Chapter 2

2

I froze, completely confused by her sudden accusation.

Paige continued her tirade: "I am giving you thirty minutes. If you do not bring those files back, I am calling the police."

"Logan, do not test the limits of my patience."

Still bewildered, I glanced at the female officer standing beside me.

Having overheard the speaker, she gestured for me to hand her the phone.

Taking the device, the officer spoke in a stern tone:

"Ms. Prescott, your husband was just discharged from a ten-day jail sentence, and he still has an unpaid administrative fine."

"If you wish to file a police report, you are welcome to come down to the station in person."

Paige let out a cold, mocking sneer on the other end.

"Logan, I am not in the mood for your childish games."

She hung up abruptly the very next second.

I had no idea what was happening, but the officers instructed me to wait in the lobby while they summoned Paige to settle my fine.

Half an hour later, Paige pushed through the station doors.

Her face was darker than thunder as she cross-checked the records with the desk sergeant.

"Are you telling me he actually spent the last ten days locked up in this facility, without leaving once?"

The officer replied impatiently: "Believe it or not, ma'am, just pay the fine."

On the drive back to corporate headquarters, I pieced together the situation from Paige's frantic conversation with her assistant.

Just yesterday, the master bid proposal stored in her private drawer had vanished into thin air.

It was the company's biggest and most confidential project of the year, and Paige held the only finalized hard copy.

Tomorrow was the official bidding deadline.

I asked out of curiosity: "For a document that critical, was there no digital backup?"

The assistant whispered timidly: "Mr. Mercer accidentally spilled a cup of coffee over Ms. Prescott's laptop, and the hard drive was completely fried."

Paige shot me a venomous glare: "Felix already feels terrible about the accident. He is emotionally fragile, so do not dare bring it up in front of him."

The entire executive floor felt like an active war zone, with employees rushing around in total chaos.

The only exception was Felix Mercer, who sat casually in Paige's leather executive chair, browsing luxury shopping sites.

The moment he saw us enter, he sprang up with a warm smile.

"Paige, you found Logan! Did you recover the files too?"

He reached out and affectionately hooked his fingers around Paige's hand.

"I told you Logan only took the files because he was throwing a tantrum. You do not need to worry about the bidding anymore."

Paige's expression stiffened, and she remained silent.

Felix's smile faltered slightly as his gaze shifted toward me.

"Logan, do not tell me you actually lost the documents?"

When I did not reply, his brow furrowed with exaggerated concern.

"Logan, I know Paige brought up the divorce, and she was wrong to handle it so abruptly. I understand you are hurting."

"But you should not sabotage the company's core assets. Everyone poured their blood, sweat, and tears into that project."

He softened his tone into a patronizing plea: "Just return the files. I already persuaded Paige not to press charges against you."

Paige gritted her teeth and muttered: "He was not the one who took them."

Felix looked stunned. "How is that possible..."

Right then, the system's voice roared in my mind: "Slap him across the face, right now!"

Normally, I would never dare touch Paige's precious darling.

Yet looking at the scene before me, everything suddenly clicked.

The system had forced me to smash that squad car just to give me an airtight, ironclad alibi.

It was never trying to get me killed; it was saving me from taking the fall for their corporate espionage.

With that realization, I gathered all my strength and delivered a thunderous slap straight across Felix's cheek!

"You pathetic hypocrite!" I barked out the exact lines prepared by the system.

"Who do you think you are, meddling in another couple's marriage? If you have so much free time, mind your own damn business and stop leering at another man's wife!"

"You knew damn well I had no access to those files, yet you stoked the flames on purpose. I bet you stole the documents yourself!"

The entire office fell into a dead, suffocating silence.

Felix clutched his burning cheek, staring at me in utter disbelief. "You..."

I raised my hand and smacked him with a backhand across his other cheek.

"You what?! Shut your mouth! I refuse to waste my breath on a morally bankrupt homewrecker!"

"Logan, have you lost your damn mind?!"

Snapping out of her shock, Paige lunged forward and grabbed my wrist.

Following the system's prompt, I picked up the steaming mug of coffee from the desk and splashed it directly into her face.

The scalding liquid drenched her from forehead to chest, leaving her frozen in place.