Chapter 4 - The Little Girl Who Called Her Beautiful
The gala ended badly.
Not because anyone screamed.
Not because Adrian attacked me.
Because he disappeared.
Within ten minutes of hearing Sarah's name, Adrian left the ballroom through a service entrance.
Darlene's security team tracked his departure.
He drove directly to a private warehouse owned by an Oakridge subsidiary.
That interested Evelyn Price.
It interested me more.
Sarah had visited that same warehouse three days before she died.
The information appeared in her archived expense records.
I stared at Darlene.
"What is inside that building?"
She looked exhausted.
"Officially? Old company records."
"Unofficially?"
"I don't know."
I watched her carefully.
"Then we find out."
She looked at me.
"We?"
I shrugged.
"You hired me."
For the first time that night, she smiled without calculation.
The following morning, however, reality returned.
My landlord called.
The eviction process was still moving forward.
My first payment from Darlene's contract had not yet cleared.
Abigail's school called because she'd been coughing during recess.
Then my truck refused to start.
By ten, I was sitting on the curb outside my apartment wondering whether my life had become some kind of practical joke.
My phone rang.
Darlene.
"Blake?"
"What?"
"Are you coming in?"
"Trying."
Silence.
"What's wrong?"
"Truck."
Another pause.
"Where are you?"
I told her.
Twenty-five minutes later, a black car pulled up.
Darlene stepped out.
I stared.
"What are you doing here?"
"Offering transportation."
"You came personally?"
"Apparently."
I looked at the driver.
He looked equally surprised.
I sighed.
"Abigail's inside."
Darlene hesitated.
"Would you prefer I wait?"
I looked at her.
The billionaire CEO.
Standing on a cracked sidewalk outside a building with peeling paint.
"Probably."
She nodded.
Then Abigail appeared at the entrance.
"Daddy!"
I turned.
She ran toward me wearing her pink backpack.
Then stopped when she saw Darlene.
Her eyes widened.
"Whoa."
Darlene blinked.
"Hello."
Abigail stared.
"You're very pretty."
For one second, the Iron Queen seemed to forget how language worked.
"Thank you."
Abigail tilted her head.
"Are you a princess?"
I closed my eyes.
"Abby."
Darlene laughed.
An actual laugh.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't have a crown."
Abigail considered.
"Mommy said princesses don't need crowns."
Darlene's smile softened.
"Your mommy sounds smart."
"She was."
The word changed the atmosphere.
Darlene looked at me.
I looked away.
Abigail continued.
"She's in heaven."
Darlene crouched slowly, keeping a comfortable distance.
"I'm sorry."
Abigail nodded seriously.
"It's okay to miss people."
Darlene's expression changed.
"Yes."
"Daddy misses her a lot."
"Abigail."
"What? You do."
Darlene looked up at me.
For once, there was no pity in her expression.
Only understanding.
Then Abigail noticed the brace beneath Darlene's fitted jacket.
She pointed.
"What's that?"
I gently lowered her hand.
"Don't point, peanut."
Darlene looked down.
"It's something that helps my back."
Abigail considered.
"Like my inhaler helps me breathe?"
Darlene smiled.
"Something like that."
"Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes."
Abigail nodded.
"Mine's annoying too."
Then she reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a tiny yellow sticker.
A smiling sun.
She offered it to Darlene.
"For when it hurts."
Darlene stared.
I watched her carefully.
She accepted the sticker.
"Thank you."
Abigail smiled.
"You're welcome."
Later, after Mrs. Ellis collected Abigail for school, Darlene and I rode downtown.
She held the little sticker between two fingers.
I noticed.
"You don't have to keep that."
She looked at me.
"Why wouldn't I?"
I shrugged.
"She's seven."
Darlene studied the sticker.
"That seems like an excellent reason."
At Oakridge, Evelyn had news.
The warehouse records were unusual.
Adrian had ordered several archive boxes destroyed.
The request was made the night of the gala.
After he heard Sarah's name.
Evelyn showed us the order.
I stared.
"What was in those boxes?"
She looked at Darlene.
"Vendor contracts from the year Sarah died."
Darlene's face hardened.
"Can we stop the destruction?"
"Already requested preservation through counsel and notified the investigators handling the financial concerns."
I looked toward the door.
"Good."
Then Evelyn continued.
"There's another issue."
She showed us a corporate email.
Adrian had contacted the board that morning.
He requested an emergency meeting.
Subject:
CONCERNS REGARDING CEO FITNESS AND UNDUE INFLUENCE.
I stared.
"He's attacking the engagement."
Darlene nodded.
"Yes."
Evelyn added:
"And he's identified Blake as a former janitor with significant personal debts."
My stomach tightened.
Darlene's expression became icy.
"He accessed employee records."
Evelyn nodded.
"We're investigating that too."
Then Darlene did something unexpected.
She picked up the phone.
Called Human Resources.
And said:
"Effective immediately, I want a formal internal review of unauthorized employee-data access. Including any access initiated by my family."
She hung up.
I looked at her.
"You didn't have to do that for me."
Her eyes met mine.
"I should have done it before."
Then she looked at the yellow sticker still resting beside her keyboard.
For a moment, the billionaire CEO looked less like a corporate ruler and more like a woman wondering how she'd become so alone.
That evening, I returned home to find Abigail drawing.
She held up a picture.
Three people.
Me.
Abigail.
And a woman wearing a green dress.
I stared.
"Who's that?"
Abigail smiled.
"The princess."
My throat tightened.
"Abby."
She looked up.
"Do you think she has anybody who gives her stickers?"
I didn't answer.
Abigail looked back at the drawing.
"She seemed lonely."
I stared at my daughter.
Then at the woman she'd drawn.
Somehow, in five minutes, Abigail had noticed something I'd spent two days missing.
Darlene Stanley wasn't merely hiding an injury.
She was hiding an entire life.
And when my phone rang a moment later, I discovered just how much.
It was Evelyn.
Her voice was urgent.
"Blake, we recovered an archived email from Sarah."
My heart stopped.
"What does it say?"
Evelyn took a breath.
"She wrote that Adrian wasn't acting alone."
I stared.
"Who else?"
May you like
Evelyn hesitated.
"Darlene's father."
