Single Dad Was Dared to Dance With the Cold CEO — Then She Whispered Something Unforgettable
Chapter 4
Laura had never been mysterious.
That was what Daniel had always believed.
She had been a school counselor.
Kind.
Funny.
Always carrying too many books.
She hated corporate politics.
She never cared about money.
At least, that was what Daniel knew.
After she died, Daniel packed most of her belongings into boxes because touching them hurt too much.
He hadn’t opened those boxes in years.
Victoria came to his house that weekend.
Not as his CEO.
As a woman asking for help.
She stood on the porch holding a folder.
Emma peeked from behind Daniel.
“Daddy?”
“This is Ms. Sterling.”
Emma looked at Victoria carefully.
“You’re the ice queen.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Victoria stared.
Then, unexpectedly, she laughed.
It was soft.
Real.
Daniel had never heard anything like it.
“I’ve heard worse.”
Emma nodded approvingly.
“Good.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Sorry.”
Victoria smiled.
“I like her.”
Emma disappeared into the living room.
Victoria handed Daniel the folder.
“I found Laura’s name in an internal legal archive.”
He opened it.
There was a document dated four years earlier.
The author was listed as:
Laura Hayes — External Compliance Consultant
Daniel stared.
“She never told me.”
“I don’t think she was supposed to.”
“Why would Sterling Logistics hire a school counselor?”
“She wasn’t working as one at the time.”
Victoria pointed to a signature.
“She reviewed a confidential ethics complaint.”
Daniel’s hands trembled.
“What complaint?”
“Missing company funds.”
“How much?”
“Eleven million dollars.”
Daniel looked up.
“Laura investigated it?”
“Apparently.”
“What happened?”
“The complaint disappeared.”
“And Laura?”
“She stopped communicating with us.”
Daniel stared at the paper.
“My wife wasn’t hiding money.”
“I don’t think she was.”
“Then what was she hiding?”
Victoria looked toward the living room.
“Maybe she was protecting you.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria’s voice softened.
“I don’t know.”
That was the first thing she had said since meeting him that sounded like an honest admission.
Daniel studied her.
“Why are you helping me?”
Victoria looked down.
“Because I made a promise.”
“To Laura?”
“No.”
She paused.
“To my father.”
Daniel waited.
“My father founded Sterling Logistics.”
He knew that.
What he didn’t know was the rest.
“He died seven years ago,” Victoria continued. “Before he died, he told me there were people inside the company stealing from us.”
“Why didn’t he expose them?”
“Because he didn’t know who they were.”
Victoria looked at Daniel.
“He told me, ‘Trust the people who have something to lose by telling the truth.’”
Daniel swallowed.
“That’s why you approached me.”
“Yes.”
“Because I’m a single father with nothing to gain.”
Victoria’s eyes met his.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because you stayed honest when honesty was expensive.”
Daniel didn’t know what to say.
Victoria stepped closer.
“For three years, you raised your daughter alone.”
“You researched me?”
“I investigate everyone.”
“And what did you find?”
“That you turned down a promotion twice because it would have required moving Emma to another city.”
Daniel’s expression softened.
“I couldn’t do that to her.”
Victoria nodded.
“That told me enough.”
They stood in silence.
Then Emma returned carrying a box.
“Daddy, I found Mom’s old things.”
Daniel’s heart stopped.
Victoria looked at the box.
Emma lifted an old notebook.
“Who is this?”
Daniel took it.
Laura’s handwriting was on the cover.
One sentence.
If anything happens to me, don’t trust the numbers. Trust the names.
Daniel looked at Victoria.
The investigation had just become personal.
