Chapter 741 It Must Be His Doing
Riley's face had never looked so grim, he explained, "The diamonds in the Eternal Series necklaces from the Koch Group are fake!"
Martin's expression darkened too.
Riley said, "And the new jewelry designs from the Koch Group are identical to those from Virtual Sparkle Group!"
This meant they couldn't launch their new line as planned.
It wasn not only a financial hit but also a blow to their reputation.
If this got out, it would devastate the Koch Group's jewelry line.
Martin's brows furrowed, "Someone's definitely sabotaging us."
Riley's face was stern, "Martin, I need to get back to the company. You find him. He's behind this."
Martin said, "Got it!"
Riley rushed out.
Martin took his team to South Tower to catch the culprit.
But all they found were cleaning staff.
Sensing something was bad, Martin pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
No answer.
Martin frowned tightly as he headed to the surveillance room, asking the security to pull up the video records.
Since catching Hunter, they had identified a Koch family spy. They hadn't dealt with him yet but had been monitoring him.
Now it seemed the spy knew he was exposed and had fled.
Security checked several monitors at once.
But the time span was too long, making the search tedious.
Martin decided, "Start from 1 a.m."
2 a.m. was when most people were in deep sleep, a prime time for thieves.
Even with 24 hours' watching, the security might doze sometimes.
If the spy escaped, it would likely be then.
To be safe, Martin moved the time early for an hour.
Security set the surveillance to 1 a.m.
They checked several monitors, each showing 15-minute intervals.
Sure enough, they found him.
At 2:30 a.m., the guard monitoring the spy was knocked out, and the spy left the Koch family.
It seemed Brooke finding Patricia and the sudden company issues were his doing.
Martin reported to Riley.
Riley gave orders angrily, "Citywide pursuit, lock down all entry and exit points! Take him dead or alive!"
"Got it!" Martin asked, "Riley, is the company okay?"
Even over the phone, Riley's anger was palpable.
This was serious.
Riley softened his tone, "I can handle it. I'll send people to pursue him. You stay with Patricia. I'm worried he might target her."
Martin said, "Alright! Heading back to the hotel now."
Martin drove back to the hotel.
On the way, news about the Koch Group was everywhere.
Though Riley suppressed the fake diamond news, the plagiarism event spread citywide. The design director of Virtual Sparkle Group publicly accused the Koch Group of copying their designs.
If it were just his word, it might not have blown up like this.
The kicker was an internal Koch Group employee came forward, admitting to the plagiarism and claiming Riley once said it was okay to "borrow" ideas if the designs were good.
He said "borrow."
Everyone knew that meant plagiarism.
This put the blame squarely on Riley for endorsing it.
The news shocked everyone.
With someone steering public opinion, the Koch Group's reputation tanked, and their stock price nosedived.
The comment section was a mess.
It was full of people bashing the Koch Group.
Even those defending the Koch Group got drowned out or attacked.
Comment 199: [The Koch Group plagiarized Virtual Sparkle Group. Are they out of ideas?]
Comment 370: [The Koch Group is rich and powerful. If this got exposed, there's probably more we don't know! Plagiarism is shameful. They should be punished and held accountable.]
Comment 666 replying to 370: [Yeah, they need to be punished! If we don't get justice for Virtual Sparkle Group, we'll keep making noise.]
Comment 702: [Everyone, calm down. The Koch Group is a global company. They wouldn't plagiarize Virtual Sparkle Group. There must be a misunderstanding. Let's not jump to conclusions before we know the truth.]
Comment 801 replying to 702: [What did the Koch Group give you to defend them? Are they your family? Or how much did they pay you?]
Comment 921 replying to 702: [How much did you get paid for that comment? Tell me, so I can make some money too.]
Comment 2378: [I heard the Koch Group is pressuring Virtual Sparkle Group to suppress this. Are they trying to use their power to bully others?]
Comment 3332: [We can't let them get away with this. We must protect Virtual Sparkle Group.]
Comment 3898: [Yeah, protect Virtual Sparkle Group. We can't let the Koch Group do anything they want.]
The comments were overwhelmingly negative.
When Martin got to the hotel, he saw Patricia on the sofa, her eyes red from crying, trembling as she looked at her phone.
Martin knew she must have seen the news. He sat beside her and gently put his hand on her shoulder, "Patricia."
Patricia pointed at her phone, furious, "They're too much!"
At first, the comments were guided, but soon more netizens started bashing the Koch Group.
They claimed to be upholding justice and supporting Virtual Sparkle Group.
In the end, it was just hatred towards the rich.
Before, they might not have dared to speak out.
But now, seeing the Koch Group in trouble, they all jumped in, not caring about the facts, blindly following the trend, hoping to bring the Koch Group down.
As if the Koch Group's downfall would make them rich.
Martin comforted her, "Don't worry! Every company faces this. If we handle it right, it'll be okay."
Patricia looked at Martin, "Is this his doing?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
