Chapter 321 Pale Face


    "An,e out! Is this you way of weing me?!" Jacob walked over and sat on the desk with his


    legs crossed.


    He looked as rowdy as he could be, but the serious and calm expression on his face contrasted his


    rather unpleasant mood.


    A sharp jolt was sent down An''s spine. The moment he raised his head, the first thing he saw was


    Jacob''s eyes piercing him like a pair of daggers. The terror on his face was overwhelming that the sight


    alone turned his face pale.


    Jacob snorted as if to mock An''s pathetic image sitting desperately on the ground.


    "Do you want to say it out willingly or should I force the words out of your mouth? Which do you


    prefer?" Jacob squinted and nced over at the others who were there with him.


    "Mr. Jacob, it''s not my fault. It''s all… Kim… It''s all because of him that I ended up at the receiving end


    of all this. I was broke and I needed the money. I just wanted to threaten him. I don''t really intend to do


    anything bad to thepany. You should understand…"


    An desperately exined as he struggled to structure his words coherently.


    Then Jacob sneered at him and sprang out of the desk. He turned around and nced at him one


    more time. "You''re still not willing to say it out? Do you want to spend the rest of your life rotting in


    prison?"


    Of course, it was no secret that he was a person of sheer will and determination. He had various ways


    in mind to make An go to prison, should he will it. Therefore, An wouldn''t, for a second, doubt that


    Jacob meant what he said.


    "Mr. Jacob, I really didn''t mean for things to end up like this. You see, I''m broke, you understand that,


    right? I only acted ording to what I deemed was necessary for me to earn money." He stood up with


    his legs still trembling in fear. He looked around and scanned the expressions of the people around


    him.


    Finally, he paused as soon as his gaze reached Kim, and continued, "Didn''t you say that you would pay


    me back? If you can''t pay me back, you have to use the file to pay me back. I haven''t forgotten about


    that. Didn''t you promise me that if something happens, you will cover for me and you will take the


    me yourself!"


    Kim stayed silent and only looked down. James cleared his throat, and stated, "About this matter…


    What he said to you is irrelevant. Everything is up to Mr. Jacob. There is no way for you to escape your


    punishment."


    An didn''t expect that he would be questioned by Jacob and the others one day. The shame he felt in


    his heart was too heavy of a burden to bear.


    "Well, I need aplete and precise exnation about this matter. You ordered Kim to steal the file in


    exchange for money?"


    Jacob squinted again. As expected, everything was nned.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    An calmly replied, "Yes, I did it alone. I''m a loan shark agency. If I can''t pay the money back, I''ll suffer


    the consequences. That''s why I came up with this idea."


    Kim looked at the scene in shock as Cindy heaved a sigh. ''How could Kim get into such trouble so


    recklessly? Who caused all this to happen?''


    "So, you say you did it alone on your own volition?" Jacob asked again. He squeezed An enough


    until it seemed that he couldn''t get any more clues out of him.


    He stared at An and wondered if he was simply overthinking. ''Is what he''s saying the truth?'' he


    thought.


    An nodded vigorously. A middle-aged man like him acted almost not his age. He was unstable and


    reckless. He was the type of person who could not get mature even in his old age.


    Jacob sighed, turned to James, and ordered, "Call for a board meeting."


    After confirming, James walked out of the room in a hurry as Cindy was left to be stunned in the corner,


    unable to think of anything to do at this point. She used to do such things for him, it felt weird for her


    now that her boss was giving direct orders to someone else other than her.


    But she indeed made a big mistake herself. She could not deny that fact. She remained silent as she


    continued to observe. An, on the other hand, stared at Kim with eyes devoid of any human emotions.


    Before long, they proceeded into the meeting room. The silence was deafening inside, and Jacob


    seemed to notice that almost every one of them showed an expression of fear and anxiety.


    After all, most of the directors were unwilling to see the file getting destroyed. This kind of destruction


    could mean another huge loss for thepany, and that was what they could not afford to happen at


    all cost.


    Kim bowed his head, and walked in. In every step he took, all eyes were tracking him like predators


    stalking their prey.


    "I think everyone must have heard of it. I should have investigated how everyone knew about it, but


    now I don''t want to pursue this matter any longer."


    Jacob carefully scanned the room and met the directors'' eyes. It wasn''t long until he noticed the welling


    arrogance out of Jonathan''s eyes. This kind of hubris unbearably irritated him.


    But Jacob kept his cool as he kept in mind that he failed in extracting any further truth about the whole


    thing. If his gut feelings didn''t deceive him, it must be Jonathan who was behind all this.


    For Jacob, it was easy to spot, but he needed to gather evidences to know for sure. Deep down, he


    knew better than anyone that Jonathan would not hesitate to risk everything to put thepany in


    distress for his own selfish interests. It was a race against time when Jacob realized that if he couldn''t


    find a way to prove his suspicion, then he could not hope to get to the bottom of it.


    He had his own backup, but so did the others.


    Now Jacob finally understood what James warned him about Jonathan not being as simple as he


    seemed. He liked to hide under the guise of a shallow, frivolous man. But he was, in fact, a


    mischievous devil working under the shadows.


    The more dangerous a person was, the calmer he looked. Simrly, the more serious a person looked,


    the more afraid he must be.


    Jacob satfortably on the president''s chair inside the meeting room. Both Kim and Cindy were


    standing, while James joined him at the table.


    An stood aside and found that Jonathan was looking straight at him with a sharp, vicious gaze. A chill


    ran down his spine as the terror overwhelmed him that he had no choice but to avoid his eyes by


    looking down. He felt that he would copse to death right then and there if he continued to catch


    Jonathan''s eyes.


    At this point, the only predicament he worried about was between his death and the excruciating pain


    those looks could inflict on him if he somehow managed to survive. However, he would probably still


    die if Jonathan got his hands on him. So after he weighed the pros and cons of the dilemma, he


    decided to keep the whole thing to himself.


    It could only mean one thing—all that he could do was to keep his mouth shut. He vowed to himself to


    only say something insignificant when asked.


    Jacob suddenly raised his eyes and nced at Kim. "Say what''s going on in front of everyone." He


    snorted and confidently looked at Jonathan.


    Jonathan looked down as he felt he was left with no other option but to remain in utter silence. This


    time, the arrogance on his eyes faded away. Since others were aware of this secret now, he had toy


    low.


    After a short pause, Kim started to open his mouth. "I borrowed some money from An when I needed


    it the most. But I can''t pay it back, so he asked me to steal the document for him."


    An started to tremble. He exined, "I''m a loan shark. When I can''t pay off the money, I was afraid,


    too, so I came up with this idea."


    The two of them were visibly in terror, and they both did not dare to look at anyone''s eyes. Now, both of


    their reputations were ruined. They would probably live in shame for the rest of their lives.


    They were abandoned by those they had friendships with before. Now they understood the extent of


    the consequences of their actions, and paid the price of losing everything that they had built from the


    ground up.


    At the end of the day, the biggest victims of this document theft case, aside from thepany, were


    these two people.


    The board of directors were in an uproar as they continued to discuss this matter. Jonathan, however,


    remained in utter silence. Jacob kept an eye on Jonathan throughout the meeting, trying to see every


    move he made like a warden roaming the prison.


    "This kind of person must be severely punished to the full extent of thew."


    "That''s right. It''s shameful for them to ignore the interests of thepany for their own benefits."


    "Is the truth that simple? Mr. Jacob really is impressive."


    "Do you reckon it''s over at this point?"


    The discussions went on and on as they reached Jacob''s ears. The asional praises of his name did


    not actually give him any sense of enjoyment. Most of them who were saying those things were those


    who would immediately change their opinions ording to the circumstances as if riding on a


    bandwagon.


    They were that kind of people before, and there was no reason not to think that they wouldn''t be like


    that in the future.