Chapter 2 - THE MAN BEHIND THE HOTEL
David Reynolds entered my office with the confidence of a man who had nothing to hide.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was that he didn't look surprised.
I turned the tablet toward him.
"Recognize this?"
His expression changed for less than a second.
Most people wouldn't have noticed.
I did.
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Of course."
I watched him carefully.
David had worked for Wellington Grand for eleven years.
He had been there before I bought the hotel.
He knew every system.
Every employee.
Every camera.
Every master key.
Every financial account.
If someone wanted access to confidential documents, David was one of the few people who could make it happen.
"Where were you last night?"
His eyes narrowed.
"At home."
"All night?"
"Yes."
"Anyone with you?"
He hesitated.
"My wife."
I nodded.
"Good."
He frowned.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because someone accessed confidential financial records."
David's expression hardened.
"Are you accusing me?"
"Not yet."
Anna quietly stepped toward the door.
"I should leave."
I looked at her.
"Stay."
David glanced at her.
Something about that look bothered me.
Not anger.
Not sympathy.
Calculation.
"David," I said, "cancel my nine o'clock meetings."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"There's a board call at ten."
"Move it."
He nodded.
Then he left.
The moment the door closed, Anna whispered, "You think he did it."
"I think someone did."
"You don't trust him."
"I trust very few people."
She looked at me.
"Why?"
I almost laughed.
"Experience."
She didn't smile.
Instead, she said, "Mr. Martin, there's something I should tell you."
I waited.
"Yesterday, before I lost my apartment, I saw someone in the service hallway."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What did he look like?"
"Man. Tall. Gray jacket."
"Anything else?"
"He was carrying a black case."
"Did you see his face?"
She shook her head.
"Then why didn't you mention it last night?"
"Because I thought it was security."
I stood.
"Which hallway?"
She pointed.
"Near the service elevator."
I grabbed my jacket.
"Show me."
We walked downstairs.
The Wellington Grand was already alive.
Bellmen moved luggage.
Guests checked out.
Housekeepers pushed carts through the corridors.
Nobody knew that behind the polished marble walls, something ugly had begun.
Anna led me toward the service hallway.
I noticed a camera above the elevator.
"That camera works?"
"Yes."
I called security.
"Pull footage from yesterday, 2 p.m. to midnight."
The security manager arrived five minutes later.
He looked nervous.
"Sir, we have a problem."
"What?"
"The camera system was offline."
I stared at him.
"How long?"
"Four hours."
"When?"
"Between 5:40 and 9:50."
Exactly when Anna had entered my suite.
Exactly when someone could have followed her.
"Why wasn't I notified?"
"We assumed it was maintenance."
"Who authorized maintenance?"
He looked at his tablet.
"Mr. Reynolds."
My jaw tightened.
Anna looked at me.
"You still think I'm the problem?"
I almost smiled.
"No."
We returned to my office.
By noon, the board had convened an emergency meeting.
Seven executives appeared on the screen.
Three were already demanding answers.
One of them, Richard Hale, leaned forward.
"This is unacceptable."
I said nothing.
He continued.
"A CEO's private suite being used as emergency housing by an employee is a serious security violation."
Anna was standing beside the door.
I could see the shame returning to her face.
Richard continued.
"We need to terminate her immediately."
"No."
Silence.
Richard blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"I said no."
"Martin, this isn't personal."
"It is."
He frowned.
"The hotel has policies."
"I wrote half of them."
"And you're choosing to ignore them."
"Yes."
A few board members exchanged looks.
I leaned toward the camera.
"But we're not going to discuss Anna."
Richard's expression changed.
"We aren't?"
"No."
I placed the tablet on the table.
"We're going to discuss unauthorized access to confidential financial information."
Nobody spoke.
Then I added:
"And we're going to discuss why our security cameras were deliberately shut down."
Richard's face went pale.
Someone disconnected.
Then another.
The meeting ended abruptly.
I looked at Anna.
"Go home."
She hesitated.
"I don't have one."
I remembered.
"Right."
I called my assistant.
"Rachel, find the apartment."
"Already done."
She handed me a key.
"Unit 14B. Two-bedroom. Fully furnished."
Anna stared at it.
"How much?"
"Nothing for six months."
Her eyes widened.
"Six months?"
"After that, we'll revisit."
She took the key with trembling fingers.
"Why are you doing this?"
I looked at her.
"Because your children deserve a bed."
She whispered, "Thank you."
Then she left.
For the first time that day, I felt relief.
It lasted approximately thirty seconds.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Martin."
A man's voice spoke quietly.
"You shouldn't have helped her."
I froze.
"Who is this?"
"You think you're protecting Anna."
"Who are you?"
"You've just made her a target."
The line went dead.
I immediately called security.
Then I remembered something.
Anna had left through the staff entrance.
I grabbed my coat.
I ran.
By the time I reached the parking garage, her car was gone.
But something was sitting beneath my windshield.
A small stuffed elephant.
The same one Samuel had been holding.
My blood ran cold.
I picked it up.
There was a note attached.
Three words.
SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
I looked around the empty garage.
Then my phone buzzed.
A photograph appeared.
Anna was standing outside the apartment building.
Someone had taken the picture from across the street.
Underneath it was another message.
Ask her what happened three years ago.
I stared at the screen.
Three years.
The twins were three.
That couldn't be coincidence.
I drove directly to Anna's new apartment.
When she opened the door, she was holding Sophia.
Samuel was asleep on the couch.
She saw the elephant in my hand.
Her face drained of color.
"Where did you get that?"
I held it out.
"Someone left it on my car."
She didn't take it.
Instead, she whispered:
"Then they found us."
"Who?"
Anna closed the door behind me.
Her hands were shaking.
And finally, she told me the secret she'd been hiding since the twins were born.
"Three years ago, someone tried to take my children."
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
She looked toward the sleeping twins.
"Their father."
I stared at her.
"You told me you were alone."
"I am."
"Then who is their father?"
She looked at me.
May you like
And the fear in her eyes told me the answer was going to change everything.
"He isn't supposed to know they're alive."
