She Thought He Was a Poor Taxi Driver… He Was a Billionaire, but Why Was He Hiding His Identity?
Chapter 4
The hospital record belonged to Ethan’s mother.
Rachel didn’t know that when she first showed him.
He immediately recognized the date.
The week before his mother’s death.
“What happened to her?”
Rachel asked carefully.
“She was investigating company finances.”
“Like me?”
“Yes.”
She looked at the records.
“Did she know about North Vale?”
“We don’t know.”
Rachel realized she had stumbled into something much older than the current fraud.
Ethan’s father had built Cole Meridian.
His mother had been the company’s legal adviser.
Before her death, she had warned him:
“Never trust numbers that appear too perfect.”
Ethan had been seventeen.
He hadn’t understood.
Now he did.
The same shell-company structure appeared in current accounts.
Someone had been preserving an old network for decades.
The investigation became confidential.
Ethan trusted Rachel enough to tell her more.
“My father believed the company was being stolen from him.”
“By whom?”
“He thought it was someone close.”
“Did he find them?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened after your mother died?”
“My father changed.”
“How?”
“He became obsessed with controlling everything.”
Rachel looked at him.
“And you?”
“I left.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to become him.”
She smiled sadly.
“Did it work?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re still trying to control everything.”
Ethan laughed.
“Fair.”
The relationship between them became more complicated.
They were no longer simply colleagues.
They were friends.
Then something happened.
Rachel fell asleep on Ethan’s office sofa after working until midnight.
He covered her with a jacket.
She woke at two in the morning.
“You stayed.”
“Yes.”
“You could have gone home.”
“I wanted to.”
Her eyes met his.
“Why?”
He didn’t answer.
She smiled.
“I think I know.”
Neither crossed the line.
Not yet.
The next day, Graham confronted Rachel.
“You need to stop digging.”
She stood firm.
“Why?”
“Because you’re in over your head.”
“I work in compliance.”
“You work for us.”
Rachel stared.
“That sounds like a threat.”
Graham smiled.
“It’s advice.”
She told Ethan.
He immediately removed Graham from oversight of the investigation.
But Graham wasn’t the real threat.
That evening, Rachel’s apartment was broken into.
Nothing valuable was stolen.
Only her audit notebook.
Ethan arrived within minutes.
He saw the damage.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He checked every room.
Then he looked at her.
“Pack a bag.”
“What?”
“You’re staying with me.”
Rachel hesitated.
“Ethan…”
“Just for a few days.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not.”
She looked at him.
“Why are you doing this?”
He answered without thinking.
“Because I care about you.”
Silence.
Rachel looked away.
“I care about you too.”
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then she picked up her suitcase.
“Where’s your house?”
Ethan smiled.
“You’re about to find out why I don’t invite people over.”
She laughed.
“You’re mysterious.”
“You have no idea.”
The next morning, Rachel entered Ethan’s private residence.
And realized the taxi driver she thought was poor…
had been hiding much more than his name.
