Chapter 1 - The Woman on the Marble Floor
Charlotte Vale tasted blood before she felt the pain.
Her cheek burned where Celeste Harrington's diamond ring had struck her.
Her palms scraped against the polished marble as Celeste dragged her toward the revolving doors of the Solmere Hotel.
Around them, wealthy guests stood frozen beneath the crystal chandeliers.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Some watched with embarrassment.
Others watched with amusement.
Celeste tightened her grip around Charlotte's wrist.
"I told you to leave."
Charlotte looked up at her through disheveled dark hair.
"I haven't done anything."
Celeste laughed.
"People like you always say that."
She turned toward the crowd as if performing on a stage.
"This girl was snooping near the executive elevators."
Several guests murmured.
Charlotte noticed the hotel manager standing behind the reception desk.
Marcus Reed.
He had worked for the Vale family for almost fifteen years.
He had attended Charlotte's eighteenth birthday.
He had shaken her father's hand at Christmas dinners.
Yet he stared at her now without recognition.
Or perhaps he recognized her and was pretending not to.
That possibility frightened Charlotte far more.
Celeste pulled again.
Charlotte's shoulder slammed against the marble.
"Call security."
Marcus finally moved.
Two security officers approached.
Charlotte slowly pushed herself upright.
Her lip was bleeding.
Her knees trembled.
But her voice remained calm.
"Before you remove me, ask her why she was coming out of Suite 1704."
Celeste froze.
Only for a second.
But Charlotte saw it.
So did Marcus.
"There's no Suite 1704," Celeste snapped.
Charlotte stared at her.
"Interesting."
The Solmere's seventeenth floor officially ended at Room 1712.
But according to documents Charlotte had found inside her mother's private safe, Suite 1704 had been removed from the hotel's public system three years earlier.
It still existed.
And someone had been using it.
Celeste's face hardened.
"Throw her out."
The officers reached Charlotte.
Then every light in the lobby suddenly flickered.
The elevators stopped.
The digital screens behind reception went black.
For three seconds, the Solmere Hotel disappeared into darkness.
When the emergency lights came on, Charlotte saw Marcus whispering urgently into his phone.
Celeste was no longer smiling.
Charlotte allowed the security officers to escort her toward the entrance.
She had gotten what she came for.
Confirmation.
Suite 1704 was real.
And Celeste Harrington knew exactly what was inside it.
As Charlotte reached the revolving door, an elderly bellman suddenly stepped into her path.
His name was Samuel.
He had worked for her family since before Charlotte was born.
His eyes widened when he saw her.
He didn't say her name.
He simply slipped something into her hand.
A brass key.
Then he whispered.
"Your mother knew they would come for you."
Charlotte's heart stopped.
Samuel stepped away before anyone noticed.
Charlotte closed her fingers around the key.
Stamped into the metal were three numbers.
May you like
And beneath them were four tiny words.
TRUST NO ONE HERE.
