Chapter 5 - The Name Hidden in the Records
The name on Todd Mercer’s phone screen was mine.
Jenna Brooks.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Todd stood near the office door with the phone pressed against his ear.
His face had lost all color.
The confidence.
The control.
The arrogance.
Gone.
Because whoever was on the other end had said something that scared him more than the cameras, the customers, or the police.
Me.
I stared at him.
"Why are you calling me?"
Todd looked at me.
Then away.
"I wasn't."
The answer was so ridiculous that even he knew it.
Margaret crossed her arms.
"Your phone says otherwise."
Todd ended the call.
Too quickly.
Like he was trying to erase the conversation.
But it was too late.
Everyone had seen.
Everyone had heard enough.
"Who was that?" I asked.
Todd didn't answer.
"Who was calling about me?"
Still nothing.
That silence was becoming his biggest mistake.
Because silence only worked when people were afraid to challenge it.
And tonight, nobody was afraid anymore.
Not even me.
"You kept a file about me."
My voice shook.
"But you said you were protecting me."
Todd looked at the folder in his hand.
Then at the customers.
Then back at me.
"You need to understand something."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You need to understand something."
For the first time in four years, I didn't lower my voice around him.
"I don't work for you right now."
The diner went completely still.
"I don't answer to you right now."
Todd stared.
"I want the truth."
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Regret.
Just for a second.
Then it disappeared.
"You have no idea what you're asking for."
Margaret stepped forward.
"Then explain."
Todd looked at her.
"You don't know anything about this."
"You're right."
Margaret nodded.
"I don't."
A pause.
"Which is why I am asking questions."
Todd looked toward the office.
The locked room.
The room that suddenly seemed much more important than anyone realized.
Jenna noticed.
"You were keeping something in there."
Todd didn't respond.
"Was it about me?"
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Margaret noticed.
"So it was."
Todd looked frustrated.
"You don't understand."
"No."
Margaret looked directly at him.
"We understand perfectly."
She pointed toward the folder.
"You created fake reports."
Todd said nothing.
"You tracked her schedule."
Nothing.
"You kept personal information about her child."
His jaw tightened.
"That wasn't what it looked like."
Jenna felt anger rising.
"Then what was it?"
Todd looked at her.
And for a moment, she thought she saw something she had never seen before.
Guilt.
Real guilt.
"I found something."
The words were quiet.
Everyone heard them.
Jenna frowned.
"What?"
Todd looked toward the office.
"Something about you."
The sentence made no sense.
"What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked back to the desk.
He opened the bottom drawer.
Not the top.
Not the obvious one.
The locked drawer.
The one nobody had ever seen open.
He pulled out another folder.
Smaller.
Older.
Worn around the edges.
This one did not have Jenna's name on it.
It had a date.
Eight years earlier.
Jenna stared.
Eight years.
Before she worked at Maple Street Diner.
Before Noah started school.
Before Todd even became manager.
"What is that?"
Todd held the folder tightly.
"I found it when I took over this office."
Margaret's eyes narrowed.
"Found what?"
Todd hesitated.
Then he opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Jenna saw it from across the room.
And immediately felt something wrong.
Because she knew that photo.
Not because she remembered taking it.
Because she didn't.
It showed her.
Standing outside a building.
Holding a baby.
Noah.
But the picture was old.
Before she had ever met Todd.
Before anyone at the diner knew her.
Her hands became cold.
"Where did you get that?"
Todd looked at her.
"I don't know."
"That is not an answer."
"I found it here."
"In this office?"
He nodded.
Jenna looked around.
The office suddenly felt different.
Like the walls had been hiding something.
"Why would my picture be here?"
Todd looked at the photograph.
"That's what I've been trying to figure out."
Margaret stepped closer.
"Keep going."
Todd opened another page.
A handwritten note.
The ink was faded.
But readable.
Jenna leaned forward.
The note contained only one sentence.
WATCH HER.
Her stomach dropped.
"Who wrote that?"
Todd shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Todd looked at her.
"Because I didn't know who I could trust."
The answer hurt more than she expected.
Because she realized something.
Todd was still a terrible person.
He had still humiliated her.
Still threatened her.
Still abused his power.
But there was another layer underneath.
Something he was afraid of.
Something bigger.
Margaret looked at the photo.
"How long have you known about this?"
Todd hesitated.
"Ten months."
Jenna looked shocked.
"Ten months?"
The same amount of time Todd had been manager.
"You knew this existed the entire time?"
"I was trying to understand it."
"So you watched me?"
Todd looked down.
That was enough.
Jenna stepped back.
The pain on her cheek suddenly felt smaller than the betrayal.
"You were investigating me."
"No."
"Then what would you call it?"
Todd had no answer.
Because there wasn't a good one.
Margaret looked between them.
"This is bigger than workplace harassment."
Nobody disagreed.
Then Jenna's phone vibrated.
Again.
She looked down.
Unknown number.
One message.
Her hands froze.
The message contained only three words.
STOP DIGGING, JENNA.
She showed Margaret.
Then Todd.
Todd's face changed immediately.
"Where did you get that?"
Jenna looked at him.
"You know?"
Todd grabbed the phone.
"Don't reply."
"Why?"
"Because they know you're looking."
The word they hung in the air.
Jenna pulled her phone back.
"Who is they?"
Todd didn't answer.
Margaret stepped closer.
"Todd."
For the first time, he looked genuinely afraid.
"I thought I could handle it."
"Handle what?"
Todd looked at Jenna.
And his voice became quieter.
"The reason your file was already here before you ever worked at this diner."
Jenna felt a chill.
"What?"
Todd opened the folder again.
He pulled out one final piece of paper.
A document.
Old.
Folded.
At the bottom was a signature.
Jenna recognized the handwriting.
Not Todd's.
Not Margaret's.
Someone else's.
Someone from her past.
Her father.
She hadn't seen that signature in twelve years.
Todd placed the paper on the desk.
Jenna stared.
Because the first line was impossible.
May you like
It said:
JENNA BROOKS WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO FIND OUT SHE HAD A SISTER.
