Chapter 4
The black sedan drifted away into the evening traffic, leaving the waitress standing alone on the sidewalk with her mind racing.
She decided not to go home yet; instead, she circled back to the rear service entrance of Bistro Lumiere after dark.
The alleyway was dark and quiet, illuminated only by the faint amber glow of a distant streetlamp.
Using her spare staff key, she slipped quietly through the heavy metal back door, moving like a ghost through the silent kitchen.
The restaurant was pitch black, smelling faintly of roasted garlic and cleaning solution from the night crew's early prep.
She made her way toward the manager's office, hoping to find a physical backup of the security footage stored on an external hard drive.
The office door was unlocked, a careless oversight by a stressed manager rushing home to his family.
She switched on her phone's flashlight, casting a narrow beam across the cluttered desk and filing cabinets.
As she opened the bottom drawer, her fingers brushed against a thick manila folder labeled Property Acquisition & Blueprint Secrets.
Frowning, she pulled the folder out and opened it on the desk, flipping past standard corporate paperwork until she found something alarming.
It was an architectural blueprint of the entire city block, with Bistro Lumiere circled heavily in red ink alongside three neighboring historic buildings.
Attached to the blueprint was a printed email chain featuring Victoria Vance's corporate letterhead and signatures.
The emails detailed a multi-million-dollar demolition and luxury high-rise development plan scheduled to break ground next month.
The only obstacle standing in the way of Victoria's massive real estate scheme was the historical preservation status held by the local diner next door.
"She's trying to frame the diner," the waitress whispered to herself, realizing the coffee incident was merely a distraction.
Suddenly, the office door clicked open, flooding the dark room with a blinding stream of bright white light.
The waitress spun around, dropping the folder onto the desk as a tall, imposing figure stepped into the doorway.
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It wasn't the manager, and it wasn't Victoria; it was the bulky security guard from the black sedan, holding a heavy metal pipe.
"Looking for something that doesn't belong to you?" the guard asked, flashing a menacing grin as he locked the door behind him.
