Chapter 7: The Man in the Gray Suit
“I'm looking for Nadia Bennett.””
The man stood just inside the café entrance.
He was in his late forties, wearing a charcoal-gray suit, polished shoes, and a silver watch. A thick leather folder rested beneath his arm.
Nadia recognized the name he had used.
But she had never seen the man before.
Gloria stepped out of the office.
“I'm Gloria. Who are you?””
The man reached into his jacket and produced a business card.
“Daniel Whitmore. I'm a representative of Westbridge Property Services.””
Nadia felt her stomach tighten.
Westbridge.
The same company that had received the missing $25,700.
The same company owned by Trent's brother.
Gloria didn't take the card.
“What do you want?””
Daniel glanced at Nadia.
“I need to speak with Ms. Bennett regarding a signed completion statement.””
Nadia stepped forward.
“I never signed anything for your company.””
Daniel opened his folder.
“According to our records, you did.””
He placed a document on the nearest table.
It was the same statement Gloria had discovered on the computer.
Nadia's name.
Her supposed signature.
The photograph of her standing beside the mural.
She stared at it.
“This is fake.””
Daniel looked surprised.
“Excuse me?””
“I never worked for Westbridge. I was contracted by this café. I never received twenty-five thousand dollars.””
Daniel glanced at Gloria.
“That's not what the documentation indicates.””
Gloria folded her arms.
“Then your documentation is wrong.””
Daniel removed another sheet.
“This statement confirms that Ms. Bennett completed the restoration project and accepted the payment in full.””
Nadia shook her head.
“I completed a mural. I didn't restore a wall.””
Daniel frowned.
“Are you saying you didn't perform the work?””
“I performed the artwork. But I never agreed to any restoration contract.””
He turned a page.
“Your signature appears here.””
“Someone copied it.””
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“Do you recognize the person who took this?””
Nadia nodded.
“Mason. Trent's brother.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“You know Mason?””
“I saw him around the café. I didn't know he was photographing me.””
Gloria stepped closer.
“Mr. Whitmore, your company received four payments from this business. Twenty-five thousand seven hundred dollars. We believe those payments were unauthorized.””
Daniel slowly closed the folder.
“That's a serious allegation.””
“So is using someone's signature without permission.””
He looked toward the office.
“May I speak with you privately?””
“No,” Gloria replied.
“Whatever you have to say can be said here.””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Mrs. Gloria, I'm trying to prevent this situation from becoming more complicated.””
Gloria gave him a cold look.
“Then start by explaining why your company submitted a statement claiming Nadia received money she never received.””
Daniel looked down at the document.
“I wasn't involved in preparing that statement.””
“Who was?””
He hesitated.
“Mason Hale.””
Nadia looked at Gloria.
“That's Trent's brother.””
Daniel nodded.
“I understand.””
Gloria stepped forward.
“Then why are you here?””
Daniel opened his folder again.
“Because Mason contacted our office this morning. He told us there might be a dispute concerning the project and asked us to collect the original contractor statement.””
Nadia frowned.
“Why?””
“He said Ms. Bennett had agreed to provide a written confirmation of the work.””
“I never agreed to that.””
Daniel studied her face.
For several seconds, he seemed to be deciding whether to believe her.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
He answered.
“Yes?””
A voice spoke on the other end.
Daniel turned slightly away.
“I understand.””
Another pause.
“No, she hasn't signed anything.””
Gloria watched him carefully.
Daniel ended the call.
“Who was that?”” Gloria asked.
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
“My office.””
“What did they want?””
“They've decided to suspend the payment dispute pending further review.””
Gloria raised an eyebrow.
“That was quick.””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“There's been a development.””
“What development?””
He opened the folder and removed a printed photograph.
It showed the café's back entrance.
The photograph had been taken at night.
A man stood beside a stack of paint containers.
Nadia recognized him.
Mason.
But he wasn't alone.
Standing beside him was Renee.
Nadia looked at the photograph again.
“When was this taken?””
“Last Thursday,” Daniel replied.
Renee appeared from the hallway.
She had been listening.
Her face went pale.
“That isn't what it looks like.””
Gloria turned toward her.
“Then tell us what it looks like.””
Renee stared at the photograph.
“Mason came to collect some supplies.””
“What supplies?””
“I don't know. Paint, maybe.””
Daniel pointed at the containers.
“Those are commercial restoration products.””
Renee swallowed.
“I didn't know what he was doing.””
Nadia looked at her.
“Why were you helping him?””
“I wasn't helping him.””
“Then why are you standing beside him?””
Renee's eyes filled with tears.
“Because he told me Trent was arranging a private renovation.””
Gloria stepped closer.
“Renee, I need the truth. Now.””
Renee looked toward the front windows.
Then she whispered:
“Mason told me the wall had to be photographed before anyone painted over it.””
Nadia frowned.
“Why?””
Renee shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Daniel placed another document on the table.
“This photograph was included in a report submitted to the property management company.””
Gloria read the heading.
*PRE-RESTORATION CONDITION REPORT.*
Her face tightened.
The report described severe damage to the wall.
Cracks.
Water damage.
Structural deterioration.
None of it was real.
Nadia had prepared the wall herself before painting.
It was perfectly sound.
“They claimed the wall needed restoration before my mural was even finished,” Nadia said.
Daniel nodded.
“According to the report, yes.””
Gloria stared at him.
“Then someone created a false damage report to justify the payments.””
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into his folder and removed a final sheet.
It was a photograph of a handwritten note.
The note contained three lines.
*WALL MUST BE CLEARED BEFORE FRIDAY.*
*ORIGINAL DESIGN CANNOT BE VISIBLE.*
*KEEP CONTRACTOR AWAY FROM INSPECTION.*
Nadia felt cold.
The handwriting looked familiar.
She pointed at the bottom.
“That's Trent's handwriting.””
Gloria looked at Renee.
Renee covered her mouth.
Then she began to cry.
“I didn't know what they were planning.””
Gloria softened her voice slightly.
“Renee, what else did Mason tell you?””
Renee wiped her cheeks.
“He said the inspection wasn't really about the mural.””
“What was it about?””
Renee looked at Nadia.
Then at Daniel.
And finally at Gloria.
“They were trying to make the café look like it needed emergency restoration.””
Gloria frowned.
“Why?””
Renee took a shaky breath.
“Because Mason was going to submit another invoice after the inspection.””
“How much?””
Renee closed her eyes.
“Forty-eight thousand dollars.””
Gloria gripped the edge of the table.
“What?””
Renee nodded.
“He said the landlord would reimburse the work once the damage was verified.””
Nadia stared at her.
“So they needed my mural destroyed to make the wall look damaged?””
Renee nodded.
Daniel slowly put his folder away.
“I think I should make a phone call.””
Gloria stopped him.
“Not before you tell us everything you know.””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“There's something else.””
“What?””
He opened his briefcase and removed a photograph of the original wall.
It had been taken before Nadia started painting.
But something in the corner caught her eye.
A small red mark.
A circle drawn around a section of the wall.
Beneath it was a handwritten note.
*REMOVE PANEL — ACCESS REQUIRED.*
Nadia looked up.
“What panel?””
Gloria went very still.
Because she knew exactly which panel he meant.
The old wooden section behind the mural.
May you like
The one that had been sealed for years.
And the one nobody had permission to open.
