Chapter 2 - THE PRIVATE ROOM
For three seconds I heard nothing but silverware touching porcelain.
Two hundred and forty thousand dollars was not a dinner reservation.
It was a test of how much my son believed he could take.
"Put the pending transaction on hold," I told Sofia.
"Already done."
Adam made a grab for the paper, but Sofia moved it behind the counter.
"I want the original back," he said.
"It belongs to the restaurant's compliance file now," she replied.
A man in a dark suit approached through the dining room.
I recognized Daniel Mercer, Bellavita's operations director, the grandson of the man who had founded it.
He looked from me to Adam and immediately understood the room was no longer ordinary.
"Margaret, are you all right?"
"Physically, yes. Financially, that remains to be seen."
Daniel glanced at Sofia.
She showed him the documents without commentary.
Graham squared his shoulders.
"I'd like to speak to your owner."
Daniel glanced at me.
"You already are."
Celeste's jeweled hand rose halfway to her throat.
Vanessa stared as if Daniel had switched languages.
Adam laughed too loudly.
"My mother owns shares, maybe. Don't make her sound like the queen of Boston."
"Whitmore Hospitality Holdings controls sixty-two percent of Bellavita Group," Daniel said evenly.
"Mrs. Whitmore chairs its board."
I could see my son's thoughts rearranging themselves.
He had seen Thomas and me live carefully after my husband's illness.
He had mistaken privacy for poverty.
When I'd refused to buy him a third luxury car, he had called me cheap.
When I'd donated to a hospital, he had asked why I gave strangers money.
I had never explained that boundaries did not require an explanation.
"We'll discuss this privately," Adam said, suddenly solicitous.
"Certainly," I replied.
We moved into the small private dining room off the main hall.
The walls held old photographs of Boston, and a chandelier cast gentle light over a polished walnut table.
I chose a chair facing the door.
Sofia brought the documents; Daniel remained standing beside a locked service cabinet.
Vanessa began before anyone sat.
"Margaret, you are making this look malicious when it's a family misunderstanding."
"Then explain the forged signature."
She glanced at Adam.
"He thought you had agreed."
"He said I had signed."
"He must have misremembered."
I leaned back.
"It's remarkable how forgetful everyone becomes once they are caught."
Graham rested both palms on the table.
"My son-in-law is a respectable businessman."
"Then he should have no difficulty answering straightforward questions."
Daniel opened the internal activity log on a tablet.
"The smaller reservation was made Friday," he said.
"The larger request came through yesterday evening using a scanned corporate authorization."
"From whose email?" I asked.
Daniel hesitated.
"It appears to be from your personal assistant."
My assistant, Helen Ward, had worked for me for seventeen years.
Her loyalty was one of the few things in my life I had never doubted.
"Show me the address."
It looked right at first glance.
Then I saw the extra letter hidden in the domain.
Not Helen's address.
A forgery of that, too.
"Preserve everything," I said.
Adam pushed back his chair.
"I'm not staying to be accused of a crime."
"You're free to leave."
I pointed toward the door.
"But those documents stay."
He looked at Vanessa, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.
Before they could move, Daniel's tablet sounded again.
A new security notification had arrived from my estate.
Someone had just attempted to access the locked study in my house.
May you like
Using Adam's old entry code.
