No One Could Serve the Foreign Tycoon — Until the Waitress Switched Languages!
Chapter 10
The attack lasted less than three minutes.
When it ended, the house was damaged but intact.
Daniel led them through a hidden passage beneath the kitchen.
They emerged behind the cliffs.
Emma was shaking.
“Who attacked us?”
Daniel looked toward the village.
“Richard’s people.”
“Why now?”
“Because they know I have the final evidence.”
Emma stared.
“What evidence?”
Daniel stopped.
“The names of the people who funded Black Orchid.”
They returned to the house after dark.
Daniel opened a hidden safe.
Inside was a small metal drive.
He handed it to Emma.
“Your father left this for you.”
She stared.
“Why me?”
“Because if I gave it to anyone else, they could take it.”
Alexander looked at Daniel.
“What is on it?”
“Everything.”
They connected the drive to a laptop.
Thousands of files appeared.
Shipping contracts.
Bank accounts.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
Then one file opened automatically.
A video.
Daniel appeared on the screen.
Emma stared at the younger version of her father.
The recording had been made before his disappearance.
“If you are watching this, I failed to expose them.”
He took a breath.
“Richard Hale is the public face. Adrian Cross handles operations. Victor Carter handled local arrangements.”
Emma’s stomach tightened.
“But the person controlling the network is not any of them.”
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“It is someone whose name I never expected to see.”
The screen flickered.
A name appeared.
Margaret Carter.
Emma turned toward her mother.
Margaret’s face went white.
“No.”
Daniel’s recorded voice continued.
“Margaret was forced to cooperate after they threatened Emma. She did not betray me.”
Emma exhaled.
The video continued.
“But someone used her identity to authorize the transfers.”
Alexander leaned closer.
“Whose identity?”
Daniel answered on the screen.
“Richard Hale’s.”
Then the video stopped.
Emma stared.
“That means Richard has been framing everyone.”
Daniel nodded.
“He needed people to blame.”
A phone rang.
Nobody moved.
It was Emma’s phone.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man’s voice spoke.
“Your father should have stayed dead.”
Emma recognized the voice.
Richard Hale.
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
“What do you want?”
“You have something that belongs to me.”
“The evidence?”
“No.”
A pause.
“I want the girl.”
Emma’s blood froze.
“Who?”
Richard laughed softly.
“Yourself.”
The call ended.
Daniel immediately grabbed Emma’s arm.
“We leave now.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows where we are.”
Alexander looked at the laptop.
“Not only that.”
He pointed to the screen.
A file was uploading.
Someone had remotely accessed the drive.
“They’re inside the system.”
