KATIKA-Treason is never far away (Part.1)

Chapter 12 | For better or for worse

The night had been long, considerably extended by an excessive consumption of beers, but that's it: John was officially no longer the COO of Katika, perhaps he was no longer a Katika at all...

He had abruptly placed his resignation letter on Woodford's desk, who, by the way, hadn't failed to stare at him with a displeased expression without uttering a single word, until his former colleague left the room, slamming the door as a farewell gesture.

Now, he had to hand over his personal belongings to Rebecca, who as far as he knew, was not aware of his departure, and explain the reasons to her.

The 3rd floor seemed strangely eerie to John as he exited the elevator. Human resources? At most, only three people were on that floor today, looking as dreary as the day of a funeral.

Miss Wiles was at her desk, as usual, except the door was mysteriously open.

She looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her before, her flowing red hair contrasting with her slender figure and perfect curves accentuated by a rather alluring blouse.

A nymph, John was involved with a nymph, and he struggled to grasp that fact.

He walked towards her, but her icy gaze took his breath away for a second and a half.

Bracing himself for an uninviting conversation, John mustered a smile as convincing as possible, but to no avail: Rebecca appeared to be in as cheerful a mood as the sun on a day of power outage.

Upon reaching her office, John opened his mouth to initiate the discussion and steer it towards the return of his professional belongings.

However, the young secretary took charge of speaking before him:

"Don't bother, John, I'm already aware, everyone has been since yesterday."

Aware? How could the news, meant to remain a secret until his definite departure, have spread so easily like a sports transfer rumor?

"What...? How could you know?" he asked.

"I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy", she replied exasperatedly, "but that doesn't matter. I want to know why you're leaving and if it has anything to do with our relationship."

John sighed, lowering his gaze. The moment had come to reveal everything to the woman he loved, but he couldn't speak with the door wide open.

After he closed it, he took a seat, looking Rebecca squarely in the eyes to emphasize the sincerity in his expression.

He told her everything: his downward spiral over the course of a month, how he had traded his humanity to measure up to the position entrusted to him, his excesses in debauchery.

As he progressed through his story, Miss Wiles raised her eyebrows even higher, to the point where they were barely visible beneath her bangs.

Then came the moment when he had to recount the existence of a conspiracy involving the release of a virus to create a pandemic, selling a high-priced vaccine, and reaping the rewards from global public opinion.

He went so far as to share his tense discussions with the CEO and Mikhail, attempting to spin them tragically as a man abandoned by all to garner sympathy from Rebecca.

When he had finished, he awaited his sweetheart's reaction, to which she said:

"Let's sum this up: you're leaving your father's company because the CEO has enacted a diabolical plan to wipe out millions of people for profit? That's a bit far-fetched, don't you think?"

John knew he would struggle to convince her, but he relied on their mutual feelings to strengthen the trust between them.

"I know", he said, "but it's the truth: they plan to simultaneously create the virus and the vaccine to control the implementation of their project."