She Thought He Was a Poor Taxi Driver… He Was a Billionaire, but Why Was He Hiding His Identity?
Chapter 6
The old train station had been closed for twenty years.
Ethan remembered visiting it as a child.
His mother used to take him there when his father worked late.
They would sit on a bench.
Buy coffee.
Watch trains pass.
He hadn’t been back since she died.
Rachel walked beside him.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
She squeezed his hand.
“We can turn around.”
“No.”
He looked at the abandoned station.
“I need to know.”
They searched the building.
Nothing.
Then Rachel noticed a loose floorboard near the old waiting room.
Underneath was a metal box.
Inside were documents.
Letters.
Photographs.
And a small cassette tape.
Ethan stared at the tape.
His hands trembled.
“My mother.”
They found an old player in the station office.
Ethan pressed play.
His mother’s voice filled the room.
“Ethan, if you’re listening to this, I couldn’t tell you everything.”
He closed his eyes.
“She continued:
“Your father believes the thefts are financial. They’re not.”
Rachel looked at him.
“They’re about control.”
His mother’s voice explained that several executives had been working together.
But the mastermind wasn’t after money.
He wanted ownership of the company.
The network had been built over decades.
The final plan would begin after Ethan’s father’s death.
Then she said:
“Trust no one who tells you the company belongs to the family.”
Ethan frowned.
Rachel listened.
“Because the company should belong to the people who protect it.”
The recording ended.
Then Ethan found a letter.
It was addressed to him.
His mother had written:
Your father loves you. But he is afraid.
He knows someone inside the company wants what he built.
Do not trust Victoria.
Ethan froze.
Rachel read it.
“Victoria?”
“Yes.”
The same woman who now sat on Ethan’s board.
The same woman who had helped his father for decades.
The investigation shifted.
They searched historical records.
Victoria had been connected to every major transaction.
North Vale Consulting.
The old hospital payments.
The shell companies.
Everything.
But one problem remained.
There was no proof she personally ordered anything.
Ethan returned to headquarters.
Victoria was waiting.
“You found the archive.”
He stopped.
“How did you know?”
She smiled.
“Your mother hid things badly.”
Ethan’s blood ran cold.
“You knew.”
“I knew she was investigating.”
“Did you hurt her?”
Victoria’s face hardened.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
She looked at him.
“Your father destroyed her.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
“He accused her.”
“Of what?”
“Of betrayal.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“That’s not what the records show.”
Victoria looked at her.
“You’re the compliance officer.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been asking dangerous questions.”
Rachel held her ground.
“Questions are only dangerous when someone wants them unanswered.”
Victoria smiled.
“Your boyfriend has taught you well.”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“Leave her out of this.”
Victoria’s smile disappeared.
“You still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“This company isn’t being stolen from you.”
She paused.
“It was never yours.”
