Chapter 2 - The Cabinet Behind the BuffetFor several seconds, nobody spoke.
The music continued playing softly through the celebration hall.
Glasses clinked.
Somewhere behind the buffet, a server laughed at something a guest had said.
The ordinary sounds made the silence around Naomi feel almost unbearable.
Daniel was the first to move.
“Lorraine, could you take Ellie to get some cake?”
“No,” Naomi said immediately.
Her daughter pressed against her leg.
Daniel looked irritated.
“Naomi, can we please discuss this privately?”
“We can discuss it right here.”
Lorraine leaned closer.
“You're eight months pregnant. Think about the baby.”
“I am thinking about my children.”
The words landed harder than Naomi intended.
Daniel glanced at the guests watching from several feet away.
His father, Raymond Brooks, stood near the head table with a champagne glass in his hand.
Raymond didn't approach.
He simply watched.
Naomi had never particularly liked that about him.
He could make other people feel judged without saying a word.
She turned toward Ellie.
“Sweetheart, did Grandma tell you not to show me this?”
Ellie hesitated.
Naomi crouched carefully.
“You can tell me the truth. Nobody's going to be angry with you.”
“Grandma said the blue-door papers were grown-up business.”
Naomi felt her pulse accelerate.
“Blue-door papers?”
Ellie nodded.
“The house with the blue door. The one Great-Grandma loved.”
Naomi closed her eyes briefly.
Her grandmother had painted the front door of Rosemont Court blue when Naomi was seven.
It had remained that color ever since.
Lorraine reached toward the packet.
“Let me put that away.”
Naomi pulled her hand back.
“Don't touch it.”
Lorraine's expression hardened.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
Daniel exhaled sharply.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Then tell me what's inside cabinet fourteen.”
His silence gave her the answer she needed.
Something was hidden there.
And he knew exactly what it was.
Naomi looked toward the entrance, where a woman wearing a black Hawthorne Hall management badge stood checking a seating chart.
“Ellie, stay beside me.”
She walked toward the woman.
Daniel followed.
“Naomi, don't do this.”
“Do what? Ask a question?”
“Embarrass yourself.”
Naomi stopped so suddenly he almost bumped into her.
“No, Daniel. I'm giving you an opportunity to stop embarrassing yourself.”
The manager introduced herself as Claire Jennings.
Naomi held up the plastic packet.
“I'm listed as the primary host for this event. Can you tell me about storage cabinet fourteen?”
Claire examined the printed label without touching the packet.
“That cabinet is in our private staging corridor. We issue numbered keys for temporary event storage.”
“Who requested it?”
Claire checked her tablet.
“The additional cabinet was requested yesterday through your event account.”
Naomi frowned.
“I didn't request anything.”
Claire scrolled.
“The request came from Mrs. Lorraine Brooks.”
Daniel looked away.
“Can I see it?” Naomi asked.
Claire hesitated.
“Storage cabinets can contain guests' personal belongings. I would need to verify the access authorization.”
Lorraine approached just in time to hear the exchange.
“Claire, there's been a misunderstanding.”
Naomi faced her.
“Then clear it up.”
Lorraine folded her arms.
“The cabinet contains administrative documents.”
“About my property?”
“About family business.”
“Rosemont Court isn't family business. It's mine.”
A tiny muscle moved along Lorraine's jaw.
“You really want to discuss ownership in front of these people?”
Naomi stared at her.
“That sounds like a threat.”
“It sounds like common sense.”
Claire shifted uncomfortably.
“Mrs. Brooks, our records show the primary host has access to event storage, but I need to check the item restrictions before opening it.”
“Please check,” Naomi said.
Claire walked toward the front office.
Lorraine immediately turned on Daniel.
“I told you to keep everything organized.”
Daniel's face darkened.
“Mom, not now.”
Naomi heard him.
And suddenly she knew this wasn't some misunderstanding between an overbearing mother and her son.
They had planned something together.
While Claire verified the storage arrangements, Naomi moved Ellie away from the confrontation.
She sat with her daughter near an empty table.
“Baby, why were you looking inside Daddy's jacket?”
Ellie rubbed the satin waistband of her dress.
“My bow was coming loose. Daddy said he had extra hairpins in his pocket.”
“And you found the packet?”
Ellie nodded.
“It fell out when I took out the hairpins.”
“Did you open it?”
“No. I saw the blue-door word Daddy showed Grandma yesterday.”
Naomi became very still.
“Yesterday?”
Ellie lowered her voice.
“They were talking in Daddy's office. Grandma said she needed Mommy's name before Friday.”
“Did she say anything else?”
Ellie thought carefully.
Then she looked up.
“She said if Mommy asked questions, Daddy should tell her it was because she was tired.”
Naomi's fingers tightened around the plastic packet.
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For the first time, she wasn't wondering whether Daniel was hiding something.
She was wondering how long he had been preparing to lie.
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