Chapter 411

"You already find it too much, Mr. Yates?" Hannah regarded Leonard with cold detachment, a derisive smile tugging at the edge of her mouth. "All I ask is a simple task. You're begging me to stay, so act the part. Otherwise, I'll just leave."

Leon's eyes blazed with indignation. How dare she dictate to him? Yet, since Adrian had expressly requested her presence, he had no option but to endure.

"Very well, I'll clean." Leonard choked back his fury,retrieved a broom from the janitor's closet, and cleaned the floor.

Once he completed the task, Hannah turned and walked away without pause. "That's more like it. Let's go. We shouldn't keep Mr. Miller waiting."

Leonard straightened up, shooting a venomous glare at her retreating form. He snorted. Did she truly believe she would get off lightly with Adrian? He planned to tell on her thoroughly and make her pay.By then, she'd be the one begging him for mercy.

With that in mind, Leonard trailed after her.

Shortly thereafter, Leonard and Hannah entered Adrian's office.

Adrian and Hannah traded a subtle look, and she offered him a brief nod.

The three positioned themselves before Adrian's desk. For a brief interval, quiet enveloped the space.

Leonard shattered the hush first, unable to restrain himself. "Mr. Miller, didyou call Natalie here because of the company's project leak? Do you intend to interrogate her personally?" He jabbed a finger toward Natalie, his voice quivering with righteous outrage. "Natalie is the corporate betrayer, an industrial espionage agent. You must impose severe punishment on her without mercy!"

Calvin interjected immediately, his tone solemn, "Mr. Miller, Doyle is correct. This prompted our department to enforce strict disciplinary measures against her per company policy."

Calvin sought to rationalize their choice to dismiss Natalie.

Hannah absorbed their twisted claims, a chill,scornful arc forming on her lips. Even at this juncture,they persisted in besmirching her. They would not cease until confronting their own downfall.

Adrian stayed mute for the moment. He reclined slightly in his expansive chair, his fingers drumming idly on the polished desk surface with a faint, steady "tap,tap,tap..."

The rhythm reverberated in the office's stillness,each beat striking at Leonard's and Calvin's taut nerves.

"Mr. Miller, you have no idea what sort of individual Natalie is. She consistently neglects her duties and takes shortcuts. Precisely the type who would disclose the company's vital projects," Leonard continued, his pitch escalating with fervor.

"Is that so? Yet, I've learned that Miss Preston was set up by you misusing your position," Adrian said at last, his tone shifting to a glacial chill.

Leonard and Calvin replied together, "Absolutely not."

Hannah lifted hner head deliberately, her stare composed and resolute as it aligned with Adrian's.Her words rang out firm and steady. "Mr. Miller,l possess proof."

Leonard's and Calvin's pulses surged in alarm. But they promptly dismissed her claim. How could she hold any proof?

Hannah accessed Adrian's office computer, inserted her external USB drive, and unveiled the files sequentially. Simultaneously, their details projected vividly on the expansive screen via the room's display system.

Key records appeared: timestamps from access logs under falsified staff IDs, IP origins, and indicators of digital alteration software-paired with a certification report from a specialized cybersecurity agency,verifying the logs as intentionally fabricated.

Moreover, the dubious file on her device-its origin timestamp, transfer route, and access history activating the watermark tracking protocol-all linked to an overseas IP. Deeper analysis showed this IP had interacted with Leonard's private email, establishing that the file was intentionally inserted and accessed remotely to frame her. Furthermore, there was her documentation of the discrepancies in Warehouse No.3.

All these materials constituted the meticulous compilation she had assembled to expose Leonard's scheme to set her up.

Hannah's tone cut like frost, her piercing regard locked on Leonard's rounded features. "This proof suffices entirely to demonstrate that you engineered the project leak, leveraging your role to falsify access entries and deposit counterfeit files onto my system to frame me. And the spurious inventory in Warehouse No. 3, the flawed goods concealed within, the diverted finances... The evidence stands irrefutable." Her eyes shifted to Calvin.

"Fabricated, all of it!" Leonard bolted upright,extending a quivering finger toward the display. His cry escalated to a rasping yell, laced with unbridled dread. "These are inventions! Natalie, you're setting me up! Mr. Miller, you cannot believe her!"

"It has undergone authentication." Adrian's scrutiny intensified, centered on Leonard. "This material has received dual confirmation from an external cybersecurity firm engaged by the corporation and the in-house legal division. The findings are unequivocal and absolute. Everything proves authentic. No traces of alteration exist!"

The previous day, Hannah had approached Adrian and provided the USB drive, requesting its validation,thus eliminating any possibility/ of contestation.