Chapter 9 - THE ABANDONED HOTEL
Police told Nathaniel not to go.
He went anyway.
Adrian went with him.
So did Detective Harris.
I stayed at the estate with Lily.
At 11:40 p.m., Cross Meridian’s abandoned downtown hotel became the center of a tactical operation.
The property had been closed for renovation.
Thirty-two floors.
No guests.
Limited electricity.
Hundreds of dark rooms.
Vanessa’s phone last pinged from the nineteenth floor.
Police entered.
They found her in a conference room.
Alone.
Her father wasn’t there.
Neither was Victor.
Vanessa had blood on her sleeve.
Not hers.
She was shaking uncontrollably.
When Nathaniel approached, she said:
“I tried to stop him.”
“Stop who?”
“Victor.”
“Where’s your father?”
She began crying.
“He took him.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Then she grabbed Nathaniel’s jacket.
“He knows about Elena.”
Nathaniel froze.
“What?”
Vanessa looked frantic.
“He thinks she has another copy of Richard’s files.”
“She doesn’t.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
Nathaniel immediately called me.
I answered on the first ring.
“Elena.”
“What?”
“Where is security?”
“Outside.”
“Lock the doors.”
My stomach tightened.
“Nathaniel, what happened?”
“Do it now.”
I moved toward the guesthouse entrance.
Then the lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Lily called from the bedroom.
“Mommy?”
“I’m here.”
I locked the door.
Outside, someone shouted.
Then a gunshot cracked across the property.
I dropped to the floor.
“Lily! Stay in your room!”
Another shot.
Glass broke somewhere.
I crawled toward the hallway.
My phone remained connected.
Nathaniel shouted my name.
“I’m here.”
“Get Lily and go to the safe room.”
“What safe room?”
“Pantry. Back wall. Third cabinet.”
I ran.
Lily came into the hallway clutching her rabbit.
“Mommy!”
I scooped her up.
We reached the pantry.
Third cabinet.
Behind shelves was a steel door.
I entered a code Nathaniel gave me.
The door opened.
We climbed inside.
Dark.
Small.
Safe.
I thought.
Then Lily whispered:
“Mommy.”
“What?”
“There’s someone here.”
My blood froze.
A flashlight clicked on.
A man sat against the far wall.
Gray hair.
Blood across his shirt.
For one impossible second, I thought Richard had somehow survived.
Then he lifted his face.
Not Richard.
Victor Dane.
He smiled.
“Hello, Elena.”
I pushed Lily behind me.
“How did you get in?”
“Family homes have family secrets.”
He held no visible gun.
But I knew better than to relax.
Victor looked at Lily.
“So this is the little girl who found Richard’s drive.”
“Don’t look at her.”
He smiled.
“You’re brave.”
“No.”
My voice trembled.
“I’m a mother.”
His smile faded.
“Those are often the same thing.”
My phone was still in my hand.
Nathaniel’s call had disconnected.
Victor nodded toward it.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“No.”
He stood.
I backed against the door.
He moved slowly.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You killed Richard.”
His expression changed.
“Richard killed himself with greed.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
He came closer.
“It isn’t.”
Then Lily did something neither of us expected.
She threw her stuffed rabbit at him.
Victor instinctively turned.
I slammed the emergency alarm.
A siren exploded inside the safe room.
Victor cursed.
The steel door automatically unlocked.
I grabbed Lily.
We ran.
Victor caught my uniform.
Fabric ripped.
I screamed.
Then the pantry door burst open.
Thomas stood there with a shotgun.
“Let her go.”
Victor froze.
Thomas’s hands trembled.
“You always were sentimental,” Victor said.
Thomas stared at him.
“And you always mistook kindness for weakness.”
Victor slowly raised his hands.
Security rushed in.
But before they could reach him, Victor smiled at Thomas.
“Tell Nathaniel the rest.”
Thomas went pale.
Victor laughed.
“Go ahead.”
He looked toward me.
“Tell him who really signed the order that ruined his father.”
Thomas lowered the shotgun slightly.
And Victor said the name.
May you like
“His mother.”
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