weather today was stable, so there was no reason to delay the train’s departure.”
Ashley’s face twitched. She looked nervous. “There’s more! The real reason the train crashed was the engine. Liam is supposed to check the train before every trip. He told me everything was fine, and that was a mistake!”
I always checked everything before the train
left.
The cables, cars, railings, everything.
Before Ashley started the train, everything
was fine.
The problem was that someone dropped a
cigarette butt into the engine after it started.
That’s why I helped them.
But I was being blamed and crushed.
I didn’t hold back, “Someone dropped a
cigarette butt in the engine. But Ashley is
く
trying to cover for them.”
“You’re lying!”
Ashley’s eyes widened. She probably didn’t
think I knew about that.
She started yelling, “The engine was old and
worn out. Liam knew it was a risk. He’s trying
to blame me!”
She looked at the officer with tears in her
eyes.
“He’s trying to blame me! Please, you have to
see the truth!”
She said I was trying to kill her.
Chad chimed in, “Yes, I can vouch for Ashley!
I saw Liam taking money that was supposed
to be used to fix the equipment. He’s
responsible for this crash!”
The crowd got excited, saying I was a thief
who should be punished.
In just a few words, they had me nailed to the
cross.
The officers decided to take everyone in for
questioning.
It was a tricky case.
Then, the railroad’s CEO arrived with a group
of managers.
“Everyone, please calm down. The railroad
will give you answers about what happened.”
Ashley and Chad’s faces changed.
They wanted to use the crowd to beat me up,
but they didn’t expect so many people to
show up.
The two were a little lost.
But they had gone too far, and they had to
keep going.
The CEO glared at Ashley.
“I’m told the crash was caused by the head
<
engineer’s failure to check the engine before
the train left. It caught fire, almost killing
everyone on board!”
Ashley’s feet were nailed to the floor. “That’s
right…”
Chad agreed, “Yes, and I have evidence that
Liam was stealing money. He used his
position to–”
Before Chad could finish, someone kicked
him in the stomach.
I crossed my arms, watching Chad squirm.
The train company was short on cash, so I
was the only head engineer.
I had to do the books, too.
Chad wasn’t completely lying.
He saw me when I was dealing with the
finances.
He assumed the worst and got in way over
his head!
く
The train had already left the station. Ashley
and Chad were stepping on someone else’s
toes and the CEO was furious. This was
insane!
Ashley kept going, “I asked the control center
for help, but there was just static. Someone
was messing around on their phone, ignoring
our calls for help.”
“How could someone be so heartless? A
hundred people’s lives are at stake!
Chad nodded, “Ashley saved us all. She’s the
real hero!”
Ashley smiled, “As a conductor, it’s my duty
to put the passengers‘ safety first!”
She looked like the CEO wanted to throw her
out.
A young woman walked out.
“Mr. Chad, I believe what you’re saying. You
L
promotion.”
?
She glared at me and sneered.
It was my childhood friend, Tiffany, the
railroad’s daughter.
When I was being slandered, she was helping
them tear me down.
Tiffany hadn’t finished when she got slapped
in the face.
“Apologize to Mr. Liam!”
Tiffany held her bleeding lip. “Mom, why?”
The CEO was furious.
I pointed to the young man standing next to
the CEO. “Let me introduce you to the new
engineer. He will be in charge of train safety
from now on.”
“Today’s train was saved because of the new
engineer’s wise decision Let’s give him a
Chapter 2
That announcement dropped like a bomb.
Everyone was stunned silent.
Ashley was quick on the uptake. She
shrieked, “What? You quit? So you weren’t at the control panel? None of this has anything to do with you? Liam, don’t try to lie to get
out of this mess!”
Tiffany frowned. “You said you quit, but I’m the HR director, and I didn’t get a resignation
letter. This has to be another one of your
lies.”
I cleared my throat. “I sent my resignation to
the company’s internal email system. Maybe
you blocked me.”
Tiffany’s face changed slightly. She grabbed
her phone and opened the company system.
She almost did, but Chad reacted quickly,
sprinting toward the tracks.
He yelled, “I swear, everything I said is true!
I’ll prove it with my life!”
Chad was ‘proving his innocence‘, and I
smirked.
I counted down in my head.
Three… Two… One…
A train came roaring down the tracks.
Chad was running straight for the track when
he slammed on the brakes ten feet away.
He screamed and collapsed, but his pants
were soaked.
He had peed himself.
The passengers groaned in disappointment.
Ashley got a shot of something and woke up,
but she was in agony.
She wanted to crawl into a hole.
