Two days before the accident.
My eyes stopped.
“What?””
Daniel pointed.
“Look.””
A phone record.
Claire called Olivia.
Duration:
Thirty-seven minutes.
The longest call they had ever recorded.
I stared at the date.
Two days before Claire died.
“What happened after that call?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Olivia deleted her number.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“Her old phone account was closed shortly afterward.””
“Why?””
“We don’t know.””
I looked through the documents.
Then something fell out.
A photocopy of a handwritten note.
I picked it up.
It wasn’t from Olivia.
It was from Claire.
My hands froze.
Because I recognized her handwriting immediately.
The words were short.
*Ethan — if anything happens to me, do not trust the people closest to the money. Check the foundation records. Claire.*
I stopped breathing.
The foundation.
The Grand Regent Foundation.
A charity program Claire created five years earlier.
It funded scholarships, housing programs, and community projects.
It was her proudest achievement.
She always said the company’s success meant nothing if it didn’t help people outside the hotel walls.
Daniel looked at me.
“Did you know about this?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“When did you get this?””
“I didn’t.””
“Then where did it come from?””
I looked at the paper.
The answer terrified me.
Someone wanted me to find it.
Someone had kept this hidden for two years.
Waiting.
For tonight.
A knock interrupted us.
One of the security officers entered.
“Mr. Vance.””
“Yes?””
“We found the source of the messages.””
Daniel and I looked at each other.
“Who?””
The officer hesitated.
“It came from a device connected to the hotel’s internal network.””
“Can you identify the person?””
“Yes.””
He looked down at his tablet.
“The device belongs to…”
A pause.
My stomach tightened.
“Say it.””
The officer looked at me.
“Olivia Parker.””
Silence.
Impossible.
Olivia wasn’t even in the hotel.
Or at least, I thought she wasn’t.
Daniel looked confused.
“That can’t be right.””
The officer nodded.
“We thought the same thing.””
“Then explain.””
He turned the tablet around.
A security image appeared.
A woman walking through a service entrance.
Dark coat.
Hair pulled back.
Face partially visible.
But I knew her.
Even after two years.
Even after all this time.
My heart sank.
Because standing inside my hotel…
at that exact moment…
was Claire’s best friend.
Olivia Parker.
And she wasn’t alone.
She was meeting someone.
Someone whose face the camera captured clearly.
Daniel whispered the name before I could.
“Thomas Reed.””
I stared at the screen.
The two people connected to the secrets surrounding Claire’s death were standing together.
Inside my hotel.
On the same night I returned.
And then the security officer added one final detail.
“Mr. Vance…”
“What?””
“They weren’t meeting by accident.””
He swallowed.
“They requested access to the old foundation archive room.””
My blood ran cold.
Because that room contained the records Claire cared about most.
And if someone was trying to reach it tonight…
it meant the truth Claire died trying to reveal was still hidden somewhere inside the Grand Regent.
Waiting for me to find it.
The archive room had been locked for two years.
Not because it contained secrets.
At least, that was what I had told myself.
It was because every time I passed that hallway, I remembered Claire.
The Grand Regent Foundation archive was her project.
Her dream.
Her proof that the company could be something more than a business.
And now, on the same night I discovered someone had threatened my daughter, two people connected to the darkest questions about Claire’s death were trying to access it.
Thomas Reed.
Olivia Parker.
Together.
The security image remained on the tablet screen.
I stared at it, searching for some explanation that made sense.
Maybe Olivia was helping me.
Maybe Thomas had forced her.
Maybe the camera angle was wrong.
Maybe there was another reason.
But one thing was impossible to ignore.
They were there.
And they were hiding something.
“Where are they now?”” I asked.
The security officer answered immediately.
“They entered the east service corridor three minutes ago.””
“Are they aware we know?””
“No.””
“Good.””
Daniel looked at me.
“You’re going after them.””
“Yes.””
“Ethan, this could be dangerous.””
I looked toward Lily’s room.
“I know.””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Then why are you doing this yourself?””
Because this wasn’t just about business.
Because Claire’s final warning had my name on it.
Because someone had spent two years hiding the truth from me.
I looked back at Daniel.
“Because Claire deserved answers.””
He didn’t argue.
He just nodded.
The east service corridor was a part of the hotel most guests never saw.
Behind the luxury.
Behind the perfect rooms.
Behind the polished image of the Grand Regent.
There were narrow hallways where employees moved quietly.
Storage areas.
Maintenance rooms.
Old sections of the building that had been forgotten over time.
Claire loved these parts.
She once told me that if you wanted to understand a hotel, you shouldn’t start in the lobby.
You should start where people worked when nobody was watching.
I remembered laughing.
“You’re telling me the foundation director enjoys walking through storage rooms?””
She smiled.
“I’m telling you that the truth doesn’t live in the places people decorate.””
At the time, I thought she was being philosophical.
Now, those words felt like a warning.
Daniel and two security officers followed me.
We stopped near the archive room.
The door was closed.
A faint light appeared beneath it.
Someone was inside.
Daniel looked at me.
“What’s the plan?””
I listened.
Voices.
Quiet.
Muffled.
But one voice was familiar.
Thomas.
“We don’t have much time.””
My heart tightened.
Daniel heard it too.
The security officer raised his hand.
“Wait.””
We stayed silent.
Olivia answered.
“I told you this was a mistake.””
Thomas lowered his voice.
“You don’t get to change your mind now.””
My expression hardened.
So Olivia wasn’t simply helping him.
She was involved.
Daniel looked at me.
The disappointment on his face matched mine.
Inside the room, Thomas continued.
“Once Vance sees those records, everything falls apart.””
Olivia whispered something.
I couldn’t hear.
Thomas replied.
“Claire should have stayed quiet.””
My blood went cold.
I opened the door.
Immediately.
Both of them turned.
The reaction was priceless.
Thomas froze.
Olivia’s face lost all color.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Thomas recovered.
“Ethan.””
I stepped inside.
“Interesting choice of words.””
Thomas looked at Daniel.
Then at the security officers.
“You misunderstood.””
I almost laughed.
“Did I?””
He straightened his jacket.
“We were reviewing old foundation documents.””
“At midnight?””
“Yes.””
“Without my permission?””
Thomas opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Olivia looked away.
I looked at her.
“Why?””
Her eyes lifted.
Pain crossed her face.
“Ethan…”
“No.””
My voice was quiet.
“But I want to understand.””
She swallowed.
“I didn’t want this.””
“Then why are you here?””
She looked at Thomas.
That was enough.
She was afraid of him.
Or guilty because of him.
Maybe both.
I walked further into the room.
The archive looked exactly the way Claire left it.
Shelves filled with documents.
Old project files.
Foundation reports.
Photos of families helped by the programs she created.
On the wall was a picture of Claire standing with a group of children at a scholarship event.
She was smiling.
Not the business smile she used at meetings.
Her real smile.
The one I loved.
For a moment, I forgot about Thomas and Olivia.
I just saw my wife.
Then I noticed something.
A drawer was open.
The lock had been broken.
I pointed.
“What were you looking for?””
Thomas answered too quickly.
“Nothing.””
I looked at him.
“Nothing?””
He nodded.
“Old files.””
“Which ones?””
Silence.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Answer him.””
Thomas looked annoyed.
“I don’t appreciate being treated like a criminal.””
I turned toward him.
“Neither did my daughter when your employees threw us out into the rain.””