“What are we going to do?” my colleague
wailed. “We thought Sarah was going to make
us rich and famous! Now we’re all going to
jail!”
It had nothing to do with me anymore. But as I
turned to go inside and get my belongings,
Sarah rushed up to me, clutching my arm. “She
left the designs! She was the lead designer!
This is all her fault!”
I tried to pull away. She held on tighter, her
eyes wide with desperation. “You’re trying to
run away! That’s why you left so suddenly! You
wanted us to clean up your mess!”
Heads turned. The angry buyer lunged at me,
grabbing my collar and screaming about his
money. “The police are here! If you don’t
explain yourself, you’ll rot in jail! You call
yourself a scientist? You’re a disgrace!”
I tried to speak, but a stinging slap cut me off.
<
They were baying for blood, a mob the police couldn’t contain. Then I saw John pushing his
way through the crowd. He rushed to Sarah’s
side, checking her for injuries. Just a few feet
away, he couldn’t see me, surrounded and
vilified. He only saw Sarah.
My heart went cold. This was the marriage I’d
fought for, for five years.
I pulled out my phone. “I have proof!” My voice
rang out, cutting through the chaos. “At the
year–end ceremony, John himself appointed
Sarah as the lead designer. I haven’t been
involved in any investment deals or design work since then. My colleagues can confirm this!” I turned to Sarah. “You trusted the wrong person.
You were scammed. And now, instead of
owning up to it, you want to drag us all down
with you?”
My colleagues backed me up. “It’s true! John
put Sarah in charge! This is a major
government project! Sarah just didn’t want the
responsibility, and now she’s trying to shift the
blame!”
<
7:33
244
The crowd surged toward John and Sarah, demanding answers. John glared at me, his voice tight with panic. “Everyone, calm down! I’ll get to the bottom of this. No one will be unfairly blamed.” He turned on me, his eyes blazing. “Amelia, is this your idea of handing over your work? You jeopardized this entire facility over some personal vendetta! I overlooked your…
unconventional work habits because you were a
valuable asset. But now you’re plagiarizing designs? I’ll blacklist you from the entire
industry, do you hear me?”
I met his gaze. “Is that your idea of getting to
the bottom of things?”
He puffed up, his anger barely contained. “What
else could it be? You know this project inside
and out. No one else could have exploited these
vulnerabilities. This entire facility is in disgrace
because of you! How could you do this to us?”
I laughed, a cold, hollow sound. “First of all, I’ve
resigned. Second, take a good look at the
signature on the bottom of those blueprints.”
