Chapter 11 - The Hotel Door
Daniel was upstairs before the elevator doors fully opened.
Sarah ran behind him with Detective Ortiz and two officers.
The twins’ room door stood open.
Emily was inside, asleep in a chair between the cribs.
Noah and Mia were safe.
Daniel woke Emily gently.
“Did anyone come in?”
She looked confused. “No.”
Sarah examined the photograph again.
It had been taken from the hallway, through a six-inch gap before the door closed automatically.
Whoever took it had been close.
Hotel security pulled camera footage.
At 5:47 p.m., a man in a housekeeping uniform walked toward the room carrying towels.
His cap hid most of his face.
At 5:49, he walked away.
Marcus enlarged the image.
Daniel stared.
“That’s not Charles.”
Emily leaned forward.
“No.”
She pointed at the man’s hand.
A snake tattoo curled between his thumb and wrist.
“I know him.”
His name was Victor Lane. He had worked security at the private facility where Emily was held.
“He was the one who stopped me the first time I tried to leave,” Emily said.
Ortiz issued an alert.
At 7:12, Victor’s abandoned van was found in a parking garage two blocks away.
Inside were zip ties, children’s car seats, two forged passports, and a printed ferry schedule to Canada.
There was also a photograph of Sarah.
A red circle had been drawn around her face.
On the back were four words.
SHE KNOWS THE HOUSE.
Daniel looked at Sarah. “You’re not leaving our security detail.”
“I’m not scared of him.”
“Yes, you are.”
Sarah met his eyes.
He was right.
But fear was no longer enough to make her walk away.
At 8:30, the hotel fire alarm suddenly screamed.
Lights flashed red.
Guests poured into the corridor.
Marcus spoke into his radio. “False alarm. Nobody moves the twins.”
Then the power died.
In the darkness, Sarah heard Emily shout.
May you like
A crib wheel scraped across the floor.
And Mia started screaming.
