C181 Authority

Ben sat quietly in the back seat as the luxury sedan drove toward the Wood residence. Outside the window, the familiar streets passed one after another, but his mind was elsewhere. His release from prison should have felt like freedom. Instead... His thoughts remained trapped. Jack. Mike. Revenge. The debt he owed.

Everything tangled together until even he couldn't think clearly. "Mike..." "You destroyed my future." "One day you'll understand exactly how I suffered." His fists slowly clenched. At the same time... Another thought entered his mind. Jack. The mysterious inmate who had protected him inside prison. The man who somehow knew his bail had been approved before anyone else. "I still owe him." "How am I supposed to repay someone like him?"

Before Ben could think further... The car slowly entered the Wood residence. The moment he stepped out... Every servant lined up neatly. "Welcome home, Young Master." Ben looked around quietly. Everything was exactly as he remembered. Inside the dining room... A large table had already been prepared with his favourite dishes. Tracy stood up immediately. "My son." "You've finally come home."

Without waiting for him to sit... She began placing food onto his plate. "This is your favourite." "And this..." "You haven't eaten proper home food for weeks." Kelvin quietly watched the mother and son before smiling faintly. "Eat first." "We'll talk about everything else later." For the first time since leaving prison... Ben simply nodded. During the meal... Tracy constantly added food to his plate. Ben didn't complain once.

After finishing... He slowly stood up. "Mom... Dad..." "I'm tired." "I'll rest for a while." Tracy smiled gently. "Go." "You've been through enough." Ben nodded before walking upstairs. The moment he entered his bedroom... He stood still. Everything remained exactly where he had left it weeks ago. Nothing had changed. Without even changing clothes... He collapsed onto the bed. Within minutes... He was asleep.

Meanwhile... Lucia Goods Headquarters. The executive online meeting officially began. One by one... Department managers... Supervisors... Senior executives... Branch leaders... All joined the conference. Many of them were curious. Others were skeptical. Some simply wanted to see whether the rumours about the new director were true. When Alicia's camera switched on... The entire meeting fell silent.

She looked calm. Professional. Confident. She adjusted a few documents before speaking. "Good morning, everyone." "My name is Alicia Mooney." "As of today..." "I officially assume the position of Director of Lucia Goods." Everyone greeted her respectfully. "Good morning, Director." Alicia nodded. "Thank you."

She opened the company performance report displayed on the screen. "I spent the past few hours reviewing Lucia Goods' financial reports, production reports and customer feedback." She paused. "Unfortunately..." "I am not satisfied." Silence. "I don't want anyone to misunderstand me." "I'm not saying this company has failed." "But..." "I expect better."

She switched to another report. "Our sales have declined." "Our product rejection rate has reached its highest point since the company was founded." "Our customer confidence has weakened." She slowly looked across the screen. "I'd like to ask one simple question." "What happened?" No one answered. She continued calmly. "If the development procedures haven't changed..." "If the production methods remain the same..." "Then why are defects increasing?" Again... Silence.

Finally... One executive raised his hand. "Director." "My name is Thomas Becker." "I'm the Development Department Supervisor." Alicia nodded. "Go ahead, Mr. Becker." Thomas cleared his throat. "The biggest issue recently has been equipment delays." "Sometimes our imported components arrive late." "Sometimes they don't arrive at all." "When that happens..." "We're forced to adjust production schedules."

Alicia nodded thoughtfully. "That's a valid concern." "I'll investigate the supplier issue personally." Thomas relaxed slightly. Then Alicia continued. "Mr. Becker." "You introduced yourself as Development Supervisor." "Correct?" "Yes, Director." "I noticed something unusual while reviewing your department." Thomas frowned. "What is it, Director?" "There is no inspection team assigned to your development stage."

Thomas blinked. "...No." "There isn't." "So..." "Who approves your department's work before production begins?" Thomas hesitated. "It has... always been done that way." Alicia tilted her head. "What do you mean?" "The products go directly to the Testing Department." "They identify any mistakes before release." The meeting remained silent. Then... Alicia spoke. "So..." "Let me understand this correctly." "The Development Department creates the product." "No one inspects the development process." "It moves directly to Testing." "And Testing is expected to discover every mistake your department makes."

Thomas suddenly felt uncomfortable. "...Yes." "I suppose that's correct." Alicia slowly closed the report. "So Lucia Goods has been relying on the final checkpoint to discover mistakes..." "...instead of preventing mistakes from happening in the first place." No one spoke. Several executives exchanged nervous glances. Thomas lowered his head slightly. For over two decades... No one had questioned the system. Yet today... A young woman almost half his age dared to question how he lead his department.

Alicia continued. "That changes today." She opened another document. "As Director..." "I hereby establish two new positions." "The position of Chief Inspector for the Development Department." "And Chief Inspector for the Production Department." The executives looked at each other. She continued. "Mr. Adam Tavez." "Your interim appointment as Director has officially ended." "I am appointing you as Chief Inspector of Development." Adam nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Director."

She continued, "Mr. Leon Wright." "You are hereby appointed Chief Inspector of Production." Leon smiled. "I won't disappoint you." Before Alicia could continue... Another executive raised his hand. "My apologies, Director." "My name is Edward McCarthy." "Production Department Supervisor." Alicia nodded. "Speak." Edward adjusted his glasses. "I don't intend any disrespect." "But inspection positions usually require years of specialised experience." "Mr. Wright previously served as Vice Director." "Does he actually possess inspection experience?"

Several executives quietly nodded. Some clearly agreed. Others simply wanted to hear Alicia's answer. Alicia looked directly at him. "Mr. McCarthy." "You introduced yourself as Production Supervisor." "Correct?" "...Yes." "So tell me..." "When did supervisors begin deciding where Directors appoint staff?" Edward froze. "I..." "I wasn't questioning your authority." "I merely wanted to offer advice as an experienced supervisor in this company."

Alicia smiled. "Advice?" "Did I ask for advice?" Edward swallowed. "...No." She leaned slightly forward. "Or perhaps..." "You believe your years of experience automatically give you authority over company decisions?" The meeting became completely silent. Edward hurriedly shook his head. "That's not what I meant." Alicia's expression remained calm. "You've mentioned your experience twice." "So allow me to ask something." "If experience alone determined leadership..." "Then why has the rejection rate continued increasing under experienced supervisors?" No one dared breathe.

Edward's face turned red. "I..." "I apologize, Director." "I overstepped." Alicia nodded once. "Accepted." She then looked at every executive. "I value experience." "But I value results even more." "Experience without improvement..." "...is merely time passing." Several executives instinctively lowered their heads. Even Thomas felt cold sweat forming. Alicia continued. "Let me make one thing clear." "I don't promote based on age." "I don't promote based on seniority." "I don't promote based on who has worked here the longest." "I promote competence." "If you perform..." "The company rewards you."

She paused. "If you refuse to improve..." "The company replaces you." "Regardless of your years of service." Complete silence filled the meeting. The people who had doubted her earlier suddenly realized... The new Director was nothing like they had expected. She might be young... But she wasn't inexperienced. Nor was she someone easily intimidated. Alicia smiled gently. "That's all for today." "Please return to your duties." "I'll personally supervise the restructuring over the coming weeks." The meeting officially ended.