She had worked in luxury hospitality for nearly twenty years.
I respected her.
But I had never seen her look as frightened as she did now.
"Miss Tanaka," she said, "please come with me."
"Finally."
I looked at Olivia.
"Am I being dismissed?"
She hesitated.
"Not here."
I understood.
She wanted to remove me before the situation became worse.
But I had come too far to disappear quietly.
I turned toward Richard.
"My attorney can contact you if you want to understand the financial claims. Please don't rely on my translation alone. Hire an independent interpreter and review the original agreements."
He nodded slowly.
"I intend to."
Kenji's face darkened.
I followed Olivia into the hallway.
The moment the door closed, she grabbed my arm.
"What have you done?"
I pulled away.
"I told the truth."
She looked horrified.
"Do you know who that man is?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how much business he brings this restaurant?"
I stared at her.
"Do you know what he was planning to do to those investors?"
She looked away.
That was when I noticed something.
Olivia wasn't surprised.
She was afraid.
I lowered my voice.
"Did you know?"
Her eyes snapped toward me.
"Keep your voice down."
My stomach tightened.
"Olivia."
She walked quickly toward her office.
I followed.
Once inside, she closed the door and lowered the blinds.
Then she turned toward me.
"That recording isn't the only problem."
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"What do you mean?"
She opened a drawer.
Inside was a brown envelope.
My name appeared across the front.
Aiko Tanaka.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
Olivia placed it on the desk.
"This arrived for you yesterday."
I stared at it.
"Why didn't you give it to me?"
"Because I was trying to understand what it was."
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph of my father.
My breath stopped.
He looked younger.
Perhaps forty.
He stood outside a glass office building beside three men in suits.
One of them was Kenji Takahashi.
I recognized him immediately.
My hands began shaking.
My father had died when I was fourteen.
For years, my mother told me he had lost his job after being accused of financial misconduct.
She said the accusations were never properly resolved.
He became withdrawn.
His health deteriorated.
And then a sudden heart attack took him from us.
I had never known the full story.
Now I was staring at a photograph connecting him to the billionaire who had just threatened my mother.
"Where did this come from?"
She swallowed.
"There was no return address."
I turned the photograph over.
A message had been written in Japanese.
Your father was not the thief.
I felt dizzy.
Olivia reached toward me.
"Aiko?"
I sat down.
The room seemed to move.
For fifteen years, I had lived with questions about my father.
Why had his career ended so suddenly?
Why did people stop calling our house?
Why did Mom cry whenever she saw his old company documents?
And why had Kenji reacted so strongly when I mentioned the financial scheme?
"Did Kenji send this?"
"I don't know."
I examined the photograph again.
Then I noticed a small symbol printed on the building behind the men.
Takahashi International Finance.
My father's former employer.
I felt cold.
Olivia sat across from me.
"Aiko, there's something I need to tell you."
I looked up.
She took a slow breath.
"Kenji requested you specifically for tonight's dinner."
My heart stopped.
"He asked for the waitress who speaks Japanese."
"But he acted like he didn't know."
Olivia nodded.
"I know."
The room went silent.
Then she whispered, "And he told me you were not allowed to leave the restaurant until he spoke with you privately."
Chapter 3
I didn't go home alone that night.
Olivia walked me through the employee entrance after my shift was formally ended.
Richard Collins had already left.
Kenji's security team was gone.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
Outside, Manhattan glittered beneath the streetlights.
Taxis passed.
People laughed on sidewalks.
Restaurants were closing.
The world continued as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
But my world had changed.
Olivia looked at me.
"Do you have somewhere safe to stay?"
"My mother's apartment."
"Perhaps you should call her first."
"Why?"
Olivia looked away.
"Because Kenji mentioned her."
My chest tightened.
"What exactly did he say?"
"He asked whether Naomi still worked at the hospital in Brooklyn."
I felt sick.
"How does he know that?"
I took out my phone.
Mom answered on the second ring.
"Aiko, sweetheart."
Her voice was warm.
Familiar.
Alive.
I nearly cried.
"Mom, are you home?"
"Yes. Why?"