Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Nobody spoke.
Mark tried to explain that he had simply been checking a schedule. But the camera showed him opening the Benton project folder and connecting a small storage device to Daniel’s computer. Daniel stared at the screen, stunned. He had spent months wondering whether he was somehow failing at work, while someone had been quietly building a case against him.
Victoria turned toward Mark. “You told me Daniel was becoming unreliable.” Mark said nothing. “You told me he refused company responsibilities.” Still nothing. “And you told me he took confidential files home.” Mark finally whispered, “I made a mistake.”
Victoria’s expression hardened. “No. You made several decisions.” She ordered security to escort Mark from the office while legal counsel preserved every piece of evidence. Daniel remained seated, unable to process how quickly his entire life had changed.
Then Victoria sat beside him.
“I owe you an apology,” she said. “Not because I knew about this and ignored it, but because I should have known enough to ask questions before believing someone else’s version of you.” Daniel looked at her, remembering the single present beneath his daughter’s tree. For the first time, he allowed himself to believe that Christmas might not end with another loss.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
It was Emma’s school.
Daniel answered immediately, and his expression changed.
The secretary on the other end sounded frightened. “Mr. Carter, I think you need to come here right away. Someone has been asking questions about your daughter.”
Daniel pressed the phone tightly against his ear, his knuckles turning stark white as the school secretary’s nervous words echoed through the silent conference room.
The color vanished entirely from his face, and his breath caught painfully inside his chest, tearing him away from the corporate battlefield back to what truly mattered.
Victoria Hayes watched him closely, reading the immediate terror in his widened eyes, and instantly stepped toward his desk before he could even speak a word.
"What happened, Daniel?" she asked quietly, her command sharp yet laced with genuine concern as the legal team paused their sorting of confidential files behind them.
"It's Emma's holiday daycare program," Daniel whispered, his voice trembling violently as he gripped the desk edge to keep himself upright against the sudden wave of vertigo.
"Someone went to the school front office asking about her schedule and trying to claim they were sent to pick her up," he continued with shaking lips.