Chapter 5 - The Fire He Never Forgot
Alexander didn’t deny it.
“My father ordered the hotel fire,” he said. “I was nineteen. I heard him on the phone. I knew people were inside, but I didn’t know Margaret was one of them.”
Lena stepped away from him. “You knew there were people inside?”
“I went back for them.”
“Did you save my mother?”
“No.”
The answer landed harder than a shout.
“I found the west stairwell blocked. Smoke was everywhere. I heard a woman calling for help, but my father’s men pulled me out. They said the building was going to collapse.”
“You left her.”
“I was dragged out.”
“You were a grown man.”
“I was a frightened kid in a family that taught me obedience was survival.”
Lena’s eyes burned. “And then you let me work in your house.”
“I didn’t know who you were until tonight.”
“You knew the name Carter. You never asked?”
“I thought Margaret had died. I thought her daughter was living with relatives in another state.”
“Convenient.”
He accepted the word without defending himself.
Marcus brought a file from the car. Inside were old photographs of the hotel, fire reports, and a list of missing people. Margaret’s name was crossed out in red.
Lena found another name: Daniel Voss, a security contractor. Beside it was a handwritten note: TRANSFERRED TO ROYCE.
“Victoria’s family took people from the hotel?” she asked.
Alexander shook his head. “They handled the cleanup.”
Lena stared at him. “You’re telling me your fiancée’s family helped cover up a fire that may have taken my mother?”
“I’m telling you I’m ending the engagement.”
“Not because you promised to marry me if I danced?”
His eyes held hers. “That promise was a joke. What happened to your mother isn’t.”
“Then don’t make another promise you can’t keep.”
He nodded.
A message arrived on Lena’s phone from an unknown number.
DON’T BELIEVE THE BLAKE BOY. HE WAS THERE WHEN YOUR MOTHER WAS TAKEN.
May you like
A second message followed.
COME ALONE TO THE RIVER PIER AT MIDNIGHT. BRING THE MUSIC.
