Single Dad Applied to Be the CEO’s Assistant — Then She Read His Resume
Chapter 6
Margaret Sterling lived in the oldest part of the family estate.
She was eighty-one.
Elegant.
Sharp.
And apparently not surprised to see Ethan.
She looked at him.
“You’re Daniel Brooks’s son.”
Ethan froze.
“Yes.”
Margaret smiled.
“Your father was a good man.”
“You knew him?”
“Very well.”
Amelia stared.
“You never told me.”
“I never told you many things.”
“Why?”
“Because knowledge can be dangerous.”
Ethan remained silent.
Margaret invited them inside.
The house was filled with old photographs.
Amelia’s father.
Her mother.
The company.
And one photograph of Ethan’s father standing beside Richard Sterling.
Ethan stared.
“My father worked for your family.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“For years.”
“Why didn’t I know?”
“Because your father asked me not to tell you.”
Ethan looked at Amelia.
Their families had been connected long before they met.
Margaret explained.
Richard Sterling and Daniel Brooks had worked together on Atlas.
The project was originally intended for disaster relief.
But investors pushed for private commercialization.
Richard resisted.
Daniel resisted.
Martin Cole joined the opposition.
Then everything fractured.
Daniel wanted to expose the modifications.
Richard wanted to shut the entire project down.
Martin wanted to monetize it.
Someone else wanted control.
“Who?”
Margaret looked at Amelia.
“My brother.”
Amelia stared.
“You had a brother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Ethan noticed her expression.
“You don’t believe that.”
Margaret smiled.
“You’re observant.”
She handed him a file.
The man’s name was Thomas Sterling.
He had supposedly died twenty-five years earlier.
But Margaret had evidence suggesting he survived.
“He created the original shell companies.”
“For what?”
“To control Atlas.”
Ethan read.
Thomas had built financial structures around the technology.
If Atlas expanded globally, he could control supply routes.
Food.
Medicine.
Fuel.
Emergency resources.
It wasn’t merely a corporate system.
It could influence entire markets.
Amelia looked sick.
“And my father?”
“He discovered Thomas.”
“What did he do?”
“He tried to stop him.”
“Why didn’t he expose him?”
“Because Thomas threatened Amelia.”
Amelia froze.
“What?”
Margaret looked at her.
“You were twelve.”
Ethan felt a chill.
“Someone threatened a child?”
“Yes.”
“That was why my father became secretive.”
Margaret nodded.
“Your father believed the safest way to protect you was to make you appear uninvolved.”
Amelia looked away.
She began to cry.
She had spent years thinking her father had pushed her away.
Now she understood why.
Then Margaret said:
“And your father trusted Daniel Brooks.”
Ethan’s face changed.
“My father helped him?”
“Yes.”
“Until the final weeks.”
“What happened?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Daniel found proof that Thomas had infiltrated the company.”
“Then?”
“He disappeared.”
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“My father didn’t disappear.”
Margaret looked at him.
“No.”
“He died.”
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Ethan swallowed.
“Then why did you say he disappeared?”
“Because the people who killed him believed he had hidden evidence.”
“Did he?”
Margaret looked at Ethan.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
She smiled.
“That is why you were hired.”
Ethan froze.
Amelia stared.
“What does that mean?”
Margaret looked directly at him.
“Your father’s final instruction was simple.”
She paused.
“Put Ethan close to Amelia.”
Ethan could barely breathe.
“You’re saying…”
“He wanted you to protect her.”
