Chapter 4 - ROOM 814
Maya covered her mouth with her sleeve.
“Turn off the ventilation.”
Julian yanked open the service panel, but the switch had been removed.
The chemical smell grew stronger.
Maya grabbed a metal serving cart and rammed it against the pantry door.
Once.
Twice.
On the third strike, the latch splintered.
They stumbled into the kitchen, coughing.
Ben the busboy stood in the hallway with a fire extinguisher.
“I heard the banging.”
Julian pulled in a breath.
“Who locked us in?”
Ben looked terrified.
“I saw Mrs. Sterling near the service elevator.”
“Which floor?” Maya asked.
“Eight.”
They took the stairs.
Room 814 had been sealed for years, but its brass handle was warm.
Julian used his master key.
The door opened onto a dark suite covered in white sheets.
A hospital bed stood near the window.
A dead security camera hung from the ceiling.
On the nightstand was a framed photograph of Arthur, much younger, beside a dark-haired woman holding a newborn baby.
Julian picked it up.
“That’s me.”
Maya nodded.
“And the woman is Clara Vale.”
A voice behind them said, “Put the photograph down.”
Arthur stood in the doorway.
His face looked twenty years older.
Julian held up the picture.
“Who is she?”
Arthur closed the door.
“Your mother.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“Then who is Eleanor?”
May you like
Arthur looked toward the covered hospital bed.
“The woman who made sure Clara never left this room alive.”
