Chapter 5 - THEY KNEW WHERE MY SISTER WORKED
Chloe was seventeen and stubborn enough to believe being younger made her immortal.
When I called, she answered from the employee hallway at Redwood Bakery.
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“Very touching. Why?”
“Has anyone said anything weird to you?”
Pause.
“Define weird.”
My stomach dropped.
Her supervisor had asked that afternoon whether I was “causing trouble” at Aurelia.
Then told Chloe:
“Family members should be careful about becoming associated with employee misconduct.”
I wanted to drive across town.
Dana stopped me.
“Document. Don’t confront.”
I hated how often responsible advice was less satisfying than screaming.
Chloe photographed her schedule.
Saved the messages.
Wrote down the supervisor’s words.
Then she said:
“Emma, I’m fine.”
“You’re seventeen.”
“And?”
“And I’m allowed to worry.”
“You’re also allowed to stop paying half my expenses like I’m twelve.”
Wrong fight.
Later.
Dana arranged for Chloe’s employment situation to be independently reviewed.
Her hours were protected.
Her supervisor was told not to discuss Aurelia’s audit.
Then the threat note went into evidence.
Security footage showed three people entering the server station before my shift.
Nicole.
A bartender named Steven.
And Serena Blake.
Serena had arrived unannounced at 2:20.
She left at 3:05.
My note appeared before 3:15.
No proof which person placed it.
Enough to worry me.
Then Marcus discovered something connecting Serena directly to the ghost employees.
One of the payroll accounts receiving pooled tips belonged to an online bank.
Registration phone number:
Serena’s mother.
Another account used an address owned by Nicole.
The seven ghost employees were not random.
They formed a network.
Estimated tips diverted over two years across Redwood properties:
$318,000.
Then Dana showed me a list.
The largest ghost recipient:
MELANIE CARTER.
$74,600.
Address?
A condominium owned by Serena.
The tip theft was becoming easier to understand.
But Marcus looked bothered.
“Too easy.”
“What?”
“If Serena was smart enough to hide this for years, why route accounts to addresses connected to herself?”
Good point.
Then another possibility emerged.
Someone might have created fake employees using information tied loosely to managers so those managers looked responsible if the scheme surfaced.
“Who can create payroll profiles?” I asked.
Dana answered:
“Corporate payroll. Regional HR. Certain finance administrators.”
The investigation jumped above Serena.
That evening, Chloe came to my apartment.
She carried a folder.
“What’s that?”
“Stuff from Dad.”
Our father had worked maintenance for Redwood Hospitality before he died.
I knew that.
What I did not know was that he had kept old pay stubs and employee correspondence.
Chloe found one letter from five years earlier.
Dad had disputed missing overtime at a Redwood hotel.
The person who denied his claim?
Redwood’s current Vice President of Finance.
May you like
Martin Kessler.
The man supervising payroll for every property in the company.
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