Chapter 6 - Frank Dalton
Frank Dalton lived in Arkansas now.
Small lake house.
Two artificial knees.
He agreed to speak because Samuel called personally.
Frank’s first sentence:
“I knew somebody would eventually find the email.”
“What email?” Eleanor asked.
The termination notice.
Sent from Samuel Baird.
Reason:
Performance decline.
Cash control deficiencies.
Failure to adapt to Heartland modernization.
Frank had worked for Samuel sixteen years.
He called him.
The number went to voicemail.
Then Colin Pierce called back.
“Samuel does not want a scene.”
Frank believed him.
Why not drive to Topeka?
Pride.
He was sixty two.
The letter humiliated him.
He took a severance package and left.
Samuel had never seen the termination.
Electronic signature:
His.
Copied.
Just like the fake emails to Jenna.
Colin said Heartland HR handled it.
Heartland HR records showed no authorization.
Then severance payment.
$38,000.
Where did it come from?
Maple Street operating account.
Approved by:
Todd Mercer.
Before Todd officially became manager.
Date:
Three days before Frank left.
Todd had system access before employment started.
Who granted it?
Colin.
The succession was planned.
Why remove Frank?
Frank had refused Prairie Staff.
He showed Eleanor emails.
Colin:
Need temp vendor activated for seasonal coverage.
Frank:
We are fully staffed.
Colin:
Standardization.
Frank:
No reason to pay agency markup for people we do not need.
Then:
I checked two names on their invoice. Neither worked here.
Colin:
They supported prep offsite.
Frank:
What offsite prep?
No answer.
Two weeks later, termination.
Samuel had been recovering from heart surgery and barely checking operational email.
Colin used that absence.
Todd replaced Frank.
Prairie Staff invoices began immediately.
Then Todd started cutting employee hours.
That seemed contradictory.
Why pay fake temp labor while reducing real staff?
Because payroll reports showed total labor high enough to justify cost cutting.
Todd blamed servers and kitchen employees.
Real hours decreased.
Fake vendor billing continued.
Employees worked harder.
Service worsened.
Revenue dipped.
Prairie Horizon received “operating weakness” numbers.
Property sale became easier to justify.
A system.
Not perfectly masterminded.
Profitable from several angles.
Prairie Staff made money.
Todd got consulting payments.
Colin moved closer to property commission.
Then Jenna asked the question Samuel had avoided.
“How much did you pay Heartland to manage the diner?”
“Four percent of revenue.”
“So they made money while the diner did worse?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you not look?”
Samuel’s face tightened.
“I was sick.”
“That explains months.”
“Yes.”
“Not everything.”
He nodded.
“No.”
Jenna respected him more for not hiding behind surgery.
Samuel had wanted retirement without selling the diner.
He let Heartland become his eyes.
Then stopped checking whether those eyes were lying.
Failure by absence.
Not conspiracy.
Then Frank revealed another fact.
Before leaving, he copied one week of security footage.
Why?
He suspected Todd had entered the office before official start.
The clip showed Todd and Colin after midnight.
No assault.
No obvious fraud.
Just conversation.
Audio worked.
Todd:
Frank won’t approve Prairie.
Colin:
Then Frank won’t be here.
Todd laughed.
“What about Samuel?”
Colin:
Samuel signs whatever I put in front of him right now.
Frank had kept the clip on a USB drive.
He never used it because he was embarrassed.
“I thought Samuel really wanted me gone.”
Samuel covered his face.
“Frank.”
“Don’t.”
Samuel lowered his hands.
Frank continued.
“I had sixteen years to ask you in person. I chose humiliation instead.”
Both men had avoided the conversation.
Colin benefited.
Then the clip continued.
Todd:
Once Maple’s numbers drop, Horizon comes back.
Colin:
Do not talk about Horizon in this building.
There.
Direct awareness.
Todd knew the property plan.
Then another line.
Todd:
What if staff push back?
Colin:
Replace them.
Todd:
And if they complain?
Colin:
You know how restaurants work. People believe managers before waitresses.
Jenna felt her face burn where Todd had slapped her.
That sentence explained everything.
Not because Colin ordered violence.
Because he built an assumption around credibility.
Managers are believed.
Waitresses are replaceable.
Todd turned that assumption into a weapon.
Then Frank said:
“There is one more thing on the drive.”
The next clip showed Todd alone.
He opened the security cabinet.
Removed the camera drive.
Inserted another.
Practiced.
Months before Claire.
Months before Jenna.
May you like
He already knew exactly how to swap recording drives.
Continue to the next part: Todd had practiced replacing Maple Street’s security drive before his first official shift, meaning disappearing footage was part of his plan before any employee confronted him.
