Opposition quickly arose within the foundation.
One of the directors, Hugo Wallace, an old friend of my father's, called me.
“Myra, you're being too impulsive. This is a blurring of the lines between public and private and it will damage the foundation's reputation!”
“Samuel is our ambassador. What you're doing is destroying our own fortress.”
I didn't argue with him.
I directly notified all the board members and called an emergency online meeting to be held in an hour.
At the start of the meeting, Hugo spoke first, bitterly accusing me of “acting on emotion.”
I waited for him to finish, then shared my screen.
On the screen were Samuel and Lucy's explicit chat records.
There was also the preliminary report on the accounting issues compiled by the audit team overnight.
The entire online meeting room fell silent.
I turned the camera toward myself and spoke calmly, “Now, I propose to remove Mr. Wallace's board membership, on the grounds that his judgment is severely impaired and he is unfit to participate in the decision-making of this foundation.”
The vote passed unanimously.
Hugo’s avatar went dark.
I looked around at the remaining faces on the screen.
“From now on, the ‘Sunshine Teaching’ project will be personally taken over by me and I will personally lead the audit and legal teams into the mountains tomorrow.”
I paused.
“My money, my project—I make the decisions. Anyone who stands in my way of finding my son is my enemy.”
Jane's tone was filled with concern. “Madam, Mr. Brown is looking for you everywhere. He called your parents, saying you've been traumatized and your mental state is very poor. He said he loves you and the children and can't live without you.”
I only replied with two words, “Let him be.”
After hanging up the phone, I looked out the window at the rapidly receding scenery.
The convoy stopped directly in front of the administrative building at the project base.
I didn't go to the dormitory where Samuel and I had once lived.
I moved into the independent suite reserved for me by the foundation.
As night fell, the mountains were so quiet you could hear the chirping of insects.
The knocking sound rang out.
I didn't move, just quietly watched the surveillance footage at the door.
Samuel was standing there.
He had lost weight in the few days since I had last seen him, his beard was unkempt and his eyes were red.
“Myra, will you open the door?”
His voice was hoarse, tinged with tears.
“I know you’re angry with me. It’s all my fault.”
“I shouldn’t have argued with you. I shouldn’t have defended Lucy. I just… I just didn’t want things to escalate.”
“Myra, after all these years together, you can’t just sentence me to death because of an article written by someone else.”
“Open the door, let me see you. I miss you so much.”
I almost laughed out loud.
I still didn’t move. On the surveillance screen, another figure emerged from behind Samuel.
It was Lucy.
She was wearing a cream-colored cashmere sweater.
That was the sweater I left here last winter.
Lucy spoke softly, her voice not loud but just loud enough to be heard inside the door.
“Myra, don't be angry with Mr. Brown. It's my fault. I shouldn't have written those words on the public account.”
“But I really feel so sorry for Mr. Brown. He hasn't slept for days and nights trying to find your son. He’s the one who’s suffering the most.”
I pressed the call button and my voice echoed through the intercom.
“Samuel.”
His body tensed and he immediately rushed to the door.
“Myra, you’re finally talking to me.”
“I ask you, why is she wearing my clothes?”
Samuel froze.
