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?"
She hesitated.
"You're being placed on paid leave while our legal team reviews the matter."
I swallowed.
"Paid leave?"
She nodded.
"I made sure of that."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
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."
My stomach tightened.
"Kenji threatened the restaurant?"
"Yes."
I looked at the letter.
"Then why are you helping me?"
She took a slow breath.
"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."
I looked up.
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.
My breath caught.
"Masato was here?"
Olivia nodded.
"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.
Olivia continued.
"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."
My heartbeat quickened.
"What did you tell him?"
"I gave him your name."
I stared at her.
"When?"
"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?
I looked at Olivia.
"Do you have Masato's contact information?"
She hesitated.
"I have his business card."
I took a breath.
"Please give it to Rachel."
Olivia nodded.
"I will."
That afternoon, my attorney contacted Richard Collins.
He agreed to meet privately with his legal counsel present.
I attended with Rachel.
Richard looked different outside the restaurant.
Less polished.
More concerned.
He was fifty-four, with a successful investment firm and a reputation for careful business decisions.
He had been one of the executives Kenji mocked.
Now he looked embarrassed.
"Miss Tanaka," he began, "I owe you an apology."
I looked at him.
"For what?"
"For laughing when Mr. Takahashi insulted you."
I hadn't expected that.
He continued.
"I didn't understand his words, but I understood that he was being cruel. I should have stopped it."
I nodded.
"Thank you."
He looked toward Rachel.
"We suspended the partnership negotiations immediately."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Did you review the financial documents?"
"Yes."
His expression hardened.
"Our accountants identified several inconsistencies between the summary materials and the underlying records."
I stared at him.
"What kind?"
He explained that certain liabilities had been described differently across documents.
Some projected earnings were based on assumptions not clearly disclosed.
Other records referred to related companies that hadn't been fully identified.
Richard's team had not concluded that fraud had occurred.
But the concerns were serious enough to stop the transaction.
I exhaled slowly.
"Then you believe me?"
He looked directly at me.
"I believe your warning deserved investigation."
For the first time since the dinner, I felt something loosen inside my chest.
Rachel asked whether Richard would cooperate with investigators if necessary.
He agreed.
Then he leaned toward me.
"There's something I want you to know."
I looked up.
"Kenji contacted me yesterday."
My stomach tightened.
"What did he say?"
"He offered to reduce the investment price significantly if I stopped asking questions about the restaurant incident."
I stared at him.
"He tried to buy your silence."
Richard nodded.
"That's one interpretation."
He paused.
"But I'm not interested."
I smiled faintly.
"Good."
Then he reached into his briefcase.
He removed a document.
It was a letter dated fifteen years earlier.
My breath caught when I saw the signature.
Hiroshi Tanaka.
My father.
Richard explained that his firm had recently acquired an archive of financial correspondence during due diligence.
One file contained an old warning letter from my father.
It described concerns about the same investment structure Kenji was now proposing.
I stared at the page.
Dad had been warning people long before I understood what his work involved.
Richard looked at me.
"Your father tried to raise these concerns years ago."
My eyes filled.
"I know."
He hesitated.
"There's another name on the distribution list."
I looked down.
Masato Fujimoto.
Then Richard pointed to a handwritten note.
It had been added several days after the letter was received.
I read it carefully.
Hiroshi is correct. We need to stop the transfers before someone discovers the losses.
The note carried Masato's initials.
I stared at it.
For fifteen years, Mom believed Masato had betrayed Dad.
Now this document suggested he had known the truth.
But it raised another question.
If Masato agreed with my father, why had he changed his testimony?
Richard studied my expression.
"I thought you should see it."
I looked at him.
"Thank you."
When we left the meeting, Rachel received a message.
It was from Masato Fujimoto.
He had contacted her office directly.
He said he knew about the allegations against my father.
And he wanted to speak.
But only under one condition.
May you like
Rachel read the message aloud.
"He says Kenji must not know we're meeting."
