Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Screen
Charlotte rushed toward the door.
It wouldn't open.
She tried the brass key.
Nothing.
The computer screen changed again.
A live camera feed appeared.
Charlotte saw herself standing in the center of Suite 1704.
Someone was watching.
Then a video window opened.
A man appeared on screen.
Adrian Cross.
Chief Financial Officer of Solmere Holdings.
Her mother's closest corporate adviser.
The man who had spoken at Eleanor's funeral.
The man who had hugged Charlotte beside her mother's grave.
"Hello, Charlotte."
His calm voice filled the empty room.
Charlotte stared at him.
"Open the door."
Adrian smiled.
"You always had your father's temper."
"My mother trusted you."
"Your mother trusted many people."
"Did you kill her?"
His smile disappeared.
"You should be careful with accusations."
"I heard Marcus."
Adrian leaned closer to the camera.
"Then Marcus has become careless."
Charlotte's blood ran cold.
He wasn't denying anything.
"What do you want?"
Adrian folded his hands.
"What should have happened six months ago."
"And what is that?"
"You disappear."
Charlotte looked toward the door.
"You transferred the company's money."
"I protected the company."
"You stole it."
"Words are wonderfully flexible when lawyers become involved."
Charlotte clenched her jaw.
Adrian continued.
"Your mother left behind an empire worth almost twelve billion dollars."
"An empire you were never prepared to manage."
"That wasn't your decision."
"No."
He smiled slightly.
"It became mine."
A mechanical sound came from the ceiling.
Charlotte looked up.
The ventilation system had started.
A faint chemical smell entered the room.
Charlotte immediately understood.
She covered her mouth with her sleeve.
Adrian watched calmly.
"You could have stayed in Boston."
Charlotte grabbed a metal chair.
"You could have lived comfortably."
She swung the chair into the security camera.
Glass shattered.
The screen went black.
Charlotte ran toward the window.
Seventeen stories below, Manhattan lights glittered against the night.
No escape.
Then she remembered something.
Her father had designed private fire corridors after a hotel fire decades ago.
Behind every executive suite was an emergency maintenance shaft.
Charlotte pulled the curtains from the wall.
Nothing.
She slammed her hands against the paneling.
One section sounded hollow.
The chemical smell grew stronger.
Charlotte kicked the panel.
Once.
Twice.
On the third attempt, it broke inward.
Cold air rushed over her.
She crawled through.
The shaft was narrow and dark.
Her lungs burned.
She moved as quickly as possible.
Behind her, she heard the suite door opening.
Marcus shouted.
"She's gone!"
Charlotte continued crawling.
Then another voice answered.
Adrian's voice.
Not through a computer.
In person.
"Find her."
Charlotte froze for half a second.
Adrian Cross was inside the hotel.
Much closer than she had believed.
She reached the end of the shaft and dropped into a storage room.
A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
Charlotte spun around.
Samuel stood behind her.
"Quiet."
He locked the storage-room door.
Charlotte struggled to breathe.
"They killed my mother."
Samuel's eyes filled with pain.
"I know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because your mother made me promise."
Charlotte stared at him.
Samuel reached inside his jacket.
He removed a small black notebook.
Charlotte's heart began pounding.
"The ledger?"
Samuel shook his head.
May you like
"No."
"This is only the map that tells us where they buried it."
