Chapter 12 - THE HOTEL FIRE
The first man reached for Vanessa’s handbag.
Amelia grabbed the laptop.
Rachel ran toward the bedroom.
“Take Emma!” Lily shouted.
The second man blocked the doorway.
He held no visible weapon, but his size was enough.
“Everyone remain calm,” he said. “We are here to recover stolen family property.”
Vanessa clutched the cassette.
“My daughter is not property.”
The first man stepped closer.
“Mrs. Ashford, give us the recording.”
Rachel looked toward the hotel security guard in the hallway.
He lay unconscious against the wall.
The men had not come to threaten them.
They had come prepared.
Amelia raised her phone.
“I have already uploaded copies.”
The first man’s expression changed.
“Where?”
“To law enforcement and three news organizations.”
Rachel did not know whether it was true.
The men did not know either.
Lily moved toward the fire alarm.
The second man saw her.
“Don’t.”
Lily pulled it.
A deafening bell filled the room.
Red lights flashed.
Guests began opening doors throughout the hallway.
The first man lunged for Vanessa.
Rachel grabbed a lamp and struck his arm.
The cassette fell.
It slid beneath the table.
The second man pushed Rachel away.
She hit the wall.
From the bedroom, Emma began crying.
“Mommy!”
Rachel kicked the man’s knee and ran to her daughter.
Smoke began entering the room through the air vent.
Amelia looked up.
“That is not from the alarm.”
A chemical smell spread through the suite.
Lily opened the hallway door.
Smoke poured from the service corridor.
“They started a fire.”
Guests screamed.
Sprinklers activated.
Water crashed from the ceiling.
Rachel wrapped Emma in a blanket and lifted her.
“Where is Vanessa?”
“She went for the cassette,” Amelia said.
Vanessa crawled beneath the table as smoke thickened.
The first man grabbed her ankle.
Lily struck him with a chair.
He released Vanessa.
The second man disappeared into the hallway.
Amelia pulled Vanessa upright.
They moved toward the emergency stairs.
People crowded the corridor.
Smoke alarms screamed.
Rachel held Emma’s face against her shoulder.
“Stay with Mommy.”
At the stairwell, the first security man reappeared.
His jacket was gone.
Blood ran from his forehead.
“Give me the tape.”
Vanessa stood beside the door.
“No.”
He reached inside his coat.
A real police officer emerged from the stairwell below and aimed his weapon.
“Hands where I can see them!”
The man froze.
Hotel guests scattered down the stairs.
The officer ordered him onto the ground.
Rachel, Emma, Lily, Vanessa, and Amelia escaped through a side exit.
Fire engines surrounded the building.
Paramedics treated Vanessa for smoke inhalation.
Detective Torres arrived twenty minutes later.
Amelia gave her the cassette.
“You said you uploaded copies,” Rachel whispered.
“I did once we reached the stairwell.”
Rachel almost laughed from relief.
Detective Torres listened as Vanessa explained Claire’s disappearance.
“This changes the scope of the investigation,” the detective said.
“Will you arrest Margaret?” Rachel asked.
“We need to verify the recording.”
“She sent those men.”
“We need to establish that too.”
One of the arrested men refused to speak.
The other carried a North Vale identification card.
His phone contained no messages.
But hotel surveillance showed both men arriving in a vehicle registered to a subsidiary of the Ashford Foundation.
For the first time, Daniel called Rachel and left a message instead of demanding an answer.
His voice sounded frightened.
Rachel, I just heard about the fire. I had nothing to do with it. Please tell me Emma is safe. There are things I need to explain. Things about North Vale. Do not trust Lily. Call me alone.
Rachel played the message twice.
Lily stood near the ambulance speaking with Detective Torres.
Rachel looked at her.
Lily had warned her about Margaret.
Lily had followed Vanessa to the chapel.
Lily had helped them escape the hotel.
Why would Daniel warn her not to trust his sister?
Another message appeared.
A photograph.
It showed Lily entering the Ashford Foundation offices three nights before the engagement party.
The timestamp was 2:13 a.m.
May you like
Beneath it, Daniel had written:
Ask her what she removed from Father’s safe before Vanessa arrived.
