Chapter 5 - The Shadow in the Upstairs Hall
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The restaurant remained trapped in darkness except for the weak red glow of the emergency lights along the walls. Guests whispered nervously, chairs scraped against the floor, and somewhere near the kitchen, a glass shattered.
Daniel stood immediately.
“Lock every exit,” he ordered.
His private security team moved toward the front and rear doors.
Melissa stared at the empty table.
“The deed was right there.”
Eleanor remained seated, but her eyes had sharpened. The frightened old woman from the entrance seemed to disappear, replaced by someone who had survived far more than anyone in the room understood.
“The crash came from upstairs,” she said.
Daniel nodded and turned toward Samuel.
“Stay with Mrs. Hayes.”
“No,” Eleanor replied. “I’m coming.”
Daniel wanted to object, but she had already risen.
Together, they climbed the curved staircase leading to the private offices. Two security officers followed behind them while Melissa remained downstairs under watch.
At the top of the stairs, Daniel saw his office door hanging open.
The lock had been broken.
Inside, drawers were pulled out, papers covered the floor, and the glass display case containing early photographs of Bellarose had been smashed.
One of the security officers checked the windows.
“Still locked from the inside.”
Daniel walked toward his desk.
The lower cabinet was open.
His private financial records were gone.
“This wasn’t only about the deed,” he said.
Eleanor noticed a faint line of muddy footprints leading from the office into the service hallway.
They followed them past the wine storage room and toward a narrow stairwell used by employees.
At the bottom of the stairs, they found a maintenance uniform abandoned beside an emergency exit.
The door was slightly open.
Daniel stepped outside.
The alley behind Bellarose was empty except for overflowing boxes and the distant sound of an engine speeding away.
One officer knelt beside fresh tire marks.
“Small vehicle. Probably left less than a minute ago.”
Daniel clenched his fists.
“Someone knew where the deed would be. Someone knew the lights could be disabled. This was planned.”
Eleanor looked at the discarded uniform.
Inside one pocket, she found a brass key and a folded receipt from a coffee shop two blocks away.
On the back, someone had written a room number.
314.
Daniel recognized the handwriting.
“That looks like Melissa’s.”
Eleanor unfolded the rest of the receipt.
Beneath the number were three more words.
Meet after closing.
Before Daniel could speak, his phone rang.
The caller ID showed Victor Kane.
Daniel answered.
Victor’s voice came through as a whisper.
“You need to get Mrs. Hayes out of the restaurant.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“Where is the deed?”
“I don’t have it.”
“Then who does?”
A loud sound interrupted the call, followed by Victor breathing heavily.
“You think I was the worst person working for you,” he said. “I wasn’t.”
May you like
The line went dead.
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