Mom began sobbing.
I held her hand tightly.
Dad continued.
"Aiko, my little girl, I hope you grow up knowing that telling the truth matters even when powerful people try to punish you for it."
I couldn't breathe.
He smiled faintly.
"Never let anyone convince you that your voice is too small."
The video ended.
I broke down.
For fifteen years, I had wanted to hear my father's voice again.
Now he was speaking to me from a computer screen.
Not as the disgraced man people had described.
But as the father I remembered.
Brave.
Gentle.
Honest.
Mom pulled me into her arms.
We cried together.
Rachel waited quietly.
Then the specialist began reviewing the spreadsheets.
Several files contained transaction records from the years before Dad's death.
The documents appeared to show money moving through companies linked to Takahashi executives.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Masato Fujimoto.
Another appeared on several approvals.
Kenji Takahashi.
Rachel cautioned us that the files were not proof by themselves.
They needed authentication.
But they could support a request for further investigation.
"Does this mean Dad was right?"
Rachel looked at me.
"It means there's enough here to take seriously. We need independent evidence."
For the first time in fifteen years, hope felt possible.
Then Rachel's phone rang.
She answered.
She listened for several seconds.
Then she looked at me.
"Kenji's company has contacted the restaurant."
"About me?"
"They're demanding your termination and claiming you stole confidential business information."
It was happening again.
The same accusation.
The same company.
The same man.
Fifteen years after destroying my father's reputation, Kenji was trying to destroy mine.
Chapter 5
I returned to Sakura Imperial the following morning.
Not because I wanted to.
Because Olivia had asked me to come.
I stood outside the employee entrance for nearly five minutes before I found the courage to go inside.
The restaurant looked exactly as it always did.
Polished floors.
Soft lighting.
Expensive flowers.
Quiet staff moving between private dining rooms.
But I felt different.
The last time I had entered that building, I believed my biggest problem was a billionaire who enjoyed humiliating waitresses.
Now I knew he was connected to the accusations that had destroyed my father's career.
And he was trying to use the same strategy against me.
Olivia met me outside her office.
Her expression was serious.
"Aiko, come in."
I followed her.
She closed the door.
Then she placed a letter on her desk.
It came from Takahashi Global Holdings.
The company accused me of recording confidential business discussions, violating privacy expectations, and causing reputational harm.
It demanded disciplinary action.
I read the letter twice.
Then I looked at Olivia.
"Am I fired?"
"You're being placed on paid leave while our legal team reviews the matter."
"Paid leave?"
"I made sure of that."
Her eyes softened.
"Because you have always been an excellent employee."
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
Olivia continued.
"And because the demand came with threats to cancel contracts worth more than a million dollars."
"Kenji threatened the restaurant?"
I looked at the letter.
"Then why are you helping me?"
"Because I'm tired of watching powerful guests treat employees like objects."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"And because I saw how frightened he became when you spoke Japanese."
Olivia opened another drawer.
She removed a small notebook.
"I started writing down the things his assistants said during previous visits."
My heart quickened.
"What things?"
She opened the notebook.
There were dates.
Names.
Descriptions of private dinners.
And notes about requests that had seemed unusual.
One entry described Kenji instructing staff to remove translation devices from a meeting room.
Another mentioned a request that all serving employees be assigned based on whether they spoke Japanese.
A third referred to a private dinner attended by Masato Fujimoto.
"Masato was here?"
"Twice."
"When?"
"Three months ago."
I stared at the page.
For fifteen years, Masato had been one of the people Mom blamed for abandoning Dad.
Now he was apparently still working with Kenji.
"During the second meeting, Masato appeared upset."
I leaned forward.
"How?"
"He argued with Kenji in Japanese. I couldn't understand everything."
"Did anyone else hear?"
"Aiko, I don't know."
She paused.
"But afterward, Masato asked whether anyone at the restaurant could recommend a trustworthy interpreter."
"What did you tell him?"
"I gave him your name."
"Three weeks ago."
Suddenly, something made sense.
Kenji had requested me specifically.
He knew I spoke Japanese.
He knew who my father was.
Perhaps he had learned about me through Masato.
But why would he choose to bring me into the room?
Was he trying to test me?
Intimidate me?
Or discover what I knew?