NovelEnglishChapter 38
“Miss Olivia!” he said with a wide grin, extending both hands.
“We've heard about you. You're the one working directly under
Alpha Alexander, aren't you?”
| smiled politely. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.””
He chuckled like he already consideredone of their own.
“We were all hoping Alpha Alexander would visit in person.”
| played along, waving one hand lightly. “He’s neck-deep in
summit prep. You know how it is.”
John laughed. “Of course, of course. We're honored all the
same.”
He then introducedto the heads of administration and
finance. Everyone seemed eager to make a good impression,
though a few eyes lingered ona little too long-not with
suspicion, more like nervous curiosity. Still, | kept my tone light
and friendly as John ledon a tour of the facility. The office
was neat. The workshop was noisy and smelled of metal
shavings and sweat. The dining hall was surprisingly spacious.
| asked innocent questions here and there about operations,
staffing, and overtpay. | occasionally took pictures, telling
them they were for Alexander's visual records.
When lunch arrived, | chose to stand in line like everyone else and made my way to a long bench near the corner
of the dining hall. | set my tray down beside three women in faded uniforms who were clearly startled at first but
gradually warmed up to
“Been working here long?” | asked, stabbing my steamed vegetables with my fork.
“Six years,” said the one with a braid, maybe in her early thirties.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“This one’s been here ten.” She pointed to a shorter woman
across from her.
| nodded thoughtfully. “Ever run into any issues clocking in?”
They exchanged a look.
“The machine's right at the shop entrance,” said the third
woman. “Sometimes it glitches.”
“No cameras?” | asked.
“Nope,” said the one with the braid. “No one checks.”
| leaned in a little. “I heard something odd, actually. Ssay
the factory's haunted.””
They stiffened. The braid woman set her spoon down slowly.
“Who told you that?” she asked, her voice low.
1 shrugged. “People talk”
The shorter one whispered, “There are two names that show up
on the register every day. But no one’s ever seen them. Not
once.”
“Jennie Williams and Alan Fraco,” the third added, then quickly
looked around.
| stayed quiet, pretending to pick at my food, while the recorder
in my bag captured everything. They said the shop supervisor
had warned everyone not to bring it up again. That even the
timekeepers looked the other way.
That was all | needed.
By afternoon, | had gathered everyone involved-john, the
shop supervisor, the personnel lead, the statistician, and the
accountant-into a medium-sized meeting room near the admin
wing. | smiled as | set my notebook down.
“I appreciate your time,” | said cheerfully. “There's just a small
matter I'd like to clear up before | submit my report to Alpha
Alexander.”
Everyone shifted in their seats.
“I'd like to meet Jennie Williams and Alan Fraco,” | said, casually
flipping a page in my notes.
Cha
Dead silence.
No one moved. The room grew heavy.
Then the shop supervisor stood, face unreadable, and walked to the door. | watched his hand reach for the knob
as he turned the
lock and quietly shut the door behind him.
Olivia's POV
| kept my tone calm as | looked at John. “Why lock the door?”
John smiled, but it didn't reach his
eyes. “There are somethings(Better
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| didn’t say anything. Just waited.
He folded his arms and leaned forward. “Jennie Williams and
Alan Fraco... they're real. They were among the earliest
employees here. Good people. Until the accident.”
My brows knit. “Accident?”
“A safety issue—years ago,” he shid
quietly. “It left themdih The Content
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with permanent injuries. They couldn't work after that.”
I looked around the room. No one corrected him. No one met
my eyes either.
John continued. “We offered compensation. Kept it out of court.
But they didn’t want a one-tsettlement. They insisted on
monthly wages for the rest of their working years. We agreed...
off the record.”
| crossed my arms. “So for over a decade, they've been receiving
salaries as if they were still working.”
“Theywereloyal,” John insisted. “We didn’t want to drag the
company’s nthrough mud. It's just two names. Small thing,
really.”
“And Alpha Alexander doesn’t know?”
He hesitated, then gavea
pleading look. “He hk peel fo!
"gona ih 5 to worry about.
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chapter there!
handled.”
| nodded slowly, pretending to consider it. “Fine. But I still want
to meet them. Just for verification.””
John paused, then nodded. “Of course. I'll have someone bring
them in.”
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