Chapter 4 - The Private Dining Room
Adrian took me back to Harbor and Vine.
The restaurant was closed.
Frank was gone.
We entered the private dining room.
The gold crest hung above the fireplace.
Adrian touched it.
“It belonged to my father's company.”
I looked around.
“Why would a restaurant have it?”
“Because my father owned this building.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He bought it twenty-five years ago.”
“And then?”
“He sold it.”
“To whom?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Frank Sullivan.”
My heart dropped.
The restaurant wasn't independent.
It was part of a network.
Money moved through it.
Fake invoices.
Illegal transfers.
Hidden accounts.
Frank had been laundering money through the business.
And the missing tips were only the beginning.
Then Adrian found something behind the crest.
A hidden compartment.
Inside was a small black notebook.
His mother's handwriting covered the first page.
If I disappear, look for the woman who serves coffee.
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian looked at me.
“I don't know.”
Then I realized something.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“There's a woman who works mornings.”
“Who?”
“Mrs. Alvarez.”
“She makes coffee?”
“Yes.”
“She has worked there for twenty-three years.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Find her.”
We searched.
She wasn't at home.
Her apartment was empty.
But on the kitchen table sat a photograph.
Mrs. Alvarez.
Adrian's father.
And Frank.
My heart pounded.
Then the back door opened.
Someone ran.
Adrian chased him.
I followed.
We reached the alley.
The man turned.
It was Frank.
He smiled.
“You should have stayed in your lane, Megan.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You killed my father.”
Frank laughed.
“No.”
He pulled a gun.
“I killed your mother.”
Everything stopped.
Adrian's face changed.
“What?”
Frank smiled.
“Your father wasn't the only one who knew.”
Then he ran.
Adrian stood frozen.
I grabbed his arm.
“Adrian…”
He looked at me.
May you like
His eyes were filled with rage.
For the first time, I understood why people were afraid of him.
