Chapter 955
Desmond was so shaken by the words, he collapsed right onto the floor. He hadn’t expected things to spiral this far.
“Mr. Carter, please, let me explain. I really was keeping an eye on things.” He scrambled forward on his knees, clutching at Lucas’ pant leg, begging him to just look at him.
But Lucas let out a cold snort and kicked him away without hesitation. “You’d better have a damn good explanation for all this.” Lucas narrowed his eyes, voice dangerously low. “Or else…”
Desmond didn’t need to hear the rest to understand. “Or else” meant being sent to the Outlands. That lawless place where no authority reached—where it didn’t matter who he was or what he’d done, no one would come looking for him. No identity, backing, and protection. If he ended up there, your fate was sealed.
Desmond took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to focus. He knew what he had to do now. Clutching the documents, he started walking Lucas through every detail, trying to retrace his steps.
“Mr. Carter, I really don’t know how Joseph Hunt managed to sneak in, but I swear, I’ve been monitoring Hunt Enterprises.” He studied the documents again. The name of this particular company still felt unfamiliar. Desmond hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. He thought keeping tabs on Hunt Enterprises would be enough. He hadn’t realized Joseph had a backup plan. This subsidiary—he’d never even heard of it. So, it hadn’t occurred to him that he needed to watch them too.
Desmond looked both panicked and innocent. “I… Mr. Carter, I honestly don’t know how this happened.” He lowered his head, anxiety twisting in his gut. He’d been keeping such a close eye on things—so how did it all go so wrong?
But he’d completely overlooked Himt Enterprises’ subsidiary. It really was his fault. He was too careless and inattentive. He had guarded against so many things, yet somehow forgot about Joseph, that cunning bastard. But Joseph hadn’t always been like this. At least from what he’d observed before, he didn’t seem particularly aggressive toward Walton Corporation. So, what had changed this time? Where had this sudden hostility come from? Desmond hadn’t seen it coming at all.
Lucas looked at Desmond’s guilt-ridden face and could tell that he truly hadn’t known. He thought for a moment that maybe he had been putting too much pressure on him lately. And he had been away from the company for nearly a month. No wonder Desmond had started falling behind. But still—failure was failure. He couldn’t give him an excuse for that. And if Lucas could accept Desmond’s failure… could he accept his own?
The thought made him sigh. Desmond heard the sigh and his heart nearly stopped.
“Mr. Carter, this really is on me,” he said, swallowing hard. “If you want to punish me, I’ll take whatever you decide.” He knew this mistake was on him, and there was no use trying to pass the blame. After following Lucas for so many years, Desmond understood—owning up early was always better than being caught hiding it. As long as he showed the right attitude, there was still a chance to redeem himself.
Lucas turned around and looked at him head-on. “You really want to fix this?”
“Yes, Mr. Carter, I mean it,” Desmond said earnestly. He felt genuinely remorseful about what had happened with Walton Corporation. “And no matter how you look at it, this is my fault. I should take full responsibility. I didn’t carry out what you asked of me properly.”
Chapter 956