Chapter 2
The small security office smelled faintly of stale coffee and electronic dust.
The manager sat before a bank of glowing monitors, his fingers flying across the keyboard to cue up the playback from camera four.
The blonde woman stood rigidly behind him, her arms tightly crossed over her black jacket, while the waitress leaned against the doorframe.
On the screen, the timestamp read 3:14 PM, capturing the exact moment the waitress set the cup down and stepped away.
Then, the video showed the blonde woman deliberately angling her elbow, nudging the porcelain handle until it shattered against the floor.
The manager inhaled sharply, leaning back in his leather chair as the undeniable truth played out in high definition.
"Well," the manager said, clearing his throat as he turned to face the customer. "It appears you were entirely mistaken, ma'am. Or rather, you lied."
The blonde woman forced a brittle, nervous laugh, smoothing the lapels of her jacket.
"It was a simple mistake! My vision isn't what it used to be. There is no need to make a federal case out of a spilled beverage."
"You demanded her firing and accused her of malice," the manager replied, his professional demeanor hardening. "That goes beyond a simple mistake."
Before the manager could reach for the mouse to save the clip, the office monitor flickered violently.
A low buzzing sound filled the room as the screen went completely black for three agonizing seconds.
When the image returned, the timeline had jumped forward by five minutes, completely bypassing the footage of the incident.
The manager frowned, tapping the keyboard furiously, but the file containing the crucial evidence displayed a glaring error message.
File Corrupted. Data Unrecoverable.
The blonde woman’s posture instantly shifted, the panic vanishing to be replaced by a smug, untouchable grin.
She leaned against the edge of the desk, looking down at the bewildered manager and the pale waitress.
"Oh dear," the blonde woman murmured, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "It looks like your technology is as unreliable as your staff."
The waitress stared at the blank screen, a cold dread washing over her as she realized the digital proof had just vanished into thin air.
Someone inside the building had remotely deleted the file, and she had a terrifying suspicion who orchestrated it.
"You didn't just drop that coffee by accident," the waitress whispered, stepping closer to the woman in the black jacket. "And you didn't just delete that footage."
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The blonde woman raised an eyebrow, turning slowly toward the door with a chilling smile.
"Watch your tone, little girl. You have no proof, and your manager knows whose name is on the restaurant's corporate lease."
