[Chapter 252: It's Hard to Be a Good Person]
At the Butterfly Company's main conference room,
Just returned from Latin Arica, Hierro, Betty, and Fiona were reading today's Los Angeles Tis.
The front page was filled with reports on the priest scandal, but all the news focused solely on St. Beatrice's Church and the welfare school, neglecting the rest.
Campos walked in from outside, saying, "This matter is on hold for now."
Betty asked, "Did LAPD only investigate St. Beatrice? What about other churches and welfare schools? Aren't they being looked into?"
"The case has been confined to St. Beatrice," Campos explained regarding the latest situation. "Right now, more than 20 people have been arrested, and all Catholic churches and schools are cleaning house internally."
Juan chid in, "Guys, we've saved over a hundred kids."
Fiona put down the paper, saying, "Yeah, given our capabilities, that's all we can do."
Hierro sighed, "I just hope this makes those bastards in the Church hold back a little."
Campos replied, "You've all done very well."
"Actually, it's Hawke who did quite well," Betty suddenly remarked. "He gains nothing from this but still works so hard."
Juan agreed, "He's a good boss."
Hierro added, "What Hawke has achieved is no small feat. Without him saying a word, what are we? What does any of this an? Who would care whether those kids live or die?"
Campos stated, "It is this society, this country that has problems. Hawke is leading us against the tacit rules of this society, and prying open even the slightest gap with our strength is an uphill battle."
This group had witnessed enough darkness in xico, running across the border to California and struggling at the bottom. They had experienced broad perspectives.
Given the harsh reality, being a good person was imnsely challenging.
...
At the Twitter office building on Ocean Park Boulevard,
gan Taylor, wearing a professional outfit, stepped out of the elevator and turned into the hallway.
An office door swung open, and Caroline happened to bump into her.
Miss Baa, donning a pink Chanel outfit, stared at gan like a sheep spotting another about to encroach on its turf.
She asked, "What are you doing here?"
gan took a mont to appraise her and replied, "I need to speak with Hawke about sothing."
Caroline wanted to block her but lacked a valid reason, so she could only watch as gan passed by and entered Hawke's office.
She bit down on her lip with her sharp teeth and turned to head up to the third floor for a eting.
...
In the office, gan sat across from Hawke at his desk.
Hawke poured her a cup of coffee and asked, "What brings you here today?"
"I've been exhausted from the priest scandal news lately, taking a few days off," said gan without a hint of disappointnt, knowing this outco was inevitable during reporting. "Fox is also trying to protect , preventing from acting impulsively." Ｒ₳𐌽ôΒΕS
Hawke understood, "Sounds like you've uncovered quite a few hidden matters."
gan pulled out a USB drive and tossed it to Hawke. "Everything is on this drive. The higher-ups at News Corporation issued orders, and Roger Ailes couldn't do anything; Fox won't report any further."
Hawke put it away, "Twitter won't report anything now."
gan said, "The more you know, the greater the pressure; you grow increasingly disappointed with this country and society."
Hearing this, Hawke was curious, "What have you discovered?"
gan smiled, tinged with bitterness. "If I told you that three-quarters of all the churches in the Los Angeles Archdiocese experienced such behaviors, would you believe ?"
"I believe you," Hawke had no trust in the Church. "I'd believe it even if you said all were involved."
gan stated, "My team got ahold of a list, and over 500 victims were identified, just from one archdiocese in Los Angeles!"
Hearing this, Hawke recalled a news story he had co across, perhaps a report from the Los Angeles Tis, indicating that the Los Angeles Archdiocese had paid over $600 million in settlents to over 500 people, with more than three-quarters of its 288 parishes implicated.
The unexposed actual number would only be higher.
Hawke pocketed the USB drive, saying, "I'll find an appropriate opportunity."
gan nodded, "I'll return to work in three days; I'll keep an eye on those children who have been rescued."
"Will those children be adopted?" Hawke recalled that this was how it typically worked, "Into new families?"
gan explained, "According to regulations, once the situation is initially addressed, information will be made public, and suitable families will adopt them as their legal guardians."
Hawke thought about her previous comnt and asked, "Do you think the adoptions will go well?"
gan declared firmly, "The chances of issues arising are very high."
Hawke asked, "Will they be sold?"
"Sold?" gan shook her head, "There's no human trafficking in Arica, just missing persons."
She explained, "I have a female news tipster at the California legislature, and from her, I received a preliminary statistic indicating that over 400,000 migrant children go missing every year in the U.S., and many of them are adoptees."
Hawke believed the data because he'd seen a video where the New York City mayor stated that immigrant adoptees' missing numbers had reached up to 500,000!
The authority of the dia was still ascending; after all, there were no trafficking incidents in Arica, only missing cases.
Yet, gan, being a woman, sotis exhibited a sense of compassion, "We think too simply. . They might escape from one fire pit only to fall into another."
Hawke wasn't a savior and hadn't intended to be one; he rely sighed, "We can only do so much, and we strive to do what is right."
gan, not being the fearless reporter she once was, returned to logic: "Fox expressing concern might help them avoid so bad situations, but that's all."
Hawke nodded, "This society is exceptionally difficult, and it's not easy for ordinary people to change their social status. For people like us, caught in the middle, stability is our only chance to do what we want."
"You're absolutely right," gan fully agreed, "Let's keep it that way for now."
She then asked, "I'm taking three days off. Want to hang out?"
Hawke directly replied, "I can't get away. Twitter is undergoing evaluations and negotiating investnts with Clarium Capital..."
They had initially agreed to keep things physical without entering into each other's lives.
Facing the situation, gan didn't hold back, "I demand compensation."
Hawke shrugged, "What do you want?"
gan didn't respond, instead ducking down below the desk, crawling underneath, erging with her head, gathering her long hair into a ponytail.
She recalled Caroline from earlier, looking up at Hawke and saying, "You can call your operations director in to report on work."
"You're insane..." Hawke's statent was cut short as he felt the heat of the situation.
Such office gas had previously taken place in gan's office but never in Hawke's office.
...
Over half an hour later, gan smoothed out her wrinkled clothing, waved goodbye to Hawke, and exited the office, even helping to close the door behind her.
She wiped her lips, which she had pursed into a thin line, and walked toward the elevator, only to find Caroline waiting too.
Caroline sized up gan, sensing she looked different from when she had entered, her hair and clothes slightly disheveled.
As an adult, and given her previous suspicions regarding Hawke and gan's connection, Caroline privately understood, biting her sharp teeth, but didn't resist saying, "This isn't Fox. Can you please be mindful of your image?"
gan smirked, guessing the woman's thoughts, and replied, "You're jealous of ."
"I'm not!" Caroline haughtily replied, "I'm the operations director of a multi-billion dollar company. Why would I be jealous of you?"
gan chuckled lightly, "You've never experienced Hawke's taste."
Caroline scoffed, "I'm Hawke's most trusted person."
gan countered, "You haven't tasted Hawke."
"You..." Caroline sadly realized she indeed hadn't.
gan moved closer, "Do you want to try?"
Caroline wanted to say no, but couldn't bring herself to.
With one finger, gan pressed her lips and cooed, "Want to taste? There's still a bit left."
Caroline could hardly withstand such provocation, saying, "You'll get your head blown off one day!"
"Erica Ferguson?" Just then, the elevator arrived, and gan entered with a smile.
Caroline, unwilling to back down, followed her inside.
They rode down to the first floor, and before departing, gan pulled out a business card, handing it to Caroline. "Let's stay in touch. We should grab coffee soti."
Caroline thought it over, accepted the card, and then gave her own contact info to gan with a fierce warning, "Don't flaunt in front of from now on!"
gan got into her car, packed her bags, and left Los Angeles.
...
Fox officially concluded its coverage of the priest scandal, choosing not to dig deeper.
Other North Arican dia outlets gradually softened their reports on the related news.
In an effort to calm the situation, the Arican Catholic Archdiocese allocated $120 million.
In this capitalistic country, with such a huge sum thrown, the effect was markedly significant.
Los Angeles's judicial system operated efficiently. The prosecutor's office quickly intervened to propel the case into court proceedings.
The fathers of St. Beatrice's Church bore all the bla.
To divert the public's attention and criticism, those Hollywood figures appearing in the video were charged with various offenses, including Pat Kingsley and Jas Gunn, all labeled as heinous criminals.
Entertainnt circles across the globe bore the brunt of it all.
The case that pushed quickly into court was that of Pat Kingsley, who accepted her guilt willingly and was convicted with undeniable evidence, ultimately sentenced to ten years in prison.
This once-prominent PR manager and agent in Hollywood ended her career by being imprisoned.
The evening the judgnt for Pat Kingsley was announced, Tom Cruise hosted an extravagant party at his mansion in Beverly Hills, celebrating his contract with the cast of War of the Worlds and inviting nurous friends and collaborators.
Everyone saw that Tom Cruise was reveling in his victory.
*****
/Sayonara816.
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