Chapter 28 - THE HOTEL LOCKDOWNThe lockdown divided the hotel into sealed zones.
Isabella, Lorenzo, Serena, Clara, Aurelia, and Adrian remained outside in the east garden.
Hundreds of guests and employees were trapped inside.
Vanessa was in the ballroom.
Evelyn was in H-9.
Marcus was in custody across the city.
The system displayed a countdown on every hotel screen.
PRIMARY GUARDIAN MUST ENTER H-9 WITHIN SIXTY MINUTES.
FAILURE WILL RELEASE SUCCESSION ARCHIVE.
“If we ignore it, the files become public,” Clara said.
“Not simply public,” Adrian replied. “Unfiltered. Medical records, witness identities, private addresses.”
“People will die,” Isabella said.
Serena nodded.
“That is how H-9 forces compliance.”
The main entrance would not open.
Firefighters attempted to break the glass, but reinforced shutters lowered between the exterior panels.
Isabella contacted the hotel control room.
Vanessa answered.
“We have people trapped in elevators.”
“Can you reach the manual controls?”
“The doors to engineering are sealed.”
“Find Daniel’s deputy.”
“He is already here.”
The head of maintenance directed staff to mechanical releases installed before the modern system. One by one, they opened the elevators.
Employees began moving guests toward the ballroom, the only large area with independent ventilation.
The hotel’s survival depended on people who understood its old structure better than H-9 did.
“The system expects me to enter,” Isabella said.
“It expects the guardian it selected,” Serena replied.
“Then I will enter.”
“It may lock you inside permanently.”
“People are already locked inside because of me.”
“No,” Clara said. “Because of the system.”
Isabella looked at the hotel.
“The distinction will not matter if someone dies.”
She entered through the underground tunnel.
Lorenzo followed despite her objections.
At the H-9 terminal, the countdown stopped.
WELCOME, ISABELLA MORETTI.
A question appeared.
DO YOU ACCEPT PRIMARY GUARDIANSHIP?
YES.
NO.
Adrian’s voice came through her earpiece.
“Do not choose either.”
“What happens if I choose no?”
“It releases the archive and selects another candidate.”
“And yes?”
“You gain control, but the system records you as responsible for protecting its secrecy.”
“Meaning I become what my grandfather was.”
“Possibly.”
Isabella examined the terminal casing.
“What happens if the terminal loses power?”
“H-9 has independent generators.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
“Where?”
Lorenzo looked toward the old map.
“The original engineer placed manual fuel valves beneath the ballroom.”
Inside the hotel, Vanessa received the instructions.
Reaching the valves required passing through a service corridor damaged by the falling chandelier.
Vanessa volunteered.
“You are not trained,” Isabella said through the radio.
“I know the corridor.”
“Why?”
“My father used it to meet Marcus without cameras.”
Vanessa crawled beneath broken beams while employees guided her.
She reached the first valve.
Closed it.
Then the second.
When she reached the third, a man stepped from the darkness.
The balcony shooter wore a black preservation uniform.
He aimed his gun at Vanessa.
She recognized him.
“Adrian?”
The man smiled.
“Not Adrian.”
He removed a mask designed to copy Adrian’s face.
Beneath it was someone Isabella knew.
May you like
The Bellavere’s board attorney.
The man who had activated Article Twelve.
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