Chapter 4 - Desperate Countermeasures
Desperate to avoid complete financial ruin and prospective jail time, Victor resorted to illicit tactics. He attempted to bribe Chef Mateo, the head chef at Le Prestige, who had worked alongside Evelyn for over fifteen years.
Victor called Mateo into his office, sliding an envelope full of cash across the mahogany desk. "Sign this statement, Mateo. Just swear that Evelyn was never in the kitchen after 2015. Tell the Department of Labor she was just a visitor."
Chef Mateo looked at the cash, then at Victor. Mateo remembered the nights Evelyn had stayed late to help him prep prep-work when his mother was in the hospital. He remembered Evelyn personally paying his emergency dental bill out of her own modest savings when Victor refused to provide health insurance for the staff.
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"You called her a pack mule in court, Victor," Mateo said quietly, dropping the envelope back on the desk. "A mule carries the burden so the rider can look grand. But without the mule, the rider is just a man standing in the mud."
Mateo walked out of the office. An hour later, he called a staff meeting in the main kitchen. By 5:00 PM—right before the dinner rush—every single cook, dishwasher, and server walked out, leaving Victor alone in an empty, silent building.
