Grace craned her neck. "But you know as well as I do, the medical field is where the money is, and it comes in fast. We have so many people at the Gonzalez Group to support; we can't just cut off our main source of income."
"I'm not telling you to cut it off," Mr. Gonzalez Sr. said slowly. "Just lay low for a while. We'll talk again after the heat is off."
Grace understood immediately. "Dad, is it Prax? Are they sending people down again?"
Mr. Gonzalez Sr. neither confirmed nor denied it, simply closing his eyes.
Grace gave her assurance. "Don't worry, I promise they won't find a thing."
For over a decade, the Gonzalez Group had operated without a hitch. This time would be no exception.
That night, the silence was deep and long.
At a certain high-rise in the capital, countless office computers at Prax headquarters flickered simultaneously, triggering the highest level of alert from the top brass.
Meanwhile, in Sol, at the medical hall, Rosalind popped a piece of candy into her mouth, her fingertip tapping lightly. Click.
An identical email appeared in all their inboxes.
The intruder was silent, arriving and vanishing in a flash.
When they opened the email, their faces turned pale.
The director's order came down: "Investigate! Dig into this Gonzalez Group from the roots up! And maintain strict confidentiality! I want every relevant person in Sol and the provincial capital brought in for questioning. Before that, you will all surrender your phones. Not a single word of this gets out!"
It was destined to be an unusual night.
Rosalind, however, went to bed early. After her face mask, she settled in for a wonderful night's sleep.
The next day, Rosalind went to the hospital as usual to give Mr. Martinez his acupuncture treatment.
Her other patient wasn't there this time.
Mr. Martinez was quite talkative. "Cure-Master, what do girls your age usually like?"
Rosalind thought of her classmates. "Clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, things like that."
Mr. Martinez turned his head to Fabian. "Mr. Lee, take note. When Rose comes back, she needs to have all of these things."
Fabian wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "Chairman Martinez, we've made some progress with Oakhelm. We found the couple who adopted Ms. Martinez back then and have already spoken with them. They said they can come next week!"
Fabian cleared his throat, blinking frantically. "Not tell you, exactly, but... are you really going?"
You don't have to, Rosalind. You've already started treating Mr. Turner...
Rosalind didn't catch his subtle hint, only smiling faintly. "I have to go."
Fabian was sharp. "It doesn't sound like you're going there to treat a patient."
Rosalind didn't hide it from him. "The Turner family isn't my target. Well, Fabian, I should get going. I need to prepare."
"Prepare for what, if you're not treating anyone?" Fabian stood on his toes, but she was already walking away. He mumbled to himself, "Maybe it's for the best. At least this way, I won't have to worry about you crossing Mr. Turner without knowing who you're dealing with. You'll find out soon enough..."
Rosalind didn't hear him. As she walked, she sent one last email.
Despite using all their technical resources, they were unable to locate the whistleblower.
And so, two days passed...
Caesar Hotel, the Turner Group's symposium...

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