Reese let out a quiet sigh. There was no way Matthew''s story was as straightforward as it looked on paper. He wasn''t just a tech guy who left the military after an injury. Something wasn''t adding up. But why would he want to hide who he really was?


    "What''s on your mind?" Matthew asked, noticing how distracted she''d been since he walked in. He waved his hand in front of her face to snap her out of it.


    She blinked and shook her head. "It''s nothing." Whatever his secret was, it didn''t change the fact that he''d helped her out more times than she could count. And honestly, she didn''t have anything he could possibly want. If he didn''t want to talk about it, she''d let it go. "Just got a lot on my mind.”


    "What kind of things?" Matthew asked, raising an eyebrow and shing a teasing half-smile.


    "Nothing important," she said, not about to push him or call him out.


    Karter, who''d been hovering nearby, couldn''t help but notice the way Matthew was looking at Reese. It was so obvious he felt like he was intruding on something private. He just wanted to get out of there before he turned into a full-on third wheel. "Mr. Meyer, if you''re busy, I''ll leave you to it."


    "Yeah, go ahead," Matthew answered out of habit, only realizing his slip after the words were out. He nced over at Reese, worried she''d caught on, but she was already looking down at the file he''d brought.


    "Mr. Meyer?" Karter called again, nerves making his voice shaky.


    Reese, still pretending not to have heard anything, finally looked up. "Sorry, Mr. Shaw, I''ve got something I need to finish here..."


    "It''s alright," Karter said quickly, practically tripping over his own feet as he backed out of the office. "Take your time."


    Reese gave a polite smile, her suspicions basically confirmed. The way everyone tiptoed around Matthew made it obvious he was the real power behind Karter.


    Once Karter was gone, Matthew leaned against the edge of the desk and spoke up. "Leslie''s case is in the hands of the authorities now. de''s development is done, so next up is sorting out the licensing for its civilian use. I set up a meeting with your dad... Bailey, this afternoon. Is there anything you want me to handle ahead of time?"


    A gentle warmth filled Reese''s chest.


    Matthew always thought of


    everything always looked out for


    her. She couldn''t help but trust him. "Theres noth else. Just when


    you''re signing the contract with him, remind him to get the share transfer agreement ready. That''s all I need."


    That one sentence would be enough. Even if Bailey didn''t want to cooperate, he wouldn''t dare show up unprepared.


    "Consider it done," Matthew said with a nod.


    For a moment, it looked like the


    trouble with Ratcliff Global had finally died down. But barely an hour


    after Matthew left Ramos


    Corporation, the city''s E


    Protection Agency hit them with a notice. Every production line had to shut down immediately to cooperate with an investigation into "historical environmental vitions and excessive pollution discharge."


    As if that wasn''t enough, a group of former employees showed up outside the building, holding signs saying "Unpaid Wages" and "Stop Exploiting Workers." The media wasted no time, snapping photos and broadcasting the protest live.


    "Do we know what''s really going on?" Reese asked, standing at her office window and watching the chaos unfold below.


    Patrick''s face was grim. "Yeah. Mr. Ratcliff held a press conference after leaving the National Security Bureau. He admitted he was set up by Lestie when he vouched for her, but then he threw us right under the bus. He said we used to cut costs by illégally dumping wastewater, imed he saw it himself when he was working with Dylon. As for


    those former employees, I tracked it back to the Ramos family. They paid them off toe cause trouble."


    Reese scrolled through her phone and saw thepany rocketing up the trending topics.


    #RatcliffGlobalChairmanuses RamosCorpOfEnvironmental Vitions


    #RamosCorplgnoresSocial Responsibility


    #RamosCorporation BackInHotWater


    Every article was a hit piece,plete with blurry old videos. It''s nothing clear, but more than enough to get the public riled up.


    With the regtors swarming and production at a standstill, orders couldn''t be filled and the penalty fees were going to be massive. Meanwhile, the protest was only getting louder, and thepany''s reputation was taking a serious beating.