Chapter 32
After Matilda left the Starlight Club, she got a call from Tessa.
Her voice was a little weak, like she was forcing herself to sound cheerful. “I was working on a new vintage dress and lost track of time. I’m sorry, Matilda. I forgot to check in on you. How was your first day at work?”
Even though Tessa had suffered because of her, she was still apologizing. Matilda thought she was being silly.
“It went smoothly,” Matilda said. “I start officially tomorrow morning.”
“That’s great,” Tessa said with a light laugh.
Knowing Tessa needed to eat something to regain her strength, Matilda found an excuse to end the call.
It felt like both her fate and Tessa’s were caught in the grip of some invisible hand, and she had no idea when they’d ever break free.
When she got back to Maple Heights, she noticed several vacuum-sealed bags of pomegranate seeds on the storage shelf by the door.
Beside them was a note, written in bold, steady handwriting that carried a weight of its own. [Jolene loves pomegranates too, so I got some for you as well. Keep them refrigerated.]
Matilda walked to the balcony and looked up, warmth spreading through her chest.
For some reason, she thought of Allen’s WhatsApp name: 1107. That made her curious about Jolene’s mother.
The next morning, Matilda arrived at the chip production line half an hour early. She froze for a moment, staring at the giant golden letters that read Coreline Eternity.
The Horton Group definitely had ambition. She liked that.
Lurith Tech’s old team hadn’t been broken up; they had just signed new contracts with Horton Group.
Among them were Luke, the IP engineer; Neil, the software engineer; Faye, the chip architect; and others.
As director, Matilda waited until everyone showed up, then introduced herself and told them there would be a meeting in the conference room in ten minutes.
Luke said, “I’ve got work on a CPU memory module. I can’t leave.”
Faye said, “I need to map out the technical roadmap.”
The chip engineers headed straight to the cleanroom to change for the production line.
It was obvious they were banding together to shut Matilda out.
Matilda wasn’t upset. Instead, she looked at Neil, the only one who hadn’t spoken.
Neil was the youngest of the group. He had sharp features and thick brows, his gaze weighted with a winter-cold gloom.
He stood up and said flatly, “I can go.”
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The others all whipped their heads toward him like they’d just seen a traitor.
Matilda’s gaze swept across their angry faces. “Since everyone’s busy, we’ll push the meeting to eleven.”
At eleven, Matilda sat in the conference room again. Neil showed up. No one else did.
She sent out another notice: [3 PM meeting.]
This time, Neil came, and so did Faye and her group. Matilda only said, “Meeting dismissed.”
Then she sent another notice: [5 PM meeting. If attendance still isn’t complete, there will be consequences.]
That was when everyone realized Matilda had started out patient but wasn’t afraid to get tough.
She had called four meetings, all within work hours. If she fired them, they would have no grounds to complain.
By five o’clock, almost everyone showed up. Only Luke strolled in nearly ten minutes late, his face full of defiance.
Before he could sit down, Matilda’s voice cut across the room. “Luke, being on time seems impossible for you. Pack your things and head to finance to settle your pay.”
“Why? I was just a few minutes late,” Luke snapped. “What gives someone hated across the whole industry the right to fire me?”
Everyone’s faces changed. They thought Luke was reckless-and stupid.
Truth was, most of them resented Matilda. Because of her, their work kept losing to Crossen Technology.
And to get back at her ex-husband, she had planted a spy camera in her own clothes to leak secrets. To them, it was disgusting.
But none of that mattered now. She was their director. They still had to make a living, and no one dared curse her to her face.
Matilda pulled her gaze away from Luke and looked at the rest. “That case was fully investigated by the police. Anyone bringing it up again is spreading lies.
“Yes, I’m new to Coreline Eternity. But I’m also the one in charge. If anyone can’t accept that, or feels following me has no future, you can resign right now. But once work begins and until the chip hits the market, I won’t approve any resignations, no matter the reason.”
Her warning cleaned out hidden threats and set down her rules.
The others quickly changed tune, scrambling to speak up.
“Ms. Warren, I have no problem. I’ll follow your lead,” someone said.
“Ms. Warren, I believe under your leadership, Lurith Tech, no, Coreline Eternity will thrive forever,” another said.
Luke shot her one last glare and stormed out.
Neil, who usually respected no one, gave her a serious look for the first time.
When the meeting ended and the room emptied, only Neil lingered, slowly packing up.
Matilda asked, “Why side with me? Aren’t you afraid they’ll freeze you out?”
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Chapter 32
“I don’t make friends,” Neil said simply.
Matilda watched his back as he left, curious. He seemed distant, even a little cold.
At Rose Villa, Brandon woke to Lola’s crying. His head pounded like his skull was splitting.
When Lola saw him open his eyes, she cried harder. “Daddy, Aunt Shelby left. She doesn’t want us anymore”
Brandon frowned in confusion.
“You kicked her out yesterday when you were drunk. You said this wasn’t her home.” Lola held up the security footage Shelby had given her.
Brandon stared, stunned. He couldn’t believe he had hurt Shelby over some nightclub woman.
He jumped up and called Tully over. “Where’s Shelby?”
“Ms. Webster left early this morning with a suitcase,” Tully said.
“Why didn’t you stop her?” Brandon roared.
Tully kept her head down, silent. But in her heart, she thought Shelby should’ve left a long time ago.
