Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO PAID TO DESTROY ME
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
Someone had paid Daniel Mercer more than I earned in six months just to take away my job.
I stared at him.
"Who?"
Daniel backed toward the hostess station.
"I don't know her real name."
"Her?"
He nodded.
"She called herself Evelyn Shaw."
Adrien's expression changed so quickly I almost missed it.
I turned toward him.
"You know that name."
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "I've heard it before."
Daniel looked desperate.
"She said Miss Carter had stolen confidential information. She told me to terminate her employment before Friday."
"Why Friday?" I demanded.
Daniel shook his head.
"I wasn't told."
Adrien asked whether Daniel had received written instructions.
Daniel hesitated.
Then admitted he'd saved the messages.
Within minutes, an independent investigator working with Adrien's company was contacted.
The messages were preserved, and Daniel was told not to delete anything.
I stood beside Mrs. Ellis, trying to make sense of what had happened.
Twenty-eight years old.
Eight hundred dollars in savings.
An eleven-year-old Honda.
Rent due in nine days.
Who could possibly consider me worth twenty-five thousand dollars to destroy?
Adrien approached.
"Miss Carter, do you have somewhere safe to stay?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"I have an apartment."
"Good."
"And before you offer me a job, a car, or a check, the answer is no."
He paused.
"I hadn't offered."
"You were thinking about it."
His mouth twitched.
"Perhaps."
I folded my arms.
"I don't need a rich stranger deciding how to fix my life."
Adrien regarded me for several seconds.
"Then I won't."
That surprised me.
He continued.
"But your manager appears to have participated in a scheme targeting you. You should have access to the evidence and independent legal advice."
I nodded cautiously.
"That sounds reasonable."
Mrs. Ellis reached for my hand.
"Sophie, there's something I need to tell you."
I looked at her.
"What?"
She took a slow breath.
"Your mother and I knew each other years ago."
My heart skipped.
"My mother?"
Mrs. Ellis nodded.
"Helen Carter."
I stared.
"How do you know her?"
Her eyes filled.
"She worked for my family."
I frowned.
"My mother was a nurse."
"Before that."
Mrs. Ellis looked toward Adrien.
He seemed just as surprised as I was.
Then she continued.
"Your mother worked for the Whitmore family."
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
I'd heard that name before.
Whitmore Industries.
A multibillion-dollar Chicago corporation.
My mother never spoke about wealthy employers.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
Mrs. Ellis squeezed my hand.
"Because something terrible happened there."
Before I could ask what she meant, my phone vibrated.
MOM.
I answered.
"Hey."
Her voice was shaking.
"Sophie, where are you?"
"At work. Why?"
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered, "Someone came to the apartment asking about you."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
"A woman named Evelyn Shaw."
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Mom began crying.
"Sophie, she told me your father wasn't dead."
