Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO SOLD MY JOB
For three seconds, the entire restaurant became so quiet I could hear the ice settling inside a customer's glass.
Someone had paid Daniel Mercer to fire me.
Not because I violated a policy.
Not because I made a mistake.
Because someone wanted me unemployed.
I stared at my manager.
"Who?"
Daniel wouldn't look at me.
"Daniel."
His eyes moved toward Adrian.
"I didn't know she was connected to you."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"She isn't."
Daniel blinked.
"Then why—"
"Because nobody should have to know me to deserve fair treatment."
Mrs. Ellis slowly rose from her chair.
"Daniel, who paid you?"
He rubbed both hands over his face.
"I can't say."
Adrian stepped closer.
"You can tell the truth voluntarily, or explain your actions to the authorities when they investigate."
Daniel's face drained.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
My patience snapped.
"Then how exactly was it supposed to happen? You were going to embarrass me, fire me, and ruin my life over a sandwich while somebody paid you for the entertainment?"
Daniel looked miserable.
"I was supposed to find a reason."
"What reason?"
"Anything."
A sick feeling settled in my stomach.
For weeks, Daniel had criticized everything I did.
My schedule.
My uniform.
My customer service.
The way I organized receipts.
Last Tuesday, he threatened to write me up because I gave an elderly customer an extra napkin.
I'd thought he was simply becoming unbearable.
Now I understood.
He had been searching for an excuse.
Adrian turned toward the restaurant staff.
"Everyone will be paid for the rest of today's shift. The restaurant is closing temporarily while its records are secured."
Daniel whispered, "You can't do that."
Adrian looked at him.
"I own the building. Your employer can explain the rest."
My head snapped toward him.
"You own this place?"
"The property."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course you do."
Adrian looked back at Daniel.
"Who paid you?"
Daniel's shoulders collapsed.
"A woman."
"What woman?"
"I never met her. Everything happened through phone calls."
"How much?"
"Twenty thousand dollars."
My mouth fell open.
Someone had paid twenty thousand dollars to make sure I lost a job that barely covered my rent.
"Why me?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Adrian extended his hand.
"The messages."
Daniel reluctantly surrendered his phone.
Within minutes, Adrian's security director, Marcus Hale, arrived to preserve the evidence.
He reviewed the communications before looking at me.
"Miss Carter, do you recognize the name Evelyn Shaw?"
I frowned.
"No."
Marcus showed me a photograph.
A beautiful woman in her late forties stared back at me.
Dark hair.
Pearl earrings.
An expensive cream-colored coat.
I shook my head.
"I've never seen her."
Marcus exchanged a look with Adrian.
"What?" I demanded.
Adrian took a slow breath.
"Evelyn Shaw is the personal attorney of a man named Richard Carter."
I froze.
Carter.
My last name.
"Who is Richard Carter?"
Adrian studied my face.
"You've never heard of him?"
"No."
Marcus opened another photograph.
The man was about sixty, with silver hair and blue eyes.
My blue eyes.
The same sharp cheekbones.
The same crooked smile.
My heart began pounding.
"My father died before I was born."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Who told you that?"
"My mother."
Mrs. Ellis gently touched my shoulder.
"Oh, Sophie."
I turned toward her.
"What?"
Her eyes filled.
"Richard Carter didn't die twenty-eight years ago."
The room seemed to tilt.
May you like
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
"He's been looking for you for most of your life."
