Single Mom Practiced Her Interview in the Elevator — Unaware the Man Was the CEO!
Chapter 9
They began quietly monitoring Daniel.
Nothing looked suspicious.
He came to work on time.
Met clients.
Attended meetings.
Reviewed contracts.
He even helped Ethan identify a security breach.
Too perfectly.
Emily noticed something.
“Why does Daniel always know where the problem is before anyone else?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Exactly.”
They checked his access history.
He had access to almost everything.
Financial systems.
Legal files.
Executive schedules.
Security archives.
But there were no obvious anomalies.
Then Emily found one.
Daniel’s access credentials had been used at 2:13 a.m. on the night the archive facility was breached.
He had reported being home.
Ethan stared at the log.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel’s security badge was with him.”
Emily thought.
“Then he wasn’t using the badge.”
She looked at the system.
“He used someone else’s credentials.”
“Whose?”
Emily answered,
“Yours.”
Ethan went silent.
Someone had used his CEO credentials.
And suddenly everything made sense.
Daniel didn’t need to steal anything.
He could manipulate the appearance of every transaction.
He could create evidence pointing toward anyone he wanted.
Including Emily.
Including Ethan.
They needed proof.
That evening, Ethan set a trap.
He created a fake Northstar file containing a fabricated transfer schedule.
Only four people knew it existed.
Ethan.
Emily.
Noah.
Daniel.
Within twelve hours, the fake schedule appeared in an encrypted external system.
The copy had been sent to an unknown recipient.
They tracked it.
A private server outside the country.
The account belonged to a company called Sterling Advisory.
Emily frowned.
“Isn’t that owned by your family?”
“It was.”
“When did it close?”
“Ten years ago.”
Noah checked.
“It reopened six months ago.”
“By whom?”
He looked up.
“Daniel Rhodes.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
The betrayal hurt more than he expected.
Daniel had been with him through his mother’s death.
His father’s funeral.
The first company acquisition.
Every major crisis.
Emily touched his arm.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
She stayed beside him.
“That’s allowed.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I keep choosing people who betray me.”
“You didn’t choose this.”
“I trusted him.”
“So did I.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You’re different.”
“Why?”
“Because you had every reason to lie to me.”
Emily frowned.
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“You mean because of Mark?”
“Yes.”
“You still think I was hiding something.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I think you were protecting yourself.”
She looked at him.
“And you?”
“I’ve been protecting everyone except myself.”
Emily smiled sadly.
“Then maybe it’s time you learned.”
He touched her hand.
“I think I’m learning.”
Their faces moved closer.
Then Noah appeared at the door.
“I hate to interrupt.”
Ethan sighed.
“What?”
“No romantic moments until after we stop a corporate coup.”
Emily laughed.
“Fair.”
Noah held up a document.
“There’s one more problem.”
“What?”
“Daniel isn’t working alone.”
He placed a photograph on the desk.
A private dinner.
Daniel.
Another man.
And the man sitting across from them was someone Emily recognized immediately.
Her former brother-in-law.
Mark’s older brother.
Andrew Carter.
Emily’s face went white.
