Chapter 4 - The Man Wearing Julian’s Face
The footage was perfect.
Too perfect.
The man on the screen had Julian’s height, posture, tuxedo, and face. He entered the correct security code without hesitation and selected the exact bottle reserved for August’s toast.
Marcus ordered the doors sealed.
No staff member or guest would leave the hotel until the bottle was found.
Julian was escorted to a private office near the ballroom.
Lena followed before anyone could stop her.
Vivian Whitmore was waiting inside.
She stood near the window in a white evening suit, holding a glass of water she had not touched. At forty-two, Vivian had inherited her father’s sharp features and none of his patience.
She looked at Julian.
“I saw the video.”
“It was altered.”
“It was recorded on an isolated system.”
“Then someone entered the system.”
Marcus closed the door.
“Mrs. Whitmore has requested that Julian be removed from the gala.”
Vivian gave him a cold look.
“Eleanor can request whatever she likes.”
“She believes he may present a threat to your father.”
“Eleanor believes everyone presents a threat to my father except Eleanor.”
Marcus did not respond.
Vivian’s attention moved to Lena.
“You’re Owen Cross’s sister.”
“Yes.”
“Owen trusted Julian. That was one of his mistakes.”
Julian turned toward her.
“Not now.”
“Especially now.”
Vivian placed the water down.
“My brother has spent eleven months promising he will discover what happened to Owen. Instead, evidence appears showing him stealing the bottle intended for our father.”
“You think I did it?” Julian asked.
“I think someone wants us to think you did.”
“That is not the same answer.”
“It is the only answer that matters tonight.”
Lena unfolded the hotel receipt and placed it on the desk.
Vivian read Owen’s words.
THE POISON ISN’T CHEMICAL.
Her expression sharpened.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the records room.”
“Who sent you there?”
“An anonymous caller.”
“Convenient.”
Lena stepped closer.
“My brother died. Daniel Reyes may be dead. Someone tried to suffocate Julian and me in that room. I didn’t come here for convenience.”
Vivian studied her for a moment.
Then she opened a locked drawer and removed a thin file.
Inside were photographs of six people.
Lena recognized Daniel.
The others were strangers.
“All of them worked for Whitmore Meridian,” Vivian said. “All discovered payments connected to Halcyon Ridge. Three are dead. Two disappeared. Daniel was the last one we could still contact.”
“Marcus told me his body was found.”
Marcus remained near the door.
Vivian looked at him.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“An industrial warehouse near the river.”
“Identification?”
“His wallet and company records were found on the body.”
“That isn’t identification.”
“Dental confirmation is pending.”
Julian moved beside the desk.
“You said Daniel called you.”
“He did.”
“When?”
“Shortly before I found Lena.”
“Did he speak?”
“No. The call lasted four seconds. I heard breathing and a train horn.”
Lena remembered Daniel’s distorted voice from outside the hotel.
“Maybe he’s alive.”
“Or someone has his phone,” Vivian said.
Marcus’s radio crackled.
He answered.
The missing bottle had been found.
It was sitting on a service cart inside the private dining room.
Unopened.
Everyone in the office exchanged looks.
“Then the threat is over,” Marcus said.
“No,” Lena replied. “The message said to find a decanter, not a bottle.”
They returned to the ballroom service area.
The Château Bellamy bottle stood on the cart beneath a white cloth.
The seal appeared intact.
Marcus examined it.
“Send it to the security lab.”
The beverage manager shook his head.
“The toast is in less than an hour. Mrs. Whitmore already ordered a replacement bottle opened.”
“Which replacement?”
The manager checked his tablet.
“Another bottle of Château Bellamy from the private cellar.”
“Who authorized it?”
“Mrs. Whitmore.”
Lena looked through the service doors.
Eleanor was standing beside August, greeting the governor.
Her gold purse hung from the back of her chair.
A silver ribbon was tied around one handle.
Lena’s attention moved to the champagne station.
Two crystal decanters stood among the glasses.
One was unmarked.
The other had a narrow strip of silver ribbon tied around its neck.
“There,” Lena whispered.
She entered the ballroom.
Marcus caught her arm.
“You cannot approach it.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone is watching, they need to believe the plan is working.”
“You want August to drink it?”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
Marcus’s gaze moved toward Eleanor.
“I want the person behind this to reveal what they’re afraid of.”
The orchestra began playing.
Guests took their seats.
A waiter lifted the silver-marked decanter.
Marcus released Lena.
“Stay near the east wall,” he said. “Do not interfere unless I signal.”
Lena stared at him.
“You expect me to trust you?”
“No.”
“Then why should I listen?”
“Because your brother did.”
Marcus walked away.
The waiter carried the decanter toward the head table.
Lena moved toward the east wall.
A familiar voice came from behind a curtain.
“You shouldn’t have found the watch.”
She turned.
Daniel Reyes stepped from the shadows.
He was alive.
Blood stained the collar of his shirt.
One of his hands was wrapped in a bandage.
Lena rushed toward him.
“Daniel.”
He caught her shoulders.
“Listen carefully. There are two plans happening tonight.”
“What does that mean?”
“One plan is to kill August.”
“And the other?”
Daniel looked toward the ballroom.
“The other is to make sure you save him.”
Lena stared at him.
“Why would anyone want me to save him?”
“Because when the poison is found, everyone will believe Eleanor put it there.”
“Didn’t she?”
Daniel’s eyes filled with fear.
“Eleanor is guilty of many things.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“The video you’ll find is real. The vial will be real. The poison will be real.”
“Then she did it.”
Daniel shook his head.
“She was told the vial contained a harmless drug.”
“By whom?”
Before he could answer, his body jerked.
A red stain spread across his chest.
The sound of the suppressed gunshot reached Lena a second later.
Daniel collapsed against her.
Guests began applauding as August rose for his toast.
Lena lowered Daniel behind the curtain.
His fingers closed around her wrist.
“The real target,” he gasped, “is the person who survives.”
May you like
Then his hand fell.
On the stage, August raised his champagne glass.
