1)   In a week it came to light that the murderer hid from the police investigators almost half of what he had done over the last three years. 2)   The decision to lay off 25% of the employees was made behind closed doors. Nobody expected this and nobody was ready for such an extraordinary/drastic change. 3)   You have to meet the deadline by all/any means. Otherwise, your application will not be accepted even if the project itself is good. 4)   When the first cars of this series appeared, they were sold out in the blink of an eye. 5)   In a year or so, your startup will come to fruition ["to fruition" is rather grandiose language, but I had to think of something to replace "come true", which wasn't quite right.] and everything will fall into place. Until then, however, we have to work hard and build up a strong team. 6)   Our athletes were not the strongest; let’s face it. The Portuguese team looked much better, and they deserved to be awarded. 7)   Musicians like your brother are few and far between. I’m proud to know him. 8)   John didn’t want to follow in his father’s steps and, in spite of the family’s desire/despite his family's protest, he graduated as a computer science engineer. 9)   I quit my job, and it’s for the best. Now I have a lot of time to spend with my family. 10) He was asked to leave his position because of a conflict of interest. I'm sure that was fair, and the man who took it next/afterward proved to be a good leader.