Chapter 4 - Why Charles Protected Victor
Charles arrived at nine the next morning.
He entered his father's office furious.
“You shut down an entire gala over an accusation from a waitress?”
Alexander looked at him.
“A waitress?”
Charles noticed me.
Emily sat beside me.
His expression shifted.
He recognized my name too.
Interesting.
Alexander asked:
“Why didn't you give me your mother's letter?”
Charles remained silent.
“Answer me.”
Finally:
“Because the foundation would have collapsed.”
I stared.
Victor Dane had become the face of the Whitmore Foundation twelve years earlier.
His concerts raised millions.
Sponsors loved him.
Major donors joined because of him.
If the foundation publicly admitted its star composer had stolen music from a scholarship student—
the scandal could have destroyed everything.
Charles had been twenty-eight.
Ambitious.
Desperate to prove he could lead.
So when Victor came to him claiming the accusation was false, Charles chose the easy solution.
Destroy me.
Alexander whispered:
“You ruined a young woman's life to protect a fundraiser.”
Charles snapped:
“I protected thousands of students!”
“No.”
Alexander stood.
“You sacrificed one because she was easier to sacrifice.”
Silence.
Charles looked at me.
“You received a settlement.”
“What settlement?”
His face changed.
Rebecca immediately noticed.
“Sarah never received any settlement.”
Charles went pale.
Alexander asked:
“How much?”
Charles did not answer.
Rebecca found it within an hour.
$250,000.
Foundation records showed payment to:
BENNETT RESOLUTION TRUST
Authorized for Sarah Bennett.
I had never seen one dollar.
Where had it gone?
Account beneficiary:
Victor Dane's business manager.
Now the case was no longer only plagiarism.
May you like
It was financial fraud.
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