Chapter 6 - The Billionaire Who Came to My Daughter's School
Ava was the first person to notice Julian didn't know how to talk to ordinary children.
It happened on a Thursday afternoon.
I had arranged to meet him outside the community center after my payroll interview.
He arrived in a black sedan wearing a dark suit and an expression that suggested he'd spent the entire day arguing with lawyers.
Ava looked at him.
"Hi, Mr. Billionaire."
I closed my eyes.
"Ava!"
Julian blinked.
Then laughed.
"Hello, Miss Carter."
She crossed her arms.
"Are you really a billionaire?"
I wanted to disappear.
Julian considered.
"Technically, I own interests in businesses that are worth quite a lot."
Ava frowned.
"That wasn't my question."
He smiled.
"Yes."
She nodded thoughtfully.
"Do you have a dinosaur?"
He stared.
"What?"
"A dinosaur."
"No."
"Then what's the point?"
I burst out laughing.
Julian looked at me.
For the first time since meeting him, he seemed completely defeated.
"Fair question."
Ava continued.
"If I had a billion dollars, I'd buy a dinosaur."
Julian nodded seriously.
"Which kind?"
"Triceratops."
"Excellent choice."
She smiled.
Then held up one foot.
"Look!"
I froze.
Ava's shoe had finally split completely.
The sole hung loose.
She had taped it with a piece of silver duct tape from Mrs. Alvarez's kitchen drawer.
Julian looked at it.
Then at me.
I felt my face burn.
"Ava, honey—"
"It's okay," she said quickly.
"The tape works."
Julian crouched.
"That looks uncomfortable."
Ava shrugged.
"Mommy's getting me new ones."
I looked away.
Julian didn't offer to buy an entire shoe store.
He simply smiled at Ava.
"Then I hope you get the ones you like."
She nodded.
"Pink stars."
"I'll remember."
Later, after Ava joined her school activity, Julian and I sat on a bench outside.
He looked exhausted.
"Rough day?" I asked.
He laughed softly.
"You could say that."
"Victor?"
He nodded.
"The board meeting is tomorrow."
"And your mother?"
"Her doctors have confirmed she's capable of making her own decisions, and her lawyers are addressing the petition."
I exhaled.
"Good."
Julian looked at me.
"Mother asks about you every day."
I smiled.
"She doesn't need to."
"Try telling her that."
We sat in silence.
Then he said something unexpected.
"I'm sorry I showed up at your apartment without asking."
I looked at him.
"You already apologized."
"I know."
"So why again?"
He looked toward the school.
"Because I realized I did exactly what Victor does."
I frowned.
"What?"
"I used access to company records and assumed it gave me permission to enter someone's private life."
I studied him.
He continued.
"You helped my mother. That didn't give me the right to investigate you or show up at your door."
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
Then I smiled.
"Apology accepted."
He looked relieved.
A little.
Then he asked:
"How is Ava doing?"
I laughed.
"She thinks you're wasting your money because you don't own a dinosaur."
Julian smiled.
"She's probably right."
Then his phone rang.
Rebecca.
He answered.
"What?"
His face changed.
"Are you certain?"
A pause.
"Preserve the original."
He ended the call.
I looked at him.
"What happened?"
He stared at the street.
"Victor's team attempted to delete part of the restaurant's security archive."
My stomach tightened.
"Did they succeed?"
"Not completely."
He looked at me.
"Rebecca recovered a backup."
"Of what?"
"The rear entrance."
I stopped.
"The night Eleanor fell?"
He nodded.
"The footage shows Frank following her out of the restaurant."
I stared.
Julian continued.
"And he's carrying something."
"What?"
He looked at me.
"Her handbag."
My stomach tightened.
Eleanor had told me she'd lost her bag.
She thought she'd dropped it in the rain.
Julian continued.
"Frank took it before she left."
"Why?"
"Because it contained documents."
I stared.
"What documents?"
Julian hesitated.
"Company records."
I remembered the memory card Eleanor had hidden inside her necklace.
Then something clicked.
"If Frank took her bag, why didn't Victor get the memory card?"
Julian looked at me.
"Because she hid it before entering the restaurant."
I stared.
"Then why did she go there?"
Julian's expression became serious.
"To meet the employee who originally sent the anonymous complaint."
My heart began pounding.
"Sofia?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Julian looked directly at me.
"Megan, did you ever send a letter to corporate?"
I froze.
Two months earlier, I'd written a complaint.
I didn't sign it.
I mailed it because I was afraid Frank would fire me.
I had almost forgotten.
"Yes."
Julian stared.
"You?"
I nodded.
He looked away.
Then began laughing softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
"My mother spent weeks trying to find the employee who wrote that letter."
I stared.
"Why?"
"Because it was the first complaint detailed enough to identify the missing funds."
He looked back at me.
"And the night she went to Harbor and Vine, she intended to meet you."
My breath caught.
"But she never told me."
"No."
Julian continued.
"Victor discovered the meeting."
I felt cold.
"And Frank followed her."
"Yes."
I looked toward Ava's classroom window.
My daughter was drawing with other children.
Safe.
For now.
Then Julian's expression changed.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Victor's attorney has requested your personnel records."
I stared.
"Why?"
"He plans to argue that you're an unreliable witness."
My stomach tightened.
Julian continued.
"He's using Frank's theft allegation."
I looked away.
For weeks, I'd been afraid of losing my job.
Now a billionaire's cousin was trying to destroy my credibility because I'd written a letter.
Julian leaned forward.
"Megan."
I looked at him.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."
I swallowed.
"What if I do?"
His expression softened.
"Then we'll make sure you have independent support and the facts are properly documented."
I looked toward Ava.
Then back at him.
"I want to testify."
Julian nodded.
"All right."
I took a breath.
"And I want my daughter to know why."
He looked surprised.
"Why?"
May you like
I stared at the school.
"Because I'm tired of teaching her that doing the right thing means keeping your mouth shut afterward."
