Chapter 4 - The Door Beneath the Ballroom)
Nia stayed inside the cabinet until the room became quiet.
Then she counted to one hundred.
Twice.
When she crawled out, her knees hurt and her mother was gone.
She opened the door.
The employee corridor was almost empty now.
Dinner service had begun upstairs.
Nia knew she should find another adult.
But adults had just taken her mother away.
That changed the rules.
She slipped the silver packet into the pocket of the gray jacket.
Then she remembered the brass key hidden inside the lining.
She pulled at the loose seam until the key dropped into her hand.
Small.
Old.
Stamped with the number 314.
Nia had no idea what it opened.
She walked toward the freight elevator.
A bell sounded.
She hid behind stacked boxes.
Daniel stepped out.
He was alone.
His face looked different now.
Not stern.
Afraid.
He pulled out his phone and called someone.
“They took her to the west loading office.”
Nia held her breath.
Daniel listened.
“No, I don’t know where the child is.”
Another pause.
“I told Malcolm I’d handle it.”
Nia’s fingers closed around the brass key.
Daniel continued.
“You promised nobody would get hurt.”
Silence.
Then Daniel’s voice changed.
“You already have the recording. What else do you need?”
He listened again.
“No. I’m done.”
The line disconnected.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Then he threw it against the wall.
Nia flinched.
Daniel heard.
He turned.
“Who’s there?”
Nia ran.
“Nia!”
She ran faster.
Daniel chased her through the service corridor.
“Nia, stop!”
She slipped between two rolling laundry racks.
Daniel followed.
“Listen to me!”
“No!”
“I’m trying to help your mother.”
“You took her!”
“I know.”
Nia reached a locked gray door marked SERVICE ACCESS.
She pulled the handle.
Nothing.
Daniel was getting closer.
She saw a small keyhole.
Without thinking, she inserted the brass key.
It turned.
The door opened.
Nia slipped through and slammed it behind her.
Daniel reached it seconds later.
“Nia!”
She locked the door.
“Nia, open it.”
She backed away.
The stairwell beyond was dark.
“Nia, please. That stairwell hasn’t been used in years.”
She did not answer.
“Your mother gave you the key, didn’t she?”
Nia looked at it.
How did he know?
Daniel continued through the door.
“That key belonged to James Whitmore.”
Nia froze.
The name meant nothing to her.
“Who?”
“Arthur Whitmore’s son.”
“Why did my mom have it?”
“I don’t know.”
Nia stared at the dark stairs below.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“If Simone gave you that key, she wanted you to keep it away from Malcolm.”
Nia finally answered.
“You work for Malcolm.”
“I did something stupid for him.”
“You took my mom.”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re bad.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I might be.”
Nia turned and started descending.
“Nia, wait.”
She ignored him.
The staircase spiraled beneath the ballroom.
At the bottom she found another door.
The key opened that one too.
Beyond it was an old service passage lined with exposed pipes.
The Aurelia Grand had been built in 1928.
Most employees did not know the original tunnels still existed beneath the modern hotel.
James Whitmore had known.
Years earlier he had discovered that his father kept records from the hotel’s early days in an abandoned wine storage room connected to those tunnels.
That room was number 314.
Nia followed the passage until she found a wooden door.
314.
She unlocked it.
Dust filled the air.
The room contained shelves, old photographs, broken furniture, and dozens of boxes.
A small desk stood against the wall.
On it was a black metal case.
Nia opened it.
Inside were papers.
Photographs.
A digital recorder.
And an envelope with three words written across the front.
FOR MY FATHER.
Nia picked it up.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel.
She turned.
“Daniel?”
No answer.
The footsteps continued.
Slow.
Measured.
Nia looked around.
There was nowhere to hide except beneath the desk.
She crawled under it.
The door opened.
Black dress shoes entered.
Not Daniel’s.
Malcolm Dray walked into the room.
He looked around.
Then he noticed the black case was open.
His face changed.
“Nia?”
She covered her mouth.
Malcolm closed the door behind him.
“I know you’re here.”
Silence.
“You’re not in trouble.”
Nia looked at his shoes.
He moved farther into the room.
“Your mother is worried.”
Nia almost answered.
Then she remembered what her mother had always told her.
When adults say you are not in trouble before you ask, you probably are.
Malcolm stopped beside the desk.
Nia could see his hand.
He was holding Simone’s phone.
“Nia,” he said softly. “I just need the key.”
She tightened her fist around it.
Then another voice came from the doorway.
“I think you should leave the child alone.”
Malcolm turned.
Daniel stood there.
For several seconds neither man moved.
Then Malcolm smiled.
“You’re making a serious mistake.”
Daniel stepped into the room.
“No.”
May you like
His eyes flicked toward the desk.
“I made the serious mistake eighteen months ago.”
