A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 130

"You want to question the employees directly?"

Holmes’s large eyes widened in surprise.

But only for a moment.

She quickly signaled to the man beside her without objection, and he quietly left as if accepting a silent order.

Her swift response exuded confidence that there was nothing to hide.

Soon, Holmes met Kissinger’s gaze again, her expression shifting between disappointment and regret.

"Are you really suspecting that article was targeting me?"

"Of course not. This is merely a standard verification process."

The one who answered was former Secretary of State, Schulz.

He was the one who first discovered Holmes and the person who frequently advised her the most.

Schulz looked at Kissinger while defending Holmes.

"Henry, you don't really believe this to be true, do you?"

"I just want to make it clear that this is a company issue, not a personal matter."

Kissinger’s voice was firm.

However, his inner thoughts were a tangled whirlpool of emotions.

Kissinger’s affection for Theranos and Holmes was no less than Schulz’s.

Helping Holmes with the influence he had built over time gave him deep satisfaction, and watching Theranos grow day by day brought him a unique sense of joy.

It felt like watching a carefully nurtured plant flourish beautifully.

Of course, Holmes was not the only such presence in his life, but among them, she was particularly precious.

And for good reason.

If all the plants received similar care, yet one of them stood out and grew noticeably faster every day—

Naturally, one would develop a special attachment to it.

In that sense, Theranos’s rapid growth had given Kissinger an indescribable sense of accomplishment and exhilaration.

But…

Holmes, a dictator?

Hiding behind a mask of humility and goodwill, acting like an angel in front but a tyrant behind the scenes?

The sincerity in her eyes, the burning passion for the future, the unwavering determination to change the world—

Was all of that merely an elaborate act?

For Kissinger, who took great pride in his judgment, this was difficult to accept.

But.

A problem far greater than his pride loomed before him.

‘If this article turns out to be true…’

He would be branded as an ‘accomplice to a dictator.’

Ninety-one years old this year.

At the twilight of his life, his final legacy could not be marred by such disgrace.

He wanted to leave behind something beneficial to the world.

That was the very reason he had nurtured his ‘plants’ all these years.

But if such a stigma were to be placed on him in the final chapter of his life—

A lifetime of effort would be reduced to nothing in an instant.

"As I’ve said before, this reporter is maliciously slandering me…"

"That’s exactly why we need to verify it. If, as you claim, the reporter distorted the facts, this article will serve as an opportunity to discredit him. This is nothing more than an investigation to uncover the truth."

At Kissinger’s firm response, a suffocating silence fell over the conference room.

Since he framed it as something that could help Holmes, Schulz had no grounds to object, and the other board members remained silent, sensing that something was amiss.

Amidst the tense silence, the conference room door opened again.

Two men entered.

Kissinger checked his watch.

Eleven minutes had passed. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

He immediately showed the newly arrived Theranos employee the article in question and asked,

"Do you think the startup mentioned in this article refers to Theranos?"

The employee looked momentarily bewildered but quickly scanned the article before answering.

"It appears completely unrelated to Theranos. I have worked here for four years, and I have never once encountered such rumors."

Though the employee spoke with conviction, Kissinger scrutinized him sharply.

His eyes suddenly narrowed.

"What department are you in?"

"Excuse me? I’m in the Sales Department, but…"

"Where is your department located?"

"It’s… on the fourth floor."

Kissinger slowly turned to face Holmes.

Lowering his voice, he firmly questioned her.

"We are on the second floor. There are employees right in front of us—so why did they go all the way to the fourth floor to bring someone? And why did it take a full eleven minutes?"

From the very beginning, Kissinger’s goal had been to measure the time.

Because the article contained the following statement:

—This place is no different from a dictatorship. If you want to survive, you have to become a ‘yes-man.’

If they were truly innocent, they could have brought over any nearby employee immediately.

Yet, the fact that they took time to select someone suggested they had deliberately chosen a ‘yes-man.’

As Kissinger pointed this out with sharp precision, all the board members turned their gazes toward Holmes.

"Bringing someone from the fourth floor does seem suspicious."

"In a situation like this, it’s not a very wise move."

Voices of doubt arose.

The speakers were a former senator and a former defense secretary, both board members.

"That… I didn’t order them to do that…"

Holmes’s gaze shifted toward the man who had brought the employee.

She was right.

It wasn’t Holmes who had given the order, but rather the man who had read the situation and acted on his own initiative.

Kissinger continued to stare at Holmes as he firmly spoke.

"Let’s check one more person. This time, immediately—bring someone from the closest department."

With a resolute tone, Kissinger’s sharp eyes turned to his secretary.

The secretary nodded silently and quickly left the conference room, returning within just two minutes with another employee.

Amid the tension, the same procedure was repeated.

"Does this article seem to be referring to Theranos?"

In truth, Kissinger desperately hoped.

He hoped that this article had nothing to do with Theranos.

That Holmes was still the passionate young genius he had once known and trusted.

The employee nervously glanced around but eventually spoke.

"It’s hard to say for sure. But the part about ‘secrecy’… does seem somewhat relevant. This place does have particularly strict security policies. USB usage is completely banned, and interdepartmental information exchange is strictly controlled."

However, considering Holmes’s obsessive tendencies, this was entirely plausible.

This alone was not enough to call her a dictator.

"What about the part about surveillance?"

"I’ve never heard of such a thing before."

Kissinger secretly felt relieved.

However, his unease was not entirely dispelled.

Even if Theranos did surveil its employees, they wouldn’t be tracking every single one at all times.

The most likely targets would be former employees.

In that case, current employees would have no way of knowing the reality.

But.

At the employee’s next hesitant words, Kissinger’s eyes widened.

"I don’t know about surveillance… but resignations happen very frequently. Many people find it strange how employees keep disappearing. Normally, even after submitting a resignation, it’s customary to stay for two weeks, but here… people vanish overnight without a trace."

In that moment, a single word flashed through Kissinger’s mind.

The very word Ha Si-heon had told him.

"Do people here ever use the phrase ‘disappear’?"

"Well…"

The employee’s hesitation was answer enough.

There was no denying that bizarre disappearances were a frequent occurrence.

Kissinger’s brow furrowed.

After all, this was the exact reason why Ha Si-heon had compared her to a ‘dictator’—these abnormal resignations that were closer to disappearances.

After dismissing the employee, Holmes stepped forward to explain.

"This is purely a measure for information security. Some employees leave after being scouted by competitors. We only wanted to prevent the risk of leaking confidential information during the customary two-week notice period…"

"I understand that. Maintaining confidentiality is critical here, isn’t it?"

Schulz once again defended Holmes.

However, Kissinger’s expression remained stern.

"Bring in the HR manager next."

"What?"

"If there are unusually frequent resignations, HR should have detailed records. Ask them to bring the resignation rates and relevant data from the past three years."

Holmes fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words.

As a board member, Kissinger had the authority to access such internal data, leaving her with no grounds to refuse.

A short while later, the HR manager entered the conference room cautiously, carrying the requested documents.

Upon reviewing the records, it was evident—Theranos’s turnover rate was abnormally high.

"More than half of the employees have left the company."

"Startups naturally have high turnover rates."

"Even so, the industry standard is around 20-30%, but this is more than double that. Isn’t that suspicious?"

"That’s… actually, we’ve been struggling due to aggressive scouting from competitors…"

The board members clicked their tongues at the alarmingly high figure.

Holmes continued to make excuses, but her explanations grew less convincing by the moment.

Kissinger’s sharp gaze turned to the HR manager.

"Bring me the personnel records of the most recently resigned employee."

"What?"

"Did you not understand my request?"

"No, it’s just…"

The HR manager, flustered, glanced at Holmes, but under Kissinger’s commanding presence, he finally relented and pulled out his smartphone.

Just as he was about to send a text message to his subordinate—

"Call them instead."

Kissinger’s voice cut through the air.

Texts and emails could be manipulated, and he wanted to eliminate any such possibility.

Through text, the HR manager could secretly instruct them to fetch the record of a ‘specific individual’—perhaps someone who would provide only favorable feedback.

"Uh… Could you bring over the personnel file of the most recently resigned employee… to the second-floor conference room?"

In the end, the HR manager made the call.

Before long, the requested file arrived.

Kissinger turned to his secretary.

"Call them."

"What?"

Holmes’s face instantly turned pale, but Kissinger remained firm.

"Most of the testimonies in this article come from former employees. The only way to verify the truth is to hear directly from them."

So far, all they had was circumstantial suspicion.

For undeniable proof, they needed firsthand testimonies from those who had left.

The secretary switched the phone to speaker mode and dialed the number.

As the ringing tone echoed through the tense room—

Ring… ring…

[Hello?]

"Amara Sterling?"

[Yes… Who is this?]

"This is the secretary of Henry Kissinger, a board member of Theranos. My apologies for the sudden call, but we need to ask you something."

The person on the other end seemed too shocked to respond immediately.

Kissinger took the smartphone from his secretary and asked directly.

"What was your position?"

[I was a lab researcher.]

"I’d like to ask about your reason for resigning."

[I… I’m afraid I can’t disclose that due to my NDA.]

Kissinger’s eyes flashed sharply.

He had heard this exact line before.

Ha Si-heon had already warned him about this.

And the conversation continued exactly as he had anticipated.

"I am a member of the board at Theranos."

[Yes, but… The NDA explicitly states that even board members cannot be privy to this information.]

There it was again.

The NDA that even barred disclosure to the board.

"Does the NDA really classify the board as third parties?"

"For what possible reason?"

"Doesn’t this make it obvious that there’s something being hidden?"

Several board members shot Holmes sharp glances, but Kissinger raised a hand, signaling for silence.

Then he continued.

"Were you scouted by an external company?"

[No.]

"Then why did you leave without even serving the customary two-week notice? Normally, employees remain for that period before departure. Because of this, rumors have spread that the company is ‘making people disappear.’"

[That… was not my choice. The moment I expressed my intent to resign, security ordered me to pack my belongings immediately… I didn’t even have time to properly say goodbye to my colleagues.]

"If you had at least made a phone call, there wouldn’t be rumors of disappearances."

[If I had called, people would have asked why I was leaving… And due to the NDA, I wouldn’t have been able to answer. So I avoided contact altogether.]

"Have you ever felt like you were being followed?"

A tense silence filled the room.

[I can’t say for certain… but there were suspicious instances.]

"Then what do you believe was the reason for the surveillance?"

[Well…]

The person hesitated but soon continued.

[I had forwarded some work emails to my personal account, and I was threatened that if I didn’t delete them, I would be sued for violating the NDA. I hired a lawyer to fight back, but Theranos’s legal team was too aggressive… That was when I started suspecting surveillance.]

Kissinger’s breath caught.

This testimony was undeniable.

It was clear evidence that Theranos had used its power to intimidate vulnerable employees.

"I understand. Thank you for your time."

But just as he was about to end the call—

An unexpected statement came through.

[About the reason I resigned… It was because… sigh… it went against the Hippocratic Oath.]

The voice on the other end trembled, but the words carried firm conviction.

[Theranos decided to add an HIV test to its device. But the accuracy of the test was severely flawed. I raised concerns that this would lead to false HIV test results, but they refused to reconsider… I couldn’t be part of something like that, so I resigned.]

The employee was finally voicing the torment they had kept buried inside.

Sensing the board members' involvement, they found the courage to speak up, spurred on by Kissinger’s relentless questioning.

However, the employee had misunderstood the situation.

Kissinger’s goal had only been to find evidence of Holmes’s ‘dictatorial management style.’

But the revelation was steering the discussion in an entirely unforeseen direction.

[There’s something called a validation report. It’s a test to confirm whether a product functions properly. Every single validation test I conducted failed. Yet, those numbers were not reflected in the official report.]

Kissinger’s eyes widened.

The eyes of the other board members also grew large in shock.

The sound of dry swallowing echoed throughout the room.

The employee’s revelation… pointed directly to data falsification.

This was no longer just a management issue.

It was a fundamental flaw in the very technology that had propelled Theranos to the forefront of ‘innovation.’

But this was only the tip of the iceberg.

[The federal government conducts a proficiency test three times a year. The test must be conducted in the same manner as handling actual patient samples. But Theranos used third-party devices for the test. Not once did they use their own Newton device for the examination.]