A Man Saved a Female CEO’s Life One Night—Then Walked Into Her Company for an Interview the Very Next Morning
Chapter 8
Victoria and Ethan met in a private conference room before sunrise.
Ethan placed the photograph on the table.
Victoria stared at it.
“My father.”
“Yes.”
“Thomas.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel.”
“Yes.”
She touched the photograph.
“What is Project Phoenix?”
“I don’t know.”
They searched old company archives.
Most files had been deleted.
But Ethan found references in an outdated server.
Project Phoenix had been a technology initiative launched eighteen years earlier.
It involved predictive logistics.
Artificial intelligence.
Supply-chain optimization.
The project had been abandoned after financial irregularities were discovered.
But the financial irregularities weren’t what interested Ethan.
The project had been funded through government contracts.
Millions of dollars had disappeared.
And Ethan’s father had been one of the auditors assigned to investigate.
Victoria stared at him.
“Your father was investigating my company?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he never tell you?”
“Because I was nineteen.”
She lowered her eyes.
“My father said Project Phoenix failed.”
“It didn’t.”
They discovered encrypted files hidden inside the old system.
Marcus managed to recover some.
The documents showed that someone had diverted millions of dollars through fake logistics companies.
The same companies were being used today.
Ethan’s father’s investigation had almost uncovered everything.
Then he died.
Officially, it was a heart attack.
Victoria looked at Ethan.
“Do you think he was murdered?”
“I don’t know.”
She reached across the table.
“I’ll help you find out.”
Ethan looked at her hand.
Then at her.
“Why?”
“Because someone killed the truth once.”
She swallowed.
“I don’t want them killing it again.”
For the first time, Ethan realized Victoria wasn’t simply trying to save her company.
She was trying to understand her own family.
Later that day, Ethan met Thomas.
Thomas closed the office door.
“You found Project Phoenix.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“How do you know?”
“Because I know your father.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Did you know he was investigating Halston?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because your father asked me not to.”
Ethan stared.
“Why?”
“He knew someone was watching him.”
“Who?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Daniel.”
“Daniel is dead.”
“No.”
Thomas looked directly at him.
“Daniel is alive.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
Thomas continued.
“Your father discovered Daniel was stealing from the company.”
“Then why protect him?”
“I didn’t.”
Thomas’s voice hardened.
“I tried to expose him.”
“What happened?”
“Your father disappeared before he could finish.”
Ethan stared.
“My father died.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying the man who died was not your father.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
Thomas handed him an old file.
Inside was a photograph.
A hospital.
A death certificate.
And a note written in his father’s handwriting.
If anything happens to me, don’t trust the man wearing my name.
Ethan looked up.
Thomas was already walking toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To stay alive.”
The lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot exploded.
Thomas collapsed.
Ethan rushed toward him.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Thomas grabbed Ethan’s wrist.
“Find…”
He struggled to breathe.
“Find your real father.”
Then he went still.
