Chapter 9 - The Signature on the Order

Adrian stared at the paper until the letters blurred. He remembered that trip. His father had taken him to London for a medical consultation, too proud to tell the board he was already sick.

"We landed that morning," Adrian said. "I have the passport stamps."

"Then why did a work ticket carry his signature?" the officer asked.

"Because someone wanted it to."

Iris had spent nine years imagining the person who ordered that door chained. In her mind, the villain never slept or laughed. Now she watched a woman in gold pretending to search her phone while Marisol fought to keep from crying.

Owen was sitting with paramedics on the loading ramp. He heard the question and waved them over.

"The ticket came by fax," he said. "No call from Mr. Mercer. No meeting. It was stamped urgent and signed for by Cedric. He said the loading bay was being secured for a private event."

"What event?" Adrian asked.

Owen coughed into a tissue. "A visit from Gideon Voss. Celeste's father. His company wanted to buy the Saint Alder wing. They needed it cleared of tenants."

The old wing had housed staff apartments above the loading dock. Residents had protested the sale. Adrian suddenly remembered the emails, all filed under routine operations, all forwarded to Celeste when she joined the board.

"Five people died for a real-estate deal?" Marisol whispered.

"I don't know if anyone meant for a fire to start," Owen said. "But they locked the exit. They knew those people were still working. Afterward, they needed somebody to blame."

A firefighter approached with a sealed plastic evidence bag. Inside was the old heater cord from the archive room. "This may have been placed deliberately," she told the officer. "We need the basement cleared until investigators finish."

Holt heard her and backed away. Victor called his name. Holt bolted toward the service stairwell. Two officers followed. He disappeared through the door before they reached it.

Celeste's face emptied of color. For the first time, Iris believed she might be frightened of more than embarrassment.

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Then Adrian's phone lit up with an email from the hotel's legal department. A document had been released to the board. It bore his own signature, dated one year after the fire.

The subject line read: FINAL SETTLEMENT — WAIVER OF FURTHER INVESTIGATION.