Chapter 7 - Beneath The RestaurantThe hidden staircase was behind a steel storage panel.
Marcus had assumed it was part of the original foundation.
He was wrong.
The wall moved when Ethan pressed a concealed latch.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
I turned on my phone flashlight.
Dust covered the steps.
There was no sign anyone had used them recently.
But at the bottom, we found fresh footprints.
Marcus stared.
“No way.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“We keep going.”
The basement was larger than expected.
Stone walls.
Old shelves.
A rusted metal cabinet.
And in the center, a wooden table.
Someone had been there recently.
A chair stood pushed back.
On the table was a glass of water.
Still cold.
I touched it.
“Someone is using this room.”
Marcus looked terrified.
Then we heard a sound.
A metallic scrape.
Behind us.
The staircase door slammed shut.
Marcus ran toward it.
Locked.
Ethan pulled his phone.
“No signal.”
I heard footsteps from deeper in the basement.
One.
Two.
Three.
Slow.
Someone was walking toward us.
Ethan whispered,
“Stay behind me.”
The footsteps stopped.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You should have left this alone.”
I knew that voice.
Lauren.
She stepped into the light.
Her face was bruised.
Her coat was torn.
She looked exhausted.
“You?”
I stared at her.
“How did you get here?”
“There's another entrance.”
“Why?”
“To retrieve something.”
“What?”
She looked at Marcus.
Then Ethan.
Finally, she looked at me.
“The ledger.”
I stepped toward her.
“You knew it was here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel told me.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Lauren.”
“I swear.”
She looked toward the cabinet.
“Your mother hid the ledger here.”
I shook my head.
“My mother never owned this building.”
“No.”
“But she worked near it.”
Lauren nodded.
“She arranged the transfer.”
“What transfer?”
“The Bennett family used this building to store documents temporarily.”
Ethan looked confused.
“My family owned the property?”
“For two years.”
Silence.
Richard had lied.
Or perhaps he had forgotten.
Either way, the connection was real.
Lauren opened the cabinet.
Inside were dozens of folders.
Most were empty.
One remained.
Stamped:
MAY 17, 2009
She handed it to me.
Inside was a handwritten statement.
My mother's handwriting.
I recognized it instantly.
I am writing this because I believe I am being followed.
My hands shook.
The money is not stolen.
The people moving it are using names that don't belong to them.
One of those names is mine.
I continued reading.
If anyone finds this, do not trust the Bennetts.
I looked at Ethan.
He went pale.
“What?”
I handed him the page.
He read it.
“That doesn't mean my family was involved.”
“Then why did she write it?”
He didn't answer.
Lauren looked down.
“There’s more.”
I turned the page.
Richard Bennett thinks he can control the situation.
He cannot.
The person controlling everything isn't Richard.
My eyes moved lower.
It is someone inside the company who knows my daughter.
The next line was smudged.
Only three letters remained visible.
M.A.
I looked up.
“Who is M.A.?”
Lauren's expression changed.
She whispered,
“My father had a lawyer.”
“Name?”
“Martin Avery.”
Marcus stepped back.
“What?”
We all looked at him.
He swallowed.
“I know that name.”
“How?”
“I used to work for his firm.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
“What did he do?”
Marcus looked toward the dark hallway.
“He represented one of the investors who bought this restaurant before you did.”
I frowned.
“I bought it from a developer.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That developer didn't own it.”
My chest tightened.
“Then who did?”
He looked at me.
“Martin Avery.”
A sound came from behind us.
A single slow clap.
We turned.
A man stood at the top of the second staircase.
Older.
Gray hair.
Black coat.
A faint smile.
Martin Avery.
He looked directly at me.
Then he said,
“Your mother was very difficult to silence.”
May you like
The lights went out.
And the basement door opened behind him.
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