Chapter 7: The Person Behind the Smile
Nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
The person standing on the staircase looked down at us like they had been watching a play.
A play where they already knew the ending.
My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Because standing there was someone who had held my hand when I cried.
Someone who had listened to me talk about my father.
Someone who had told me I deserved better than the life I was struggling through.
Someone I trusted.
Jasmine.
Again.
But this time, she wasn’t standing beside me.
She was standing above me.
And there was something different in her expression.
Not guilt.
Not fear.
Something closer to exhaustion.
Like she had been carrying a secret for too long.
“Jasmine…”
Her name barely left my mouth.
She closed her eyes.
“Emma.””
The way she said it hurt.
Because it sounded like goodbye.
Mr. Bennett immediately stepped in front of me.
“Stay where you are.””
Jasmine looked at him.
“I’m not here to hurt her.””
Charles gave a bitter laugh.
“That’s what everyone says before they do.””
Her eyes moved toward him.
“You don’t get to judge me.””
Charles’s expression hardened.
“No?””
He stepped forward.
“You helped him.””
Jasmine flinched.
And that one reaction told me everything.
There was more.
Something nobody had told me.
I looked between them.
“What is happening?””
Nobody answered.
My voice grew louder.
“What is happening?””
Jasmine slowly walked down the stairs.
Each step echoed through the restaurant.
“I wanted to tell you.””
I shook my head.
“Then why didn’t you?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because every time I tried, something happened.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means I was scared.””
I laughed quietly.
The same answer.
Again.
Everyone was scared.
Everyone had a reason.
But I was the one standing in the middle of all their secrets.
“You all keep saying that.””
My voice cracked.
“You were scared. He was scared. Everyone was scared.””
I pointed toward the room.
“But nobody thought maybe I deserved the truth.””
Jasmine looked down.
“You’re right.””
The honesty surprised me.
She didn’t defend herself.
She didn’t make excuses.
And somehow, that made it hurt more.
Mr. Bennett looked at her carefully.
“Why are you here?””
Jasmine looked at the dark security screens.
“Because they know.””
Charles stepped forward.
“Who?””
She looked at him.
“The people who have been watching us.””
A cold feeling moved through the room.
Marcus frowned.
“Watching us?””
Jasmine nodded.
“The cameras shutting off wasn’t random.””
Mr. Bennett looked toward the ceiling.
“You have access to the security system.””
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Yes.””
Everyone looked at her.
I felt my stomach drop.
“You?””
Jasmine looked at me.
“I didn’t create the system.””
“Then how?””
She took a breath.
“Because my father did.””
The silence returned.
I stared at her.
“Your father?””
She nodded.
“He worked for Bellamy Hospitality before any of us.””
Mr. Bennett’s face changed.
“Who was your father?””
Jasmine looked at him.
“Robert Hale.””
The name meant something.
I could see it.
Mr. Bennett went completely still.
Charles whispered:
“No.””
Jasmine looked at both men.
“You remember him.””
Mr. Bennett’s voice was low.
“Robert Hale was the company’s security director.””
“Yes.””
Charles stepped closer.
“But he disappeared.””
Jasmine nodded.
“Just like Emma’s father.””
The room felt smaller.
Two missing men.
Two families.
Two secrets connected to the same company.
I looked at Jasmine.
“You knew?””
She looked at me.
“I knew my father was involved with something dangerous.””
“And you never told me?””
“I didn’t know how.””
Her voice broke.
“When I met you, I didn’t know who you were.””
“What?””
She nodded.
“I only knew you as Emma. The new waitress who always gave away her food.””
A painful smile appeared.
“You were the first person here who treated me like a person.””
My anger weakened for a moment.
Only for a moment.
“Then you found out.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
She looked at Mr. Bennett.
“Your father’s file.””
I frowned.
“My father’s file?””
Jasmine nodded.
“Before Robert disappeared, he kept records. Evidence.””
Charles looked alarmed.
“Where?””
She looked at him.
“Hidden.””
Mr. Bennett stepped closer.
“Jasmine.””
She looked at him.
“I’m sorry.””
“For what?””
“For knowing the truth and saying nothing.””
The words hung there.
Then she continued.
“Your father and my father were working together.””
I felt dizzy.
“What?””
“They were trying to expose someone inside Bellamy.””
Mr. Bennett looked at the floor.
“Charles.””
Everyone turned.
Charles’s face was unreadable.
Jasmine shook her head.
“No.””
She looked at him.
“Not Charles.””
The entire room froze.
Charles stared at her.
“What?””
“My father suspected someone else.””
Mr. Bennett looked confused.
“Then who?””
Jasmine reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small flash drive.
“I found this two years ago.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“What is it?””
“Everything.””
She placed it on the table.
“Financial records. Messages. Names.””
Mr. Bennett looked at it.
“Why didn’t you give this to me?””
Jasmine looked at him.
“Because I didn’t know if you were part of it.””
That hurt him.
I could see it.
The idea that someone had doubted him.
But he didn’t argue.
Because maybe he understood.
After all, he had spent years trusting the wrong person.
Charles looked at the flash drive.
“If that’s what I think it is…”
“What?”” I asked.
He looked at me.
“It contains the proof your father was looking for.””
My hands tightened.
“The proof against who?””
Nobody answered.
Then Jasmine quietly said:
“Against the person who ordered him to disappear.””
The room went silent.
A phone suddenly rang.
Everyone looked around.
It wasn’t any of ours.
The sound came from the manager’s office.
Mr. Carter.
His face changed instantly.
“You shouldn’t answer that.””
Mr. Bennett looked at him.
“Why?””
Mr. Carter said nothing.
That was enough.
Mr. Bennett walked into the office.
The phone continued ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then he picked it up.
“Hello?””
Nobody could hear the voice on the other end.
But Mr. Bennett’s expression changed.
His shoulders stiffened.
His face became pale.
“Who is this?””
Silence.
Then his eyes moved toward me.
I knew immediately.
The person on the phone had said something about me.
Mr. Bennett’s grip tightened.
“No.””
Another pause.
Then:
“You’re lying.””
Everyone watched him.
Finally, he slowly lowered the phone.
“What did they say?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
“Benjamin.””
He looked at me.
And the fear in his eyes was worse than before.
“Emma…”
My heart sank.
“What?””
He looked at Jasmine.
Then Charles.
Then me.
“The person on the phone knows where your father is.””
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because for years, we believed Daniel Brooks was gone.
Dead.
Lost.
A memory.
But now…
There was a chance.
A chance he was still alive.
I stepped closer.
“Where?””
Mr. Bennett looked at me.
His voice barely came out.
“They said your father has been alive this entire time.””
A thousand thoughts crashed through my mind.
The letter.
The disappearance.
The secrets.
The lies.
All of it.
“Where is he?””
Mr. Bennett hesitated.
Then he said:
“They want you to come alone.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who?””
He looked toward the phone.
“The person who has been controlling everything from the beginning.””
The lights flickered again.
But this time, they didn’t turn off.
Instead, every screen in the restaurant suddenly turned on.
One by one.
The security monitors displayed the same image.
A live video.
A man sitting in a dark room.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
My knees almost gave out.
Because I knew that face.
I had spent years staring at old photographs.
Years trying to remember his voice.
Years wondering if he ever thought about me.
And now he was on every screen in the restaurant.
My father.
Daniel Brooks.
He looked directly into the camera.
And then he spoke.
“Emma.””
The entire world stopped.
His voice was older.
Different.
But I knew it.
A tear fell before I could stop it.
Then my father said the words that broke me:
“I’m sorry I left you.””
He looked away from the camera.
Then back.
“But you need to run.””
The screen suddenly went black.
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And underneath the darkness appeared one final message.
*TRUST NO ONE.*
