Rich Girl Mocks The Single Dad Waiter’s English—Then Her Father Calls Him “Boss”
Chapter 3
Amelia barely slept.
Daniel had arranged for security to stay outside her apartment.
Her phone was checked.
Her bank accounts were frozen.
Her laptop was taken for forensic analysis.
She sat in the guest room of her father’s house the next morning, staring at the wall.
“I don’t understand.”
Richard sat across from her.
“Neither do I.”
“They used my name.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know.”
Daniel entered carrying two cups of coffee.
“Because someone wants you to look guilty.”
Amelia looked at him.
“You sound very calm.”
“I’ve seen worse.”
“That’s not comforting.”
He handed her a cup.
She stared at it.
“What is this?”
“Coffee.”
“I mean… you brought it.”
“Yes.”
“You’re still treating me normally.”
Daniel nodded.
“Should I treat you differently?”
“I insulted you yesterday.”
“You apologized.”
“You still remember.”
“I remember everything.”
She looked down.
“I was awful.”
“You were rude.”
“Same thing.”
He smiled faintly.
“That depends on the day.”
Richard watched them.
“Can we focus?”
Daniel placed a tablet on the table.
“Someone accessed three internal accounts yesterday.”
Amelia looked at the screen.
“My name was attached to all of them.”
“Yes.”
“Could my password have been stolen?”
“Possibly.”
“Who had access?”
“Six people.”
“Family?”
“Two.”
“Executives?”
“Four.”
Amelia swallowed.
“And you?”
“I can access anything.”
She looked at him.
“Convenient.”
“I own the company.”
Right.
She’d almost forgotten.
Daniel continued.
“One person accessed the system from inside this house.”
Richard froze.
“Who?”
“Unknown.”
“How?”
“Your security system was disabled for six minutes.”
Richard looked toward the hallway.
Amelia frowned.
“Could someone have entered?”
Daniel nodded.
“Or someone already inside.”
The room became quiet.
Amelia suddenly remembered something.
“Last night.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
“My father’s CFO came to my room.”
“Why?”
“He wanted me to sign something.”
“What?”
“A stock transfer.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Do you still have it?”
“Yes.”
She went upstairs.
Minutes later, she returned with a folder.
Daniel read it.
“This isn’t a stock transfer.”
“What is it?”
“Power of attorney.”
Amelia’s blood ran cold.
“If I’d signed it?”
“You would have given someone control over your shares.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked at the document.
“Your brother.”
She stared.
“Ethan?”
Daniel nodded.
“My brother wouldn’t do this.”
“I didn’t say he did.”
“But the document names him.”
“Yes.”
Richard looked angry.
“I’ll call him.”
“No.”
Daniel held up a hand.
“We need to know who prepared it.”
Amelia looked at him.
“Why are you helping me?”
He paused.
“Because you’re innocent.”
“That’s it?”
He looked at her.
“And because your father asked me to protect you.”
She frowned.
“My father?”
Richard looked away.
He seemed uncomfortable.
Amelia noticed.
“Dad?”
Richard sighed.
“I made a promise to your mother before she died.”
“What promise?”
“To make sure you were safe.”
Amelia’s expression softened.
Her mother had died when she was nineteen.
Richard had raised her alone.
But there had always been tension.
He had spoiled her.
Then resented her dependence.
They loved each other badly.
Now she wondered how much he had been hiding.
That afternoon, Daniel took Amelia to the company headquarters.
The employees stared.
Whispers followed.
She had never realized how different the world looked from the outside.
One woman avoided her.
Another looked terrified.
Daniel noticed.
“What’s wrong?”
“She knows.”
“Who?”
“My assistant.”
They approached the woman’s desk.
She looked nervous.
“Ms. Bennett.”
Amelia lowered her voice.
“I need to ask you something.”
The woman glanced at Daniel.
“About Mr. Brooks?”
Amelia frowned.
“What about him?”
“He’s not what people think.”
Amelia almost laughed.
“I know that now.”
The assistant looked around.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
She leaned closer.
“Someone has been asking questions about your father’s private accounts.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see them?”
She nodded.
“Once.”
“Who?”
The woman opened her drawer.
She pulled out a photograph.
A man leaving the executive parking garage.
Amelia stared.
She recognized him.
Her brother.
Ethan.
Her heart dropped.
“No.”
Daniel took the photograph.
“Don’t assume.”
Amelia looked at him.
“That’s my brother.”
“I know.”
“So he did it.”
“No.”
Daniel pointed at the picture.
“Look carefully.”
Amelia did.
The man looked like Ethan.
But there was a difference.
A small scar near the ear.
Ethan didn’t have one.
Daniel zoomed in.
“Someone is pretending to be your brother.”
Amelia stared.
“Why?”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“To make you fight your own family.”
And suddenly, the financial theft became something much more dangerous.
Someone wasn’t just stealing money.
Someone was manufacturing enemies.
