Chapter 5 - THE NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE HALLHis name at Nora’s building was Victor Renzi.
Quiet.
Middle-aged.
Polite.
Held elevators.
Complained about heat.
Once picked up Sam’s toy truck.
Nora had thanked him.
That memory made her nauseated.
Investigators identified Victor as coordinator for several shell companies connected to L’Osteria.
Gregory moved money.
Victor moved people.
Placed workers.
Collected information.
Watched anyone likely to become a problem.
Including Nora.
“He lived there before I worked for Gregory.”
“Yes,” Finn said.
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
“So I wasn't hired randomly.”
Ethan answered carefully.
“Probably not.”
“Why me?”
“You needed cash.”
“Millions of people need cash.”
“You were isolated.”
The word hurt.
No husband.
Dead mother.
No wealthy relatives.
Late rent.
Unstable childcare.
No lawyer.
People like Gregory did not view vulnerability as misfortune.
They viewed it as qualification.
“Did Victor know about Sam?”
“Yes.”
Nora closed her eyes.
“What happens?”
“Victor was arrested this morning.”
“For?”
“Fraud. Witness intimidation. Conspiracy.”
“And Gregory?”
“Cooperating.”
“Of course.”
“Blaming Victor.”
“And Victor?”
“Blaming someone else.”
Nora looked at Ethan.
“Does it stop?”
He stared through the office window.
“No.”
She appreciated that more than reassurance.
Systems did not disappear because one manager was arrested.
The restitution process took months.
Some workers received hundreds.
Mei received more than twelve thousand dollars once penalties and years of underpayment were reconstructed.
Luis received legal assistance.
Nora’s $4,860 check came on a Tuesday.
She paid Mrs. Higgins in full.
Paid the electric company ahead.
Bought groceries without adding every item mentally.
Then went to the pawnshop.
Her mother’s necklace sat behind glass.
Cheap gold.
Tiny heart.
Worth little.
Priceless.
She placed it around her neck.
Sam touched it.
“Pretty.”
“Yes.”
Nora cried in the pawnshop.
The clerk politely looked away.
Her new job was stranger than expected.
Payroll review.
Worker interviews.
Scheduling audits.
Cash reconciliation.
She learned how exploitation hid beneath ordinary words.
Uniform fee.
Training deduction.
Breakage.
Short drawer.
Unpaid trial shift.
Meal charge.
Most workers already knew something was wrong.
The problem was belief.
Nora’s job was listening early enough that people did not need to collapse on marble floors before anyone paid attention.
Ethan occasionally appeared.
Too often, she thought.
Not often enough, another part of her thought.
He remained infuriating.
“Lunch.”
“I brought food.”
“What?”
She showed a sandwich.
“That is not lunch.”
“It has bread.”
“It looks injured.”
“You insult food now?”
“Only when necessary.”
She laughed despite herself.
Finn noticed.
Nora suspected Ethan later threatened him into silence.
Months after Gregory’s arrest, L’Osteria reopened under new management.
Nora entered for an audit.
The marble floor looked perfect.
No wine.
No broken glass.
No mark showing where she had collapsed.
She stood beside the booth.
Ethan’s voice came behind her.
“You’re blocking my table.”
“You don't own it.”
“I am sitting there.”
“You’re standing.”
“Technical.”
Sam appeared holding a wooden truck.
Ethan crouched.
“Truck.”
Sam frowned.
“Car.”
“Truck.”
“Car.”
Ethan looked at Nora.
“He is incorrect.”
“He is two.”
“Still incorrect.”
Nora laughed.
The evening became an accidental reunion.
Mrs. Higgins.
Luis.
Mei.
Finn.
Bread.
Warm food.
People with recovered wages.
Not celebration exactly.
Evidence.
They had survived.
At the end, Ethan handed Nora something.
Sam’s old bottle.
Clean.
Empty.
“You kept this?”
“Evidence.”
“For six months?”
“It became sentimental evidence.”
Nora stared.
“Ethan Hayes is sentimental.”
“Do not repeat that.”
“I am adding it to compliance training.”
“I will fire you.”
“My contract prohibits retaliation.”
He sighed.
Then asked:
“Dinner tomorrow?”
“We just had dinner.”
“A different dinner.”
Nora stared.
For the first time, Ethan looked uncertain.
It was wonderful.
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Yes.”
“You’re awful at this.”
“I delegate social tasks.”
“That may be the least attractive thing you have ever said.”
“Nora.”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes to dinner.”
His suspicion returned.
“One condition,” she added.
“Of course.”
“No car.”
“Fine.”
“No ordering for me.”
“Fine.”
“And you do not intimidate the waiter.”
“I don't intimidate waiters.”
She stared.
He considered.
“Usually.”
Nora laughed.
Outside, rain fell.
Same city.
Same restaurant.
Different life.
Yet she knew better than to think the investigation was over.
Victor had been watching her before she ever knew Gregory.
That meant somebody had selected Nora.
May you like
And the question still had no answer.
Why?
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