Chapter 9 - My Father Was Waiting BelowThe fire alarm was a distraction.
We knew that immediately.
My mother moved toward the hidden service panel.
Richard grabbed a fire extinguisher.
I watched her.
“How long have you known he was here?”
“Months.”
“And you never told me?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of him?”
“Of what he'd become.”
We escaped through a concealed stairwell.
The staircase descended beneath the building.
Level one.
Level two.
Level three.
Then there were no more signs.
Only concrete.
At the bottom stood a steel door.
My mother entered a code.
It opened.
Inside was an underground command center.
Screens covered the walls.
Maps.
Bank accounts.
Surveillance footage.
Photographs.
And in the center of the room stood a man.
Daniel Cross.
My father.
He looked at me.
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Then he said:
“You have your mother's eyes.”
I hated him immediately.
“You're the reason she disappeared.”
“No.”
“You lied to Amelia.”
“No.”
“You watched us from the shadows.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
Everyone who wanted to hurt me used the same sentence.
I was done believing it.
“You don't get to protect me anymore.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“I understand.”
My mother whispered:
“Daniel, show her.”
He nodded.
He pressed a button.
The screens changed.
A photograph appeared.
My grandfather.
Standing beside a younger Daniel.
Behind them was the original Solmere Hotel.
Then another image appeared.
A secret document.
The Meridian Circle charter.
My family had helped create it.
But not for power.
For control.
The Circle had originally been designed to protect businesses from organized crime.
Over decades, it had been corrupted.
Eventually, the protectors became the criminals.
My mother discovered it.
Daniel tried to destroy it.
That's when the Circle turned against our family.
“Who leads it?” I asked.
Daniel looked at me.
“We don't know.”
“That's not an answer.”
He pointed to the screen.
At the bottom of the Circle's hierarchy was one anonymous title.
THE ARCHITECT.
“The Architect has been controlling everything.”
“Who?”
Daniel shook his head.
“We've spent eleven years searching.”
My mother stepped forward.
“But yesterday, we found him.”
She pressed a button.
A photograph appeared.
My entire body went cold.
It was a man standing at the Solmere board meeting.
I knew him.
Everyone knew him.
Samuel Grant.
My mother's lawyer.
The man who claimed to be protecting me.
My father whispered:
“The Architect.”
I stared.
“But he disappeared.”
“No.”
My mother shook her head.
“He wanted us to think he did.”
Then a phone rang.
Mine.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Samuel's voice came through.
“You finally found me.”
My blood froze.
“You killed my mother.”
He laughed.
“No, Charlotte.”
His voice became colder.
“I gave your mother a choice.”
“She chose to die.”
My hand shook.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing.”
He paused.
“But I can do much worse to someone you love.”
A video appeared on my phone.
Amelia.
Bound.
Bleeding.
Then Victoria stepped into frame.
Samuel spoke again.
“Bring me the ownership papers.”
I stared at the screen.
“What happens if I refuse?”
His answer was quiet.
“We start with your sister.”
The call ended.
My father looked at me.
“We have one problem.”
I looked up.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“We have two.”
“What?”
He pointed toward the monitors.
The Solmere's security system was flashing red.
Every camera had been hacked.
May you like
Then one message appeared.
THE HOTEL IS ALREADY MINE.
