Once they arrived at the chief examiner’s office, Roland could feel his temper writhing out of their chains.
There was a crowd of curious onlookers and other candidates dawdling about earlier, so he couldn’t give the proctors a full dressing down right there and then. It didn’t matter how tempting it was; he still had to consider the Medical Association’s reputation.
His actions would only tarnish the association’s name if he gave into his impulses and criticized them.
Nonetheless, his patience was coming to an end. Of course, it didn’t help that some of them had been on his nerves for quite some time, and he couldn’t do anything about it. But after the incident today, he was finally able to give them a good reckoning.
“Mr. Roberts, l have thoroughly underestimated you. Regardless, that isn’t the point here. I just want to know how on earth you found the courage to falsely accuse him.” Roland twirled his pen as he glared icily at Kevin.
Kevin trembled like a leaf under his ferocious gaze as his face went stark white. It would be an understatement of the century to say that he genuinely regretted every action that led him to such circumstances today.
Abraham parted his lips before finally stammering, “M-My nephew brought this to my attention. Abraham claimed that Mr. Larson’s a well-known fraud and that he cheated to get a spot in this exam.”
Once he finished his confession, he couldn’t help but sigh regretfully. Alas, his explanation only stoked Roland’s anger.
“Good Lord! You’re not in your twenties any longer! You should know what the protocols for such accusations are! You didn’t have a shred of evidence, but you blindly believed every word your nephew said? Did it ever cross your mind that your beloved nephew might be lying?!”
Roland disdainfully tossed a document on the desk. “Speaking of your nephew, you’d better take a good look at his lovely handiwork!”
Kevin hesitantly picked up the document with his shaky hands. It was like he was handling a bomb and not a mere file.
The document laid out in black and white the events which had occurred between Leonardo and Colin in Neverland Pharmaceuticals.
Kevin’s face grew grim as he forced himself to finish reading the file.
Colin had always struck him as an affable man. So, he had never imagined his nephew could be this vile. Colin was using him to get to Leonardo. To Kevin’s dismay, he had bought into his nephew’s plot, hook, line, and sinker.
Once he was done, he returned the document to Roland, all the while avoiding Roland’s piercing gaze. Abraham could only lower his head in shame.
“Mr. Roberts, this is a busy time for the Association. Unfortunately, you’ve probably made such poor judgment due to stress. Therefore, I’ll inform HR that you’ll be taking a few days off.”
Kevin’s heart skipped a beat at Roland’s suggestion. Abraham wondered if this was a backhanded way of firing him. Abraham couldn’t remember the last time Roland had granted a few days’ leave.
Once Roland had doled out such a punishment, the other examiners started fidgeting in their seats, fearing the consequences they would face.
“As for the rest of you…”
The ones Roland named immediately straightened their backs with tense expressions. They awaited Roland’s decision with restless anxiety, feeling as though the Sword of Damocles was dangling right above their very necks.
“None of you are worthy of the position you hold. Not only are you incapable of telling fact from fiction, but some of you even used this opportunity to stir up more trouble! Let’s see… Canceling your year-end bonuses is a very fitting punishment, don’t you think?”
Although Roland castigated them in front of their peers, they still sighed in relief after hearing his verdict. They were just happy that they weren’t fired on the spot.
“As for Professor Kozak, you actively schemed to sow discord. I don‘t want to make things difficult for you, so I suggest you hand in your resignation letter, and we’ll leave it at that.”
Roland was treating the false accusations levied against Leonardo with the utmost gravity.
Emmanuel was a capable doctor, but he was toxic, and allowing him to stay would only bring about more negatives to the Medical Association. Roland was aware that Emmanuel would only cause further trouble if he continued to cling to the Association.
It was better to drive him away after this incident.
Compared to Kevin, Emmanuel’s punishment was far more severe. Yet, he seemed not to care at all.
In his opinion, it didn’t matter that he was laid off. Abraham figured that there was no problem with this decision as he was about to receive thirty years’ worth of his salary as compensation. So, Emmanuel strutted out of the office with a dismissive smile.
Nonetheless, Roland didn’t bother gracing the disgraced professor a second glance as he continued gravely, “If anyone’s unhappy with how I handled this matter, you can hand in your resignations as well. I’ll approve them immediately. Furthermore, I will make a report of this incident and submit it to Cathay’s Union of Medical Practitioners. Finally, anyone who wishes to appeal can do so.”
After Emmanuel swept out of the office, he wasted no time in calling Tritus.
“I’ve done what you asked. When’s the money coming in?”
Emmanuel was surprised when all he got was Tritus’ roar of displeasure.
“How dare you even bring this up?! Here you are, an absolute failure, and you’re asking me for money? How stupid do you think I am?!”
At this moment, Emmanuel began to panic. “W-We had an agreement! Tritus, you can’t go back on your word!”
Tritus’ voice was cold as ice as he laid out the facts. “Exactly. I said you’d get the money after you succeeded at your task. Have you succeeded? You’ve ruined everything. You don’t deserve a single cent!”
“B-B-But…”
Before Emmanuel could get another word in, Tritus bellowed a long string of profanities at him, “Idiot! Son of a b*tch! You useless scum!”
Once Tritus had vented his rage at whom he regarded as a useless pawn, he promptly hung up.
When Emmanuel was faced with the robotic dial tone, his mind finally rebooted and was in an utter tizzy. Abraham had just lost his job, and judging from Tritus’ attitude earlier, there was no way the money would magically appear in his bank account.
Due to his greed, he was well and truly down and out.
