Chapter 6 - Celeste's Desperate TrapTwo weeks had passed since the dramatic confrontation at Bellamy House. The restaurant had been temporarily closed for a complete restructuring, and my name was now officially on the marquee as the sole owner and CEO.
But I knew Celeste wouldn't disappear quietly. Her vanity was too deep, and her desperation was growing by the day. Without Adrian's money, she was drowning in millions of dollars of personal debt from her lavish lifestyle.
I sat in my new, spacious office on the top floor of Bellamy House, reviewing the employee payroll. I had already raised the servers' wages by thirty percent and implemented a secure, transparent tip-tracking system that ensured no manager could ever skim a single cent from the staff.
Suddenly, my computer monitor flashed red. An alert from the restaurant’s security system showed that someone had breached the rear kitchen entrance using an old master keycard that had been reported lost months ago.
"She's here," I murmured, leaning back in my chair.
I opened the live camera feed. Celeste, wearing a dark hoodie to hide her face, was slipping through the quiet kitchen corridors toward the manager's office. She was carrying a heavy iron crowbar, her face distorted with a manic, desperate rage.
She believed the physical servers containing the deleted accounting files were located in the manager's office. She didn't know that I had moved the physical databases to a secure, off-site facility days ago.
I picked up my phone and called Marcus. "She’s in the kitchen corridor, Marcus. Let her reach the office. I want her to think she’s about to win."
May you like
"Copy that, Miss Vale," Marcus replied. "My men are in position."
I watched the screen as Celeste reached the manager's office door. She looked around nervously, then raised the crowbar, ready to smash the lock. She was so focused on her desperate attempt to destroy the evidence that she had no idea the trap was about to close.
Related Stories
