Chapter 6 - The New Ownership
By midnight, Le Ciel was completely empty of patrons. The lights were dimmed, and federal investigators from the financial crimes division were already combing through the restaurant’s back offices, seizing accounting ledgers and computer servers in connection with Eleanor Vance’s charity fraud.
Emily sat in a plush velvet booth near the front window, wrapped in Alistair’s cashmere coat. A steaming cup of chamomile tea sat untouched on the table before her.
Alistair sat across from her, resting his elbows on the white linen tablecloth.
“You don't have to work here another day, Emily,” Alistair said gently. “In fact, as of ten minutes ago, my legal team finalized the asset acquisition of this entire building.”
Emily looked up, startled. “You bought the restaurant?”
“I bought the building,” Alistair corrected with a faint, rare smile. “And I am turning the ground floor into a commercial-grade culinary academy and artisan bakery—funded by the Sterling Foundation, and operated under the direct management of a very talented young woman I happen to know.”
Emily’s breath caught in her throat. “A bakery? My own bakery?”
“Your own bakery,” Alistair confirmed. “Complete with a tuition-free apprenticeship program for underprivileged students in the culinary arts. Exactly the kind of place your mother would have loved to see you run.”
Tears spilled over Emily’s lashes, but this time, they were tears of pure, overwhelming gratitude. She looked at the man sitting before her—the city’s most feared billionaire, a titan who had brought a corrupt socialite to her knees with six quiet words—and realized that beneath the cold armor of power beat the heart of a boy who had never forgotten a mother’s love.
May you like
“Thank you, Alistair,” Emily whispered.
“No, Emily,” Alistair said, raising his teacup in a silent toast. “Thank your mother. She taught me that true wealth is measured by how we treat the people who have no power to fight back.”
