The hostess looked at my daughter’s faded sneakers, then at my worn jacket, and smiled like she had already decided what kind of people we were. “

Chef Marco, a burly, bearded man wearing a grease-stained apron, walked out of the kitchen with wide, anxious eyes. He had been with Ember & Stone since day one, but we hadn't spoken face-to-face in over a year.

"David?" Marco asked, his voice rough. "Is that really you?"

"It's me, Marco," I said, shaking his hand firmly. "I'm sorry I let things get this bad without checking in."

Marco glanced toward the front doors where the police cruisers were driving away with Brent. "We knew something was wrong, Boss. Brent was changing the meat orders, buying lower-grade beef, and pocketing the difference. But whenever we tried to complain to corporate, the emails disappeared."

"I know," I said, my blood boiling anew. "He intercepted the internal complaint logs. But who gave him the master admin code to alter corporate routing, Marco? A general manager doesn't have that level of system access."

Marco hesitated, looking around nervously before leaning in close. "Marcus. Your regional director. He visited the restaurant last Tuesday. He and Brent had a heated argument in the back office about 'clearing the offshore accounts' before the quarterly tax audit."

My teeth gritted together.

Marcus Vance. My top executive. The man I paid three hundred thousand dollars a year to oversee all four Ember & Stone locations.

I had trusted Marcus implicitly. He was supposed to be my firewall so I could focus on raising Lily. Instead, he was the architect of the entire corruption ring.

"Marco," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I need you to pull out the absolute best cuts of dry-aged ribeye we have in the kitchen. Fire up the grill. My daughter has been waiting for her dinner."

Marco smiled warmly, looking down at Lily. "It would be an absolute honor, little boss. Table one in the VIP booth is yours."

"Dad!" Lily gasped, her eyes lighting up. "Are we really staying?"

"We sure are, sweetie," I said, lifting her up in my arms. "We're having the best dinner in the house."

While Marco rushed back to the kitchen to prepare our meal, I pulled out my phone and dialed Marcus Vance’s direct line.

He answered on the second ring, his voice relaxed. "David! Hey, man. How's the weekend going with Lily?"

"Marcus," I said, keeping my voice utterly devoid of emotion. "I need you to call an emergency meeting with all four location managers at the downtown restaurant tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM."

A beat of silence hung on the line. "Tomorrow morning? On a Sunday? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Marcus," I lied effortlessly. "I just want to celebrate our record-breaking quarterly profits. Bring all the master financial ledgers. In hard copy."

"Sounds great, Boss," Marcus said, chuckling softly. "See you at seven."