Chapter 7 - My Mother's Name

FLORENCE BENNETT. INCIDENT DATE: OCTOBER 14, ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER.

I couldn't breathe.

My mother had been a night housekeeper at the Aster Grand long before I had money or investors or even a college degree. At fifty-one, she'd slipped in a service stairwell during an overnight shift and shattered her hip. The hotel's insurer called it employee negligence. Her supervisor said she'd ignored a warning sign.

I remembered selling my car to help pay the medical bills. I remembered Mom apologizing from her hospital bed, as if breaking a bone had been an act of selfishness.

Now I was looking at the original maintenance report.

EMERGENCY STAIR LIGHT OUT. EXIT BAR CHAINED. SUPERVISOR ADVISED TWICE. NO REPAIR AUTHORIZED.

The signature at the bottom belonged to Graham Vale.

"Nora?" Luis said quietly.

"My mother worked here."

Ana squeezed my arm. "Celia Moreno found that report while organizing old employee files. She asked HR why the insurer never saw it. Three days later, she was dismissed for 'gross misconduct.'"

"Where is she now?"

"Across town. She didn't disappear. They made sure nobody in hospitality would hire her."

I'd found Celia's name in the anonymous letter but never managed to reach her. Every number in her old personnel file had been disconnected. The night manager claimed she'd left the state.

"How did you find this?" I asked Ana.

"Celia left a copy with me before she got fired. I hid it in the linen supply room. When they searched my locker today, I knew they were looking for it."

The stairwell chain rattled as Luis unwrapped it from the exit bar. "I'm calling the fire marshal."

"And the police," I said. "Those men assaulted an employee."

Eli held up his phone. "I got their faces at the loading dock. My camera has audio, too."

Then Dana called.

"Nora, the emergency board meeting is confirmed," she said. "But Graham has filed something before we could act."

"What?"

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Her voice turned flat.

"A document claiming Northline agreed to extend his contract for ten more years. It has your signature."