Chapter 8 - The Man Who Raised MeWe returned to the Solmere that evening.
The hotel had reopened.
Guests filled the lobby.
Nothing looked different.
That was the frightening part.
Millions of dollars could move behind a marble wall while champagne continued to flow.
I walked through the front doors.
This time nobody stopped me.
The manager saw me and immediately stepped forward.
“Miss Vale.”
“Where is Richard?”
“Penthouse.”
“Take me there.”
He hesitated.
Then obeyed.
The elevator climbed.
Amelia stayed behind.
She had insisted.
“If they see both of us together, they'll know what we found.”
She was right.
The doors opened.
Richard stood beside the window.
He didn't turn around.
“I knew you'd come.”
I walked in.
“You killed her.”
He closed his eyes.
“I didn't.”
“I saw the footage.”
“You saw what they wanted you to see.”
I threw the photograph onto the desk.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“You injected her.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“Then explain.”
He slowly turned.
“It wasn't poison.”
“What?”
“It was a sedative.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother was being hunted.”
He stepped closer.
“She asked me to fake her death.”
I froze.
“That makes no sense.”
“It was the only way to stop them.”
I stared at him.
“The medical report?”
Fabricated.
“The funeral?”
A body substitute.
“The grave?”
Empty.
My hands shook.
“You're telling me my mother is alive?”
Richard nodded.
“She disappeared because she knew the Circle would never stop.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You let me mourn her.”
“She wanted you to believe she was dead.”
“Why?”
“Because you were already being watched.”
He pulled out a photograph.
Me.
Leaving my apartment three months before my mother's supposed death.
The photo had been taken from across the street.
Another showed me entering a café.
Another showed me sleeping.
They had been watching me for months.
Richard said:
“Your mother's plan was to disappear and destroy the Circle from inside.”
“Then why didn't she contact me?”
“Because someone intercepted her.”
“Who?”
Richard looked at the door.
Before he could answer, the door opened.
My mother walked in.
I couldn't move.
For a moment, I wondered if grief had finally broken my mind.
Then she whispered my name.
“Charlotte.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“Mom?”
She ran to me.
I collapsed into her arms.
For the first time in three weeks, I cried.
She held me tightly.
“I am so sorry.”
“You were alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
She pulled back.
“I was trying to save you.”
I shook my head.
“Then tell me everything.”
She looked at Richard.
Then at me.
“There is one person you still haven't met.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“Your father.”
The room went silent.
“Daniel is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
My mother looked toward the floor.
“Beneath this hotel.”
Suddenly the lights flickered.
A voice came through the penthouse speakers.
“Eleanor.”
My mother froze.
We all turned.
The speakers crackled.
Then a man's voice whispered:
“Welcome home.”
My mother went pale.
“Daniel.”
The voice continued.
“You should have stayed dead.”
May you like
Then every door in the penthouse locked.
And the fire alarm began screaming.
