Alexander laughed.
"You think you have the power to negotiate with me?"
Daniel looked at him.
"No. I think I have something you need to see."
CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST ACCUSATION
Alexander's patience disappeared.
He pointed toward Daniel.
"Listen carefully. I have spent forty years building a company that employs thousands of people. I have negotiated with governments, banks, and international corporations."
Daniel remained silent.
"You walk into my restaurant wearing that hoodie, interrupt my dinner, and accuse me of hiding something?"
"I'm not accusing you."
"Then what are you doing?"
"I'm asking you to look at the truth."
Alexander turned toward Olivia.
"Call security."
Olivia hesitated.
"Mr. Whitmore—"
"Now!"
Two security employees began approaching.
Daniel stepped backward.
"I don't want trouble."
Alexander pointed toward the entrance.
"Then stop creating it."
Daniel looked at him.
"My father died believing you had destroyed his reputation."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"Your father was responsible for his own problems."
Daniel's face changed.
"That's not true."
"How would you know?"
"Because I was there."
Alexander paused.
Daniel continued.
"I was seventeen when the investigation started. I watched my father lose his job. I watched people stop answering his calls. I watched him sell his car to pay our rent."
Alexander looked away.
"That is unfortunate."
Daniel's voice became stronger.
"Unfortunate?"
He opened the envelope again.
"My father worked for your company for eleven years. He discovered that senior executives were moving money through fake property acquisitions. He reported it."
Alexander frowned.
"That's ridiculous."
"Then why was he fired two weeks later?"
Alexander said nothing.
"Why did your legal department accuse him of stealing company documents?"
"Because there was an investigation."
"An investigation conducted by the same executives he reported."
A few guests exchanged uncomfortable looks.
Alexander stepped closer.
"You should be very careful about what you say."
Daniel looked directly into his eyes.
"I have spent nine years being careful."
He held up the photograph.
"Now I just want you to know what happened."
CHAPTER 5: THE PHOTOGRAPH
The photograph was old.
Its edges were worn.
It showed a younger Alexander Whitmore standing beside a middle-aged man in front of a construction site.
The man beside him was Michael Carter.
Alexander stared at it.
He remembered the day.
It had been the opening ceremony for one of the company's largest developments.
Michael had been the financial analyst responsible for overseeing the project's accounts.
He had been intelligent, quiet, and exceptionally careful.
Alexander had trusted him.
At least, he thought he had.
"Where did you get this?" Alexander asked.
"My mother kept it."
"Why?"
"Because my father believed you were a good man once."
Alexander looked offended.
"Once?"
Daniel nodded.
"He used to tell me that you were different when you started your company."
Alexander looked at the photograph again.
Daniel continued.
"He said you used to visit construction sites. You knew the names of the workers. You asked about their families."
Alexander slowly lowered his hand.
"Your father was a good employee."
"Then why did you let them destroy him?"
Alexander's expression hardened again.
"Nobody destroyed your father."
Daniel looked at him.
"Do you know what happened to him after he was fired?"
Alexander said nothing.
"He couldn't find another job because your company had reported him as dishonest."
Daniel's voice began to shake.
"He was blacklisted."
The restaurant was almost completely silent.
"He developed health problems. He couldn't afford proper treatment. My mother worked two jobs. I dropped out of college for a year to help pay the bills."