Chapter 778

Cedric was going over the last of the design notes when he noticed someone slipping past quietly

He turned and saw a man-no work uniform, no badge He frowned and asked, "Who are you? I haven't seen you before."

Up ahead, the delivery manager quickly turned back.

With a smooth smile, he stepped forward. "Mr.Phillips,we're here with the food delivery. Everything's packed and ready."

Though Daniela's company had its own cafeteria,employees sometimes preferred meals from outside.

Cedric gave a small nod and started to turn back to the plans. But something made him pause. "Where's the food from?"

The man froze for half a breath, then smiled again "The restaurant division from the Lindsay family's hotel."

Cedric reached out his hand. "Let me see the receipt."That smile faltered. His fingers twitched. "Of course!

Are you treating everyone today, Mr. Phillips? I'll make sure they all know."

While he talked, he glanced quickly at the rest of the delivery crew

They got the signal and rushed toward the elevators.

Cedric signed the form and told him to settle the bill with accounting.

Then he returned to his work,face unreadable.

Outside,Daniela stood near the door,half-listening to Nikolas's meaningless chatter.

When she turned her head, the delivery team had already vanished.

Her gaze sharpened.

She studied Nikolas' smug look, and in that instant,everything clicked

"Daniela,just consider what I said,alright?"

She was already walking away,ignoring Nikolas' words.

His eyes followed her as she entered the building."Let's see you explain your way out of this one," he muttered.

Daniela took the stairs in quick strides. As she passed the design floor, a worker nudged his colleague. "Didn't Cedric just go upstairs? Why is Daniela heading that way too?"

The other shrugged

By the time she reached the top floor, the delivery men were gone, and close to two hundred meal boxes sat untouched on the floor.

Inside, Cedric was still giving instructions to the crew.

He stepped out and saw her. "I took care of it. The food's tainted. They dumped it and ran. I'll have our cafeteria make extra today. We're cutting off outside orders for now."

He looked pale. The stress of nonstop design work showed in the circles beneath his eyes.

He was still catching his breath from running up earlier.

Daniela's hands curled at her sides. She swallowed the anger rising in her throat."Okay. Go rest. I'll handle this."

Cedric nodded but didn't head out. Instead, he turned and went back downstairs to meet with the design team.

Daniela knew he only ever wanted to be useful to her She clenched her fists, staring down at the pile of boxed meals.

Carol walked up, unimpressed. "Nikolas really doesn't know when to quit, huh?"

Daniela's eyes narrowed. "If he wants to be reckless,let him. But he won't like how this ends."

That same day, rumors spread like wildfire. A food poisoning outbreak linked to McCoy Group's restaurant division had just gone public. Within hours,it was everywhere.

"Wait, is this actually happening? How could McCoy Group mess up this badly?"

"I heard Daniela reserved the biggest hospital in Oiscoll just to treat her staff."

"Me too. They said people were throwing up blood Others couldn't even make it to treatment without getting sick."

"This is unreal. Honestly? It's scary."

"Remember when Hamilton himself landed in the hospital from food poisoning? If it could happen to him,then anyone's fair game."

The story,once buried deep, came roaring back. At McCoy Group headquarters, Hamilton was losing control.

He went straight for the food service manager. "Did I not suspend Nikolas? WVho gave him clearance to do anything? And you thought it was smart to send a whole delivery team? Did you really think Cedric and Daniela wouldn't figure it out?"

His voice grew louder. "And the worst part? You used our own form and claimed it came from the Lindsay family's hotel. You just gave Daniela solid evidence.And now the Lindsay family is pissed off too. What were you thinking?"

The manager didn't get a second chance. Hamilton fired him on the spot.

Then he turned to Nikolas. "How could you be this foolish? We're backed into a corner. Now what?What's your master plan?"

Nikolas stayed silent. He hadn't expected Daniela and Cedric to respond this quickly-or this sharply

Hamilton's eyes hardened. "So my words mean nothing now? Fine. If you're so eager to crash this empire, go ahead. But starting today, every title you hold in McCoy Group is gone. Let's see how far you get without them."

Nikolas stumbled out of the room in a daze.

Behind him, Hamilton's secretary rushed to catch up."Sir, don't take it personally Your father had to make a move. It's all for show-to calm the public. He didn't mean all of it."

But Nikolas wasn't listening anymore

He looked back at the closed office doors,his face heavy with defeat.

"In his eyes, I'm good-for-nothing," he muttered.

That same afternoon, Nikolas stood before cameras and issued a public apology.

And while the press tried to make sense of it all,Daniela's company dropped another blow.

One of their employees had slipped into a coma-because of that food.