Chapter 13
The accident was an unexpected one.
Panic spread through the scene like wildfire. Some people were moving debris, while others were rushed to the hospital.
Lucky for Zara, the Thanksgiving parade float was just a frame and not too heavy. The X–rays showed no broken bones in her calf. If it had been a fully built float, the weight would have crushed her leg for sure.
There was a bigger problem, however. Mr. Smith had been knocked out cold, and they needed to provide an explanation for this matter.
While everyone was being sent to the hospital, the factory manager wasted no time getting to the bottom of things. It turned out that one of the ropes holding up the float had slipped loose, causing it to tip and start a disastrous domino effect.
The question remained–why did that rope come undone?
In the hospital ward, the factory manager tried to keep his composure. “The rope that came loose was No. 4. We don’t have surveillance cameras in the factory, so it’s hard to say how it happened.
“But from what we can piece together, there was only one person near that spot before everything went south. It was…”
Yosef’s face did not give anything away, but anyone who knew him could tell he was seething.
“Who was it?”
The factory manager glanced in a direction, his eyes flickering with hesitation. “It was…
Zara sat up on the hospital bed and blurted out, “It was me.”
Yosef whipped around to face her.
Her hair was a mess, her clothes were dirty, and thick bandages were wrapped around her delicate legs. She looked a little pitiful in her current state.
He could not help but think of last night.
She had those same tearful, pitiful eyes when she looked at him.
With a heavy sigh, Yosef’s voice was icy. “What were you doing over there?”
Zara told the truth, “Beatrice wanted to know if we could make a profit by investing in the float factory. I stopped to give her an answer.”
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The factory manager looked like he was on the verge of tears. “We spent five years tracking down the perfect cedar for those floats. You can’t build a 300–foot masterpiece without the right wood.
“Now it’s all in pieces. I don’t even know if we can fix it. The loss is massive.…..”
“Did you touch the rope?” Yosef continued to question Zara.
“No,” Zara answered.
m
Then, Beatrice chimed in so softly it was almost a whisper, “I think it might’ve happened.”
Both Zara and Yosef snapped their attention to her.
Beatrice was the least injured one in the ward, with just her palms scraped up. Even so, Yosef made sure a nurse was taking care of her.
Now, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her big eyes glistening as they met theirs.
Zara sat up straighter. “Might’ve happened? What do you mean?”
Her voice was icy, sending a shiver down Beatrice’s spine. She bit her lip nervously. “I… Ms. Lowry, I just remembered that you might’ve pulled on the rope back then…”
Yosef urged, “Go on.”
“Maybe that’s when the rope got loose… Mr. Webb, I’m so sorry. I had no clue that messing with the rope like that could cause such a mess. If I’d known, I would’ve stopped Ms. Lowry for sure, and maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Zara stared at her, dumbfounded.
Yosef had a soft spot for her, so Zara had always let Beatrice’s little games slide. She knew full well that logic did not stand a chance against favoritism. However, she never saw this bombshell coming!
Zara’s expression turned to ice. “Repeat that. What did I touch?”
Beatrice scurried behind Yosef, crying out, “Mr. Webb!” She looked frightened and pitiful.
Yosef’s gaze shifted to Zara. “I’m talking to her right now.”
He was clearly telling Zara to butt out.
Zara could only scoff at Beatrice’s pathetic ploy.
Yosef’s statement felt like the last straw, pushing her already simmering mix of hurt, bitterness, and rage to the brink
She challenged him, asking, “You’re just going to take her word for it?”
Yosef shot back, “Has she said anything that isn’t true?”
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Beatrice’s voice quivered as she said, “Mr. Webb, I’m telling the truth, I swear. You can check
the surveillance cameras…”
Zara’s temper flared up in an instant. “Did you not hear the manager? There are no cameras in that place!” She scoffed. What a drama queen!
Her voice rose with every word until Yosef cut her off, “Enough yelling!”
Zara was caught off–guard!
She felt a chill spread through her, her body stiffening until she could not move.
Yosef was not exactly Mr. Nice Guy, but he had never snapped at her before–not once in the past three years.
This was a first.
He had told her to shut
- up.
Tears welled up in Beatrice’s eyes, and her voice was barely a whisper, “Mr. Webb, I didn’t lie, I promise…”
Yosef replied simply, “I believe you.” That made Zara feel like she was crumbling apart.
He turned to Zara. “You’ve been out of it all day. Are you sure you didn’t mess with anything?”
Zara slumped back against the headboard, her mind reeling. Yosef suddenly seemed like a
stranger.
She had been his chief secretary for three years, excelling at work and in life without making a single mistake. Why would he think she would make such a stupid mistake?
All because Beatrice pointed the finger at her?
She said, “If I did something, it’s on me. I’d own up to it. I…” She wanted to say she would not dodge the blame or bother with lies.
Before Zara could get her full sentence out, Yosef cut her off and twisted her words. “So, what’s your story now? Beatrice claims she saw you touch the rope. She wouldn’t make that up, would she?”
Zara could not help but snort at the absurdity.
Would Beatrice lie about her?
Of course!
However, right now, Zara’s biggest beef was not with the backstabbing Beatrice–it was with Yosef!
What were the last three years for? What did she even mean to him?
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