The Break in
1499 Words
**Chapter Five: The Break-In**
The break of dawn the following morning saw Addie enter the bakery, having slept less than a wink. Her mind was riddled with the unavailability of the knife and all those unpaid bills. Alex tried to console her; however, she could not help but feel something awful was bound to happen.
She opened the door and was immediately assaulted by the sweet smell of flour and sugar. Yet something wasn't right. It was quiet. It was cold inside the bakery. She flipped on the lights and started taking a look around.
Then she saw it.
Her heart plummeted.
The back door of the bakery stood open, dancing on its hinges in the cool morning air.
"No, no, no." she whispered racing to the door. Her shaking hands pushed it wide and the dark lane behind the bakery was revealed. Outside the alley was normal; inside bedlam broke loose.
Addie whirled, her eyes wide as she scanned the room. Thieves had rummaged the shelves, spices and flour lined the countertops, some of the drawers were open, and their contents spewed out onto the floor. Then her eyes landed on that little wooden box over there-and real terror seized her.
Her grandma's old cookbook-her best recipes were in it.
She ran to the box and tore it open. Pages lay scattered and wrinkled, but her eyes went directly for what was not there: her grandmother's signature pastry recipe, the one which had kept the bakery running for so many years.
"No, no, no!" Addie's voice shook as she turned through the remaining pages, her heart racing in her chest. "Where is it?"
But deep inside, she knew better. Somebody had taken it. They had known what they were looking for.
Addie buckled to the floor, unable to catch her breath. This just wasn't burglary-it was personal. Someone was trying to hurt her and ruin her bakery-and they'd taken the thing she held most dear.
Footsteps echoed from the hall, and Addie sprang up, her eyes scanning the doorway.
"Addie?" Alex called from behind her, his tone laced with concern. He came into the kitchen, paused at what was obviously the state of the bakery. "What happened here?"
"They stole it," Addie whispered, staring at the papers everywhere. "They took my grandmother's recipe. The one she gave me before she died."
Alex's face turned serious as he looked around the room, eyes squinting at the mess. "Did somebody break in?
Addie nodded. She sounded strained. "Can't make out. why today? Who would do such a thing?"
Alex walked closer to her, his teeth clenched. "The person who did this knew what they wanted. This wasn't by chance."
"Michael," Addie said forthwith, her rival. "It has to be him. He's been monitoring me, trying to take over this bakery. He knew about my grandmother's recipes. He could have paid someone to steal it."
Alex had nothing to say. But the stiffness of his body spoke volumes. "We should report this. You can't let him off the scot-free."
Addie shook her head, trying to shake the cobwebs away. "Even if I go to the cops, how are they going to help? To them, it's just a recipe. They won't bother."
"Then I'll make them bother," Alex said in a soft, yet firm tone. "I have contacts. I can ensure attention gets paid to this."
Addie looked at him, her feelings conflicted. She couldn't be so sure if she could already trust him, but for the time being, she had no other option. "Alright, do what you have to."
Alex leaned forward, nodding. "We'll sort all that out, Addie. I promise you that.".
It was just as Addie was starting to feel a little better that her gaze caught something. Folded up and tucked beneath the scattered cookbook pages lay a piece of paper. She caught her breath as she reached for it with her shaking hands.
"What's that?" Alex asked squinting.
Addie unfolded the paper; through thick black ink, the words read:
"sell the bakery, or next time it'll be worse."
The threat had Addie's throat closing up, and she couldn't swallow. Hardly was she quivering so that Alex had to wrench the paper out of her hands.
"Let me see that," Alex said starting to read it out loud. Immediately, his jaw started clenching with every word as he spoke them aloud. "They want you to sell."
"Michael," Addie whispered once more, and the weak quality of her voice made it an unmistakable fact. "It has to be him. Who else would want me gone so much?"
Alex's head reeled as to how this had happened-the break-in, the stolen recipe, the threat; it was just a little too well thought out, too precise. Whoever had done this had known exactly what to go for. Turning to Addie, he found her staring at the note, her face masked to conceal the fear and anger.
"You aren't selling the bakery," he said matter-of-factly, his words cleanly slicing through the tension.
Addie looked up at him with wide eyes, "I have no longer any other choice. If this goes like this way, I will lose all."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Alex growled. "We aren't going to let the i***t behind this run you out of business."
"What if they come back?" Addie's voice suddenly started to break as she fought not to cry. "What if they take more next time? Or worse?"
Alex leaned in closer, his eyes locked on hers. "Then we shall be ready for them. You are no longer in this alone anymore, Addie. I'm here to help you."
Addie searched his eyes, her feelings in turmoil. She did not know why, but something in what Alex just said made her trust him. There was something resolute in the timber of his tone that cut through her fear.
Before Addie could get anything else said, the door to her pastry shop entered, along with her regular customer, Mrs. Harris. She hadn't said anything to indicate there was any tension in the air.
"Good morning, dear!" she chimed in with her jolly beaming smile. "Have I come too early for some lemon tarts?"
Addie composed herself. "N-No, Mrs. Harris. Just one moment, please."
Mrs. Harris sat at her usual table, unsuspecting of what had taken place in the kitchen.
Addie took a deep breath, turning back to Alex. "Gotta keep this on the down low. A word gets out about the break-in, it's over. People stop comin' here."
Alex nodded. His face was grim. "We can keep quiet. But we can't just let it go.
"I know," Addie said. "But I don't know what to do next."
"We'll figure it out," he said again, self-assured. "First, we gotta know who is behind this. And secondly, I think it's not just Michael."
Addie stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?
Alex said nothing right away. "I've seen plenty of company buyouts. When something like this happens, it isn't quite as black-and-white as it appears. Michael may be a part of it, but I'll eat my hat if he's calling the shots."
She watched as her hopes sank. Was this bigger than Michael? She wanted to deny it, but after everything that happened, she had to consider it might just very well be the truth.
"I don't know what to think now," Addie said. "This bakery is all I have left of my family. I can't afford to lose it."
"You won't," Alex returned, a firmness behind the voice. "Not if I have my way."
The next moment, the jingling of the bell above the door resounded again, and Addie felt her tense involuntarily. But this time, it wasn't just another regular customer. Michael Chen stepped into the bakery, his face unreadable.
"Addie," he said, striding up to the counter. "We need to talk."
Alex moved closer, looming his presence as he stood protectively next to Addie. "I don't think this is a good time Michael."
Michael stared long at Alex, just a tint of a smile on his face. "I wasn't talking to you."
Addie's heart went on racing. The air between the two men was almost palpable and solid. She looked from one to the other, her thoughts running.
Michael leaned in much closer, his voice low and menacing. "You should have taken my offer Addie. Now it's gonna get ugly."
Before Addie could utter a word, Michael whirled around and stormed out of the bakery, leaving an intense silence that, if anything, seemed to choke her.
She stared at the door, dumbfounded from his words.
"Ugly?" Alex growled. His fists were clenched. "What's that suppose to mean?
As Addie swallowed, anger and fear began to brew inside her. "I don't believe that it's over."
Turning for Alex, from the gravity in her voice, she heard herself say, though her stomach
churned: "We must know what Michael plans before it's too late."
- Writer
