Chapter 5 - The Locked Room
They should have left immediately. Daniel would spend the next week regretting the ten minutes he took to retrieve the suitcases.
Rosa waited with Lucía near the entrance while Daniel and Nina rode the elevator to the bridal floor. Their suite door opened on a room full of white roses and untouched breakfast pastries. Harper's travel case was gone. His own bag sat neatly zipped at the foot of the bed.
"That's strange," he said. "I left this open."
Nina held out a hand. "Photograph it first."
Inside the bag, Daniel found his passport, two shirts, and a manila folder he'd never seen. The folder held copies of company invoices and a single sheet titled AUTHORIZATION TO PLEDGE BUSINESS ASSETS. His name was typed at the bottom, and there was space for a signature.
"She planned to ask you tonight," Nina said.
"At our reception?"
A floorboard creaked in the hall. Daniel opened the door just as Silas turned away from the ice machine. The man carried no ice bucket.
"You forgot this," Silas said, offering a room key. "Housekeeping found it."
"I didn't lose a key."
Silas shrugged. "Long day for everybody."
Daniel kept the door half shut. "Did you tell Harper the baby was yours?"
"You should be careful about repeating things a child says." Silas's voice was flat now. "Accusations can ruin a business faster than a bad review."
"That's a threat."
"It's advice."
Nina stepped into view and gave Silas her business card. "Then put any further advice in writing."
The elevator doors closed on Silas's unreadable face. Back in the suite, Daniel checked his phone. Rosa had called twice. He dialed immediately.
"Lucía is fine," his mother said, but her voice shook. "A woman from the wedding staff tried to take her upstairs. I wouldn't let her."
"Where are you?"
"In the lobby. Daniel, someone has put a note inside Lucía's little flower basket."
May you like
He heard paper unfold. Then Rosa read three words that chilled him more than the rain outside.
"She knows too much."
