Chapter 368 A Form of Disgrace

Everything was fine, so how could there possibly be an explosion?

Derek couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh. “Almost everyone online is now criticizing the manufacturer. Our partners are so upset about this; they’re even talking about cancelling our collaboration…”

As he spoke, Derek looked at Madelyn, his eyes filled with anticipation. “Maddie, this project is your responsibility. You must handle it well.”

Madelyn was well aware that she was in charge of this project and that she was inextricably linked with it. Naturally, she readily agreed to take on the responsibility.

“Okay, I’ll head to the hospital now to check on the situation,” she said.

Following that, she quickly drove over.

Twenty minutes later, at the hospital, a man was lying unconscious on a white hospital bed, having just undergone surgery.

His wife and child were nestled next to the sickbed, consumed with worry.

When Madelyn arrived, she happened to see a mother and her child in tears.

The sobbing sound was heartbreakingly pitiful, causing Madelyn’s heart to soften involuntarily.

She then stepped forward, speaking softly, “Hello, I’m the project manager. Are you related to the patient?”

Unexpectedly, the woman turned around and saw Madelyn. She was instantly enraged. “So you’re the one in charge of that damned project! You’ve hurt my beloved, I’ll kill you!” she cried out.

Suddenly, the woman fiercely reached out with both hands, gripping Madelyn’s throat tightly, almost leaving her gasping for air.

Luckily, Madelyn knew martial arts, so it didn’t take long for her to push the woman away.

“Madam, I sincerely apologize for what has transpired with your loved one,” she said. “However, I implore you to remain calm. My presence here today is specifically to address this matter.”

Seeing that the woman was about to rush forward, Madelyn quickly spoke up.

The woman’s eyes widened immediately. “Handle it? How do you plan to handle it! My husband almost lost his life because of your damned project! No matter how much money you have, can you compensate for a life!”

Madelyn hastily reassured, “Madam, please rest easy! I’ve just spoken to the doctor about the situation. Although the patient’s injuries are indeed severe, they’re not fatal.”

“What are you implying? Are you eagerly wishing for my husband’s demise?”

“Madam, you’ve misunderstood. That wasn’t my intention.”

“So, what are you implying?”

“You’ll never understand the predicament of people like us! Do you know, if anything were to happen to my beloved, our entire family would be in deep trouble? Our entire family has been relying on his meager salary, and now he’s gotten himself into this mess. What are we supposed to do? Tell me!”

As she continued to speak, the woman became so upset that she felt as if her heart would break. Surprisingly, she began to secretly wipe away her tears again.

Watching this scene unfold, Madelyn couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions stirring within her.

And so, she made a promise. “Madam, please be assured, our company commits to covering all medical expenses for your loved one, including compensation. We are also willing to provide living allowances for your family until the patient recovers. What do you think?”

After all, such an incident had occurred, something nobody wished for. The extent to which Madelyn could handle it was only this much.

At that moment, upon hearing these words, a noticeable change finally came over the woman’s expression. “Is that true?”

“Of course. Your husband’s issue arose due to our project, and we bear full responsibility,” Madelyn said in a soothing tone. “I hope you won’t continue to be so upset.”

Upon hearing these words, the woman finally ceased her crying and fussing, as if she had accepted her fate.

She could only helplessly shake her head. “Things have already come to this, so what else can we do? We just have to deal with it this way.”

Madelyn finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the media coverage was still all-encompassing.

The barrage of insults from various netizens had once caused the company’s stocks to plummet by five percent. It was fair to say the losses were substantial.

What truly infuriated everyone was the feeling that their trust had been in vain.

The variety of medicines produced by this pharmaceutical manufacturing factory had always been a brand trusted by the public.

However, the beloved pharmaceutical brand, which was once highly esteemed, surprisingly faced an issue of uneven drug composition. This inevitably led to doubts about the ingredients within.

For a while, there was a surprising boycott of the pharmaceutical products produced by Thornton Corporation on the internet. The situation, one could say, was escalating with increasing intensity.

Unexpectedly, the situation had evolved in such a way and caused Madelyn to have a throbbing headache.

However, there was one thing that she continually found puzzling.

An explosion caused by an uneven mixture of drugs, medically speaking, would be considered a very elementary mistake.

The pharmaceutical manufacturing factory with which the company had a long-standing partnership had always been known for its stringent drug manufacturing process, maintaining high standards and quality.

They had never made this mistake.

For a professional pharmacist, such a mistake was nothing short of a medical disgrace.

That can’t be right.

No matter how Madelyn thought about this situation, something just didn’t feel right.

She made a mental note to personally investigate the pharmaceutical manufacturing factory.

With this in mind, Madelyn didn’t waste any time. She immediately hailed a taxi and headed straight for the pharmaceutical manufacturing factory.

Ten minutes later, the owner of the pharmaceutical manufacturing factory greeted Madelyn at the entrance, welcoming her inside.

“Ms. Thornton, why have you come in person?” the factory manager asked in surprise, his gaze somewhat inexplicably shifting.

With a serious tone, Madelyn said, “Considering the magnitude of this incident, how could I not personally investigate it? Take me to the scene of the accident immediately, and tell me exactly what happened.”

“Sure,” the product manager reluctantly said with a hint of guilt in his voice.

Following that, Madelyn was led to the scene of the accident.

The incident occurred in the pharmaceutical research lab, where traces of blood had long since been meticulously cleaned up.

After giving a cursory glance, Madelyn asked, “Does your lab usually allow people to come and go freely?”

“No.” At that moment, a lab worker chimed in, “Our lab is usually sealed off; we don’t allow anyone to just waltz in. The reason is to ensure the absolute safety of our medical ingredients.”

“If it was absolutely safe, then why did an explosion occur?” Madelyn asked, puzzled.

The staff member explained, “Ms. Thornton, there’s something you might not be aware of. Any medication our factory produces has its components pre-allocated according to specific proportions by professional pharmacists. Some medications aren’t compatible, and when mixed together, they can indeed cause an explosive reaction. However, we always take precautions to prevent such situations. I distinctly remember that day. Before we all left the lab, we made sure to securely seal all our experimental results. Everything was as it should be, nothing out of the ordinary. As for why this incident happened, we really had no idea.”

Unaware?

The implication of this statement was that the incident wasn’t caused by anyone inside the laboratory.