Chapter 3 - The Red Key
Emilio forgot the room.
Forgot Calvin.
Forgot the police sirens approaching outside.
He stared at the red key in Ava's palm.
"Mommy?"
Ava nodded.
Tessa recovered first.
"That's impossible. Lucia has been dead for two years."
Emilio turned on her.
Ava flinched at the sharpness in his movement, and he forced himself to soften.
"Sweetheart, when did Mommy give you that key?"
"She didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I found it."
"Where?"
"In Bunny."
Bunny was the stuffed rabbit Lucia had bought Ava the week she was born. Ava still slept with it.
"There was a zipper under his shirt," Ava said. "I opened it because the stuffing felt hard."
Tessa stepped closer.
Emilio put out one hand without looking at her.
"Stay back."
Ava continued.
"There was a little bag. The key was inside. And a note."
Emilio's throat tightened. "What note?"
"I couldn't read all the words."
"Where is it now?"
Ava's face changed.
"Tessa took it."
Every person in the room looked at Tessa.
She laughed once, too quickly. "That's ridiculous."
Ava shrank behind Emilio.
"You said Mommy wrote lies."
Tessa's voice sharpened. "Ava."
Emilio moved so fast Tessa stumbled backward.
"You do not say her name like that."
Sirens grew louder.
Marcus checked the hallway.
"We have maybe two minutes before local police get upstairs."
"Good."
"No," Marcus said. "Not good. Someone called in an assault before the first fight happened."
Emilio stared at him.
"What?"
"The front desk got the complaint at eight-ten. You found Ava at eight-sixteen."
Calvin stopped wiping blood from his mouth.
Marcus looked at him.
"You expected Emilio to lose his temper."
Calvin said nothing.
"You wanted witnesses," Emilio said.
Tessa crossed her arms. "You hit me."
"After you reached for my daughter."
"There are cameras."
"Are there?"
Marcus turned toward the monitors.
The live feeds suddenly flickered.
One by one, they went black.
A message appeared.
REMOTE ADMINISTRATOR OVERRIDE.
Then a second message.
ARCHIVE DELETION IN PROGRESS.
Marcus swore and lunged for the keyboard.
Emilio looked down at Ava's red key.
Lucia had hidden it inside a toy before her death.
Tessa had stolen the note.
Rowan was erasing footage.
And someone had called police before Emilio even entered the lounge.
This had been planned.
The ballroom doors opened.
Four officers came in fast.
The lead officer pointed directly at Emilio.
"Mr. Vega, step away from the child."
Ava gripped his hand.
"Why?"
May you like
The officer's expression hardened.
"Because we received a report that you're trying to abduct her."
