Mommy，We Got a Husband

All the execs were ripping into Stellan, each one more fired up than the last. Cormac couldn't hold back anymore and said, "Isn't it kinda messed up to dump all the blame on Ms. Storm now? She came up with the idea for the jewelry company, and you were all for it. And the construction company bid? That wasn't just her call; it was a group decision. So why's it all on her now?"

"Mr. Nash, that's not exactly true," one exec piped up. "Ms. Storm was super pushy about starting the jewelry company, and you backed her up big time. No matter what, she's the acting director and has the final say. When she pushed, we had to go along."

"Yeah, Mr. Nash," another exec jumped in. "When Ms. Storm was going head-to-head with Mrs. Knight for the acting director spot, she was all over us, lobbying hard. Now we gotta apologize to Mr. Knight. Back then, we thought Mrs. Knight was past her prime, and Ms. Storm had all this energy. We trusted her, but turns out she's way out of her depth."

Another exec nodded. "Yeah, Mr. Knight, looking back, we really screwed up. If we knew then what we know now, we'd have let Mrs. Knight take the reins again. If she had, none of this mess would've happened." Hearing this, Cormac was fuming. These guys were all just playing the blame game after the fact.

The execs started pleading, "Mr. Knight, please come back. Ms. Storm just can't handle it."

"Yeah, Mr. Knight..."

"Enough!" Alaric cut them off, furious. "I gave her the authority to act. If you question her, you're questioning me!"

The execs quickly backpedaled, "Mr. Knight, we wouldn't dare."

"Then zip it!" Alaric snapped. "We'll compensate and apologize. The damage is done, so stop with the pointless chatter. Meeting adjourned!"

With that, Alaric stormed out of the room, and Cormac followed, just as pissed.

Meanwhile, Stellan was trying to console the deceased's family. They were beyond upset, cursing and hitting her, while Tommy tried to shield her.

When one of them slapped Stellan, Tommy sternly warned, "We are deeply sorry for what happened and totally get your anger. We'll compensate you, but hitting isn't okay. If you keep this up, I'll have to call the cops." His warning only made them angrier. "Call the cops? Go ahead! Our family member died because of you, and now you heartless suits wanna get us arrested? Do it! If you get us arrested, I'll die right here!"

"We don't mean that," Stellan quickly tried to calm them down. "This is our fault, and we'll make it right. We're truly sorry."

"Sorry? A 'sorry' isn't gonna bring him back!" The family member, even more agitated, hit Stellan again.

Tommy quickly stepped in to protect Stellan, and just then, Silas showed up to help. Seeing Silas, Tommy hustled Stellan out of the room.

Stellan's face was all red and puffy from getting slapped around. Tommy grabbed an ice pack from the fridge and handed it to her.

"No worries, I got it," Stellan said, taking the ice pack.

"Ms. Storm, you're too nice. You shouldn't be dealing with the deceased's family yourself," Tommy said.

"It's necessary. Our project caused his death. No amount of money, whether it's millions or tens of millions dollars, can bring him back." Stellan felt a heavy weight of guilt.

Tommy shrugged. "True, but stuff like this happens on construction sites all the time. The family's just trying to milk it for more cash."

"Don't say that," Stellan warned him.

"Okay, Ms. Storm," Tommy said, picking up the ice pack again. "Let me help you with this. If you don't ice it, your face will swell up even more."

Tommy gently pressed the ice pack to her face, and just then, Alaric walked in. He'd seen Tommy holding Stellan last time, and now he saw him icing her face.

If the first time was a coincidence, and the second time was also a coincidence, then these coincidences were happening way too often.

"Mr. Knight," Tommy quickly put down the ice pack and explained, "Ms. Storm got hit by the deceased's family, and her face is swollen."

"You can leave now," Alaric said.

"Okay," Tommy replied and left.

Alaric walked closer and saw her face was really red and swollen.

He took the ice pack and gently pressed it to her face, asking with concern, "Why didn't you dodge when they hit you? Does it hurt? Did they hit you anywhere else?"

"It doesn't hurt, and they didn't hit me anywhere else," Stellan said. "They lost a family member. It's understandable they're emotional. I'm fine."

Stellan lowered her head and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, Alaric. My decision caused such a huge loss to the company, not just financially but also in terms of reputation." Stellan felt deeply remorseful. Marigold's death had already made her feel guilty towards Alaric, and now the company was in trouble again.

"It's okay, no one wanted this to happen," Alaric comforted her.

But the more Alaric comforted her, the guiltier she felt, and she stayed silent with her head down.

Stellan paused before saying, "Now that the situation has escalated, the media needs an explanation. I'll hold a press conference and apologize publicly."

The media could be ruthless, and she knew that online comments were targeting her. If she didn't apologize publicly, the netizens might start boycotting Nexus Innovations. "No need, just post an apology statement on the official website," Alaric responded calmly.

"I'm afraid the netizens won't accept it, and it might affect the company."

"If they don't accept it, so be it. No need to care about them," Alaric said to Stellan. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

Stellan stayed silent, but her sense of guilt grew stronger.