They quickly arrived at the construction site.
A large group of reporters had already gathered outside. The moment they saw Eric and Ella step out of the car together, they swarmed towards them.
Eric’s face turned icy cold. He ignored all the questions, and only after the bodyguards blocked the reporters did they manage to enter the construction site.
Not far from the site stood a small building, inside which were several hundred bags of cement. Twenty of those bags had been tampered with.
"Boss, the deputy director claims he’s innocent, but the employee who was supposed to be guarding the site has fled," John reported, summarizing the situation. Eric’s eyes flashed with anger. "What a clever move. If the media gets hold of this, people will think our Nelson Group is cutting corners on the project! Half real, half fake! This could seriously damage our reputation."
Eric sneered as a middle-aged man, looking distraught, rushed over. "Mr. Nelson... I’m the deputy director here! Mr. Nelson, I swear, I didn’t authorize the purchase of this swapped cement!"
The man was desperate to defend himself. After all, he had been a director for ten years and had just landed a job at the company he admired, only to be caught up in a scandal .
Ella frowned slightly, questioning whether the man could be trusted.
Eric gave him a cold glance. "Take all the invoices to John, let him review them. As for whether you’re innocent or not, I have my own way of finding out."
The middle-aged man quickly forced a smile. "Of course, Mr. Nelson, I knew you would be fair."
Just then, John, who had been checking something on his phone, looked up with a grim expression. "Boss, some reporters have already posted the pictures online, and they’ve spread to a few of the most popular forums."
Eric wasn’t surprised. This was clearly a deliberate setup.
"It’s fine. Let them post it. After all, the cement hasn’t been used yet. In the meantime, contact the inspection department and have them come tomorrow to test the building and issue a safety report." His tone remained cold, but he didn’t seem overly angry.
It was clear that someone was trying to sabotage Nelson Group, and naturally, the reporters were quick to upload the photos.
"Have the bodyguards keep all the reporters outside. I’ll have questions for them later."
Eric calmly ordered, glancing at the bags of substandard cement that had been set aside, while John relayed the message. The middle-aged man stood nervously by his side.
"Who discovered the faulty cement?" Eric asked.
"It was me," the man quickly answered. "After work, I got a call from security saying that the site guard had run off. I had a bad feeling and came to check it out. That’s when I noticed that dozens of the bags had been swapped."
As the man explained, it became clear he had been trying to do the right thing. He had even gone out of his way to stay in contact with the security guards at the nearby factories.
One of the guards had seen the site employee leaving in a suspicious manner and tipped him off.
"Good job... If this cement had been used in the project, what would have happened?" Eric asked.
"This cement lacks proper adhesion and is much lower quality than what we purchased. If too much of it was used, it could lead to cracks in the building..." the man answered nervously.
Ella’s eyes flashed with concern. Whoever was behind this was truly malicious. If Nelson Group’s project failed, they wouldn’t be able to win any more government contracts.
This was a key project, and any compromise in quality could have severe consequences. Nelson Group’s reputation would be on the line.
Without saying anything further, Eric took Ella and left the small building.
The scene outside was chaotic.
"What right do you have to keep us here? You’re violating our personal freedom—that’s illegal!"
"Yeah, why are you blocking us?"
"Get out of the way, you rich people’s lapdogs!"
The reporters, blocked from leaving, were shouting in fury. As soon as Eric and Ella emerged, the crowd turned their anger on them.
"Mr. Nelson, are you the one who ordered us to be held here?"
"Yeah, we haven’t done anything wrong! We’re just here because someone tipped us off!"
Eric glanced at them calmly, his voice measured. "Everyone, calm down. Actually, I just wanted to ask—when did you all receive the tip-off?"
Seeing Eric’s composed demeanor, the reporters started to relax a little.
"I got the call about half an hour ago," one of them replied.
"Same here!" echoed another.
"Me too!" several others chimed in, confirming they had all received the information around the same time. Eric narrowed his eyes, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.
"In that case, I appreciate your efforts. You can let them go now," he said, addressing the bodyguards. "There’s no need to worry yourselves over Nelson Group’s business. The substandard cement was swapped out by someone, and I’ll provide a full explanation in a few days."
Realizing that taking photos or pushing further wasn’t an option today, and with Eric promising a follow-up soon, the reporters begrudgingly began to disperse.
Eric’s eyes followed the crowd, focusing on a tall, thin reporter wearing a blue t-shirt. He pointed discreetly and said to John, "Have someone follow him."
"Yes, Mr. Nelson!" John replied, understanding Eric’s intentions. However, John also knew that this leak was likely to impact Nelson Group’s stock significantly.
"Let’s go," Eric said, taking Ella’s hand and leading her away.
Ella’s eyes widened in surprise. "That’s it? We’re just leaving ?"
"What else do you want? A public display of affection here?" Eric chuckled, seemingly unfazed by everything that had just happened.
"Have you found a solution?" she asked, still concerned.
"Of course. Do you really think your husband is that incapable?" Eric wrapped an arm around her waist. "Give it a few days, and this will all be sorted out. We just need some time," he said, smiling softly.
Ella still felt a bit uneasy, especially after seeing his calm smile paired with his cold eyes. If the Carter Group was behind this, they were in for serious trouble.
Just then, two reporters suddenly rushed out from the shadows. "Mr. Nelson, what’s your explanation for the substandard cement?" they asked.
The bodyguards hesitated, surprised that these two had managed to hide and seize an opportunity to interview Eric.
With the other reporters gone, these two saw this as their chance to score an exclusive.
Eric’s face darkened. "Didn’t I just say that there will be an explanation in a few days?"
One of the reporters sneered, "Mr. Nelson, this is clearly a case of your Nelson Group cutting corners to save money!"
Ella frowned, thinking how foolish these two were if they thought they could push Eric around.
When Eric didn’t immediately respond, the second reporter smirked triumphantly. "Nelson Group might be growing quickly, but that’s exactly why your cash flow is tight, right? You’re cutting costs wherever you can, and this batch of cement is just the tip of the iceberg!"