Chapter 6 - The Door That Locked From Outside
The suite door locked with a mechanical click.
Khloe rushed toward it, but Isabella grabbed her arm.
“Do not run.”
“Marcus locked us in.”
“That is why you should not panic.”
Isabella raised her phone.
“Marcus, open the door.”
Silence.
Then a text appeared on her screen.
LEAVE THE KEY ON THE TABLE.
Isabella looked at Khloe.
“He knows.”
“Of course he knows. He was listening.”
Khloe pressed the nurse call button.
Nothing happened.
She pressed it again.
The panel remained dark.
Isabella tried calling emergency services, but her phone showed no signal.
“They blocked the room,” she said.
Khloe moved toward the staircase.
“The upper sitting area has another door.”
Isabella shook her head.
“It leads to a private corridor controlled by Vale security.”
“How do you know?”
“Marcus brought me here before.”
Khloe stared at her.
“When?”
Isabella did not answer.
The room lights dimmed.
A low hum came from the ventilation system.
Khloe smelled something faintly sweet.
Isabella smelled it too.
“Cover your mouth.”
They pulled fabric over their faces and moved toward the balcony door, but the glass would not open.
Khloe’s vision blurred.
“The ventilation,” she whispered.
Isabella grabbed a heavy metal vase and struck the glass.
It did not crack.
She struck again.
An alarm began to sound.
The suite door opened.
Owen Price entered wearing a protective mask.
Behind him stood two security officers.
Isabella stepped in front of Khloe.
“What are you doing?”
Owen looked almost apologetic.
“Mr. Vale asked me to relocate Mrs. Vale for her protection.”
“You are filling the room with something.”
“A harmless calming agent.”
Khloe’s knees weakened.
Isabella picked up the vase.
Owen raised one hand.
“Put that down.”
“Come closer and I will not.”
The security officers moved forward.
Khloe reached for the table, trying to keep herself upright.
Then the hidden camera rotated.
A sharp electronic beep sounded.
The ventilation system stopped.
The doors automatically unlocked.
Dr. Shaw entered with three hospital guards.
“Step away from my patient.”
Owen removed his mask.
“This was authorized by Mr. Vale.”
“Marcus Vale is not a physician.”
“He is her legal medical representative.”
“That authorization is under fraud review.”
One of the hospital guards reached for Owen.
Owen calmly presented his identification.
“I am operating under a security emergency provision.”
Dr. Shaw looked at the disabled call panel.
“What emergency?”
Owen glanced at Isabella.
“An unauthorized visitor entered a restricted patient room carrying a stolen key.”
Isabella lifted the silver key.
“This belongs to me.”
“It belongs to Vale Consolidated.”
Khloe forced herself to speak.
“She is my guest.”
Owen’s smile faded.
Dr. Shaw ordered the guards to escort him out.
For several tense seconds, no one moved.
Then a voice came through Owen’s earpiece.
He listened.
“Understood.”
He stepped back.
“This is not over.”
When he left, Dr. Shaw examined Khloe.
“The baby’s heartbeat is elevated. We need to move you.”
“To another room?”
“To another hospital.”
Khloe looked at Isabella.
“We have to get the archive first.”
Dr. Shaw stared at them.
“What archive?”
“Evidence.”
Isabella closed her hand around the silver key.
“If Marcus knows I have this, he will empty the room before sunset.”
Khloe looked toward the camera.
“Can Adrian protect the recording?”
“He says the system has been accessed by someone else,” Dr. Shaw replied.
Isabella walked to the hidden lens.
“Then maybe the person controlling it is not Marcus.”
The television switched on again.
A single sentence appeared.
DO NOT LEAVE THROUGH THE MAIN FLOOR.
A map replaced the warning.
It showed a maintenance passage beneath the private suite.
May you like
Khloe recognized the signature in the corner of the screen.
It belonged to her father.
