Chapter 39
San Francisco.
A city with the largest existing research facilities and the region that has successfully listed the most biopharmaceutical companies.
Although its growth has slowed compared to Boston, it still holds 11,163 patents related to pharmaceutical and biotechnology—the highest in the United States—and remains the city that creates the most biotech-related jobs nationwide.
A biotech magazine even called San Francisco the “Birthplace of Biotechnology.”
The main branch of Olphale Pharmaceutical Research Institute was located here.
It was the heart of Olphale’s incubating system where next-generation drugs were developed.
It was also where substances researched and developed by Olphale researchers worldwide were collected.
Chris Bingham, the deputy director of Olphale Pharmaceutical Research Institute, went to work as usual.
Olphale Pharmaceutical had recently undergone significant changes. Two major ones stood out: first, the oncology department had been merged with the general department, and second, the innovative pharmaceuticals division had split into domestic and overseas divisions, effectively starting a competition between the next-generation Olphale heirs.
But none of this concerned Chris Bingham.
He had no particular interest in office politics. If he had to pick one ambition, it was simply to leave work early and spend time with his wife. Chris had joined Olphale because, among the companies forming the San Francisco pharma cluster, it had the latest start time and the shortest recommended working hours.
Ironically, this very lack of ambition had made him deputy director. Chris’s direct superior, Mackenzie Darcy, the institute’s director, was a true embodiment of corporate politics. At forty-five, he was doing everything possible to maintain the title of youngest company director and was fiercely loyal to Keese Olphale.
Anyone else interested in internal power dynamics had long been removed by Mackenzie Darcy—or were lying low to avoid his attention.
Well, that was none of Chris Bingham’s concern.
He whistled as he walked toward his office.
“Morning.”
He raised a hand toward Angela, his secretary who managed his schedule. Strangely, though, Angela’s eyes widened as she looked at him. She silently moved her lips. Normally, she would just wave lightly and say, “Morning”, but today, her behavior was different.
“What’s wrong?”
“Director… director…”
Angela whispered in a barely audible voice, then made a chilling gesture with her hand toward her neck. Chris frowned at the eerie gesture.
“Is… someone dead?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“What…?”
Chris tilted his head, approaching his office. Just as he was about to open the door, he noticed it was slightly ajar.
“…Huh?”
He opened the door and stepped inside—and nearly collapsed.
Men in black suits were ransacking his office.
“Wh…who—?”
“We’re the Olphale headquarters audit team.”
“The audit team?”
Another voice from behind made Chris spin around. His eyes widened at the sight of another man.
“Wh—who are you?”
“You forgot already? I’ve barely even been here a month.”
The man answered cheerfully.
Although Chris had asked who he was, he recognized him immediately: Kyle Olphale.
The second adopted son of Olphale Pharmaceutical.
Recently reported dead, then corrected to be alive, and one of the key figures in this personnel decision.
Chris instinctively scanned him from head to toe. He already knew Kyle Olphale. Before his promotion, Kyle had worked at the institute as an associate manager. Yet something felt off.
Chris scanned Kyle again. The suit was fine, but there was an inexplicable sense of authority. Same face, but… what had changed? It wasn’t just the confident expression.
“K-Kyle?”
“Just call me Kyle, Chris. We already know each other—no need for formalities. Good morning.”
Kyle smiled brightly, but Chris couldn’t bring himself to agree that it was a good morning.
“Ah, you’re coming to the institute too? The business office is at headquarters, right?”
“I requested it myself. I’m a researcher at heart, so I wanted an office at the institute too. That way, I can immediately reflect ongoing research results.”
Chris couldn’t nod to that. He wasn’t curious whether Kyle would come to the institute.
“Anyway, why is the audit team in my office?”
Kyle smiled knowingly, as if he already expected the question.
“As of this morning, Mackenzie Darcy is suspended and under house restriction until the situation is clarified.”
“Suspended?”
“I heard Director Darcy contributed significantly to the Eatus joint investment project. But it turned out he recommended a company full of fraudsters to Keese Olphale, and in the process, took bribes from Eatus.”
Chris’s jaw tightened. The ambitious Mackenzie Darcy had overreached to curry favor with Keese.
But now that Eatus was revealed to be a scam, those defending the deal had to take responsibility.
Chris watched, puzzled, as the men exited his office and Kyle smiled at him. He had no desire to take the director’s side; siding with him would only put Chris in danger too.
“…The director got suspended, but why me?”
“The audit team needs to check if the deputy director was involved in anything the director knew. As you know, all institute data can be accessed legally by headquarters, so they came to inspect. Results will be out soon.”
“I—I really don’t know anything.”
Chris stammered. Kyle laughed.
“Haha, don’t worry about telling me. I have nothing to do with the audit team; I just happened to walk in because the door was open.”
Kyle smiled faintly and waved.
“I’ll be going to my office now.”
“Ah, where?”
“My office.”
Kyle waved again with a smile.
“Goodbye. Oh, and I look forward to working with you.”
“Y-yes.”
“The audit team will leave soon too, so no worries. See you.”
As Kyle walked out, Chris instinctively bowed slightly—but then frowned.
Wait. If he had nothing to do with the audit team, why was he in Chris’s office?
“I should push him for director.”
I muttered casually as I turned the alley. That man was perfect as the next Olphale institute director. Competent, very family-oriented, and completely uninterested in corporate power.
Oliver, holding documents in the corridor, brightened when he saw me.
“Kyle.”
“Yes. I’ve gathered everything we need.”
I shook the file from the deputy director’s office. Oliver sighed in relief, then frowned.
“That was risky. Did you really need to go in there yourself? Couldn’t I have requested the files?”
“If we requested them normally, they’d just send doctored files. The director worshipped Keese Olphale, and the deputy was his puppet. Only by making a mess like this can we get the real situation.”
I handed Oliver an SD chip. It contained all patents currently being processed at the institute and a file tracking FDA certification schedules, complete with dates and rejection reports. Perfect for the upcoming “cutting.”
“Silvia told me to charm the board, but Oliver, you know…”
“…”
“You only charm those worth charming. And if we can get the files quickly at the same time, isn’t that better?”
“True. Kyle, you’re right. But…”
“The director should have been removed the moment I arrived. He leaned too heavily toward Keese Olphale.”
Oliver clutched his chest and sighed.
“Yes… every time you act like this, my heart feels like it drops to the floor.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
I laughed softly. Oliver was a small-town citizen; he probably never imagined a world like this. Best to keep him in the dark for now. I nodded benignly.
“Let’s go… to see Mother.”
