She Fell in Love With a Worker — Unaware He Was the Millionaire Architect and Owner!
Chapter 5
Daniel read the report twice.
His identity had been accessed from an internal computer.
Not stolen.
Not guessed.
Opened.
Someone inside Sterling Urban Group knew he had been working undercover.
There was only one problem.
They didn’t know whether that person had discovered the truth by accident or intentionally.
Daniel immediately told Sophie.
“We tighten security.”
She nodded.
“What about the Eastwood team?”
“Don’t tell them.”
“Even Emma?”
He looked at her.
“Especially Emma.”
Sophie studied him.
“You’re worried about her.”
“Yes.”
“More than the project?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Sophie smiled faintly.
“That bad?”
“Worse.”
He returned to the construction site.
Emma was sitting on the steps.
She looked up.
“You’re late.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
He laughed.
“You waited for me?”
“Maybe.”
He sat beside her.
“You shouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m terrible company.”
“That hasn’t stopped me yet.”
He looked at her.
“Emma…”
“What?”
He hesitated.
“I should tell you something.”
She waited.
But before he could speak, a truck came through the gate too fast.
Daniel stood immediately.
“Move.”
He grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her away.
The truck hit a stack of metal beams.
They collapsed.
Emma screamed.
Daniel shielded her with his body.
Dust filled the air.
When it cleared, the truck had stopped.
The driver ran away.
Daniel stared after him.
“That wasn’t an accident.”
Emma looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“The driver never hit the brakes.”
Daniel called security.
But the driver had disappeared.
Then Emma looked at Daniel.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“You’re bleeding.”
He touched his forehead.
A small cut.
“It’s nothing.”
She pulled a tissue from her bag.
“Hold still.”
She gently cleaned the blood.
Daniel watched her.
“Why do you care?”
She looked at him.
“Because I do.”
The words hung between them.
Neither moved.
Then Emma realized what she’d said.
“I mean…”
Daniel smiled.
“I know.”
She looked away.
That afternoon, the police investigated the incident.
The truck’s registration was fake.
The delivery company didn’t exist.
Daniel knew someone was testing how far they could go.
That evening, he and Emma stayed late at the center.
They reviewed the community budget.
Emma noticed something.
“Look at this.”
“What?”
She pointed to a list of materials.
“These prices are wrong.”
“How?”
“The supplier is charging almost double.”
Daniel leaned closer.
She was right.
“They’re inflating costs.”
“And the difference goes somewhere.”
He looked at the vendor name.
Vale Construction Supply.
Daniel’s heart dropped.
Richard.
He had been using shell vendors to drain money from the project.
But there was more.
Emma found one invoice tied to a private development outside the city.
The invoice was dated six months earlier.
The project had never been announced.
“What’s this?” she asked.
Daniel read the address.
It was the neighborhood surrounding Eastwood.
Someone was preparing to buy the entire area.
Daniel looked at Emma.
“They’re trying to destroy the project.”
“And then?”
“Push the residents out.”
Emma’s face changed.
“This isn’t about money.”
“No.”
“It’s about the land.”
Daniel nodded.
She looked at him.
“How do you know so much?”
He went still.
“I’ve been paying attention.”
Emma studied him.
“I think you’re hiding something.”
Daniel looked away.
She didn’t push.
Not yet.
But from that moment, the question stayed between them.
Who was Daniel really?
