Upon hearing what Odin said, Victor stared coldly at him. Odin remained unbothered as he pulled out a chair and sat by the bedside, revealing a smug grin. âOh, you should be disappointed to see that Iâm still alive.â
âYou were the one behind the Baltimore project,â Victor said in a calm voice. Odin leaned back slightly and admitted it.
âWell, thatâs correct, but you should know itâs not entirely my fault. You are also to blame here. Clearly, youâre not a good judge of character. You see, the person in charge of purchasing was too greedy and disloyal. I gave him a little benefit. He agreed without hesitation and tampered with the purchase list.â
Victor remained composed and said in a low voice, âDo you know his daughter is dead?â Odin thought Victor couldnât see a personâs true colors. How could this heartless man refer to it as just a little benefit? Perhaps it was true in Odinâs eyes, but for the head of the purchasing department, that little benefit was enough to save the very foundation of his family.
As soon as the accident happened, Carson sent someone to visit the director of the purchasing department. The moment Carsonâs people entered the room, the director immediately knelt and lowered his head. His daughter was lying in bed, with tubes all over her body. She was only seven or eight years old, but she already looked worn out like a dead tree. The girl had a deadly case of leukemia.
The little benefit that Odin mentioned was that he offered to get in touch with the most highlyâsought expert in the world for his daughter, who had successfully cured a patient with the same disease as the little girl. The director was left with two choices. Loyalty or his daughterâs life? He had been restless and troubled for the whole night.
Through the window of the ICU, he saw his daughter lying in bed and struggling with each breath.
Turning his head to the side, he saw his depressed wife, who had aged significantly in just a few months. She looked gaunt and cried each day. As the head of the family, he had his back up against the wall.
Time was running out, and he had to act soon. The director knew he was in the wrong and that there was no possible escape, so he didnât flee for his life. Instead, he waited at home for Victorâs men to come to him. Desperate and deeply exhausted, the man cried and confessed.
At last, he only hoped that Victor would let his wife and daughter go. Carson didnât judge when he reported back to Victor. He did his duty and chose not to make things much more difficult for the manâs family. But in the end, the soâcalled authoritative expert was nowhere to be found. The directorâs wife helplessly watched their daughter die. She couldnât bear the painful ordeal and fainted soon after.
The most frightening thing in life was not being stuck in darkness for a long time. The false hope that came during the time of darkness was even more terrifying. In the middle of his suffering, the director suddenly saw a beam of light appear in front of him. After struggling for so long, he was finally about to seize a second chance for his family. But just as he was about to reach the glorious beam of light, he suddenly came crashing down into a darker abyss. He could only watch in terror as the beam of light passed through his fingertips.
The directorâs wife fell into a coma, and his daughter was pronounced dead. He lost his highlyâcoveted job and eventually became a person hated by everyone in the industry. After enduring so much grief and pain, the director couldnât take it much longer. He jumped down from a tall building and ended his life once and for all. But now, the heartbreaking story was described by Odin as just a little benefit.
What a cold âblooded bastard! Family ties considered, Victor should also be a cold blooded man. The entire Sullivan family was a group of ruthless individuals. At the very first moment Victor learned about this, anger flickered in his heart. When Carson reported the whole situation, he sighed in disappointment.
âWhat a pity! Odin is still the same as before. He doesnât care about peopleâs lives. He is so cunning that we canât catch him.â Hearing this, Victor blinked and casually signed some documents.
âIs his wife paying for the house by monthly instalment?â
âYes. She has to pay twenty thousand dollars a month. The director was kind of irresponsible; donât you think so? His wife hadnât been working for a long time. After he kill himself, she was left with a mess.
Twenty thousand dollars a month is too much for an unemployed person to afford. Itâs simply not possible for her to pay on time,â Carson said with pity.
âAsk the personnel department to settle his project bonus this year. See to it that it is done immediately.â
Sitting pensively, Victor added, âAs for his daughterâs death, the Sullivan Groupâs union shall pay the pension. On top of that, I want you to give his wife an extra one hundred thousand in cash.â
âUh, Iâm sorry. Iâm not sure if I heard it right.â Carson mumbled in disbelief.
âYou want me to do what? Project bonus and pension? Plus an extra one hundred thousand? By my calculations, all this money is enough to buy a new house. Are you trying to help her out because sheâs too pitiful?â Victor raised his eyebrows and said nothing. Carson dashed forward with a concerned face and put his hand on Victorâs forehead.
âYou donât have a fever. Vic, are you out of your mind? Because of him, Sullivan Group is under investigation. And you still want to clean up this mess for his wifeâs sake? Since when have you become so kind and compassionate?â
Victor stared coldly at his friend and moved his hand away. Was he indeed becoming softâhearted?
Carsonâs remarks brought him back to his senses. He had never done such a gracious deed for others before, and he wouldnât forgive anyone who had betrayed him.
âVic, I think you have changed.â Carson looked at him with astonishment. With a slight sneer, Victor replied coldly, âThatâs what you said four years ago.â
âNo, I mean you have become the exact opposite of who you previously were.â Carson explained further, âFour years ago, I said you had changed. I could feel that your emotions were easily disturbed and affected by Rachel. But now, I was referring to your change of character. Do you know how cold blooded you used to be?â
Hearing his words, Victor clasped his hands together and remained silent.
âIn the past, if someone was killed in your presence, you would simply mind your own business and not give a damn. But now, not only do you give up punishing a traitor, but you also take out a sum of money to help his wife. Do you understand what Iâm saying here? Vic, youâre not the coldâhearted man I once knew. Since when have you changed?â
Carsonâs hardâhitting question deeply embedded itself in Victorâs mind. Victor didnât give an answer back then. But at this present moment, the lingering question popped in his mind once again when he heard that Odin viewed the life and death of that family as if they meant absolutely nothing. He didnât know when, but he knew the reason why he had changed. It was because of Rachel.
He thought that if Rachel had known about the unfortunate situation, she would have done the same thing he did. She was a woman who always gave off a cold image, but she always had a warm heart.
âYes, I know about that. In fact, I also heard that the late directorâs wife is currently suffering from depression and almost committed suicide herself.â
When Odin spoke, there was a wicked smile on his face. It was clear that he felt no remorse. Victor kept silent.
âBut itâs a pity that she is still alive. I heard that she received a large sum of money from a generous benefactor. It gave her so much hope that she wants to start over with a new life.â Odin leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his palms. He stared at Victor with great interest.
âBrother, I have a question for you.â Victor glared at him and said nothing. He pressed his thin lips together in disdain. He didnât feel any family affection towards his brother, but only disgust.
âWho sent her the money? Her husband didnât have much to his name when he was still alive.â Odin paused and asked with a disturbing smile, âBrother, why are you so kind?â