Part 4
Chapter 4
"Daddy!" a small, familiar voice cried out from behind the heavy oak reception desk, shattering the suffocating dread that had seized his chest completely.
Emma ran toward him in her worn purple slippers, her small arms wrapping fiercely around his waist as Daniel dropped to his knees on the linoleum.
He pulled her tightly against his chest, burying his face in her warm, tangled hair, tears finally spilling freely over his exhausted, weathered cheeks.
"I'm here, baby," Daniel whispered over and over, rocking her gently amidst the colorful paper snowflakes and tinsel hung from the low acoustic ceiling.
"A strange man in a gray coat came into the office asking for my teacher," Emma murmured, her tiny fingers clutching the wool of his sweater.
"The office lady told him he wasn't on the emergency pickup list, so he turned around and walked out quickly," the little girl explained softly.
Victoria walked in behind them, accompanied by two uniformed police officers who immediately took statements from the visibly shaken school administrator behind the desk.
The principal pointed toward the security monitor, rewinding the footage to show a tall man wearing a distinctive tailored overcoat and a dark wool cap.
Victoria stood before the screen, her gaze turning to pure ice as she instantly recognized the man who had worked beside her for years.
"Andrew Cole," she said aloud, her voice carrying an absolute finality that made the responding detectives take detailed notes in their small notebooks.
"He wasn't trying to harm her physically," Victoria deduced after a moment of intense reflection. "He was trying to secure leverage before the audit closed."
"He knew once the forensic auditors finished inspecting the Benton account, criminal fraud charges would follow him within hours," Victoria told the investigating detective.
Daniel stood up, keeping Emma nestled securely against his hip, her small head resting trustingly upon his shoulder as she eyed the uniformed officers curiously.
"Emma," Victoria said gently, stepping closer with a warm, disarming smile. "Do you remember me from your living room by the Christmas tree last night?"
Emma nodded solemnly. "You're the big boss who made a mistake about people."
A faint, self-deprecating smile touched Victoria's lips for the first time all day. "Yes, little one. And I am working very hard to fix it right now."
Victoria turned toward Daniel, her expression shifting back to determined resolve. "Pack Emma's things. You both are coming back to headquarters under personal protection."
"Is that safe?" Daniel asked, his protective instincts on high alert as he shielded his daughter's face from the lingering onlookers in the hall.
"It is the safest place in the city today," Victoria insisted firmly. "Every server room and executive floor is currently crawling with independent state investigators."
Within twenty minutes, the black sedan was speeding back downtown toward the soaring glass tower of Northstar Solutions, carrying the father and his young daughter.
Emma pressed her nose against the glass, watching the festive holiday lights flicker across the bustling city shops with wide, fascinated brown eyes.
"Are we going to your giant castle?" Emma asked Victoria, pointing up toward the silver high-rise piercing through the gray winter clouds above them.
"Something like that," Victoria replied softly, looking between the modest father and his precious child with a quiet reverence she rarely ever felt.
They entered the corporate lobby through the private executive garage, bypassing the waiting reporters who had begun gathering outside the main revolving doors.
Upstairs on the top floor, the executive suite was alive with focused tension as legal experts and financial analysts pored over stacks of records.
Special agents from the state financial crimes division were cataloging hard drives, while Mark Reynolds sat handcuffed in a glass conference room down the hall.
When Mark looked up through the glass partition and saw Daniel holding Emma's hand, he buried his face in his cuffed hands with shame.
Daniel felt no triumph seeing his former manager brought low; he felt only profound sorrow for the pointless cruelty that had nearly ruined his family.
Victoria guided Daniel and Emma into her private corner office, an expansive room of polished mahogany, panoramic windows, and plush leather furnishings.
Her executive assistant brought in a tray loaded with hot cocoa, fresh cinnamon pastries, and a large sketch pad with professional colored drawing pencils.
Emma’s eyes went wide as saucers at the sight of the art supplies, looking up at Daniel for permission before touching a single item.
"Go ahead, sweetheart," Daniel said with a gentle nod, feeling a lump rise in his throat at the quiet generosity shown to his daughter.
Emma sat happily at the glass coffee table, humming a quiet Christmas carol as she immediately began sketching an intricate scene of snowy houses.
May you like
Victoria motioned Daniel toward the conference table, where a team of forensic accountants had laid out the complete paper trail of the Benton contract.
—END OF Chapter 4, —PRESS NEXT PART IN BOTTOM OF PAGE TO READ NEXT Chapter ← PREV | NEXT → Table of Contents
