Chapter 3 - SEVEN MISSING MINUTES
Detective Maya Ortiz arrived twenty minutes later.
She wore a dark blazer over a plain white shirt and carried herself with the quiet authority of someone who did not need to raise her voice.
She examined Claire’s lip first.
Then she studied the torn gown.
Finally, she looked at Vivian.
“I understand there are conflicting accounts.”
“There is only one account,” Vivian replied.
“My son’s fiancée attacked me.”
Claire did not react to the word fiancée.
Detective Ortiz noticed.
“Are you injured, Mrs. Mercer?”
“My shoulder is in terrible pain.”
“Which shoulder?”
Vivian hesitated.
“The left.”
Claire remembered Vivian angling her right shoulder toward the floor.
Detective Ortiz asked a paramedic to examine her.
The paramedic found no bruising, swelling, or restricted movement.
Vivian insisted the injury might appear later.
Ortiz did not argue.
She asked Natalie to escort her to the mirrored server.
The records office was located at the end of the service corridor.
The brass key opened the first lock.
A second digital lock required an administrator code.
Natalie entered hers.
The screen flashed red.
ACCESS REVOKED.
“My credentials were active this morning,” Natalie said.
“Who can revoke them?” Ortiz asked.
Natalie looked at Ethan.
“The hotel owner.”
Ethan frowned.
“I didn’t revoke anything.”
“Your mother also has executive access.”
Vivian folded her arms.
“I have not touched the system.”
Luke raised his phone.
“The service indicator began blinking before the camera failed.”
Natalie examined the video.
“The pattern indicates a remote command.”
“Can you trace it?” Ortiz asked.
“Not without entering the office.”
Owen was questioned in the hallway.
He admitted receiving ten thousand dollars through an anonymous consulting company.
He had been told the blackout was part of a private family surprise.
Only after receiving the handwritten card did he realize something was wrong.
“Why didn’t you walk away?” Claire asked.
Owen lowered his head.
“My father needs surgery.”
Vivian seized on the answer.
“So he admits he can be bought.”
Owen looked directly at her.
“So do you.”
Ethan stepped between them before the argument escalated.
Detective Ortiz ordered everyone back.
A hotel locksmith arrived and opened the digital panel manually.
The records-office door released with a soft click.
Natalie entered first.
Rows of server lights illuminated the dark room.
Most were green.
One was red.
The bridal-suite archive showed a seven-minute deletion.
Claire felt Ethan move behind her.
“Can it be restored?” he asked.
Natalie typed quickly.
“The footage wasn’t erased normally.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone replaced it with empty data.”
Ortiz pointed toward a second terminal.
A transfer window was still open.
Seven minutes of video had been copied to an external device before deletion.
The destination device was identified only by a serial number.
Natalie stared at the screen.
“That drive is still inside the hotel.”
Detective Ortiz turned toward the officers.
“Lock every exit.”
Vivian’s hand moved toward her purse.
Luke saw it.
Before she could reach inside, a phone began ringing.
May you like
The sound did not come from Vivian’s purse.
It came from inside the wall.
