Chapter 5 - The Price of Silence.
Daniel Rowe entered Bellamy House without hurrying.
He wore a charcoal overcoat over a dark suit, and his silver hair was perfectly in place despite the wind outside.
To the diners who did not know him, he looked like the kind of executive who solved problems by entering a room.
To Adrian, he suddenly looked like a man who had arrived because a problem had learned his name.
Daniel surveyed the smoke-stained hallway, the open office, the scattered papers, and Elena’s canvas bag.
Then he smiled at Adrian.
“You’ve had an evening.”
Adrian held up the damaged employee list.
“What is this?”
Daniel did not take it.
“It looks like something that should be handled by counsel.”
“Try again.”
Daniel glanced at Elena.
“Who is she?”
“My name is Elena Brooks.”
Daniel’s eyes stayed on her a fraction too long.
Adrian noticed.
“So you know the name.”
“I know hundreds of employee names.”
“She isn’t officially an employee.”
“Then I know hundreds of applicant names.”
Elena stood straighter.
“I never applied for an emergency grant.”
Daniel’s expression softened into practiced concern.
“That sounds serious.”
“It is serious.”
Adrian handed him the bank notice.
Daniel read it without visible reaction.
Then he looked at Victor.
“Did you verify this?”
Victor’s mouth opened.
Adrian cut in.
“Don’t give him instructions through questions.”
Daniel’s eyes returned to Adrian.
“That’s unfair.”
“So is using a dead woman’s signature.”
For the first time, Daniel’s face hardened.
“Grace authorized a digitized signature for legacy approvals.”
Adrian felt something inside him go cold.
“No, she didn’t.”
“You weren’t involved in the administrative implementation.”
“I drafted the charter with her attorney.”
Daniel sighed.
“Adrian, grief makes people remember things selectively.”
The sentence hit harder than Adrian expected.
Elena looked at him.
Victor stared at the floor.
Daniel continued in a lower voice.
“Let me take the documents, secure the drive, and bring in outside counsel tomorrow.”
“No.”
“You’re emotional.”
“No.”
“You’re standing in a restaurant with frightened staff and a woman making accusations she may not understand.”
Elena’s face flushed.
“I understand my identity was stolen.”
Daniel gave her a thin smile.
“And I’m sure you’ll be compensated if that is proven.”
“I don’t want to be compensated for someone stealing my name.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out the pink time sheet.
“I want the three hundred dollars I worked for.”
Daniel looked at the sheet.
Then he looked at Victor.
“Pay her.”
Victor stared at him.
“What?”
“Give her three hundred dollars and end this unnecessary spectacle.”
Elena’s expression changed.
She had entered desperate for that exact amount.
Now she looked insulted by it.
“You think three hundred dollars makes the rest disappear?”
Daniel’s patience thinned.
“I think you came here for wages, Ms. Brooks.”
“I came here for wages because my baby needs formula.”
Her voice broke, but she did not lower it.
“I found the papers because Victor threw my time sheet away.”
“I called the bank because someone used my name.”
“And I brought everything because nobody believed me when I said something was wrong.”
Daniel’s gaze dropped to the brown canvas bag again.
“What exactly did you bring?”
Adrian heard the question beneath the question.
Elena heard it too.
She clutched the bag tighter.
“Enough.”
Daniel’s jaw flexed.
He turned to Adrian.
“You need to get everyone out of here.”
“Why?”
“Because this may involve protected financial information.”
“Or because witnesses make you nervous.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
Before he could answer, two uniformed police officers entered the dining room.
Victor looked relieved.
Daniel did not.
One officer approached Elena.
“Ma’am, we received a report that you stole confidential company records and attempted to extort the restaurant manager.”
Elena went white.
Adrian looked at Victor.
Victor shook his head quickly.
“I didn’t call them.”
Adrian turned toward Daniel.
Daniel’s face remained perfectly calm.
May you like
Then one of the officers reached for Elena’s canvas bag.
And Daniel said, “That bag is company evidence.”
