Chapter 6 - The Rooms Her Father Chose
Marcus found an emergency release beneath the desk.
The iron door opened seconds before the records room filled with thick security smoke. The three of them escaped through the service tunnel and reached the riverbank.
No one followed.
By the time emergency crews arrived, Daniel was gone.
The hidden room was empty.
The cameras had been removed.
The police found no evidence that Isabel had entered the property.
“She did not need to be there,” Matthew said later. “The speaker system was controlled remotely.”
They returned to the townhouse before dawn.
Elena spread photographs of the ledger across the kitchen table.
Room 914.
Room 508.
Room 1207.
The dates beside the rooms corresponded to three Vargas Meridian hotels.
September 14.
May 8.
December 7.
Matthew searched the company database.
“Room 914 at the Midtown Meridian was closed for renovation on that date.”
Marcus checked the second.
“Room 508 in Boston was listed as vacant.”
“The Chicago property had no Room 1207,” Elena said.
Matthew leaned closer.
“Your father chose rooms that could not have official guests.”
“Private meetings,” Elena said.
“Or storage locations.”
They traveled first to the Midtown Meridian.
Elena entered through the employee garage using an old executive access card Marcus had copied from archived records.
Room 914 was hidden behind a construction wall.
Inside, they found an empty suite and a steel safe.
The brass key did not fit.
Elena searched the room.
Her father had designed every Vargas hotel with a local artist. A framed painting of the Hudson hung above the desk.
Behind it was a button.
The safe opened.
Inside was a voice recorder.
Elena pressed play.
Her father’s voice filled the room.
“My name is Alejandro Vargas. This recording is intended for my daughter, Elena.”
She sat down.
Matthew remained near the door.
“If you are hearing this, Isabel has moved against you sooner than I expected,” Alejandro continued. “You must understand that the company’s missing funds are not the true danger. The money paid for influence. Doctors, attorneys, board members, and investigators were purchased to create a private system of control.”
Elena looked at Matthew.
His face had changed at the word investigators.
“I made a mistake,” her father said. “I believed I could confront Isabel without exposing Elena to scandal. I was wrong. If anything happens to me, the evidence is divided among three rooms.”
The recording ended.
The Boston room contained copies of payments to physicians who later described Elena as unstable.
The Chicago location was not a hotel room.
It was a storage locker registered under the false name David Vega.
Inside, they found board communications, offshore transaction records, and a sealed envelope addressed to Matthew Reeves.
Elena handed it to him.
He did not open it.
“Your name is on it.”
“I can see that.”
“Why would my father write to you?”
“I do not know.”
“That is becoming a common answer.”
Matthew broke the seal.
Inside was a single page.
Matthew read it silently.
“What does it say?” Elena asked.
He folded the letter.
“It says your father knew my firm had provided information to Isabel.”
“And?”
“He believed I would eventually discover the truth.”
“What else?”
“Nothing.”
Elena held out her hand.
“Give it to me.”
“It is addressed to me.”
“It concerns my father.”
Matthew placed the letter inside his coat.
“No.”
Her anger rose instantly.
“You promised not to control information.”
“I promised not to use your information without telling you.”
“That is a careful distinction.”
“It is.”
Elena stepped closer.
“What are you hiding?”
Matthew’s phone vibrated.
A message from Isabel appeared.
BRING THE LEDGER TO THE OLD HOTEL TOMORROW NIGHT, OR DANIEL CROSS DISAPPEARS FOREVER.
Beneath the message was a photograph of Daniel sitting in a windowless room.
Elena looked from the screen to Matthew’s coat.
May you like
For the first time since entering his car, she was certain of one thing.
Matthew Reeves had lied to her.
