Rab was speechless, able only to shake his head, his eyes brimming with tears. Kayo tried to push one last time. “You’re going to destroy everything we’ve built over a dirty envelope found in the trash and a kid who can’t even read it properly.”
Augusto stared at it, tired but lucid. It’s not the envelope that’s calloused, it’s what it reveals. And it’s not the boy I’m worried about. It’s the man who believes that dirty piece of paper is always the one that reveals the truth.
The atmosphere became very tense. Kayo realized for the first time that the rope had broken on his side. That night, Augusto called a general meeting for the following day.
Board of directors, legal advisor, human resources. No one knew the reason, only that it was serious. They let Rabi go. But the old man insisted on speaking first. Come back tomorrow. I want you here again.
She went down in the elevator, her head spinning. The next day, even before the usual opening time, the company already had a strange atmosphere. Many people in the hallway were whispering with their phones in their hands, all talking about the same thing.
Raby arrived dressed in his best clothes: a clean t-shirt, his hair styled with water, and his same worn-out sneakers. The large room was filled with employees, managers, and administrative staff, some with many years of service, others newly arrived.
Many feared losing their jobs; few were used to looking the company owner in the eye. Augusto entered slowly, placing a hand on the table. He didn’t seem weak, but tired.
Tired of his old habits, not of his body. Tired of carrying things he shouldn’t have to carry. Beside him, Elena, her face serious, but she didn’t run away.
Further back, Cayo stood with a stern expression and his arms crossed, as if the whole thing were an exaggeration. And in an almost hidden corner, Raby sat in a chair near the door, as if he could be thrown out at any moment.
Augusto didn’t take the microphone, he didn’t give a pompous speech, he spoke in a conversational tone. He said he was there to rectify actions committed in his name, but without his consent. He claimed to have uncovered decisions made in secret, using his signature to harm ordinary people, while others at the top were protected.
Many lowered their gaze. It wasn’t entirely new. Several had already noticed the tense atmosphere, the strange dismissals, the colleagues leaving without explanation. He took a deep breath and recounted, without going into details, that he had found an envelope in the company trash containing documents that shouldn’t have been there.
He said this exposed a cowardly practice: blaming subordinates to protect superiors. He didn’t mention names immediately, only later looking at Caius. He said clearly and frankly that he trusted his son-in-law too much, allowing him to make decisions beyond his control, that while protecting the legacy, he also concealed inhumane decisions and used his father-in-law’s name as a shield.
No one was used to seeing a businessman apologizing in front of an employee, much less admitting a mistake within the family. Caio tried to defend himself, saying it was all strategy, that the market was tough, and that without those measures the company might have gone bankrupt.
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