“CHEAP MAN!” She Left Her Fiancé For Her Lover—Unaware He Was Heir To A $4B Empire
Chapter 5
The trust protector was Margaret Lewis.
Daniel stared at her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Your father instructed me not to.”
“What was he planning?”
Margaret gave him a sealed envelope.
Daniel opened it.
His father’s handwriting appeared again.
Daniel, if you are reading this, it means you’ve chosen to accept responsibility.
The land matters more than the money.
It can become a model for what a company should do when it has the power to change a community.
Daniel read the letter twice.
Then he looked at Margaret.
“What did he want?”
“To build a sustainable city district.”
“For whom?”
“Everyone.”
Workers.
Families.
Small businesses.
Affordable housing.
Medical facilities.
Public transportation.
It was ambitious.
And incredibly expensive.
Daniel almost laughed.
His father had left him four billion dollars…
and a project that might consume half of it.
Margaret smiled.
“He always believed you would understand.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t.”
“Maybe you will.”
Meanwhile, Adrian moved quickly.
He convinced several investors that Daniel was inexperienced.
Rumors spread.
Daniel was called reckless.
Too young.
Too emotional.
Too dependent on his inheritance.
The irony didn’t escape him.
The same people who had underestimated him because he lived modestly were now criticizing him because he had inherited billions.
He stopped caring.
He focused on the project.
He hired local engineers.
Community representatives.
Environmental experts.
Small business owners.
He wanted the city built differently.
Not around luxury.
Around people.
Sophie watched from a distance.
She didn’t ask for forgiveness.
She simply helped when she could.
Daniel eventually noticed.
She had begun working at a nonprofit connected to the project.
She refused payment.
One afternoon, Daniel found her talking to local residents.
He approached.
“You’re working here now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make up for some things.”
“You can’t.”
“I know.”
He nodded.
“Then what are you trying to do?”
“Something useful.”
Daniel appreciated the honesty.
They began speaking occasionally.
No romance.
Not yet.
Just conversations.
Meanwhile, the audit uncovered another problem.
Someone had stolen a confidential master plan from Daniel’s office.
Security footage showed only one person entering.
A trusted executive.
His name was Thomas Reed.
Daniel confronted him.
“You stole the plans.”
Thomas denied it.
Then investigators found evidence in his private account.
Thomas had been receiving money from Blake Holdings.
He admitted everything.
Adrian was planning a hostile takeover.
The stolen plans were intended to reveal the project’s weaknesses.
Daniel fired Thomas.
But Adrian wasn’t finished.
The next morning, news broke that regulators were investigating Cole Global.
Anonymous complaints alleged financial misconduct.
The stock price collapsed.
Investors panicked.
Daniel’s board demanded he step down.
And for the first time, Daniel wondered whether accepting his inheritance had been a mistake.
Then Sophie walked into his office.
She placed a folder on his desk.
“I found who started the regulatory complaint.”
Daniel opened it.
The name on the document made him freeze.
It wasn’t Adrian.
It was someone Daniel trusted.
