Chapter 9: The Name on the Original Contract
Nobody moved for several seconds.
Then Gloria reached for her phone.
“I'm calling the police.””
Daniel nodded.
“Good. Don't touch anything else.””
Carl stepped away from the table.
“I haven't opened the box.””
“Thank you,” Daniel said.
“Please stay here.””
Nadia looked at her phone.
The unknown number had disappeared.
No name.
No photograph.
Just a missed-call notification and the message that had arrived earlier.
Stop looking into the payments.
Gloria noticed her expression.
“Are you all right?””
Nadia shook her head.
“No. Someone knows we're here.””
Gloria took her hand.
“We're not going to let anyone intimidate you.””
Daniel moved the metal box away from the edge of the table.
“Until the authorities arrive, nobody should attempt to open it.””
Gloria nodded.
Then she looked at the letter again.
“Evelyn knew something was wrong twelve years ago.””
Nadia glanced at the signature.
“Why didn't she tell you?””
Gloria's eyes softened.
“She tried. We argued about it.””
“What happened?””
Gloria sat down.
“Evelyn believed Robert Hale was falsifying renovation records. She wanted me to report him. But I was working two jobs at the time, trying to save enough money to buy this café. I didn't want to get involved in another person's business.””
She looked at the letter.
“I told her she was imagining things.””
Nadia remained silent.
“Three months later, she stopped speaking to me. We never properly reconciled.””
Gloria wiped her eyes.
“And now I've discovered she was right.””
Daniel pulled a chair closer.
“There's something we need to establish. Did Robert Hale have any connection to the current Westbridge company?””
Gloria shook her head.
“Not officially.””
Daniel opened his laptop.
“I'll check the company registration.””
He typed for several seconds.
Then stopped.
“That's interesting.””
Gloria leaned forward.
“What?””
“Westbridge Property Services was registered under Mason Hale's name.””
“We know that.””
“Yes. But the registered business address is the same address used by an older company.””
He turned the laptop around.
The name was:
*Hale Building Management.*
Gloria stared.
“That was Robert's company.””
Daniel nodded.
“The business was dissolved several years ago. Westbridge was registered using the same mailing address.””
Nadia looked at the screen.
“So Mason took over his father's business?””
“Possibly,” Daniel replied.
“Or at least its records and contacts.””
Gloria looked toward the wall.
“Then the old fraud never really ended.””
A knock came from the café entrance.
The security supervisor entered with two police officers.
Gloria explained what had happened.
She showed them the damaged mural, the photographs, the financial records, and Evelyn's letter.
One officer, Detective Harris, examined the metal box.
“Has anyone opened this?””
“No,” Gloria replied.
“Good. We'll have it documented and handled properly.””
He turned toward Nadia.
“You're the contractor whose signature appears on the disputed statement?””
“Yes.””
“Did you sign it?””
“No.””
“Do you have your original contract?””
“Yes.””
“Keep it safe. We'll need a copy.””
Nadia nodded.
The second officer photographed the panel.
Detective Harris examined the letter.
“Do you know where Evelyn kept these records?””
Gloria shook her head.
“No. She died five years ago.””
“Did she ever mention Robert Hale?””
Gloria hesitated.
“She said he was hiding something. I didn't listen.””
The detective nodded.
“We'll need to establish whether these documents relate to the current financial allegations.””
He looked at Daniel.
“And you represent the property management company?””
“Yes.””
“Has your company received any payments from the café?””
“Not directly. The payments went to Westbridge.””
“Then I suggest you preserve all correspondence involving Westbridge and Mason Hale.””
Daniel nodded.
“Already requested.””
The detective turned toward Trent's former office.
“Is the manager still here?””
“No,” Gloria replied.
“Security escorted him out.””
“Do you know where he is?””
“No.””
Daniel glanced at his phone.
“I may know.””
Everyone turned.
He opened a message.
It was from his office.
*MASON HALE HAS REQUESTED AN EMERGENCY MEETING WITH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT.*
Daniel frowned.
“He knows we've found the box.””
Gloria looked at him.
“How?””
Daniel showed her the message.
A second message followed.
*HE SAYS THE ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR HAS BEEN PAID AND MUST NOT BE CONTACTED DIRECTLY.*
Nadia's mouth fell open.
“They're still claiming I was paid?””
Daniel nodded.
The detective took the phone.
“Please forward this message to me.””
Daniel did.
Then another notification appeared.
A new email.
The subject line read:
*URGENT — ORIGINAL LEASE AGREEMENT.*
Daniel opened it.
He read the first paragraph.
Then looked at Gloria.
“There's a problem.””
“What now?””
“The property management company is claiming that the café's lease contains a clause allowing immediate termination if unauthorized structural work is discovered.””
Gloria frowned.
“But we haven't done any structural work.””
Daniel pointed at the screen.
“They're claiming the wall restoration was unauthorized.””
Nadia felt her stomach tighten.
“They're blaming you?””
“Apparently.””
Gloria took the phone.
“This is absurd. The mural was approved. The wall was safe. Trent invented the restoration work.””
Daniel nodded.
“I know. But we need the original documents to prove it.””
The detective glanced at the metal box.
“Then those records may be very important.””
A police technician arrived and began photographing the compartment.
He carefully examined the box's exterior.
Then he noticed a second label beneath the first.
He wiped away the dust.
The label read:
*ORIGINAL LEASE — SIGNED BY ALL PARTIES.*
Gloria leaned forward.
“That's the original lease?””
The technician nodded.
“Looks like it.””
Daniel looked surprised.
“The property management company doesn't have that document.””
Gloria turned toward him.
“What do you mean?””
“Their current records contain a scanned copy. But the original signatures were never verified.””
Detective Harris looked at the box.
“Then we may have something significant.””
The technician documented the lock and carefully opened it under the detective's supervision.
Inside were several folders.
Old invoices.
Property inspection reports.
Bank statements.
And one thick envelope marked:
*OWNERSHIP AND LEASE TRANSFER.*
Gloria watched as the detective opened it.
The first page contained the original lease agreement.
He turned through the signatures.
Then stopped.
“Mrs. Gloria, do you recognize this name?””
She leaned closer.
The signature at the bottom belonged to Robert Hale.
But there was another name beside it.
A name Gloria hadn't expected to see.
*EVELYN CARTER.*
Gloria covered her mouth.
“Why is my sister's name on the lease?””
Daniel examined the document.
“According to this, she was a co-owner of the property management company.””
Gloria shook her head.
“No. Evelyn was never a business owner.””
The detective turned another page.
There was a clause concerning the ownership transfer.
It stated that if the original property management company failed to meet its financial obligations, ownership of the building would revert to the designated beneficiaries.
Gloria read the names.
Her own name appeared first.
And Nadia's eyes widened when she saw the second.
*NADIA BENNETT.*
She stepped backward.
“Why is my name on that document?””
Gloria looked at her.
“I don't understand.””
Nadia stared at the page.
“I've never met Evelyn outside this café. I don't even know why she would know my name.””
The detective checked the date.
The agreement had been amended eleven years earlier.
Before Nadia had ever worked in the café.
Daniel leaned closer.
“There's a handwritten explanation attached.””
He unfolded it.
The note was brief.
If the building is ever used to conceal fraudulent renovation payments again, the original beneficiaries must be notified. Nadia Bennett is to receive the contractor's share of the property settlement.
Nadia stared.
“Contractor's share?””
Gloria shook her head.
“This doesn't make sense.””
The detective continued reading.
At the bottom of the note was another sentence.
The person responsible for delivering the documents is the only person who knows why Nadia was named.
Everyone looked at the detective.
He turned to Gloria.
“Do you know who that person is?””
Gloria slowly shook her head.
Then she noticed something tucked inside the envelope.
A small photograph.
It showed Evelyn standing outside the café years earlier.
Beside her was a young woman.
Nadia leaned closer.
She recognized the woman immediately.
It was her mother.
Her hands began to shake.
“That's my mom.””
Gloria looked at her.
“What?””
Nadia pointed.
“That's my mother. That's Sarah.””
The detective carefully removed the photograph.
On the back was a handwritten message.
*TO NADIA — WHEN THE WALL IS OPENED, YOU WILL FINALLY KNOW WHY YOUR MOTHER LEFT.*
Nadia couldn't breathe.
Her mother had died when she was sixteen.
She had spent years believing the family had nothing to do with this café.
Now her name was on a property agreement.
Her mother's photograph was inside a hidden box.
And Evelyn had apparently known something about her family that nobody had ever explained.
Gloria gently touched her arm.
“Nadia?””
Nadia stared at the photograph.
Then she looked at the detective.
“Can I ask you something?””
“Of course.””
“Who was my mother working for when this photograph was taken?””
The detective turned the photograph over again.
There was a small company logo printed in the corner.
He recognized it.
Daniel did too.
His face went pale.
Because the company was not Westbridge.
It was the original property management company.
And its director had been Robert Hale.
The detective looked at Nadia.
“There's someone we need to speak to.””
“Who?””
He glanced toward the office door.
“Your mother's former business partner.””
Then he paused.
“His name is Mason Hale's father.””
Nadia felt the room spin.
May you like
Robert Hale was still alive.
And according to the documents, he was the only person who could explain why her mother had been connected to the café all along.
