Chapter 5 - Twenty-Six Years Ago
Maya could not move.
Frank stared at the photograph.
“Where did you get that?”
The stranger smiled.
“You already know.”
Frank stepped forward.
The stranger ran.
Frank chased him into the hallway.
Maya remained frozen.
Arthur picked up the phone the stranger had dropped.
“There’s something on it.”
He opened the gallery.
Hundreds of photographs appeared.
Maya as a child.
Maya at school.
Maya at the hospital with her brother.
Maya entering the restaurant.
Someone had been watching her for years.
Then Arthur found a video.
The date was twenty-six years earlier.
Maya pressed play.
Her mother appeared on screen.
Elizabeth looked exhausted.
A little girl sat beside her.
Maya.
“If you are watching this,” Elizabeth said, “then the plan failed.”
Maya covered her mouth.
Her mother continued.
“They told me they would kill you if I refused.”
The video suddenly cut out.
Maya looked at Arthur.
“Who?”
Arthur’s eyes filled with regret.
“My brother.”
“Who is your brother?”
Arthur looked toward Frank.
Frank whispered one name.
“Victor Bell.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
May you like
Victor Bell was the owner of the restaurant chain.
And the most powerful man in the city.
