“Your Translator Is Lying!” — A Waitress Warns a Billionaire Before a German Deal
Chapter 3
Daniel found David in the hotel lobby.
He was standing beside a marble column, speaking casually with two investors.
He looked completely relaxed.
Almost amused.
When David saw Daniel approaching, he smiled.
“There you are.”
Daniel stopped several feet away.
“Did you know about the liability clause?”
David’s smile disappeared.
“What liability clause?”
“The one Martin deliberately mistranslated.”
David looked toward Martin.
Then back at Daniel.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“That’s interesting.”
“What is?”
“Because Klaus Reinhardt says you instructed Martin to do it.”
David laughed.
“Klaus is protecting himself.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Of course.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Then why do I have offshore account numbers with your initials?”
David’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But Daniel saw it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Neither did Martin.”
David looked at him.
“What happened to trust?”
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“You tell me.”
The two men stared at each other.
They had known each other since their twenties.
They had built companies together.
Celebrated birthdays together.
Attended each other’s weddings.
David had been present when Daniel’s father died.
He had stood beside him at the funeral.
For years, Daniel had considered him family.
Now he couldn’t recognize the man standing in front of him.
David lowered his voice.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“You’re threatening me?”
“I’m warning you.”
Daniel smiled bitterly.
“That’s what everyone says before they betray someone.”
David looked around.
“You don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Then explain it.”
David stepped closer.
“Your company is vulnerable.”
“I know.”
“Your board is divided.”
“I know.”
“You have competitors waiting for you to fail.”
“I know.”
“And your German deal could protect you.”
Daniel stared.
“Could it?”
David didn’t answer.
Daniel nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
He walked away.
Behind him, David called:
“Daniel!”
Daniel stopped.
David’s voice changed.
“If you walk away from this deal tonight, you won’t get another chance.”
Daniel turned.
“Maybe that’s the point.”
He left.
Back upstairs, Sarah was waiting.
“We have a problem.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
“Someone accessed the company’s internal server.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
Daniel’s phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
STOP LISTENING TO THE WAITRESS.
Daniel looked at Anna.
She was standing near the window.
She saw his expression.
“What happened?”
He showed her the message.
Anna’s face went pale.
“They know.”
“Who?”
“The people who were talking in the kitchen.”
Daniel frowned.
“You’ve seen them before?”
Anna nodded.
“For weeks.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
She explained that she had noticed unfamiliar men appearing at the hotel.
They never ate.
They never ordered drinks.
They simply watched.
Daniel called security.
Within minutes, the hotel was placed on restricted access.
But Anna suddenly remembered something.
“One of them gave me a note.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Where is it?”
“I threw it away.”
“Can you remember what it said?”
She closed her eyes.
“Something about Room 914.”
Daniel looked at Sarah.
The hotel had nine hundred rooms.
Room 914 was directly above the ballroom.
They went upstairs.
The room was empty.
But the bed hadn’t been slept in.
Daniel searched the desk.
Nothing.
Then Anna noticed the painting.
“That’s wrong.”
“What?”
“It was different yesterday.”
Daniel removed it from the wall.
Behind it was a small safe.
Sarah stared.
“How do we open it?”
Anna whispered:
“I know the code.”
Daniel looked at her.
“How?”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“The man who gave me the note typed it into the door lock.”
Daniel entered the numbers.
The safe opened.
Inside were photographs.
Contracts.
Bank statements.
And a USB drive.
Daniel picked it up.
A label had been attached.
WHITMORE — FINAL TRANSFER
Sarah inserted it into a secure laptop.
The files appeared.
There were recordings.
Emails.
Payment records.
Then a video opened automatically.
David Mercer appeared on screen.
He was speaking to Martin.
Daniel watched silently.
David said:
“Once Daniel signs, the German company assumes liability. Then the regulatory investigation begins.”
Martin asked:
“And his shares?”
David smiled.
“By the time he realizes what’s happening, we’ll already own them.”
Daniel’s hands curled into fists.
The betrayal was undeniable.
But the video continued.
David leaned closer to Martin.
“There is one problem.”
“What?”
“The waitress.”
Martin laughed.
“She doesn’t know anything.”
David’s expression darkened.
“She knows enough.”
The video ended.
Daniel looked at Anna.
David knew about her.
And if he knew she had exposed him—
she was in danger.
