Chapter 3: The Message He Forgot
Trent stared at Nadia's phone.
Nobody spoke.
The café suddenly seemed much quieter.
Even the hum of the refrigerator behind the counter became noticeable.
“Give me that,” Trent said.
Nadia pulled the phone closer to her chest.
“No.””
“I said give it to me.””
Gloria stepped between them.
“Don't touch her.””
Trent looked at Gloria, then at Renee.
“She's taking my messages out of context.””
Gloria held out her hand toward Nadia.
“May I?””
Nadia unlocked the phone and passed it over.
Gloria read the conversation from the beginning.
The first message was harmless.
*TRENT — 8:12 PM: The mural is looking great. The blue is exactly what we discussed.*
Then another.
*TRENT — 9:03 PM: Make sure the woman in the center stays prominent. That's the part I like most.*
And finally, the message sent at 11:47 PM.
*TRENT — 11:47 PM: Listen, I need you to keep this between us. If anyone asks tomorrow, say the mural was never officially approved. I'll handle Renee.*
Gloria's fingers tightened around the phone.
She looked up.
“What does this mean?””
Trent rubbed his forehead.
“It's a misunderstanding.””
Nadia shook her head.
“You sent it after you approved the design.””
“I was talking about a different version.””
“There was no different version.””
“Then you misunderstood what I wanted.””
Gloria handed the phone back.
“That's not what your messages say.””
Trent pointed at Nadia.
“She knows exactly what she's doing. She's trying to make me look bad because I criticized her work.””
Nadia stared at him.
“You told me to keep the flowers. You told me to make the background brighter. You even asked me to add the gold border.””
“So?””
“So I did everything you asked.””
Renee moved toward the table.
“Can we please stop reading private conversations? We don't know the whole situation.””
Gloria turned toward her.
“You knew about this?””
Renee blinked.
“About what?””
“Trent said he would handle you.””
Renee's expression changed.
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
Trent immediately interrupted.
“Renee, don't.””
Gloria noticed.
“Don't what?””
“Nothing.””
“Then explain it.””
Trent picked up his jacket again, apparently forgetting that white paint still covered most of it.
“This is becoming a circus.””
Gloria took a breath.
“Put the jacket down.””
“No.””
“Then leave it on the chair and go to the office. We are going to review the footage.””
Trent shook his head.
“You can't order me around in front of everyone.””
Gloria's voice remained steady.
“I own this café.””
“And I run it.””
“Not anymore, if this is how you understand your job.””
Renee looked between them.
“Gloria, you can't make decisions like that without discussing them.””
Gloria turned slowly.
“I'm sorry. Are you telling me how to manage my own business?””
Renee lowered her eyes.
“No.””
“Good.””
Gloria took the clipboard and walked toward the office.
“Both of you. Now.””
Nadia stayed beside the damaged mural.
Gloria stopped at the doorway.
“Nadia, come with us. You're part of this.””
Trent gave a frustrated sigh.
“She doesn't need to be involved in internal management.””
Gloria turned around.
“She became involved when you destroyed her work.””
Nadia followed Gloria into the office.
The small room smelled of printer ink and old coffee.
A stack of invoices sat beside the computer. On the wall hung framed photographs of the café from its opening day.
Gloria sat behind the desk.
“Show me the full conversation,” she told Nadia.
Nadia placed her phone on the desk.
Gloria scrolled carefully.
There were photographs of the mural at different stages.
Messages about color choices.
A photograph Trent had sent of the café's new furniture.
And a message from him that made Gloria stop.
*TRENT — 10:18 PM: Once this is finished, don't mention the old design to anyone. We need the wall looking clean before the inspection.*
Gloria frowned.
“What inspection?””
Trent shifted in his chair.
“Routine business stuff.””
Gloria looked at him.
“What inspection?””
“Nothing important.””
Renee suddenly spoke.
“It was a meeting with the property management company.””
Gloria turned toward her.
“Why didn't I know about it?””
Renee looked uncomfortable.
“Because Trent said he'd handle it.””
Gloria leaned back.
“Who was coming?””
“Representatives from the landlord's office,” Renee replied.
“And what did they want to inspect?””
Renee glanced at Trent.
He shook his head slightly.
She looked down.
“I don't know.””
Gloria's eyes narrowed.
“You've both been discussing an inspection in my café, and neither of you thought to tell me?””
Trent stood.
“That's enough. I don't have to sit here and be interrogated.””
Gloria pointed toward the chair.
“Sit down.””
He didn't.
“Trent.””
He slowly sat.
Gloria turned back to Nadia.
“Did he tell you anything about the inspection?””
Nadia shook her head.
“No. He only said the mural needed to be finished before Friday.””
“Why Friday?””
“I assumed it was for the reopening campaign.””
Gloria looked at Trent.
“Is it?””
He said nothing.
Gloria opened the computer and accessed the café's shared management calendar.
She searched the date.
A meeting appeared.
*FRIDAY — 10:00 AM. PROPERTY REVIEW.*
Under the meeting title was a note.
Front dining area must be cleared. Remove unauthorized wall artwork.
Gloria stared at the screen.
“Unauthorized?””
She turned toward Nadia.
“Your mural was authorized.””
“I know.””
Gloria looked back at the note.
“Then why does this say otherwise?””
Trent stood again.
“Because it was added by mistake.””
“By whom?””
“Someone in administration.””
Gloria looked at Renee.
Renee folded her arms.
“I didn't write that.””
Nadia felt a cold sensation move through her stomach.
Something was wrong.
She remembered Trent's message.
Say the mural was never officially approved.
Why would he need her to lie about approval?
Why would the property management company be told the artwork was unauthorized?
And why had he destroyed it before the inspection?
Gloria opened another tab.
“Let's check the original approval documents.””
Trent immediately leaned forward.
“There's no need.””
Gloria didn't look at him.
“I'll decide that.””
She searched the email archive.
A few seconds later, she found a message dated three weeks earlier.
The sender was the property management company.
The subject line read:
*FINAL NOTICE — UNAPPROVED RENOVATIONS AND ALTERATIONS.*
Gloria opened it.
Her face went still.
The email stated that the landlord had approved a specific renovation budget.
But any additional decorative work required written authorization.
Attached to the message was a list of expenses submitted by the café's management team.
Gloria scanned the figures.
Then she stopped.
There was a payment request for $8,500.
The description read:
*WALL RESTORATION AND SURFACE PREPARATION — COMPLETED.*
Gloria looked at Nadia.
“Did you receive eight thousand five hundred dollars?””
Nadia shook her head.
“No. My entire contract was six thousand.””
Gloria looked at the payment date.
It was two days before Nadia had even started painting.
She turned the monitor toward Trent.
“What is this?””
Trent's jaw tightened.
“An accounting entry.””
“An accounting entry for work that hadn't happened?””
“It was an advance.””
“Then where did the money go?””
Trent rubbed his face.
“Gloria, you're misunderstanding the paperwork.””
Gloria looked at the name attached to the payment request.
Then at the authorization field.
The request had been submitted using her own business account.
But the approval signature wasn't hers.
It belonged to someone else.
Someone sitting in that office.
Gloria slowly turned toward Renee.
“Did you approve this payment?””
Renee's face lost its color.
“I... I was told it was already authorized.””
“By whom?””
Renee looked at Trent.
He shook his head.
“Don't say anything.””
Gloria stood.
“Renee. Look at me.””
Renee swallowed.
“I was only following instructions.””
“Whose instructions?””
For the first time that morning, Renee looked genuinely frightened.
She glanced at the office door.
Then she whispered:
“Trent told me the money was going to be used to pay Nadia.””
Nadia frowned.
“But I never received it.””
Gloria turned back toward the computer.
There was another attachment.
A bank transfer confirmation.
She clicked it.
The destination account was not Nadia's.
It wasn't the café's operating account either.
It belonged to a private company.
Gloria read the company name.
Her expression changed completely.
Then she looked directly at Trent.
“Why did you send eight thousand five hundred dollars to a company owned by your brother?””
Trent went silent.
Renee covered her mouth.
And Nadia finally understood.
The white paint wasn't the beginning of the problem.
May you like
It was an attempt to erase the evidence.
*But Gloria hadn't opened the second attachment yet.*
