CHAPTER 4 : The Man Behind the Door
Marcus grabbed a brass lamp and stood between the door and Noah.
Claire held her son close as the lock clicked.
The door opened slowly.
A hotel employee collapsed into the room.
Blood stained the sleeve of his uniform, but the injury appeared shallow. He gasped for air and pointed toward the stairwell.
“He went down.”
“Who?” Claire demanded.
The employee shook his head.
“Black suit. Covered face.”
The smoke stopped as suddenly as it had started.
Marcus called security while Claire helped the employee sit against the wall.
“What happened to Victoria?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Where was that video recorded?”
The employee looked toward the television.
“That feed came from the abandoned conference level.”
Adrian entered with several guards.
He stared at the drawing and Daniel’s wedding ring.
“This room was empty this afternoon.”
Claire faced him.
“How would you know?”
“I had it inspected before the gala.”
“So you expected someone to use it.”
Adrian did not answer.
Before Claire could press him, security reported that Victoria was missing.
Her purse and phone remained in the ballroom.
The conference level cameras had been erased.
Claire ordered the hotel sealed.
No guests could leave.
No vehicles could exit the underground garage.
Adrian accused her of turning the event into a hostage situation, but the board supported her temporary order.
While the hotel was searched, Claire returned to the ballroom with Noah.
The guests watched her differently now.
Some with fear.
Others with sudden respect.
Those who had laughed when she knelt on the floor avoided her eyes.
An elderly waiter approached quietly.
“Mrs. Ashford?”
Claire recognized him as Samuel, a man who had worked at the hotel since Daniel was a child.
“I saw Mr. Daniel the week after the family announced his death.”
Claire’s breath caught.
“Where?”
“In the east elevator.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I did.”
Samuel glanced toward Adrian.
“I reported it to management. The next morning, I was transferred to another property.”
Adrian heard him.
“This man has confused Daniel with someone else.”
Samuel removed a folded receipt from his pocket.
“A guest signed for a private dinner that night.”
Claire unfolded it.
The signature looked like Daniel’s.
Below it was a room number.
1708.
But the date was not one week after Daniel’s disappearance.
It was six months later.
Claire looked at Adrian.
“You knew he might be alive.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“I knew someone wanted us to believe he was.”
Suddenly, Noah cried out.
A woman dressed as a server had grabbed his wrist.
Claire pulled him back, but the woman dropped a small object before security restrained her.
It was a blue plastic key.
Noah stared at it.
“I’ve seen that before.”
Claire picked it up.
“Where?”
“In Dad’s office.”
On one side of the key was a number.
B-19.
The detained woman smiled at Claire.
May you like
“You found the room,” she whispered. “Now find what he buried beneath the company.”
Then she bit down on something hidden inside her mouth and collapsed before anyone could question her.
