Single Dad Bought an Old Bakery after Losing Everything—Then the CEO Who Fired Him Walked In
Chapter 5
The storage unit was on the other side of town.
Daniel hadn’t opened it since moving to Maple Street.
Victoria drove.
Daniel sat in silence.
“You never told me about the apartment,” he said.
“I couldn’t.”
“You could have trusted me.”
“I wanted to.”
“That’s different.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
They reached the storage facility.
The lock was intact.
Inside were boxes.
Furniture.
Old photographs.
Clothes.
And the box Daniel remembered.
He opened it.
The external drive was gone.
“Someone took it.”
Victoria looked at the shelves.
“Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
She pointed to a layer of dust.
“The box hasn’t been moved.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then…”
“Look underneath.”
He lifted the box.
The floor panel was scratched.
They pulled it away.
A small compartment had been carved underneath.
Inside was the drive.
Daniel laughed in disbelief.
“I hid it here.”
“You forgot?”
“I was in shock when I moved.”
Victoria smiled.
“You’re terrible at remembering where you put important things.”
“So are you.”
She looked at him.
“I remember everything.”
He almost smiled.
They took the drive back to the bakery.
Daniel connected it to his laptop.
Most files were corrupted.
One folder remained.
Q4_RECONCILIATION
Inside were financial spreadsheets.
Daniel recognized the numbers.
“There.”
Victoria leaned over.
“What’s that?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
Daniel scrolled.
Hundreds of transfers.
Small amounts.
Different companies.
Same final destination.
A private investment firm.
Victoria frowned.
“Who owns it?”
Daniel clicked.
The answer appeared.
Pierce Capital Group.
Silence.
“Graham.”
Victoria nodded.
“He stole from the company.”
“Yes.”
“But that’s not all.”
Daniel opened another file.
“Look at the dates.”
Victoria did.
The transfers had begun eighteen months before Daniel was fired.
She stared.
“Graham was planning this for a long time.”
Daniel found another folder.
ORION
Victoria’s expression changed.
“Open it.”
He did.
Inside was a contract.
A confidential acquisition agreement.
The buyer was a company owned by Graham.
The seller was a company owned by…
Victoria.
She frowned.
“I never authorized this.”
Daniel looked closer.
The signature was hers.
“Forged.”
“Yes.”
“But why forge a purchase between your companies?”
Daniel read the attached note.
“To make it look like the missing money was part of an approved acquisition.”
Victoria stared.
“So they were going to frame me too.”
Daniel nodded.
“Eventually.”
She sat back.
“This was never about removing you.”
“What?”
“They wanted me gone.”
“And I was the distraction.”
Victoria nodded.
“Exactly.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
“Why didn’t they just attack you?”
“Because I’m difficult to replace.”
“Not if they destroy your reputation.”
She looked at him.
Daniel suddenly understood.
“They were going to make you look corrupt.”
“Yes.”
“And me the whistleblower.”
“Then they’d make me look like I fired you to silence you.”
He stared.
“A perfect story.”
Victoria’s expression turned grim.
“Except they didn’t expect us to find each other again.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“At a bakery.”
She looked around.
“Of all places.”
Then the bakery lights went out.
Both froze.
A second later, glass shattered in the front window.
Someone had thrown a brick.
Taped to it was a note.
Daniel picked it up.
Three words.
Stay away, Daniel.
Victoria looked at him.
“Now we know they’re scared.”
