Chapter 2 - The Paycheck Was Missing, but So Was More Than Money
Mom pulled me toward the bathroom hallway before Vincent could leave.
“What were you thinking?”
“I wanted our dinner.”
She closed her eyes.
I could see she was trying not to cry.
“I told you to stay in the office.”
“I did.”
“For almost two hours.”
I nodded.
She knelt.
“You cannot walk around a restaurant by yourself.”
“But I found the boss.”
Mom stared at me.
“Vincent Kane is not your boss.”
“He made David scared.”
Her lips trembled.
“That doesn't make him safe.”
Vincent approached.
“She's right.”
Mom looked up.
“You heard?”
“I hear everything.”
Mom hugged me tighter.
“I don't want your help.”
Vincent looked at her.
“You just said that because you think needing help makes you weak.”
Mom said nothing.
He continued.
“It doesn't.”
Then Marcus Reed arrived.
He was in his fifties, wore glasses, and carried three leather folders.
Vincent pointed at David.
“Let's see the books.”
David hesitated.
Marcus opened the first folder.
“The company is Sterling Hospitality Group.”
Vincent nodded.
“How many locations?”
“Four official.”
“Official?”
Marcus looked at me, then at Mom.
“There are several shell entities.”
Mom went pale.
David stepped back.
“Marcus, this is unnecessary.”
Marcus looked toward him.
“You know me?”
“Everyone knows you.”
“Then you know I don't work for people who want unnecessary.”
He opened a document.
“Emily Carter signed these forms.”
Mom frowned.
“I didn't sign anything like that.”
Marcus showed her a page.
It carried her signature.
She stared.
“That isn't possible.”
David said quickly:
“She signed at onboarding.”
Mom pointed.
“I signed one employment agreement.”
Marcus looked at the second page.
“This one authorizes payroll transfers.”
Mom shook her head.
“I never saw that.”
“What about this?”
He turned the page.
“Authorization for expense reimbursement.”
“No.”
“And this?”
She started crying.
“No.”
Vincent looked at David.
“Why does my employee's signature appear on documents she never saw?”
David's face tightened.
“I have administrative staff.”
“Name them.”
“That's not relevant.”
Vincent stood.
“It became relevant when you stole from her.”
David sighed.
“Fine. I'll cooperate.”
Marcus smiled.
“Good choice.”
He placed another document on the table.
“This is interesting.”
Vincent looked down.
Then his expression changed.
“What?”
Marcus turned the page around.
“Three employees appear to have authorized personal loans.”
Mom glanced over.
“I don't know any of those people.”
Marcus pointed.
“They don't exist.”
Silence.
David whispered:
“What?”
Marcus turned another page.
“Thirty-one employees.”
Vincent's voice became colder.
“Fake employees.”
“Yes.”
“Total?”
Marcus gave him the number.
“Two-point-eight million dollars.”
Mom sat down.
I watched adults move papers around like those numbers were weapons.
I didn't understand two million.
I understood five dollars.
Five dollars bought enough bread for several days.
Five thousand was enormous.
Two million sounded like a mountain.
Vincent glanced at me.
“Rory.”
“Yes?”
“What did your mother tell you about money?”
Mom looked embarrassed.
I answered honestly.
“She says you don't need a lot. You just need enough.”
Vincent nodded slowly.
“That's a good rule.”
David suddenly laughed.
“You're going to ruin my company over five thousand dollars?”
Vincent looked at him.
“No.”
He pointed to Marcus.
“I'm going to ruin it over two-point-eight million.”
David stopped laughing.
The police arrived forty minutes later.
Mom tried to leave.
Vincent stopped her.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because you are a witness.”
“I just want to take my daughter home.”
“You can.”
He paused.
“But you're coming back tomorrow.”
Mom hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because this is bigger than unpaid wages.”
She looked at me.
Then at him.
“I don't want trouble.”
Vincent lowered his voice.
“Trouble already found you.”
Outside, a black SUV waited.
Vincent opened the back door.
Mom stared.
“What is this?”
“A ride home.”
“We have a bus.”
“Not tonight.”
“I can't accept this.”
“It's not a favor.”
He looked toward the restaurant.
“It's security.”
Mom finally climbed inside.
I followed.
Vincent stood outside.
Before closing the door, he looked at me.
“Rory.”
“Yes?”
“You did something brave today.”
I smiled.
“Are you mad?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look mad?”
“Because someone made you need to be brave.”
I didn't understand then.
I do now.
That night, Mom sat beside my bed.
She thought I was asleep.
She whispered:
“I should never have brought you there.”
I opened my eyes.
“Are you mad at me?”
She looked shocked.
“No.”
“Then don't cry.”
She laughed through her tears.
“I'll try.”
Then someone knocked on our apartment door.
It was almost midnight.
Mom froze.
She whispered:
“Don't move.”
The knock came again.
Three slow knocks.
Then a man's voice.
“Emily Carter?”
Mom didn't answer.
The voice came again.
“Ms. Carter, I'm with the company.”
Mom moved toward the door.
I sat up.
“Mom.”
She stopped.
A piece of paper slid under the door.
She picked it up.
Her hands began shaking.
It was a copy of the work log I had taken from her purse.
Across the page, someone had written in red ink:
STOP TALKING.
Mom looked at me.
Then at the paper.
A minute later, she called Vincent Kane.
He answered on the first ring.
“What happened?”
Mom whispered:
“Someone threatened us.”
Vincent's voice changed.
“Describe the note.”
She did.
There was a long pause.
Then he said:
“Don't touch the door.”
“I won't.”
“Don't leave the apartment.”
“I won't.”
“I'll be there in ten minutes.”
“You don't have to.”
His answer was immediate.
“Yes.”
The call ended.
Mom sat on the floor beside me.
Ten minutes later, black vehicles filled the street.
Vincent entered with four men.
He looked at the note.
Then at Mom.
Then at me.
“Get your things.”
Mom frowned.
“Why?”
“You're staying somewhere else.”
“No.”
“This isn't negotiable.”
She stood.
“I have a job.”
Vincent stared at her.
“You had a job.”
“What?”
He placed a folder on the table.
“Sterling fired every employee who asked for back pay tonight.”
Mom sat down.
“I'm unemployed?”
Vincent shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She's employed by me.”
Mom stared.
“What?”
Vincent shrugged.
“I own a restaurant too.”
Mom blinked.
“You do?”
“Three.”
“I thought you were…”
“A criminal?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
He smiled faintly.
“So does everyone.”
Then he looked at the note again.
“But whoever wrote this doesn't care what I am.”
His voice became hard.
“They made the biggest mistake of their life.”
I asked:
“What mistake?”
May you like
Vincent looked down at me.
“They threatened the wrong mother.”
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