Chapter 4 - The Secret Behind the Apron
A heavy hush fell over the Ashford ballroom as Clara spoke, her voice filled with quiet authority that commanded the entire room.
"Six months ago," Clara continued, stepping closer to Sloane, "my father, Arthur Bennett, discovered that someone inside the Ashford Hotel group was embezzling tens of millions from the charity foundation my late mother built."
Nolan Whitmore’s head snapped up from the floor, his eyes wide with sudden, sickening panic.
"My father was the chief auditor for the Ashford group," Clara explained, looking around at the board members standing in the crowd. "Before he could present his findings to the federal authorities, his car was forced off the road. He survived, but he was left in a coma with mounting medical bills."
Roman stood right behind Clara, his massive presence providing an impenetrable shield of protection as his wife laid out the truth.
"I took the job as a waitress in the hotel's catering department," Clara revealed, "not because I was poor or helpless, but because I needed direct access to the hotel’s private server room to retrieve the erased audit files my father had hidden."
Sloane swallowed hard, her face draining of all color as she looked frantically at Nolan.
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"And three months ago," Clara added with a cold, triumphant smile, "while I was downloading those encrypted files, I met the man who owned the security network for this entire building—Roman Raines."
👉 Read Part 5 to see how Roman and Clara built their unshakeable alliance.
