“Dad, Can She Eat With Us?”—Then the Single Dad Did Something Nobody Expected
Chapter 5
The first safety report had been filed in the factory basement.
Daniel remembered because he had written it himself.
A machine guard was missing.
A worker had nearly lost his hand.
Daniel had reported it.
Martin Blake had told him to forget it.
Daniel hadn’t.
The company fired him two days later.
Now, ten years later, he returned.
The basement was mostly abandoned.
Water dripped through the ceiling.
Old equipment sat beneath plastic.
Daniel found the original filing cabinet.
The top drawers were empty.
The bottom was locked.
He forced it open.
Inside was his original report.
And beneath it, a photograph.
Sarah.
Standing beside a woman Daniel didn’t recognize.
On the back:
She knows where the records are.
Daniel called Tom.
“Who is she?”
Tom identified her.
Evelyn Hart.
Former company accountant.
She had disappeared six years earlier.
Daniel found her current address.
She lived in a small town two hours away.
He drove there.
Evelyn opened the door only a few inches.
When she saw Daniel, she immediately tried to close it.
He stopped her.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
“Because you’re looking for the same thing Sarah was.”
“The records?”
She nodded.
“They’ll kill for them.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Where is Sarah?”
Evelyn stared at him.
“She’s alive.”
“I know.”
“She doesn’t want you involved.”
“I already am.”
Evelyn finally opened the door.
Inside were boxes stacked against the walls.
“What happened?” Daniel asked.
Evelyn sat down.
“The company wasn’t just stealing safety money.”
“What else?”
“They were selling access.”
“To what?”
“Workers.”
Daniel frowned.
“Explain.”
“Every employee who reported misconduct became a problem.”
“So they blacklisted them.”
“Worse.”
She pushed a folder toward him.
“They sold their information to private contractors.”
Daniel looked at the records.
Addresses.
Family members.
Debt.
Medical histories.
Everything.
“Why?”
“To intimidate them.”
Daniel felt sick.
“Sarah found this?”
“Yes.”
“She was going to expose it.”
“She tried.”
“What happened?”
Evelyn looked toward the window.
“She disappeared.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said she contacted you.”
“She did.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“What did she say?”
Evelyn took a breath.
“She said someone had found Emily.”
Daniel froze.
“She knew Emily was in danger?”
“She knew the company would use her.”
“Why?”
“Because Emily inherited something.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“The trust.”
“What trust?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don’t know the amount.”
“What is it?”
“A protected legal fund created by Sarah.”
“For Emily?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Five million dollars.”
Daniel felt stunned.
Sarah had created a trust for her daughter.
A trust the company wanted.
But Evelyn wasn’t finished.
“The money isn’t the real target.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then what is?”
“The trust contains the original evidence.”
Daniel’s stomach dropped.
“Where?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Only Sarah knows.”
Then a car stopped outside.
Both of them froze.
Evelyn looked through the curtain.
“Go.”
“Who?”
“Martin.”
Daniel grabbed the folder.
He ran outside.
A black SUV sped away.
He looked at the license plate.
He knew it.
It belonged to the company’s security division.
And now he knew exactly what they wanted.
They weren’t after Emily because she was helpless.
They were after her because her mother had left her the one thing that could destroy them.
