Chapter 12 - The Wrong Elevator
Emergency lights flickered on.
One crib was empty.
“Mia!” Emily screamed.
Daniel ran into the hallway.
A man in a hotel uniform disappeared around the corner carrying a child wrapped in a blanket.
Sarah chased him.
“Stop!”
He hit the service stairwell.
Daniel was seconds behind her.
The man took the stairs two at a time. Mia cried beneath the blanket.
Sarah gained ground because he was carrying her.
On the fourth-floor landing, he turned and kicked the door into Sarah’s shoulder.
She hit the wall.
Daniel lunged past her.
The man pulled a knife.
“Back off.”
Daniel stopped.
Mia’s tiny face appeared above the blanket.
“Daddy!”
The sound changed him.
He did not rush blindly. He raised his hands.
“Okay. You want money? You’ll get it.”
The man laughed.
“This isn’t about money.”
Sarah recognized the snake tattoo.
Victor.
He backed toward the elevator lobby.
“Charles says you should’ve stayed stupid.”
A service elevator opened behind him.
Victor stepped inside.
Sarah saw the control panel.
The elevator required a hotel keycard to move.
Victor reached into his pocket.
Sarah grabbed a metal housekeeping cart and slammed it into the closing doors.
They bounced open.
Daniel moved.
He hit Victor low, wrapping both arms around his waist.
Victor dropped the knife.
Mia slipped.
Sarah caught her.
Victor punched Daniel twice before security officers dragged him down.
Mia clung to Sarah’s neck, sobbing.
Daniel sat against the wall, blood running from his lip.
“You got her?”
“I’ve got her.”
Victor laughed from the floor.
“You think this changes anything?”
Ortiz arrived and crouched beside him.
“Where’s Charles?”
Victor’s smile widened.
“You’re all looking for the wrong Mercer.”
Daniel frowned.
Victor turned his head toward Emily, who had just reached the hallway holding Noah.
“The old man started this before Charles ever got involved.”
Daniel went still.
Their father, Henry Mercer, had been dead for three years.
May you like
Victor whispered one more sentence.
“He left instructions.”
