HIS SALVATION

Chapter 22 - Accident

Evening — Newhaven

By the time Elsie reached her apartment, her feet had officially filed a complaint against her.

She dropped her handbag onto the sofa, kicked off her shoes, and stood there for a moment.

“Tomorrow,” she told them seriously, “we are discussing your behavior.”

The shoes remained silent.

Elsie nodded.

“Good. I'm glad we understand each other.”

Her phone reminded her of something more important.

Livia.

Elsie picked it up and immediately sent her a message.

Elsie: You okay? Did you report everything?

A few seconds later, Livia replied.

Livia: I'm okay. Management knows now. You're partly responsible for that.

Elsie smiled.

Elsie: Good. Don't let anyone convince you that bad behavior is something you have to tolerate.

Another message appeared.

Livia: I know. Thank you.

Elsie typed back.

Elsie: Always.

She hesitated, then added:

Elsie: And please keep copies of anything important.

Livia: Yes, ma'am.

Elsie laughed.

“Good.”

She tossed the phone onto the sofa.

For the rest of the evening, she returned to her usual routine—dinner, shower, checking her work documents, and nearly dropping her phone twice while trying to organize everything for the next morning.

By the time she finally climbed into bed, she had convinced herself that tomorrow would be perfectly ordinary.

She should have known better.

Morning — Veyr Group

Elsie arrived at Veyr Group with a folder tucked beneath one arm and a cup of coffee in the other.

She walked through the enormous lobby with considerably more confidence than she had possessed during her first visit.

Mostly.

She still managed to walk directly toward the wrong elevator.

A security employee quietly pointed toward the opposite side.

“Those elevators go to the parking levels.”

Elsie stopped.

“Oh.”

She looked at the elevator.

Then at him.

“I knew that.”

The employee smiled politely.

“Of course.”

Elsie walked away.

She heard the faintest sound of amusement behind her.

She pretended not to.

Her responsibilities at Veyr Group were becoming more defined.

As Westbridge's representative overseeing the cooperation project, Elsie was responsible for monitoring the project's development, coordinating information between the two companies, reviewing progress against agreed milestones, and identifying discrepancies before they affected implementation.

She wasn't simply there to observe.

She had to understand the numbers behind the project.

And numbers happened to be one of the things Elsie understood unusually well.

Within the first hour, she was reviewing the latest progress reports.

Implementation percentages.

Resource allocation.

Compliance schedules.

Projected completion dates.

She compared the figures from Veyr Group's internal report with Westbridge's latest data.

Something caught her attention.

Elsie frowned.

She checked the figure again.

Then another.

She reached for her calculator.

“No.”

She checked again.

A small inconsistency had appeared in one section of the projected resource allocation. It wasn't large enough to immediately disrupt the project, but the pattern was wrong.

The numbers didn't align with the previous three reporting cycles.

Elsie pulled the earlier reports closer.

There it was.

The same discrepancy appeared every fourth entry.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Oh, you're sneaky.”

Aelia, who had just approached her desk, looked confused.

“Who's sneaky?”

Elsie pointed at the spreadsheet.

“The numbers.”

Aelia looked at the screen.

“I've never heard anyone accuse numbers of being sneaky before.”

“They've clearly never met me.”

Aelia laughed.

Elsie explained the pattern and traced the issue back to a duplicated adjustment in the resource calculation.

It was minor.

But left unresolved, it would distort the later projections.

She documented the issue and sent the correction to both teams with a concise explanation.

No drama.

No unnecessary escalation.

Just the problem, the calculation, and the correction.

Aelia watched her.

“You really like numbers.”

Elsie looked up.

“I like numbers when they behave.”

“And when they don't?”

“I investigate.”

Aelia smiled.

“I think you're terrifying.”

Elsie looked genuinely surprised.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Elsie considered this.

“That's probably the nicest thing anyone has said to me this week.”

Aelia laughed.

Their friendship had developed surprisingly quickly since their first lunch together.

Aelia often stopped by during breaks, and Elsie had already learned that Aelia knew almost everyone in the management department.

Which meant Elsie was rapidly learning everyone else's names too.

She had also developed the unfortunate habit of talking to anyone who happened to stand within conversational range.

By late morning, a passing employee had somehow been pulled into a three-minute discussion about cafeteria desserts.

He had no idea how it happened.

Neither did Elsie.

But somehow, the conversation had ended with him recommending the chocolate pudding.

Elsie wrote it down.

“Important research.”

Aelia shook her head.

“You're impossible.”

“I'm thorough.”

Veyr Group — CEO Floor

Zavian stood near the windows of his office, reviewing a report.

Lucian stood across from him.

“Westbridge's project supervision is proceeding according to schedule,” Lucian reported. “Elsie Ashford has already reviewed the current implementation data.”

Zavian looked up.

“Anything unusual?”

“She identified a minor numerical inconsistency in the resource projections.”

Zavian's expression remained unchanged.

“She corrected it?”

“Yes.”

A brief pause.

Lucian continued.

“She noticed the pattern before the discrepancy appeared in the consolidated report.”

Zavian gave a short nod.

“Good.”

Lucian glanced at the next report.

“There is another matter.”

Zavian waited.

“The information regarding the medicine we discussed has been confirmed.”

Zavian's gaze sharpened slightly.

“Formula 5?”

“Yes.”

Lucian handed him the document.

“The auction is scheduled for eight tonight. It's an underground auction being held in the private section of a well-known casino on Harbor Street.”

Zavian read the information.

“The medicine will be there?”

“That is what our source confirmed.”

Zavian closed the file.

“I'll go.”

Lucian looked up.

“You're attending personally?”

“Yes.”

“I'll adjust your schedule.”

“Do that.”

Lucian nodded.

Then he hesitated.

“There is one more thing.”

Zavian looked at him.

“Elsie has apparently made quite an impression on the management staff.”

A faint pause.

Zavian simply returned the file.

“Continue monitoring the project.”

Lucian understood.

“Yes, sir.”

Evening — Newhaven

The working day eventually ended.

Elsie stepped out of Veyr Group and stretched her arms.

“Survived.”

She glanced back at the towering building.

“Again.”

Instead of immediately taking a cab, she decided to walk for a few minutes.

The evening air was cool.

Traffic moved steadily along the street.

People passed around her, talking on phones or heading home.

For once, everything felt ordinary.

Elsie reached the corner and slowed.

Something felt strange.

She looked behind her.

Nothing.

She glanced across the street.

Nothing unusual.

A few cars.

A café.

People coming and going.

She frowned slightly.

Maybe she was imagining it.

Elsie continued walking.

She had almost reached the crossing when she heard the sudden screech of tires.

She turned.

A car had lost control.

It swerved sharply across the road.

Straight toward her.

Elsie's mind went completely blank.

She didn't move.

She couldn't.

For one frozen second, everything seemed strangely quiet.

Then—

A hand caught her arm.

She was pulled sharply backward.

The car rushed past.

A loud crash sounded nearby as it struck the edge of the pavement.

People shouted.

Someone called for help.

Elsie stumbled backward, trying to understand what had just happened.

Her breathing was uneven.

Then she looked at the hand still around her arm.

The man released her.

Elsie slowly lifted her eyes.

And froze again.

Zavian Veyr.

For a moment, neither spoke.

His expression was as cold and unreadable as ever.

His eyes moved briefly over her, checking that she was unharmed.

Then he gave her a short, almost impatient look.

“Watch the road.”

Elsie stared at him.

“I—”

But Zavian had already turned away.

He walked toward a black car parked nearby.

Elsie remained where she was.

“Mr. Veyr?”

He didn't stop.

A man stood beside the vehicle holding the rear door open.

Lucian.

He looked from Zavian to Elsie.

Then back to Zavian.

His expression showed unmistakable confusion.

Zavian entered the car.

Lucian remained beside the open door for another second, still looking at Elsie as though trying to understand what he had just witnessed.

Then—

he didn't move.

His hand was still holding the car door.

Zavian looked at him from inside the vehicle.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Zavian reached toward the door and forcefully slammed it shut.

“Drive.”

The driver immediately started the car.

Within seconds, the black car pulled away and disappeared into the evening traffic.

Lucian was left standing on the pavement.

Elsie looked at him.

Lucian looked at Elsie.

Neither spoke.

Confusion practically overflowed from both their expressions.

Elsie glanced toward the road where the car had disappeared.

Then back at Lucian.

Lucian seemed equally unable to explain what had just happened.

Behind Elsie, the chaos continued.

People were still gathered around the damaged pavement.

Someone was speaking urgently on the phone.

Then the sound of sirens grew louder.

An ambulance arrived at the scene.

A police vehicle followed shortly afterward.

The authorities moved toward the accident as the crowd stepped back.

Elsie turned toward the commotion.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

Then she looked once more toward the road.

The car was gone.

And Lucian was still standing beside her, equally confused.

The sirens continued through the evening.