“Your Translator Is Lying!” — A Waitress Warns a Billionaire Before a German Deal
Chapter 8
Anna couldn’t sleep.
Neither could Daniel.
Her father’s initials appeared in a document that had been hidden for six years.
They returned to the old warehouse where Anna had stored her father’s belongings.
Boxes filled the room.
Books.
Translation manuals.
Old computers.
Photographs.
Anna searched through everything.
Then she found a wooden dictionary.
It was old.
The pages were yellow.
Daniel noticed a section that had been cut out.
Inside was a small envelope.
Anna opened it.
A key fell into her hand.
Attached was a note.
For the person who finally understands the words.
Anna stared.
“That’s my father’s handwriting.”
Daniel looked at the key.
“Any idea what it opens?”
She shook her head.
They searched the warehouse.
Nothing.
Then Daniel noticed a symbol carved into the key.
A small number.
27.
Anna remembered.
“My father used locker 27.”
They found it in the basement.
The key opened it.
Inside was a hard drive.
And another letter.
Anna read it aloud.
Her father explained that he had discovered a network of translators who deliberately altered international contracts.
But he had also discovered that the translators weren’t acting alone.
A financial organization paid them.
The organization used corrupted contracts to manipulate corporate takeovers.
At the center was a mysterious figure known only as The Architect.
Daniel frowned.
“Who is The Architect?”
Anna continued reading.
Her father wrote that he had discovered the identity.
But before he could reveal it, he was threatened.
The letter ended with a warning.
If something happens to me, do not trust the people closest to you.
Daniel looked at Anna.
She looked at him.
“Who was closest to my father?”
Anna thought.
“His business partner.”
“Name?”
“Thomas Weber.”
Anna’s uncle.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Your uncle?”
Anna shook her head.
“He disappeared after my father’s death.”
They searched public records.
Thomas had moved to Switzerland.
Then Germany.
Then vanished.
Daniel contacted investigators.
They traced him.
He was still alive.
And living under another name.
They found him in Munich.
Daniel and Anna flew there.
Thomas agreed to meet.
He looked much older than his photographs.
When he saw Anna, he began crying.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Anna asked:
“Did you know?”
Thomas nodded.
“Your father discovered everything.”
“Did you betray him?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I tried to protect him.”
“What happened?”
Thomas explained.
The Architect had threatened his family.
He was forced to remain silent.
But he secretly helped Anna’s father hide the evidence.
Then he disappeared.
“Who is The Architect?” Daniel asked.
Thomas looked at him.
“You already know.”
Daniel frowned.
“No.”
Thomas placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a group of executives twenty years earlier.
Daniel recognized three people.
Martin’s former employer.
David’s father.
And Daniel’s own father.
But there was another man standing behind them.
Daniel stared.
His heart stopped.
It was the chairman of one of Europe’s largest financial institutions.
A man Daniel had met several times.
A man who had recently offered to invest billions in Whitmore International.
Thomas said:
“That’s him.”
Daniel whispered:
“The Architect.”
Thomas nodded.
“He built the system.”
Anna looked at the photograph.
“What does he want now?”
Thomas answered:
“Your company.”
Daniel understood.
The German deal wasn’t the final objective.
It was merely the first step.
The real goal was control of Whitmore International.
And now the Architect knew Daniel had discovered him.
Thomas leaned forward.
“He won’t negotiate.”
Daniel asked:
“What will he do?”
Thomas looked toward the window.
“He’ll remove the evidence.”
Then the lights went out.
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Thomas whispered:
“They found us.”
Daniel grabbed Anna’s hand.
“Run.”
They escaped through the rear entrance.
Behind them, the building caught fire.
Thomas watched from across the street.
His face was filled with grief.
Daniel called the police.
But the fire destroyed most of the evidence.
Almost everything.
Except the hard drive.
Anna still had it.
And now they had a name.
The Architect.
