Chapter 259: The Chaos She Left Behind

Isobel didn’t say anything more toyoung woman or to the manager.

There was no need.

The young woman’s sudden silence had already made her point.

Isobel turned away and looked around the department.

The atmosphere had changed.

No one was talking openly anymore, but the silence wasn’t peaceful.

It was watchful.

She could feel the tension hanging between the rows of desks, hidden beneath the clicking of keyboards and the occasional ringing of a phone.

She knew that everyone seemed to be pretending to work.

But in fact, everyone was listening.

Isobel took a slow breath.

"I came here to get the focus group results for the Lexan beta version."

No one answered.

She waited.

"Who has the report?"

A few employees glanced at one another.

Finally, a senior marketing specialist named Aaron spoke.

"I believe Director Claire handled that personally."

"Who is in charge of the files? Surely she had endorsed it to someone?"

A polished-looking man stepped forward.

"Miss Chen is her personal assistant. Should have access."

Isobel turned toward Chen.

The young woman looked uncomfortable.

"I’ll check."

She walked toward her workstation. Several minutes passed.

Isobel watched her open folders, search through files, and click through various documents.

Finally, Chen looked up.

"I can’t find the final report."

Isobel’s expression tightened.

"Who else worked on the focus group?"

"And who currently has access to the project files?"

Chen hesitated, then pointed to the three people to her right.

"Most of us."

"Then someone should be able to locate it."

Nobody moved.

Isobel looked around.

"Could everyone please check your project folders?"

Still, no one moved immediately.

Then someone finally began typing. Another employee opened a file.

But the response was painfully slow.

Isobel understood.

They weren’t unable to help. They simply didn’t want to.

She walked toward the nearest workstation.

"Can you check the archived project files?"

The employee looked up.

"I’m currently working on another campaign."

"It will only take a few minutes."

"I have a deadline."

Isobel stared at him.

"So do I. Send it to R&D in the next hour."

The employee’s jaw tightened.

He eventually turned toward his computer.

Isobel said nothing. She simply walked away.

An hour later, she received a message from the product development team.

Marketing feedback has not been submitted.

Isobel frowned. So they hadn’t sent it yet.

She checked the project timeline.

Marketing was supposed to have submitted the feedback that morning.

She immediately called the second lead.

"Where is the Lexan beta feedback?"

"We’re still reviewing it."

"You were supposed to submit it an hour ago."

"We need more time."

"How much time?"

"I’m not sure."

Isobel closed her eyes briefly.

"Who is responsible for the final approval?"

There was a pause.

"Director Claire usually handled it."

The words made something inside Isobel tighten.

"Claire is no longer here."

"I know."

"Then someone else should have taken responsibility."

"Understood."

The call ended. Isobel stared at her phone.

She knew what was happening now. They weren’t openly refusing her order.

They were simply refusing to cooperate.

Every delay could be explained.

Every missing file could be blamed on an oversight.

Every unanswered question could be dismissed as confusion during a transition.

Individually, none of it was serious.

Together, it was deliberate.

Someone was testing how much they could get away with.

She needed to tell her brother about it.

...

By lunchtime, Isobel had encountered even more problems.

A crucial market analysis report had mysteriously disappeared from the shared drive.

When she asked for the media schedule for Lexan, she was told it had not been updated.

"Why not?"

The employee responsible for it hesitated.

"Director Claire always handled that."

Isobel’s eyes narrowed.

"And now?"

The employee merely shrugged.

"I don’t know."

That answer had become far too common that morning.

I don’t know.

Claire always handled it.

We need more time.

Individually, each excuse sounded harmless. Together, they painted a very different picture.

Isobel returned to her office and quietly closed the door behind her.

For several seconds, she simply stood there.

Then she typed a few code in her laptop. The huge monitor across her lit up.

She watched the marketing Department continue with its usual rhythm.

People were working.

Employees moved between desks carrying folders and tablets.

From a distance, everything looked perfectly normal.

But it wasn’t. Something had changed.

Claire left.

And somehow, she managed to leave behind something far more powerful than instructions.

Loyalty.

And an order to make things difficult for Isobel Lancey.

She finally walked to her desk and sat down.

Opening the Lexan project dashboard, she studied the missing data and delayed submissions.

If the marketing information wasn’t delivered soon, the delays would begin affecting the entire project timeline.

She couldn’t allow that to happen.

The success or failure of Lexan wouldn’t be judged by how difficult the circumstances had been.

No one would care that an entire department had quietly turned against her.

They would simply look at the person currently responsible.

Her.

Isobel leaned back and exhaled slowly.

She had walked into Marketing that morning expecting to collect a report.

Instead, she discovered that she had inherited an enemy she couldn’t see.

And worse—

the enemy was spread throughout the department.

...

A knock sounded at his door.

Morgan looked up. Isobel was standing at the door.

"Come in, Sis," he said, "Let’s eat together. Cindy ordered way too much food."

Isobel’s expression remained serious as she entered his office and closed the door behind her.

"I went to Marketing."

Morgan glanced at her.

"I know."

"Claire has resigned."

For a brief moment, Morgan said nothing.

Then he sighed.

"I heard there was an incident in Marketing involving an employee who hasn’t even been with the company for a year."

Isobel frowned.

"I wouldn’t call it an incident."

She paused.

"And she wasn’t the only one."

Morgan’s expression became more serious.

"I was afraid this would happen."

Isobel studied her brother.

"Then, why fire her?"

Morgan’s expression changed.

For a moment, he seemed reluctant to answer.

"The design blueprint was leaked. "

Isobel seemed not surprised by Morgan’s words.

"Was it Claire?"

He nodded. The room fell silent.

Isobel slowly looked away, processing the information.

"But this isn’t going to end with Claire’s resignation."

Morgan’s gaze hardened.

"I know."

There was something strangely calm in his voice.

Isobel frowned.

"You’re not worried?"

"I am."

Morgan leaned back in his chair.

"But I’m not afraid because I expected this."

Isobel’s eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

Morgan looked directly at her.

"Claire may have resigned."

His voice dropped.

"But she didn’t leave alone."

The words settled heavily between them.

Isobel’s expression changed.

She suddenly understood why the Marketing Department had felt different.

Why employees were withholding information.

Why ordinary requests had become difficult.

Why Claire’s name kept appearing in every excuse.

Morgan’s gaze remained steady.

"The problem isn’t that Claire is gone, Isobel."

He paused.

"The problem is what she left behind."