Chapter 31


    Margaret cried for most of the night. The next morning, when she got up and looked at herself in the mirror, she noticed her puffy eyes and immediately grabbed her hair in frustration.


    “Margaret Wilcox, you’re beyond help!” She pressed her forehead against the wall and cursed herself vehemently.


    Whenever anything concerning Gideon arose, Margaret couldn’t maintain herposure.


    Margaret, who rarely wore makeup, finally dug out her cosmetics bag from the back of her closet. After half-heartedly rummaging through it, she abandoned the endeavor altogether, saying to herself, ‘I’m just a rookie when ites to makeup. I better spare myself from the


    torment.


    She retrieved some ice cubes from the refrigerator, wrapped them in a towel, and gently pressed them against her eyes, hoping to alleviate their swollen appearance.


    With a sense of righteousness, Margaret set off to work, knowing that regardless of others’ perceptions, they were entitled to their opinions. Such is life; criticism is inevitable, after all. She decided to prove she was merely human.


    The moment Margaret stepped into the news agency, she sensed countless eyes on her. Undeterred, she greeted each gaze with a smile before entering the chief editor’s office amidst their astonishment and curiosity.


    Someonemented, “Margaret is so strange. She does nothing but sit in the office all day, yet Mr. Sanchez still favors her. Look at her eyes. She clearly didn’t sleepst night. Who knows what trouble she was stirring up.”


    “Oh, well. That’s because she’s young and beautiful. We’ve passed our prime and can’tpete with her,” one of her colleagues replied.


    Another person argued, “What are you talking about? I don’t think Margaret is that kind of person.”


    “What’s the matter? Dov


    you know her from before? How can you be so sure?” someone else retorted.


    As expected, gossip erupted the second Margaret entered the chief editor’s office. However, behind the ss door, their voices were silenced, leaving her oblivious to the heated debate outside, where voices were rising and tempers ring over her.


    “Have you decided?” The chief editor’s office was quiet regardless of what was happening outside. Raymond fixed his gaze on Margaret, making her feel somewhat nervous.


    Straightening her posture, she replied with conviction, “Yes, I have. Our mission is to be the voice of the people. If I don’t speak up now, and if no one else does, then our profession has no reason to exist.”


    This was, in fact, a decision that didn’t require much thought. From the moment she gave her answer, Margaret never entertained the idea of retreating. She had never considered backing down in her twenty-something years of life.


    I


    “Very well. I’ll give you a month. I want to see the draft by then. I’ll have Colin and Lilyassist you,” Raymond said, and Margaret saw approval In his eyes.


    “Okay,” Margaret replied and left.


    month might seem like a generous timeframe. However, for such a significant news story, it was rtively short.


    Back in her office, Margaret sorted the materials she had recently gathered. She still needed to confer with her two colleagues about each


    Chaptor31


    other’s workload.


    Margaret had a good impression of Colin because of his help and care and that she had read some of his previous articles, which contained very incisive writing.


    She believed that words could reveal a person’s true nature. Margaret could sense Colin’s passion, making him the perfect person for her current topic. Raymond was indeed good to her. As for Lily, it was Margaret’s first time encountering this name. She couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is she as delicate as her name sounds? if she is, I’m in for a tough ride ahead.”


    While sorting her materials, Margaret heard a knock. She looked up, adjusted her sses with a gentle push, and said softly, “Come in.”


    Colin stepped in, bringing with him an unfamiliar girl. Margaret deduced that she must be Lily,


    As soon as Delh Sanchez entered, she greeted Margaret with a cheerful smile, revealing her friendly character. “Hello, Margaret. My name is Delh Sanchez, but everyone calls me Lily.”


    Margaret’s hand, resting on theputer keyboard, twitched involuntarily. “Mr. Sanchez has the same surname, she remarked inwardly.


    She was reluctant to dwell on it, but Raymond had sent a young woman to help her with such a significant news story. Moreover, Delh had the samest name as him. Margaret wasn’t a rookie, either, so she knew it wasn’t practical to dismiss these thoughts.


    Margaret suppressed her slight displeasure and greeted Delh, “Hello,” No matter the situation, the former knew she had no authority to question the decisions made by higher-ups. “Maybe Delh is indeed capable, and I’m overthinking the situation, Margaret said to herself.


    “Margaret, Mr. Sanchez has spoken highly of your achievements in the field. You’re truly remarkablel Delh’s eyes sparkled with admiration and anticipation, as if Margaret were the person she hoped to be.


    Faced with a neer in the workce, Margaret felt she ought to feel pleased. The bright and cheerful Delh was likable. However, for some reason, she found Delh’s presence unsettling. There was a subtle difference between her gaze and her outward demeanor.


    Margaret smiled, politely expressed her gratitude, and said nothing else. Her guarded nature prevented her from warming up to Delh.


    Delh didn’t expect Margaret to be so indifferent when she had shown her enthusiasm. The atmosphere in the office became momentarily. awkward as Delh’s smile froze in ce.


    In the end, Colin stepped in to defuse the tension. “Margaret, what’s the topic this time? Share it with us.” With that, he redirected everyone’s attention. Margaret cast a grateful nce at Colin. She wouldn’t have known how to resolve the situation without his intervention.


    Margaret exined, “I published an article about the forced demolitions in the suburbs online. People were getting hurt, but the developer ignored them. They even made grandiose statements. The people are mad, but they dare not speak up, knowing how much influence the developer has. Some had to give in, sign unfair deals, and leave. Others dug in their heels and resisted. Our goal is to expose how the developer is mistreating folks and make surepanies like these vanish.”Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “Whichpany?” Colin asked.


    “Lambert Group.” After Margaret said that, she scrutinized Colin’s and Delh’s expressions. Colin appeared calm, showing no significant changes. On the other hand, Delh’s demeanor began to seem somewhat unnatural,


    “Margaret, Lambert Group does have a powerful background. Are we really going to write a news story about them? It doesn’t sound like a good idea.” As soon as Delh said thest word, Margaret frowned subtly. Her intuition told her that the former might be trouble.


    Margaret regretted epting the staff Raymond had appointed and thought, ‘I should have insisted on choosing my team. But now that she’s


    coping the st


    here, finding an excuse to dismiss her seems Inappropriate”


    “Lily, I don’t know what you majored in, but I specialized in journalism. In my very first ss, the professor told us that we are the voice of the people. We should write about the world’s Injustice and witness nations’ rise and fall. It might be agonizing, but it’s our responsibility,” Margaret stated. She had no intention of giving up on this story,


    If Delh were afraid of offending someone and jeopardizing her career, Margaret wouldn’t mind If she backed out.


    Delh frowned and reluctantly agreed, answering, “Okay, I understand.” Although she verbally agreed, she nned to talk to Raymondter about why she was given such a difficult task.


    Colin was the person who knew all the ins and outs of the news agency. He shook his head, looked at Delh with a hint of disdain, andmented internally, “What a silly girl! If she had secured this news story, she could’ve made a name for herself in the industry. Mr. Sanchez presented her with such a good opportunity, yet she finds it burdensome. This is baffling


    “Margaret, what tasks have youpleted so far? Is there anything else I need to do?” Colin didn’t care whether Delh was willing to do it or not. For him, this was a great opportunity. He had heard of Margaret’s capabilities and believed she could lead them through this challenging task.


    Margaret replied, “I’ve gathered some information about the area and collected onlinements about the issue. Manyments have been deleted, possibly due to restrictions. We need to conduct a field visit and interview each household to uncover everything Lambert Group has done before nning our next steps.”


    “Alright, I’ll go ask around for more informationter. Let’spile all the data from different sources tomorrow.” Colin had some connections and sources in the local area, something Margaretcked. Seeing Colin taking the initiative, she happily nodded in agreement.


    Delh was somewhat dissatisfied when she saw that Margaret and Colin had tasks toplete. However, she couldn’t just stand by and watch them work. So, she asked, “What do you need me to do?”


    “Nothing for now. We’ll finalize the division ofbor once we have all the information tomorrow,” Margaret responded. In actuality, she still wasn’t keen on involving Delh. If thetter wasn’t willing to work with them, she still had time to talk to Raymond about backing out.


    “Okay. I’m new here and don’t know much. If there’s anything you need, just let me know. I’ll also need to learn a lot from you.” It seemed like Delh realized her earlier reaction wasn’t quite right. Hence, she hurriedly tried to improve Margaret’s impression of her.


    “Alright,” Margaret answered indifferently, leaving Delh somewhat unsatisfied. Nevertheless, thetter didn’t say anything more.


    Colin shared some insights about the initial investigation, many of which Margaret found valuable. After all, she used to work abroad, and there were differences in customs and regtions between countries. His suggestions served as a helpful reminder. Margaret promptly jotted down notes.


    While discussing, Margaret and Colin were open and candid. They felt like they had met their match as they shared their expertise. They also wore a smile of understanding, knowing they had found a like-mindedpanion.


    Margaret discreetly observed Delh, who appeared bored. Thetter idly yed with her nails and yawned asionally, as if uninterested in their conversation. It truly felt like she was hopeless. If it were Margaret, she would have already taken out her notebook and started learning from the discussion.