Chapter 2 - The Stranger Became Her Most Trusted Worker—Until a Mysterious Letter Revealed Someone Wanted Bennett’s Eating House to Burn Before the Biggest Contract of the Year
The man across the street disappeared before Louisa could identify him.
Samuel watched the empty road.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
“You hesitated.”
“Yes.”
Louisa waited.
Finally he said:
“I don't know if he's here for me or you.”
“That isn't comforting.”
“It wasn't meant to be.”
That day, Samuel was quieter.
Louisa noticed.
He checked the doors twice.
Counted windows.
Watched customers.
He even walked outside during supper to inspect the alley.
“What's wrong with him?” Minnie asked.
“I don't know.”
“You're worried.”
“Yes.”
Minnie looked at her.
“You trust him.”
Louisa looked toward Samuel.
“Yes.”
“Then trust him.”
That was easier said than done.
Two days later, the railroad superintendent arrived.
“Miss Bennett.”
Louisa greeted him.
He explained that the railroad wanted a new dining contract.
The winning restaurant would supply meals for train crews.
It could double Bennett's revenue.
Louisa's hands shook afterward.
This was the opportunity she had dreamed about.
But she wasn't the only bidder.
The Mercantile Hotel was competing.
Its owner, Harold Crane, had never liked Louisa.
He had tried to buy Bennett's several times.
Every time she refused.
Now he wanted the contract.
Samuel looked at the proposal.
“Crane will cheat.”
Louisa sighed.
“Everyone isn't like your worst enemy.”
“He's not your worst enemy yet.”
“What does that mean?”
“Check the suppliers.”
She did.
One supplier had suddenly doubled prices.
Another had canceled.
A third refused to extend credit.
It looked coordinated.
Louisa felt panic rise.
“Someone's trying to squeeze us.”
Samuel nodded.
“You're running out of time.”
“We need another supplier.”
“I know one.”
“Where?”
“Oregon.”
She stared.
“How long to get supplies here?”
“Too long.”
“Then why mention it?”
“Because they have canned goods.”
Louisa groaned.
“I don't want canned food.”
“You want to stay open.”
She hated when he was right.
They bought the supplies.
The railroad contract review came closer.
Then disaster struck.
The kitchen stove broke.
Louisa's only commercial range went cold.
Repair parts were unavailable.
The restaurant had sixty reservations that evening.
She stood in the kitchen, staring at the useless stove.
“I can't do this.”
Samuel appeared beside her.
“Yes, you can.”
“How?”
He walked outside.
Returned with two iron burners.
“Portable camp stoves.”
Louisa stared.
“Where did you get those?”
“Borrowed them.”
“From whom?”
“A miner.”
She laughed.
“You know everybody.”
“People talk.”
The dinner service continued.
It wasn't elegant.
But it worked.
After closing, Louisa sat outside.
Samuel joined her.
“You never panic.”
“I panic.”
“Not where anyone can see.”
He looked at her.
“You shouldn't have to do everything alone.”
She swallowed.
“I don't know how to do anything else.”
He didn't reply.
He simply sat beside her.
For the first time in years, Louisa didn't feel completely alone.
The railroad contract hearing arrived.
Louisa presented her proposal.
Crane presented his.
The superintendent seemed impressed with both.
Then a rumor spread.
Bennett's had poor hygiene.
Louisa was furious.
She knew where it came from.
Crane.
The health inspector arrived.
Samuel noticed something.
A spoiled meat crate had been placed behind the building.
It carried Bennett's label.
Louisa stared.
“We don't own this.”
Samuel crouched.
“The label is new.”
“How do you know?”
“Your printer leaves a white line here.”
He pointed.
“Someone copied it.”
The health inspector accepted the explanation.
But the sabotage continued.
Broken windows.
Missing deliveries.
False complaints.
Each one intended to make Louisa fail.
Samuel worked tirelessly.
Then one night, he found something behind the kitchen.
A small metal box.
Inside was a photograph.
A younger Samuel.
Standing beside three men.
Louisa recognized one.
Harold Crane.
She looked at Samuel.
“You knew him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Silence.
“Samuel.”
He sighed.
“Crane worked for my father.”
“And?”
“He betrayed him.”
“How?”
“He stole freight contracts.”
Louisa stared.
“Then your father lost the company.”
“Yes.”
“Was he blamed?”
“Yes.”
“By Crane?”
“Yes.”
She understood.
The pattern wasn't random.
Crane had destroyed Samuel's family before.
Now he was trying to destroy hers.
But why?
Because of a railroad contract?
Samuel shook his head.
“There's more.”
He opened the metal box.
Inside was a document.
Blackridge Freight Consortium.
Louisa had heard the name.
A major regional shipping company.
And the document contained something strange.
Bennett's Eating House was listed as collateral.
Louisa stared.
“This isn't possible.”
Samuel nodded.
“Your father owed them money.”
“My father paid everything.”
“According to this, he didn't.”
Louisa felt sick.
“What does that mean?”
“Someone borrowed against the restaurant.”
“Who?”
He looked at her.
“Your uncle.”
Louisa froze.
Her uncle had died years earlier.
But if the loan was never repaid…
Then the restaurant wasn't actually debt-free.
Someone could still claim it.
And Crane knew.
That night, the front window was broken.
A brick landed beside the cash register.
Attached was another note.
Sign the contract with Crane, or lose the restaurant.
Louisa looked at Samuel.
His face was cold.
“They're running out of patience.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“But you're going to find out.”
“Yes.”
He stood.
“Louisa?”
“What?”
“Whatever happens, don't sign anything tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow isn't about the railroad.”
“What is it about?”
“The deed.”
Her heart stopped.
Because if someone had forged a debt against Bennett's, the railroad contract was only a distraction.
Someone was trying to steal her restaurant.
May you like
And the person who knew exactly how to do it had just walked through the front door.
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