Chapter 2 - The Envelope on the Threshold
The lobby chandeliers seemed to dim as Julian stared at the manila envelope in Elena's hand. The golden reflections off the glass railings suddenly looked less like luxury and more like a cage. Clara pulled her pearl necklace toward her mouth, her teeth grazing the polished surface as the blood drained entirely from her face. She took a half-step backward, her eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and sheer terror.
"A passenger manifest," Julian repeated, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. He glanced around the lobby, suddenly paranoid that every bellhop and concierge was watching them. "That record was supposed to be scrubbed within twenty-four hours. Who on earth could have gotten their hands on it?"
"That is precisely what I intend to find out," Elena replied, her voice dangerously calm as she slid the thick envelope back into her handbag. She smoothed the front of her cream-colored coat over her pregnancy, her movements agonizingly deliberate. "Whoever slipped this under my door did not do it as a warning. They did it as an invitation."
"An invitation to what?" Clara demanded, her voice rising in pitch before she caught herself and glanced nervously at a passing hotel guest. She lowered her tone, stepping closer to Elena. "If the police get that manifest, we are all looking at federal conspiracy charges. You cannot play games with this, Elena."
"I am not playing games, Clara," Elena said, turning her dark eyes fully onto the blonde woman. "You are the one who slipped up. You mentioned the Mercer hotel when Julian never named the location in public. How did you know the fire happened at the Mercer, Clara? Because your name is the very first one listed on that manifest."
Julian froze. He turned his head slowly to look at Clara, the stubble along his jawline working as he clenched his teeth. The clean-styled dark hair framing his face seemed suddenly incongruous with the raw panic in his eyes. He reached out, his hand gripping Clara's wrist with enough force to make her gasp.
"Is that true?" Julian demanded, his voice dangerously low. "You were there? You told me you were out of the city that entire weekend."
"Let go of me!" Clara hissed, trying to wrench her arm away from his grip without drawing the attention of the hotel staff near the display shelves. "I went there to stop it, Julian! Not to start it!"
"Stop what?" Elena asked, her tone sharpening for the first time. "The fire? Or the cover-up?"
Before either of them could answer, the pocket watch chain across Julian's vest jingled sharply as his phone buzzed violently in his trousers. He pulled it out with his free hand, his eyes scanning the glowing screen. The color completely drained from his face, leaving him looking ghost-white beneath the warm lobby lights.
"What is it?" Clara asked, her anger temporarily replaced by dread as she watched his reaction.
May you like
Julian looked up slowly, his eyes darting between Clara and Elena with absolute horror. "That wasn't an anonymous message left at your door, Elena. The sender just unlocked my home office security cameras remotely. They are streaming live video right now, and someone is standing inside my private study."
---
