Chapter 13 Outright Accusation

The accident happened suddenly, and it was entirely unexpected. Chaos ensued at the scene as people scrambled to clear the debris and rush the injured to the hospital. Fortunately, the cultural heritage boat was merely a framework and not particularly heavy. Emelie's lower leg was struck but an X-ray showed no fracture. Had the boat been complete, its considerable weight in the tons would have resulted in a much more severe injury. However, the incident had left Mr. Smith unconscious, necessitating an explanation. While the injured were being attended to, the factory manager quickly investigated what had happened. It turned out one of the hemp ropes holding the cultural heritage boat aloft had loosened, causing the boat to lose balance and triggered the accident. The critical question was why that particular rope had come undone. In the hospital room, the factory manager lamented, "The loosened rope was marked number 4, but we have no surveillance in the factory, so it's unclear how it happened. According to witnesses, only one person had been near that spot before the accident occurred, and it was…" William's expressionless face was recognized by those who knew him well as his expression of anger. "Who?" The manager hesitantly glanced in a direction. "It was…" Emelie was propped up in her hospital bed as she suddenly spoke up, "It was me." William looked at her. She presented a sorrowful image with her hair in disarray, clothes stained, and a thick bandage around her slender leg. It brought back memories of the previous night when she had gazed at him with tears in her eyes, equally pitiable. He inhaled deeply, his voice cool as he asked, "What were you doing there?" "I was answering Daphne's question about the profitability of investing in the cultural heritage boat factory," Emelie replied truthfully. The factory manager appeared even more distraught. "Profit? The cedar wood we use for the cultural heritage boats took us five years to source. Without the right wood, a 330-foot boat is impossible to build. Now that it's damaged, I don't even know if it can be repaired. The loss is significant…" William asked, "Did you touch the rope?" Emelie responded clearly, "No, I didn't." But just after Emelie spoke, Daphne interjected in a low voice, "It seemed like there was..." Emelie and William both looked her way. Despite Daphne being the least hurt with only a scraped palm, she still received medical care because William insisted. Her watery eyes met theirs from her seat on the edge of the bed. Emelie straightened up. "It seemed like there was? What does that mean?" Daphne was intimidated by her cold tone and stammered, "Ms. Hoven, I remembered you seemed to pull on the rope, so I thought…" "Go on," William urged. "So I thought... Perhaps that accidental tug loosened the rope... Mr. Middleton, I'm sorry, I had no idea such a small action could lead to serious consequences. Had I known, I would have stopped Ms. Hoven, possibly preventing this from happening." Emelie stared in disbelief. She had tolerated Daphne's manipulations, understanding that the reason fell short of bias, but Daphne's outright accusation was beyond her expectations! Emelie's expression grew significantly colder. "Repeat what you just said, what did I touch?" "Mr. Middleton," Daphne whimpered, retreating behind William and adopting a pitiful guise. "I'm asking her the question," William said, looking at Emelie. Emelie was aware that William intended to refrain her from speaking. Daphne's tactics seemed ludicrous to Emelie. Yet, William's rebuke brought her frustration and resentment to a peak. "So, you believe everything she says?" Emelie challenged. "Which of her statements isn't the truth?" William countered. Daphne timidly added, "Mr. Middleton, I'm not lying. We can check the surveillance... Everything I've said is true…" Emelie exploded. "Didn't you hear the manager? There's no surveillance in the factory!" What was Daphne acting at? Her voice rose with each word until William sharply rebuked her, "Shut up! Have you yelled enough?" Emelie was taken aback. She felt as though her entire body had been encased in ice, growing stiff and rigid until she couldn't move at all. While William's temperament was far from perfect, he had never lost his temper with her in all three years. This was the first time he had ever told her to shut up. Daphne's eyes welled with tears, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke, "Mr. Middleton, I didn't lie…" "I believe you," William said, his simple words causing Emelie to feel her resolve crumbling. He then turned to Emelie and asked, "You've been distracted today. Are you sure you didn't touch anything?" Emelie was stunned and leaned back against the headboard as William began to seem like a stranger to her. She had been by his side for three years, handpicked by him as his head secretary. She had never made even the slightest mistake in both his work and personal life. Why would he believe she'd commit such a fundamental error, solely based on Daphne's accusation? She spoke, each word deliberate, "If I had accidentally touched it, I would admit it, I—" Before she could finish, William interrupted, taking her words out of context. "So what are you denying now? Daphne saw you with her own eyes. Would she falsely accuse you?" Emelie found the situation absurd and couldn't help but laugh. Would she falsely accuse her? Of course, she would! But a clear disdain could be heard through her laughter. It wasn't Daphne's accusations that stung the most, but William's blind trust in her. What did her three years of loyalty mean to him? What was she in his eyes?