Amara turned away.

Suddenly, the guard shouted.

“Hey!”

A man in a gray coat had entered the building.

He saw them.

Then he ran.

Takamori’s security team chased him outside.

Amara followed.

Rain exploded across the sidewalk.

The man reached a black SUV.

Before he could enter, one of Takamori’s guards stopped him.

A struggle followed.

Then the man was restrained.

Amara looked into the open vehicle.

On the seat was a backpack.

Inside were documents.

And a passport.

Aiko Takamori’s passport.

Kenji’s face turned white.

Amara felt cold despite the summer rain.

“Where is she?” she demanded.

The man said nothing.

Takamori stepped forward.

“Where is my daughter?”

Still nothing.

Then Amara noticed something.

The man’s hands were shaking.

Not with fear.

With guilt.

She crouched beside him.

“You don’t have to protect them.”

His eyes moved toward her.

“Who?”

He laughed bitterly.

“You think this is about protecting her father?”

Amara’s heart stopped.

“What do you mean?”

The man looked directly at Kenji Takamori.

“You really don’t know, do you?”

Takamori’s face hardened.

“Tell me.”

The man smiled.

“Your daughter didn’t run from you.”

He paused.

“She ran because she found out who was planning to destroy you.”

The man in the gray coat was named Victor Hale.

He was not an employee of Takamori Global.

He worked for an outside consulting firm.

At least, that was what he claimed.

But the documents inside Aiko’s backpack told a different story.

The merger was a trap.

Several executives inside Takamori Global had been secretly cooperating with rival investors. Once the merger was completed, Kenji would lose control of his own company.

Aiko had discovered the plan.

Daniel Cross had tried to expose it.

And someone had been following them both.

“Where is Aiko?” Kenji demanded.

Victor refused to answer.

Amara watched Takamori carefully.

For the first time, the billionaire looked completely powerless.

His money could not solve this.

His name could not intimidate it away.

And the daughter he had failed to understand was somewhere in New York, possibly in danger.

Amara opened Aiko’s backpack again.

Inside was a notebook.

Most of the pages contained numbers and names.

But one page had been torn halfway out.

At the bottom, someone had written an address.

Amara recognized it.

It belonged to a small apartment building in Queens.

A former classmate of hers lived nearby.

They drove there immediately.

During the ride, no one spoke.

Finally, Takamori broke the silence.

“Why are you helping me?”

Amara looked out the window.

“Because your daughter deserves help.”

“And me?”

She turned toward him.

“I haven’t decided.”

The answer hurt him.

She could see it.

But he nodded.

“I deserve that.”

When they arrived at the apartment building, the lobby was dark.

Amara climbed the stairs with Takamori’s security team behind her.

Apartment 4C.

She knocked.

No answer.

Again.

Still nothing.

Then Amara heard movement inside.

“Aiko?” she called.

Silence.

She switched to Japanese.

“I know you’re in there.”

The door opened slightly.

A young woman stood behind it.

She looked exhausted.

When she saw her father, her expression changed from relief to anger.

“You found me.”

Kenji took a step forward.

“Aiko.”

“Don’t.”

He stopped.

Amara looked at them both.

Aiko’s eyes were wet.

“You never listened to me.”

“I am listening now.”

“No,” Aiko said. “You’re listening because you’re afraid.”

The words struck harder than any insult.

Kenji lowered his head.

Amara remained silent.

This was not her conversation.

Aiko looked at her.

“You’re the waitress.”

Amara smiled slightly.

“Apparently.”

“My father talked about you.”

Kenji looked embarrassed.

Amara raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“He said you embarrassed him.”

“I’m beginning to see why that bothers him.”

For the first time, Aiko laughed.

It was small.

But it broke the tension.

Then she became serious again.

“They’re going to destroy him,” she said.

Kenji stepped forward.

“Who?”

“The people you trusted.”

Aiko handed him a flash drive.

“Everything is here.”

Financial transfers.

Recorded conversations.

Names.

Proof.

Kenji stared at the device.