Chapter 5 - THE FORGED SIGNATURE AND THE SAFE
"Leo?" I asked, looking quickly at Maya. "Who is Leo?"
"My son," Maya gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "He's six. He was supposed to be sitting quietly in the employee breakroom drawing until my shift ended. I couldn't afford a sitter tonight."
The blood roared in my ears. I had a great-grandson. And he was missing.
"Open this door, Grant!" the server yelled from the hallway, pounding harder. "The police want to speak to the manager!"
Grant lunged forward, his hands shaking as he unlocked the deadbolt and threw the heavy green door open.
Two Chicago police officers stood in the hallway, looking grim. The server stood behind them, wringing his hands in his apron.
"Which one of you is Richard Bellamy?" the taller officer asked, stepping into the room.
Richard immediately smoothed his tie, trying to recover his billionaire aura. "I am. Officers, thank God you're here. This man—" he pointed a shaking finger at me "—is a convicted felon. He broke into my private office and assaulted me. Arrest him."
The officer didn't even look at me. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on Richard.
"We aren't here for a trespassing call, Mr. Bellamy," the officer said, pulling a folded piece of paper from his tactical vest. "We're here because thirty minutes ago, a woman named Caroline Bellamy walked into the 14th District precinct and handed us this."
The officer held up the paper.
I recognized the pale blue stationary immediately. It matched the journal in my pocket.
"Your wife filed a formal statement," the officer continued, his voice devoid of emotion. "She confessed to helping you launder money through a shell corporation. And she stated that you kept the physical proof in a hidden safe in this exact room."
Richard stumbled backward, his knees hitting the oak desk. "She's lying. She's a drunk. She's trying to ruin me in our divorce!"
"We'll let a judge decide that," the second officer said, stepping forward with handcuffs. "Richard Bellamy, you are under arrest for fraud, extortion, and grand larceny."
"No!" Richard shouted, thrashing wildly as the officer grabbed his arm. "You can't do this! I own half the aldermen in this city! I'll have your badges!"
"Maya!" I yelled over the commotion, grabbing her shoulders. She was trembling violently, her eyes darting toward the hallway. "Where is Leo?"
"I don't know!" she cried. "He was in the breakroom!"
I turned to the taller officer. "You said you were looking for a little boy?"
The officer nodded, his expression softening slightly. "A uniform found a six-year-old boy wandering in the alley behind the restaurant. He was crying, holding a drawing. He said a 'mean man in a suit' told him his mother had left without him and locked him out the back door."
I spun toward Richard, who was now handcuffed, his face purple with rage.
"You put a six-year-old child in an alley in the freezing rain?" I roared, taking a step toward him.
The police officer put a hand on my chest, stopping me. "Easy, sir. We have the boy. He's safe in a squad car out front, drinking hot chocolate."
Maya let out a sob of pure relief, covering her face with her hands.
"I want my lawyer!" Richard spat, glaring at me with pure venom as the officers dragged him toward the door. "This isn't over, Elias! You have no proof! That safe is a decoy!"
I watched them drag the man who had ruined my life down the hallway, right past the terrified waitstaff and curious diners.
The room finally went quiet.
Grant stood in the corner, looking at the floor. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I swear, I didn't know about Clara. I didn't know about the boy in the alley. I just... I wanted to keep my job."
I didn't answer him. I turned toward the open wall safe.
I stepped up to the dial.
Four turns right. 11. (Clara's birth month.)
Three turns left. 24. (Clara's birth day.)
Two turns right. 89. (The year she was born.)
Click.
The heavy steel door swung open.
The safe wasn't empty. And it wasn't a decoy.
Inside were stacks of banded cash, USB drives, and a thick manila folder labeled THORNE LEVERAGE.
I pulled the folder out and opened it on the desk.
Inside were the original offshore bank statements, proving Richard had set up the accounts in my name. But underneath those papers was something that made my heart stop.
It was a small, delicate silver bracelet.
A charm bracelet.
I reached out and touched the small silver star dangling from the chain.
"I gave this to Clara for her sixteenth birthday," I whispered.
Maya stepped up beside me, staring at the bracelet.
"She never took it off," Maya said, her voice shaking. "She told me it was her good luck charm. But she lost it three years ago. She cried for days."
She hadn't lost it. Richard had taken it. A trophy. A silent threat to remind Clara that he could reach her anytime he wanted.
But wrapped around the silver bracelet was a folded piece of children's construction paper.
I carefully unfolded it.
It was a drawing done in crayon.
A stick figure of a woman holding hands with a little boy. And standing next to them was a tall man with a beard, wearing a brown coat.
Above the tall man, written in wobbly blue crayon, were the words: My Grandpa.
I felt a tear slip down my cheek.
"She told him about you," Maya whispered, crying beside me. "She never stopped hoping you would come back."
I wiped my face with the back of my hand.
"Where is she, Maya?" I asked softly, picking up the silver bracelet. "Where is Clara?"
"She's at the County General Hospital," Maya said, sniffing. "In the long-term care ward. Her heart is failing, Elias. The doctors said... they said she might not make it through the month without a transplant."
My stomach plummeted.
"Then we're going right now," I said, grabbing my wet coat.
May you like
But before we could take a step toward the door, the fire alarm in the hallway shattered the silence with a deafening, shrieking wail.
And a thick plume of black smoke billowed under the doorframe.
