi again? Remember this, okay? The new password is 'Welcome2026'!"
The audio ended, leaving the venue pin-drop silent.
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