Chapter 4 - The Woman Behind the DoorThe hidden door opened onto a narrow stairwell.
Charlotte pulled Daniel through it seconds before the archive filled with smoke.
They stumbled downward.
The air became colder.
Metal stairs echoed beneath their feet.
"What is this place?" Daniel whispered.
"An escape route."
Charlotte looked around.
"Or a prison."
At the bottom was a concrete corridor.
Old.
Dusty.
Unused.
Charlotte spotted a red emergency light.
Beside it was another steel door.
She opened it.
They entered a forgotten underground storage room.
Stacks of boxes covered the walls.
Some bore dates from twenty years earlier.
Charlotte pulled open one.
Inside were photographs.
Newspaper clippings.
Surveillance records.
Her father.
Her mother.
Richard.
And a fourth person.
A woman Charlotte didn't recognize.
Daniel stared at the pictures.
"You shouldn't have found this."
Charlotte looked at him.
"You knew about this room."
Daniel hesitated.
"Your mother showed me once."
"And the woman?"
"I don't know."
Charlotte picked up a photograph.
It showed Eleanor standing beside the mysterious woman outside Solmere's headquarters.
Written on the back:
Mara Quinn.
Charlotte's phone suddenly vibrated.
No signal should have existed underground.
A message appeared.
STOP TRUSTING DANIEL.
Charlotte turned.
Daniel was staring at her phone.
"You received something?"
"Yes."
"What did it say?"
Charlotte didn't answer.
Daniel slowly raised his hands.
"I know how this looks."
"It looks exactly how it should."
Charlotte stepped backward.
Then someone knocked on the steel door.
Three times.
Daniel froze.
Another three knocks.
Charlotte whispered, "Who's there?"
A woman's voice replied.
"Someone who knew your mother before you were born."
Charlotte opened the door.
The woman from the photograph stood outside.
Mara Quinn.
Older now.
Gray streaked her hair.
A scar crossed her eyebrow.
But her eyes were sharp.
"You shouldn't have come back," Mara said.
Charlotte stared.
"Who are you?"
Mara looked at Daniel.
Then said quietly:
"Someone who has been keeping you alive for twenty years."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Mara..."
She raised a gun.
Daniel stopped.
Charlotte's heart raced.
"Why are you threatening him?"
"Because he knows who killed your father."
Charlotte stared at Daniel.
He closed his eyes.
Mara lowered the gun slightly.
"Your mother didn't die because she was sick."
"I know."
"No."
Mara shook her head.
"You don't know."
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a photograph.
Charlotte took it.
It showed her father entering a private meeting.
Richard was there.
So was Daniel.
And so was Eleanor.
But in the corner stood a little girl.
Charlotte.
She stared at the image.
"That's me."
Mara nodded.
"You were supposed to be killed that night."
Charlotte's stomach dropped.
"What?"
"Your father discovered the theft."
Mara's voice softened.
"Your mother tried to get you out."
"What happened?"
"They attacked the car."
Charlotte stared.
"My father survived the crash?"
"For six hours."
Charlotte stopped breathing.
"Six hours?"
"Long enough to identify the man who ordered the hit."
"Who?"
Mara looked toward Daniel.
Daniel whispered:
"Richard."
Charlotte shook her head.
"But my mother stayed with Richard afterward."
"Because Richard threatened you."
Mara handed Charlotte another file.
Inside was a custody agreement.
Her mother had been forced to sign away control of Charlotte's identity.
Charlotte's hands trembled.
"Then why didn't she tell me?"
"Because she was trying to keep you alive."
Mara looked at Charlotte.
"And she succeeded."
Suddenly a gunshot echoed from above.
Daniel jumped.
Mara's expression changed.
"They found us."
Charlotte looked toward the staircase.
"Who?"
Mara grabbed her arm.
"Everyone."
They ran.
At the top of the stairs, the hotel alarms screamed.
But one figure stood waiting in the hallway.
Victoria Ashford.
Her white dress was stained with blood.
Charlotte stopped.
Victoria pointed a gun directly at her.
"I know who you are now."
Charlotte stared at her.
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"And I know what my father did."
Then Victoria turned the gun toward Daniel.
"Tell me the truth."
Daniel went silent.
May you like
Victoria's finger tightened around the trigger.
"Right now."
