Building a Business Empire with my Technological System

Chapter 228: Admission of Guilt

"They knew about everything, so this is some sort of a taunt from their side?" Elena said, realizing it all.

"Yes, Mrs. Skies. Should we address it now by contacting the leadership of the Reyes Corporation?" her assistant asked, her phone ready to dial.

Elena shook her head, a steely determination settling in her eyes. "No, not yet. Contacting them now might reveal how much we know and how desperate we are. We need to gather more information first. We need to play this smart. I am still thinking about how the Reyes Corporation knew that we were after the Medipod…"

"You hired John Carter to gather intelligence on Reyes Corporation," her assistant pointed out. "Maybe he knows something."

Elena nodded. "Get him on the line. I want to hear what he has to say."

Her assistant quickly made the call, and after waiting for a minute—.

"Mrs. Skies, Mr. Carter is not answering his phone."

Elena frowned. "Try again. This is urgent."

Her assistant dialed again, but there was still no answer. "He's still not picking up, Mrs. Skies."

Elena's frustration grew. "Try one more time. We need to reach him."

***

Meanwhile, at the Golden Topper, headquarters of the Reyes Corporation, Michael visited Carter in his cell.

"You know, Mr. Reyes, you can't detain me here. This is against the law, specifically unlawful imprisonment," Carter said.

Michael shook his head calmly. "We're not detaining you, John. You're free to leave anytime you want. However, as an employee who hasn't fulfilled his duties, you're required to stay on-site until your tasks are completed."

Carter frowned, skepticism etched on his face. "That's a thinly veiled excuse, and you know it. You're just trying to keep me from reporting back to Aegis."

Michael smiled slightly. "Think of it as ensuring our employees are productive. You signed a contract, John and part of that contract stipulates that you complete your assignments before leaving the premises. Now, if you have any issues with the terms you agreed to, we can discuss them with our legal team."

Carter's expression hardened. "Okay, I don't like playing games."

"Neither am I," Michael stopped his charade. "You know we still can't let you go. We are expecting something from your employer."

"Expect what? You already succeeded in your plan of trapping Elena. What do you want?" Carter demanded.

"Yes, we have trapped her, and we got her attention," Michael said. "What we need is that attention of hers to be directed to us personally in the form of a call. We still have your phone."

Carter's eyes widened slightly. "You want me to call her?"

"Oh…no, no," Michael said, shaking his head. "We want her to call you. I'm sure with a leak on her plans to steal Medipod, she'll contact every party involved, including you. So she might call and ask for your assurance that you didn't tip us off."

Carter's eyes narrowed. "And what am I supposed to tell her?"

"Reassure her," Michael said simply. "Tell her that you didn't make any mistakes and that you haven't found out by us. Because if she sensed that you are misleading her, she might release the confidential files you are so afraid of getting out

"Reassure her," Michael said simply. "Tell her that you didn't make any mistakes and that you haven't been found out by us. Because if she senses that you are misleading her, she might release those confidential files you're so afraid of getting out."

Carter stared at Michael, his mind racing. He had no choice but to comply. "Fine. I'll do it."

Michael nodded. "Good. Now let's wait for her to call."

As if on cue, the phone rang.

"I think that's her," Carter said.

Michael looked at the display screen. It showed Elena's assistant calling. Michael didn't hand the phone over immediately.

"What are you doing? Give it to me so I can answer," Carter said, tilting his head to the side, confused.

"We wait, making her anxious. On her third attempt, that's when we will answer," Michael replied calmly.

Carter sighed but didn't argue. The phone stopped ringing. Moments later, it rang again. Michael let it ring, watching the display without reacting. When the ringing stopped again, Carter looked impatient.

Finally, on the third ring, Michael handed the phone to Carter. "Now, answer it."

Carter took a deep breath and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Mr. Carter, Mrs. Skies wants to talk to you. Are you available?" Elena's assistant asked.

"Yes, I'm here. Put her on," Carter replied, keeping his voice steady.

There was a brief pause, and then Elena's voice came through. "John, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you."

"Sorry, Elena. I've been dealing with some issues here. Why did you contact me?"

"We are in a grave situation, I'm sure you have heard about it," Elena said.

"Yes I have been informed by the media, things are tough out there," John replied.

"I want to make sure that you weren't compromised."

"Absolutely not," Carter replied firmly. "I've been careful. There's no way they know about our plans from my end. After all, I have no plans on getting caught by the Reyes Corporation given what you have on me."

"I am glad that you haven't forgotten about that."

"Do you have any idea who might be behind the leak? I thought it would be me being exposed, but to my surprise, it's one of your men," John said, his tone carefully neutral.

Elena sighed, frustration evident in her voice. "We're still trying to figure that out. One of the documents that were leaked is falsified, but someone inside must have facilitated this. We need to identify the mole and fast."

"I understand. I'll keep my eyes and ears open here and let you know if I come across anything," John offered.

"Good."

"Oh one more thing, since there is a link that you are trying to steal the Medipod, do you still want me to continue searching for that Medipod schematic file for you?"

"Don't do anything without my order."

"Will do. Stay in touch," John replied before hanging up.

Michael took the phone back from John, looking pleased. "You handled that well. She even admitted on the phone that she had the intention of stealing the Medipod schematics. That's valuable information for us."

Carter sighed. "So, what now?"

"Now, we use this to our advantage. Stay put, and keep playing along. We need to make sure we have enough evidence to completely discredit Aegis Pharmaceuticals and Elena Skies," Michael replied.