Chapter 5 - Vivien Duca Asked One Question
“Play it again.”
Tyler did.
The woman entered the private dining room at 12:18 a.m.
She wore a long coat and carried a leather folder.
Randall followed her.
Celia came last.
The woman sat at Vivien’s usual table.
Even from the grainy footage, her posture was unmistakable.
Evelyn Shaw.
Bellaforte’s regional operations director.
Randall’s boss.
The woman who had personally promoted Celia two years earlier.
Tyler whispered, “She controls the security contracts.”
“And corporate accounting.”
“Exactly.”
The video had no sound.
But we didn’t need sound to see Randall hand Evelyn an envelope.
She counted cash.
Celia placed invoices on the table.
Evelyn signed something.
My mouth went dry.
“Copy everything.”
We made three copies.
One for Marissa.
One for the police.
One for me.
I sent mine to cloud storage.
Then I called Marissa.
She didn’t answer.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Five minutes later, my phone rang.
Vivien.
“Noel.”
“Hi.”
“Come to my house.”
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn Shaw is sitting in my living room.”
Every hair on my arms lifted.
“What?”
“She arrived ten minutes ago.”
“Don’t tell her anything.”
Vivien became very quiet.
“Noel Barrett, are you giving me orders in my own home?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Good.”
I grabbed my bag.
Tyler caught my arm.
“You’re not going alone.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because if Evelyn knows we found that footage, I don’t want her knowing you found it.”
His expression changed.
I drove to Vivien’s.
Luciano’s car was already outside.
Evelyn sat on the sofa when I entered.
Early fifties.
Immaculate navy suit.
Hair pulled back.
She smiled.
“Noel.”
“You know me?”
“Everybody knows you now.”
Vivien sat across from her.
Luciano stood near the windows.
Evelyn gestured toward a chair.
“I came because this situation has become unfortunate.”
“For whom?”
Her smile remained.
“For everyone.”
I sat.
She explained that Randall had apparently operated a theft scheme.
Celia had assisted him.
Corporate was shocked.
Bellaforte’s owners were cooperating fully.
She offered me reinstatement.
Back pay.
A promotion.
And a confidentiality agreement.
I stared at the document she placed before me.
“How much?”
“Excuse me?”
“How much are you offering me to stop asking questions?”
Luciano looked toward the window to hide a smile.
Evelyn didn’t.
“This is compensation.”
“For being framed?”
“For the inconvenience.”
“Inconvenience is when the dishwasher breaks.”
I pushed the document back.
“This was attempted destruction.”
Vivien’s eyes remained on Evelyn.
Evelyn sighed.
“Noel, people make mistakes.”
“Randall made eighteen months of mistakes?”
Her expression flickered.
There.
I hadn’t mentioned eighteen months publicly.
Neither had Marissa.
Vivien noticed too.
“How did you know how long the losses had been occurring?” I asked.
Evelyn froze.
“I oversee the investigation.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You came here before compliance finished it.”
Silence.
Vivien set down her tea.
Then she asked one question.
“Evelyn, why are you afraid of a waitress?”
The room changed.
Evelyn laughed.
“I’m not.”
Vivien tilted her head.
“Then why are you trying to buy her silence?”
Evelyn stood.
“This conversation is becoming insulting.”
“No,” Vivien said. “It is becoming interesting.”
Evelyn looked toward Luciano.
“You understand how damaging allegations can become.”
He finally turned from the window.
“Is that a warning?”
“No.”
“Good.”
His voice stayed calm.
“Because Noel dislikes those.”
Evelyn gathered her papers.
At the door, she looked at me.
“You have no idea what you’ve involved yourself in.”
I stood.
“Actually, I think I finally do.”
She left.
Ten seconds later, Luciano asked, “What did you find?”
I showed them the footage.
Vivien watched twice.
Her expression became colder each time.
“Evelyn has managed Bellaforte operations for fourteen years,” she said.
“You own part of it?” I asked.
“Minority interest.”
That explained more than I wanted.
Luciano leaned over the laptop.
“Can this be authenticated?”
“The original system is still there.”
“Then don’t touch it again.”
“I already copied it.”
“Good.”
Vivien looked at me.
“You were framed because you became visible.”
I nodded slowly.
“Celia hated that you liked me.”
“No.”
Vivien shook her head.
“That may have made her angry. But anger isn’t enough.”
She pointed toward the screen.
“They needed someone disposable.”
That word hurt.
Disposable.
It fit.
A waitress with no corporate title.
No expensive attorney.
No powerful last name.
If money disappeared under my credentials, people might believe it.
Especially if jewelry appeared in my locker.
Especially if rumors had already been planted about me trying to get close to Luciano.
They had built a character before building the crime.
Gold-digger.
Attention seeker.
Dishonest waitress.
Then the evidence would appear to confirm the story.
I suddenly remembered Celia’s words.
People like them don’t marry people like you.
It hadn’t only been cruelty.
It had been groundwork.
She wanted coworkers repeating the idea that I was obsessed with the Ducas.
Then stealing from Vivien would seem plausible.
My phone rang.
Marissa.
Finally.
I answered.
“Noel, where are you?”
“At Vivien’s.”
“Stay there.”
“What happened?”
Her breathing sounded fast.
“Someone accessed the compliance office.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did they take?”
“The files connected to you.”
“Anything else?”
“The recording you sent me.”
“I have copies.”
“I know.”
She paused.
“That’s why I’m calling.”
“What?”
“Someone used my computer twenty minutes ago to send an email to Randall.”
“What email?”
She hesitated.
Then read it.
NOEL HAS THE OLD FOOTAGE.
I stood.
“How would your computer know that?”
“It wouldn’t.”
Unless someone else knew.
I thought of Tyler.
The note.
The hidden recorder.
Someone had guided him to it.
Someone had sent me anonymous messages.
Someone was helping us while simultaneously knowing too much.
“Marissa,” I whispered, “who else has access to your office?”
She gave me three names.
The third made Vivien stand up.
Because that person wasn’t supposed to be in Chicago.
May you like
He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Bellaforte.
And according to Luciano, he had been trusted by their family for twenty years.
