A Single Dad Took His Drunk Friend Home — Then the CEO Who Watched Him All Night Asked Him to Stay
Chapter 5
Ethan woke to the smell of pancakes.
For a few seconds, he forgot where he was.
Then Lily ran into the room.
“Dad!”
He sat up.
“What?”
“She can cook.”
Ethan smiled.
“Who?”
Lily pointed down the hallway.
“Victoria.”
He stared.
“She cooked pancakes?”
“Yes.”
“Are they alive?”
Lily laughed.
Victoria appeared at the door.
“I heard that.”
Ethan smiled.
“I was checking.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Come downstairs.”
Breakfast was surprisingly normal.
Lily talked about school.
Victoria asked questions.
Ethan watched them.
There was something strange about seeing his daughter laughing with the most intimidating woman in the city.
After breakfast, Victoria asked Ethan to walk with her.
They stepped onto the balcony.
“The reason I knew your name before Marcus got drunk is complicated.”
“I’m listening.”
“Your father worked for my father.”
Ethan froze.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“My father died when I was twelve.”
“I know.”
“What did he do?”
“He was an accountant.”
Ethan remembered.
His father had always talked about numbers.
Budgets.
Audits.
Businesses.
Then one day he had died in a car accident.
Ethan had never questioned it.
Victoria continued.
“He discovered irregularities in my father’s company.”
“Fraud?”
“Something bigger.”
“What?”
“He found records showing that money was being moved through transportation companies.”
Ethan’s blood ran cold.
“That’s impossible.”
“He tried to report it.”
“What happened?”
“My father buried the investigation.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You knew?”
“I learned years later.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because by the time I found out, your father was dead.”
He turned away.
He felt dizzy.
“You think his death wasn’t an accident.”
Victoria nodded.
“I think that’s possible.”
Ethan stared at the lake.
Everything he believed about his father suddenly felt uncertain.
“Why me?”
“Because I found an old report.”
She handed him a document.
At the bottom was his father’s signature.
And underneath, one note:
If anything happens to me, find Victoria Sterling.
Ethan looked at the words.
His father had left a message.
For Victoria.
Why?
“What does this mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve had this all this time?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
Victoria looked at him.
“Because someone is trying to access the same records.”
Ethan folded the paper.
“This isn’t about Marcus.”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Victoria shook her head.
“We’re about to find out.”
