Chapter 3

The force of my slap sent Tiffany stumbling backwards. She clutched her face, looking at me in disbelief.

I pointed at the plane that had just safely taken off outside.

"You idiot! An air traffic controller's job is to ensure safety in the skies. You nearly cost hundreds of lives with your stupidity!"

Tiffany's tears flowed freely as she whined, "I was just nervous since it was my first time directing takeoff. I'm sorry!"

Always the same trick. Ever since she started her internship, this was how she handled problems.

She insisted on cultivating an image as a prodigy despite her mediocrity, just to make everyone see her differently.

But when crucial work was actually entrusted to her, she'd screw up royally and leave us to clean up her mess.

Afterwards, she'd cry and act cute to beg for forgiveness.

But this time, hundreds of living, breathing people had nearly died because of her.

"Olivia, that's going too far!" James yelled.

"Mind your own business!" I snapped back at him.

"Wasn't it you who confidently boasted you could handle this flight direction? Now that we actually let you do it, you try to run away when things go wrong!"

"What, do you think we all have a death wish? Want us to go to prison with you?"

Henry, the team leader, also stepped in to muddy the waters and try to shift blame onto me.

"Olivia, you should have given Tiffany more guidance since you knew it was her first time."

"Are you kidding me, Henry?" I scoffed.

Henry was taken aback, probably not expecting me to call him out so directly.

I glared coldly at the two men shielding Tiffany:

"Instead of acknowledging Tiffany's incompetence, you're blaming me for not teaching her properly?"

"Her poor work performance nearly cost hundreds of lives, and you're still making excuses for her!"

"If I hadn't stepped in to direct the flights, do you think you'd still be standing here chatting with me?"

"Do people actually have to die before you take this seriously? Or are human lives just meaningless to you?"

Doubt flickered across their faces, but they still chose to defend Tiffany.

"Don't give me that crap about me not teaching her well or her being some genius! Tiffany was mentored by you two, so if she's such a prodigy, how come you failed to train her properly?"

"Did you all get kicked in the head by a donkey? Have you forgotten our duty to protect air safety?"

I let out a cold laugh, looking at Tiffany being comforted in James' arms:

"What you're doing now isn't just a dereliction of your professional duties. It's a blatant disregard for human life! If you want to keep arguing with me, don't expect me to show any mercy!"

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