Chapter 3

The reporter asked carefully, “Isn’t it the tour guide’s job to plan the route ahead of time and keep track of conditions inside the mine? You’re responsible for the attraction’s security, but does that mean you have to plan every single tour for them?”

Ethan hurriedly replied, “But her negligence caused us to get lost in the restricted section. I called her for emergency assistance, but she deliberately gave us the wrong directions and left us trapped.”

In my previous life, I had been the one who got Ethan his job as a tour guide. Every route he took had been planned by me.

If he had possessed even a little ability, he wouldn’t have spent all these years failing to become a manager.

This time, if I hadn’t insisted that he follow my route, he never would have wandered around in circles inside the mine.

I had worked myself to the bone to save them. How could they turn around and throw me into hell the moment they reached safety?

I cut him off.

“I’ll say it again. I warned everyone that the section was sealed off. I could see everything happening through the control room cameras. If he hadn’t recklessly entered the restricted area, how could he have gotten trapped in the first place?”

Vanessa was no longer willing to stay quiet. She attacked me directly.

“Claire, you should know when to stop. There were so many people watching. Do you really think we didn’t see what happened? Ethan only went the wrong way because of your instructions. If he had kept listening to you, we would all be dead!”

The tourists also began describing the panic they had felt.

“We really thought we would never get out. We thought we would starve or die of thirst in there. It was pitch-black, and even someone with nerves of steel couldn’t handle it. It was terrifying!”

They all spoke at once, trying to drown me out with their accusations.

Just then, the attraction’s owner hurried over.

“Let me see who’s causing a disturbance!”

Ethan and Vanessa’s faces went pale the moment they saw him.

The owner apologized to the reporters.

“Sorry you had to witness this. We invited you here today to film the scenery and help promote our attraction. Since this unusual situation has occurred, I promise I’ll handle it fairly.”

I glanced at Ethan without saying anything. He and Vanessa clearly hadn’t expected the owner to get involved. Both of them looked terrified.

The owner turned sternly toward Ethan.

“You’re saying the security officer gave you the wrong directions and left you and the tourists trapped in the mine?”

Ethan glanced sideways at Vanessa, then nodded helplessly.

Vanessa stammered, “Y-Yes… It really was Claire’s fault! We… we all saw it!”

The owner exchanged an awkward smile with the woman standing behind him.

I stood in the corner with my arms crossed, content to watch the show.

The rumors about Ethan and me competing for the manager’s position were only partly true. The manager position was real. Everything else was a lie.

The woman standing behind the owner was my cousin, Sarah.

She had once been one of the most highly regarded tour guides and managers in the industry.

Rumor had it that our owner had paid an enormous amount of money to lure her away from another company and hire her as our new manager.

In my previous life, Sarah had planned to bring reporters to the attraction that weekend to film an interview. Since our owner didn’t work weekends, I had politely talked her out of it.

But this time, to protect myself from Ethan and Vanessa’s schemes, I arranged for Sarah to come early.

After watching Ethan lead the tourists into the mine, I pretended to have a headache and hid in the break room to play games.

The person who had actually stayed in the control center was Sarah, doing her job as security officer. The reporters had been there filming her the entire time.

Ethan glared at me, completely unaware of what had happened.

“When I called you for emergency assistance, you didn’t help us. Instead, you deliberately guided us into the restricted area! How could you be so vicious? Was a manager’s position really worth all that?”

The tourists had already decided Ethan was their hero. They began appealing to the owner.

“Ethan was an angel sent from heaven to save us! If he hadn’t stood his ground, we would have fallen right into that security officer’s trap!”

“Give Ethan a promotion and a raise! Someone this talented shouldn’t be overlooked or betrayed by the company!”

Vanessa looked at Ethan with admiration and added, “I think Ethan deserves to become the attraction’s manager after saving so many tourists today!”

Ethan arrogantly waved his hands, signaling for them to quiet down.

“Thank you all for recognizing my hard work! Since the owner is here today, if he really promotes me to manager, I’ll respect everyone’s wishes. I’ll make sure this security officer, who gave us such reckless instructions, is blacklisted throughout the industry and sent to prison!”