It was Darlene's doing. She hadn't just fired me—she'd cut off every path forward.
When my mother noticed the furrow in my brow deepening day after day, she gently pressed me for the reason—and I finally told her everything.
Her face turned pale with anger. She immediately stood up, ready to rush out the door. "I'm going to confront her! How can she slander you like that?"
I caught my mother's hand gently, pressing it down. "Mom, don't worry."
I looked out the window, my tone was calm and steady. "It's about time."
"Soon enough, she'll come to me on her own."
My mother gave me a puzzled look. Just as she was about to speak, my phone on the table rang sharply.
The caller ID flashed on the screen: Darlene Schmidt.
I pressed the answer button and put it on speaker.
"Harold?" Darlene's usual composure was gone, replaced by an edge of panic. "You need to come to Skyfeather Tech on the west side of the city—right now! It's urgent!"
"The drone program we sold them just malfunctioned during the final demonstration! The flight control system keeps failing intermittently, and the path-planning is completely scrambled!"
"The client is furious. We have to fix it today, no matter what!"
In the background, I could hear chaos—raised voices, arguments, the sound of panic spreading through a crowd.
I waited until she finished before speaking, my tone deliberately unhurried.
There wasn't a trace of emotion in my voice. "President Schmidt, I think you've called the wrong person."
"I already resigned. Any technical issues at the company should be handled by the one who won the five million bonus—Lester. I'm sure he's still working overtime every night, right?"
