Single Mom Practiced Her Interview in the Elevator — Unaware the Man Was the CEO!
Chapter 5
Emily spent the entire morning pretending nothing was wrong.
She answered calls.
Moved meetings.
Prepared reports.
Smiled at employees.
But her hands shook every time she touched the keyboard.
At 11:15, Ethan walked out of his office.
“Emily.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Conference room.”
He could always tell.
She followed him inside.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
She stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because you’ve answered every question in complete sentences all morning.”
She almost laughed.
Then she placed the document on the table.
Ethan read it.
His face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“Email.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
He looked at the signature.
“That’s Mark.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know he worked with us?”
“No.”
Ethan was silent.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know.”
“You knew my husband.”
“I knew of him.”
Emily’s voice rose.
“You knew enough to recognize his signature.”
“Yes.”
“And you hired me anyway.”
Ethan stood.
“Emily, listen to me.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“You knew my husband was involved in something.”
“I knew he had been interviewed.”
“For what?”
“A financial investigation.”
“Was he guilty?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he tried to expose the people who were.”
Emily stared.
“What people?”
Ethan took a breath.
“Seven years ago, Sterling Innovations discovered a hidden financial network inside the company.”
“Money laundering?”
“Something close.”
“And Mark was investigating?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he tell me?”
“I don’t know.”
Emily sat down.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My husband came home every night.”
“I know.”
“He would kiss Sophie goodnight.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
Ethan hesitated.
“Because I met him once.”
Emily looked up.
“When?”
“Three months before Sophie was born.”
She stared.
“What happened?”
“Your husband came to my father’s office.”
“What did he want?”
“To warn him.”
“About what?”
“The financial network.”
Emily felt numb.
“Then what?”
“My father dismissed him.”
“And Mark?”
“He kept investigating.”
“What happened to the investigation?”
“It disappeared.”
“And three years later, Mark died.”
Ethan said nothing.
Emily looked at him.
“Do you think my husband’s death was an accident?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you suspect.”
“Yes.”
She stood.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want to hire you because of your husband.”
Emily stared.
“What?”
“I hired you because of you.”
That sentence hit harder than she expected.
Ethan continued.
“You earned the job before I knew the connection.”
She looked away.
The anger remained.
But something else was there now.
Fear.
“What are we going to do?”
Ethan answered quietly.
“Find out what Mark knew.”
That afternoon, they searched archived records.
They found invoices.
Internal memos.
Deleted correspondence.
Then Emily found a name.
Marcus Vale.
Former chief financial officer.
A man who had resigned shortly after Mark’s investigation.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Marcus disappeared after the investigation.”
“Where?”
“No one knows.”
Emily frowned.
“Then why does he keep appearing in these records?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
Because the newest document was dated only six months earlier.
And someone had signed it.
Marcus Vale.
Alive.
And still connected to Sterling Innovations.
