Chapter 5: The Betrayal Inside My Father's Company
My father read the email twice.
Then he handed the phone back to Andrew without saying a word.
I'd seen my father angry before. I'd seen him negotiate with stubborn executives, dismiss dishonest contractors, and walk away from deals that other people would have done anything to secure.
But this was different.
He wasn't merely angry.
He looked betrayed.
"Who else has access to these documents?"" he asked Thomas.
Thomas glanced at the email.
"Based on the distribution list, the acquisition team, our legal department, and several senior executives.""
"Who approved the revised terms?""
"According to the records we have, nobody authorized the final version.""
My father looked at Andrew.
"How did your wife obtain the signature page?""
Andrew rubbed his forehead.
"She was appointed to coordinate the preliminary transaction documents. She had access to our legal team's drafts, but she was not authorized to certify final board approval.""
Victoria stepped forward.
"That's a lie.""
Andrew looked at her.
"You signed the certification.""
"I was told the board had approved the terms!""
"By whom?""
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
My father noticed.
"Mrs. Hale, if someone instructed you to submit false information, now would be the time to identify that person.""
Victoria's gaze flickered toward Thomas.
Then toward Marcus.
Finally, she looked at my father.
"I don't have to answer your questions.""
"No," he agreed.
"You don't. But the documents will still need to be examined.""
He turned toward Thomas.
"Contact our general counsel. Nobody involved in the transaction should alter, remove, or destroy relevant records. We need an independent investigation.""
Thomas nodded and stepped aside to make the call.
I adjusted Grace in my arms.
"Dad, can I ask you something?""
"Anything.""
"Why didn't you tell me you owned this hotel?""
His expression softened.
"I didn't think it mattered to your life.""
"But it mattered to the way people treated me.""
He looked down.
For a moment, he seemed older than I'd ever seen him.
"You're right.""
I hadn't expected him to agree so quickly.
He continued, "I wanted you to build a life that belonged to you. After your mother died, I worried that people would treat you differently because of our money. I didn't want you to feel that you needed my name to be respected.""
I looked toward Victoria.
"Well, she certainly didn't respect me.""
"No," he said quietly.
"She didn't.""
I swallowed.
"I don't want everyone to start treating me differently now just because they know who you are.""
My father took my hand.
"Then we will make sure this investigation focuses on the truth, not your family name.""
For the first time that afternoon, I felt the tension in my chest loosen.
We entered the private lounge, where a hotel employee had prepared water, tea, and a comfortable chair near the window. I sat down and carefully checked Grace's arms and head again.
She was calm now, her little mouth moving as she settled against me.
A pediatric nurse from the hotel concierge's emergency assistance service offered to help me arrange a follow-up examination if I wanted one. I thanked her but explained that Grace appeared unharmed and that I would contact her pediatrician if anything concerned me.
My father sat across from me.
"How is your cheek?""
"Sore.""
"We'll have someone document the injury if you're comfortable with that.""
I nodded.
"Yes. I want there to be a record.""
He looked relieved.
"Good.""
Before we could say anything else, Thomas returned.
"Mr. Brooks, we have a development.""
My father stood.
"What is it?""
"The hotel's surveillance system captured the incident from three angles. The footage shows Mrs. Hale approaching Miss Brooks, striking her, and continuing to threaten her afterward.""
"And the manager?""
"The footage also shows Mr. Reed directing Miss Brooks to leave before speaking to several witnesses. We've preserved the recordings and documented the chain of custody.""
My father nodded.
"Thank you.""
Thomas hesitated.
"There's something else. The initial access log shows that someone in the executive office requested information about your daughter's visit to the hotel earlier this morning.""
My stomach dropped.
"What?""
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
"We don't yet know why. The request was made through an internal system.""
My father went very still.
"Who submitted it?""
"The account belongs to Victor Lang.""
My father stared at him.
Victor Lang was the chief operating officer of Brooks Hospitality. He had worked alongside my father since before I graduated high school. I'd met him at family dinners. He had sent flowers when my mother died and attended my wedding.
I remembered him as a polished, friendly man who always asked about my work and told me I should visit my father more often.
"Victor?"" my father repeated.
"Yes, sir.""
"Are you certain?""
"The account credentials match his executive profile. We haven't established whether he personally submitted the request.""
My father looked toward the window.
"Find out.""
Thomas left again.
I held Grace closer.
"Dad, why would someone in your company be looking for me?""
"I don't know yet.""
"Could it be connected to the acquisition?""
"Possibly.""
He paused.
"But I won't speculate until we have evidence.""
I appreciated that answer, even though it frightened me.
My father had spent years teaching me that suspicion wasn't proof and that an accusation could damage an innocent person as easily as silence could protect a guilty one.
Then the lounge door opened.
Andrew Hale entered alone.
"Richard, may I speak with you privately?""
My father glanced at me.
"Danielle, I'll be just outside.""
I shook my head.
"It's okay. If this involves what happened today, I want to hear it.""
Andrew looked at me.
"That's fair.""
He sat in the chair opposite mine, placing his briefcase on the floor.
For several seconds, he seemed unable to find the right words.
Finally, he said, "I owe you an apology.""
I waited.
"My wife has a history of using her position to intimidate people. I've witnessed it. I've heard complaints. I've told myself that she was simply difficult, that I could manage it privately, that it wasn't worth creating a public confrontation.""
He looked down at his hands.
"Today, I saw where that thinking leads.""
I studied him.
"Why didn't you stop her before?""
He didn't defend himself.
"Because I was afraid of what confronting her would do to our marriage and our business.""
"And now?""
"Now I'm afraid of what happens if I don't.""
The honesty surprised me.
I didn't forgive him, but I believed he meant it.
"What happens to the people she hurt before me?"" I asked.
Andrew lifted his eyes.
"I don't know all their names. But I intend to find out.""
My father leaned forward.
"That is a matter for your company and the authorities. It cannot become a public relations exercise designed to save the acquisition.""
Andrew nodded.
"I understand.""
He opened his briefcase and removed a second folder.
"There is something else. This morning, our compliance department received a confidential complaint about the acquisition. It alleges that someone inside Brooks Hospitality supplied our team with internal financial information that was never intended to be shared.""
My father stared at him.
"Who made the complaint?""
"The source was anonymous. But the documents attached to it appear genuine.""
He handed the folder to my father.
Inside were copies of internal emails, financial summaries, and meeting notes. I couldn't make sense of most of the figures, but I recognized one thing immediately.
A photograph.
It showed Victoria standing beside Victor Lang at a charity gala, both smiling for the camera.
The date printed beneath the image was nearly eight months old.
I pointed at it.
"That's Victor.""
My father took the page from me.
"Yes.""
Andrew spoke carefully.
"The complaint suggests that Mrs. Hale and Mr. Lang have been communicating privately about the acquisition for several months.""
My father flipped through the documents.
"Do you have evidence that any information was improperly shared?""
"Not conclusive evidence. But the timing of the disclosures is troubling.""
A cold feeling crept through me.
Victoria had slapped me because she thought I was nobody.
But someone had apparently been looking into my visit before I even entered the hotel.
And someone inside my father's company might have been helping her husband secure a deal.
"Dad," I whispered, "what if she knew who I was before she approached me?""
My father looked at me sharply.
"What makes you think that?""
"Thomas said someone requested information about my visit. What if Victoria came here because she knew I might be here?""
Andrew shook his head.
"Victoria didn't know you were coming. At least, she never told me anything like that.""
"Then why would anyone request my information?""
Nobody answered.
My father closed the folder.
"Until we know more, we will not assume those events are connected.""
He looked at Thomas, who had returned to the doorway.
"Has Victor Lang responded to the request for clarification?""
Thomas nodded slowly.
"He has.""
"And?""
Thomas glanced at me, then back at my father.
"He says he never requested information about Miss Brooks. He also says he has no knowledge of any unauthorized disclosures.""
My father leaned back.
"Did he explain the access log?""
"He claims his account may have been used by another executive.""
"Who?""
Thomas hesitated.
"He says the only person with access to his office computer yesterday was the person who manages your personal calendar.""
My father went completely still.
I knew that person.
I'd met her countless times.
Her name was Evelyn Price.
She had worked for my father for fifteen years, arranging his meetings, managing his travel, and protecting his schedule with almost frightening precision.
She was the woman who had called me that morning to ask whether I needed a car after Grace's appointment.
The same woman who had known where I would be.
My father slowly stood.
"Where is Evelyn now?""
Thomas checked his phone.
"She left the office forty minutes ago.""
"Did she say where she was going?""
"No, sir.""
My father stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
Thomas read it and looked up.
"Mr. Brooks, there's a security alert from the executive office.""
"What kind of alert?""
"Someone has just attempted to delete the archived communications related to the Hale acquisition.""
My father took the phone.
"Can the records be recovered?""
"Most of them, yes.""
He read the message again.
Then he looked at me.
"Danielle, I need you to tell me something honestly.""
"What?""
"Did Evelyn say anything unusual to you before you came here today?""
I thought back to the morning.
The phone call. Her gentle voice. Her question about my daughter's appointment.
Then I remembered one sentence she'd spoken just before we hung up.
If you stop anywhere on your way home, let me know. Your father worries when he can't reach you.
At the time, it had sounded like concern.
Now, standing in my father's hotel with a newborn in my arms, it sounded different.
I told him exactly what she had said.
His face tightened.
And then his phone rang.
The caller ID displayed Evelyn Price.
My father answered on speaker.
"Evelyn.""
Her voice came through, calm and familiar.
"Richard, I understand there's been an incident at the Sterling Crown.""
My father looked directly at me.
"How did you hear about that?""
Silence.
May you like
Then Evelyn said something that made the blood drain from my face.
"Because, Richard, Victoria wasn't supposed to hurt Danielle. She was only supposed to make sure your daughter never reached the private meeting upstairs.""
