“I can prevent it from becoming worse tonight, but somebody needs to investigate who authorized these changes.” That was how Daniel ended up at the restaurant where Victoria had mistaken his work clothes for proof that he was beneath her. Meanwhile, Victoria returned to her penthouse and found her father, Richard Sterling, waiting beside the window. At seventy-two, Richard remained chairman of the company he had built from nothing. His silver hair and steady eyes commanded respect, but tonight his hands trembled as he read the emergency report.
“Who inspected the power system?” he asked. “Daniel Carter,” Victoria answered dismissively. “Some mechanic from a local garage. He seems to think he can lecture everyone.” Richard slowly lowered the report.
“What did you just say?” “Daniel Carter.” For several seconds, Richard said nothing. Then he stood so abruptly that his chair scraped across the floor.
“Tell me exactly what he looks like.” Victoria frowned. “In his forties. Dark hair, tired eyes, navy work shirt.” She stared at her father. “Why are you acting like this?”
Richard gripped the edge of his desk. “Did you insult him?” Victoria hesitated. “I told him he didn’t deserve to sit with me.” The color drained from Richard’s face. “You did what?”
His daughter had seen him furious before, but never frightened. This was something different. “Dad, who is he?” Richard walked to a locked cabinet and removed an old photograph. In it, a younger man stood beside Richard at a research facility, both wearing protective glasses. The younger man looked remarkably like Daniel.
Richard placed the photograph on the desk. “Fifteen years ago, our company nearly lost everything because I trusted the wrong people. Daniel Carter was the engineer who discovered the fraud. He saved hundreds of jobs and uncovered a plan that would have destroyed this company.” Victoria stared at the photograph.
“But he’s a mechanic.” “He became one after the incident,” Richard replied quietly. “The investigation cost him his career, his reputation, and almost his life. I offered him money to stay silent. He refused every dollar.”
Richard’s voice broke slightly. “He told me that a company without integrity wasn’t worth saving. Then he disappeared.” Victoria felt the first chill of genuine fear. “What happened to him?”
Richard looked toward the rain-covered windows. “The people he exposed were powerful. One of them was my closest business partner. Daniel had evidence that could have sent several executives to prison, including someone I once called family.” He turned toward his daughter.
“If Daniel has returned, there is only one reason I can imagine.” Victoria stared at him. “What reason?” Richard looked at the emergency report again. “Because the same people may be doing it all over again.”
Before Victoria could respond, the office telephone rang. Richard answered, listened for a few seconds, and slowly sat down. The caller was the security director. Someone had entered the company’s restricted archives that evening. Several files connected to the old investigation had been accessed, and the security cameras had been disabled.