Chapter 2 - THE MAN BEHIND THE KITCHEN DOOR
"Charlie, what did you just say?"
Maxwell Gallow's voice was dangerously quiet.
Charlie looked at his father, then at Audrey.
He signed again.
Audrey swallowed.
"He says the man is wearing a gray suit. He saw him through the kitchen doors."
Maxwell stood.
Immediately, all three of his security men moved.
"Nobody leaves this building," he ordered.
Victor Hale hurried toward the table.
"Mr. Gallow, is something wrong?"
Maxwell looked directly at him.
"Who is in your kitchen?"
Victor blinked.
"Our employees, sir."
"Anyone else?"
"A few suppliers. Perhaps the evening inspector."
Maxwell stepped closer.
"Names."
Victor's hands began trembling.
Audrey instinctively moved nearer to Charlie.
The boy was watching his father's lips.
His earlier happiness had disappeared.
Audrey signed.
"YOU ARE SAFE WITH ME."
Charlie nodded, but his fingers trembled.
Then he signed something unexpected.
"THAT MAN MADE MOMMY CRY."
Audrey felt a chill.
Maxwell's wife, Olivia, had died eighteen months earlier.
The newspapers had called it a tragic boating accident.
According to the articles Audrey remembered, Olivia had fallen overboard during a private family trip.
Her body was never recovered.
Maxwell had withdrawn from public life for months afterward.
Nobody had ever explained why Charlie stopped communicating with strangers after her death.
Until now.
A security guard returned from the kitchen.
"Boss, we found a visitor's badge in the service hallway."
He handed Maxwell a photograph taken from the security system.
The image showed a silver-haired man entering through the back door.
Maxwell stared at the screen.
His jaw tightened.
"Impossible."
Audrey glanced at the photograph.
"Who is he?"
Maxwell answered without looking away.
"His name is Adrian Cross."
"Who is Adrian Cross?"
Maxwell's voice dropped.
"The man who arranged my wife's funeral."
Audrey looked down at Charlie.
The boy was urgently signing again.
She translated slowly.
"Charlie says his mother wasn't on the boat when the accident happened."
Maxwell looked at his son.
Charlie signed one final sentence.
May you like
Audrey's blood turned cold.
"He says his mother was still alive when Adrian took her away."
