THE BILLIONAIRE’S DAUGHTER FELL IN LOVE WITH HER UBER DRIVER
Chapter 8
Ava Morgan agreed to meet them in an old church basement two hours outside the city.
She was forty-two.
Quiet.
Nervous.
And clearly exhausted.
When she saw Ethan, she cried.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I’ve been driving Uber.”
She laughed through her tears.
“That explains the news.”
“What news?”
“You’re dating Sophia Bennett.”
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“That’s how everyone knows him?”
Ava smiled.
“Apparently.”
They sat together.
Ava opened a folder.
“Gerald wasn’t running the operation alone.”
“Who was?”
“The person who controlled the money.”
She slid over a document.
Sophia read the company name.
Bennett Holdings International.
She stared.
“That was my father’s private investment arm.”
Ava nodded.
“Gerald used it.”
“How?”
“He created shell companies that appeared independent.”
“Why?”
“To hide the source of money used to purchase aircraft components.”
Ethan looked at the records.
“Who approved the transfers?”
Ava pointed.
“Charles Bennett.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Again.
Her father.
But Ava shook her head.
“He didn’t know the real purpose.”
“Then who did?”
Ava pointed to another signature.
Victor Hale.
Ethan looked at Sophia.
“It was always Victor.”
Ava nodded.
“He handled the financial structure.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted control after Gerald died.”
Sophia frowned.
“Control of what?”
“The airline assets.”
Ava explained.
Victor had been preparing a takeover.
If the aviation division failed, Bennett Capital could acquire distressed assets for a fraction of their value.
The sabotage wasn’t just about hiding fraud.
It was about making certain companies collapse.
Then Victor could buy them cheaply.
“That’s why Ethan had to disappear,” Ava said.
“He found the maintenance scheme.”
“And my father?”
“Was supposed to be the cover.”
Sophia felt sick.
Ethan looked at Ava.
“Why didn’t you testify?”
“My brother was threatened.”
“Is he safe?”
“He died two years ago.”
Silence.
Sophia looked down.
Ava continued.
“They told me to stay quiet.”
Ethan reached across the table.
“Not anymore.”
Ava handed them a final file.
Inside were recordings.
Victor talking to Gerald.
Victor discussing Ethan.
Victor discussing Charles.
And one recording that made Sophia’s blood run cold.
Victor’s voice:
“Once the engineer is gone, Charles will never know what happened.”
Another voice replied.
“I’ll handle the girl.”
Sophia froze.
“Who’s that?”
Ava looked at her.
“We don’t know.”
The recording ended.
They listened again.
Sophia recognized the second voice.
Her heart dropped.
“No.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who?”
She whispered the name.
“Daniel Bennett.”
Her cousin.
Charles’s nephew.
He had worked as vice president of Bennett Capital’s private investments.
Sophia had grown up with him.
She remembered him as the funny cousin who took her to college parties.
Ethan stared.
“Your family is bigger than I thought.”
“So is the betrayal.”
They returned home.
Sophia confronted Daniel.
He denied everything.
Until Ethan played the recording.
Daniel’s face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
He stood.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Daniel looked at Sophia.
“This was never supposed to involve you.”
She felt her blood run cold.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“About the sabotage?”
“Yes.”
“About Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“Did you threaten him?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
He looked toward the door.
“Victor.”
Sophia stared.
“And my father?”
“He didn’t know the whole plan.”
Daniel paused.
“But Victor intended to use your father’s company.”
“For what?”
“To destroy it.”
