Chapter 11 - Dinner With a Thief
I returned to the lobby for Lily. She ran into my arms so hard the bouquet knocked against my hip.
"You came back," she said.
"Always."
Evelyn had found her crackers and a glass of milk. In one corner of the lounge, Lily was building a little blanket nest for her rabbit. It broke my heart that a six-year-old could make a home in fifteen minutes while grown-ups argued about whether she deserved a room.
"We can leave," I told her. "We can sleep somewhere else."
She touched the roses. "But you promised Daddy we'd come here."
Daniel had loved the Bellwether. He'd proposed to me in its winter garden before we bought it, then bought it because he wanted to preserve a beautiful old building and the people who worked there. Lily remembered the story. She did not know it had become dangerous.
"We can come back another day," I said.
"Will Daddy be disappointed?"
"No, sweetheart. Daddy would want you safe."
Lena recommended moving us to a protected location. Priya agreed. My driver took Lily and Evelyn to a nearby hotel under a reservation arranged by counsel. I stayed just long enough to identify the financial records, with a guard at my side.
As I headed toward the exit, Martin Vale appeared under the ballroom chandeliers. Silver hair, tailored tuxedo, familiar emerald cuff links. He smiled at me as if we'd bumped into each other at the grocery store.
"Clara," he said. "You should have called before visiting."
"Apparently someone knew I was coming."
His eyes flickered toward the police outside 904's corridor. "Let me explain the misunderstanding."
"Explain why you used Daniel's credentials."
May you like
Martin's smile disappeared.
"Because," he said, "Daniel made me promise I'd keep you away from what he discovered."
