Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT THE DOOR WAS LOCKED|
Samuel Price had kept a copy of the building's security log.
He placed a folded sheet of paper on the table between us. The edges were yellowed, and one corner had been torn away.
"I was the night supervisor," he explained. "The official report said the alarm system malfunctioned. It didn't. Someone disabled two cameras and opened the service corridor doors manually."
"Who?" I asked.
Samuel looked at Gideon.
"I can tell you who had access. I can't tell you who actually used it."
The access list contained three names: Preston Hale, Martin Kessler, and the building's operations manager.
The operations manager had died six months after the fire.
Kessler had resigned.
Preston had become the public face of the company's recovery.
I felt the room tilt.
"Why didn't you tell the police?"
"I did. They interviewed me once. Then my supervisor told me to stop making accusations. A week later, I was fired for violating security procedures."
"Did you see Preston that night?"
Samuel nodded.
"He came out of the east corridor at 8:41. He wasn't injured. He was carrying a black case."
The timestamp matched the photograph Gideon had shown me.
"Then why was he back inside?"
"That's what I never understood. He left, then returned through the underground garage. About fifteen minutes later, the alarm sounded."
"Was anyone else with him?"
Samuel hesitated.
"Martin Kessler."
Gideon exchanged a glance with his investigator.
Samuel continued.
"I saw them arguing. Kessler wanted the case. Preston refused to hand it over. They went upstairs. I didn't follow them. Then the smoke started."
"Did you hear anyone lock the office door?"
Samuel looked directly at me.
"Yes."
My throat tightened.
"Who?"
"I couldn't see. But I heard Kessler say, 'You should have given me the ledger.' Then the door slammed."
I remembered the sound of metal turning.
I remembered Preston shouting.
I remembered running back into the building after reaching the street because I realized he wasn't beside me.
For five years, I had believed I was rescuing a helpless man.
Now I wondered whether I had been rescuing a man from the consequences of his own decisions.
Samuel pushed the security log toward me.
"There's one more thing."
He pointed to a handwritten entry.
At 9:12 p.m., the building's emergency system had been manually reset from an external panel.
The person who reset it had used a temporary contractor code.
"Who had that code?" Gideon asked.
Samuel shook his head.
"Only the operations manager. But somebody copied it."
We left the diner with the log.
In the car, I stared at the city passing outside.
"Why did you help me?" I asked Samuel before he left.
He looked uncomfortable.
"Because I saw your husband on television after the fire. He told everyone you were a hero. Then I saw him at a corporate event two years later, laughing with people while you stood alone. I remembered what happened that night."
His words stayed with me.
That evening, Preston was waiting at home.
He had discovered that I had met with someone connected to the fire.
"Who is Samuel Price?" he demanded.
I froze.
"How do you know his name?"
He stepped closer.
"You're digging into something that has nothing to do with you."
"It happened to me."
"You don't understand what you're doing."
"Then explain it."
His expression changed.
For one second, I saw fear.
Then he smiled coldly.
"Sign the equity consent document, Vivian. Once it's done, I'll make sure you're comfortable after the divorce."
I stared at him.
"You want my signature."
"I want this family to move forward."
"Which family? Yours and Cassidy's?"
He grabbed my wrist.
"Don't make me regret being patient with you."
I pulled away.
"You should have regretted it five years ago."
His phone rang. He glanced at the screen, and the color drained from his face.
The caller was Martin Kessler.
Preston answered.
I heard only one sentence before he turned away.
"She knows about the door?"
May you like
Then he hung up.
And I understood that the man who had once promised to protect me was now afraid of what I remembered.
