“CHEAP MAN!” She Left Her Fiancé For Her Lover—Unaware He Was Heir To A $4B Empire
Chapter 6
The name was his father’s former chief financial officer.
Richard Moore.
Richard had left the company three years earlier.
Everyone thought he had retired.
He hadn’t.
He had created a private investment group.
And he had been secretly buying shares in Cole Global.
The regulatory complaint was designed to lower the stock price.
Richard wanted to become one of the largest shareholders.
He and Adrian were working together.
Daniel felt betrayed.
Richard had known his father for twenty years.
He had attended family dinners.
He had advised Daniel as a child.
“How long?”
Margaret said:
“Possibly years.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
His father had trusted the wrong people.
Maybe Daniel had inherited more than money.
He had inherited the consequences of every mistake his father had made.
He called a board meeting.
The directors demanded answers.
Daniel walked into the room carrying the evidence.
“We have a problem.”
One director interrupted.
“You have a problem.”
Daniel looked at him.
“No.”
“We all do.”
He placed the documents on the table.
“Because two of you have been selling information to our competitors.”
Silence.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The directors resigned.
Richard was exposed.
Adrian’s acquisition attempt collapsed.
But the stock continued falling.
Daniel could have sold part of the company.
Instead, he injected his own inheritance into it.
He personally guaranteed the project.
Investors were stunned.
The markets stabilized.
After the meeting, Sophie waited outside.
“You saved it.”
“No.”
“You did.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I used my father’s money.”
Sophie looked at him.
“Your father left you the money.”
“I didn’t earn it.”
“You earned the right to decide what to do with it.”
Daniel didn’t answer.
She stepped closer.
“You know what I finally realized?”
“What?”
“You weren’t cheap.”
He smiled faintly.
“You were careful.”
She nodded.
“You were building something.”
“Yes.”
“I was too selfish to see it.”
Daniel looked away.
“I wanted the same things you wanted.”
“Luxury?”
“No.”
“A good life.”
She smiled sadly.
“What’s a good life to you?”
“Being able to sleep without regretting how you got rich.”
Sophie had no answer.
That night, Daniel returned home.
He looked at the old apartment he’d refused to leave.
Then he looked at the city outside.
He had enough money to buy anything.
But he didn’t want everything.
He wanted meaning.
The green district project moved forward.
Construction began.
Thousands of workers were hired.
A hospital wing was approved.
Affordable housing was funded.
Small businesses were offered low-cost spaces.
For the first time, Daniel felt like the inheritance was becoming something useful.
Then a mysterious letter arrived.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel’s father.
Standing beside a young woman.
The woman looked familiar.
Daniel turned the photograph over.
A handwritten sentence was on the back.
She knows why your father kept you away from the company.
Daniel stared.
He had never seen the woman before.
But Sophie had.
She walked into the room.
Her face went white.
“You know her?”
Sophie whispered:
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Who is she?”
Sophie swallowed.
“Your father’s secret daughter.”
