Chapter 3 - The Dead BrotherAdrian pulled Lena toward the bathroom just as the electronic lock clicked.
He had faced lawsuits, hostile investors, politicians, contractors, and competitors who smiled across conference tables while quietly planning his destruction.
None of them frightened him.
But watching Lena disappear through that staff door had shaken him more than anything in his adult life.
He wanted to follow her.
Every instinct screamed at him to tear the resort apart until he found her.
Instead, he remembered her whispered warning.
Pretend you were wrong.
So Adrian forced himself to smile.
“I owe your employee an apology,” he said.
Caleb Voss stopped halfway through the staff entrance.
Vanessa stared at Adrian.
“What?”
Adrian picked up his suitcase.
“You were right. I was mistaken.”
Caleb studied him.
The man’s expression remained professional, but Adrian saw the calculation behind it.
“Understandable,” Caleb said. “Grief can create powerful associations.”
Adrian’s fingers tightened around the suitcase handle.
Caleb knew about Lena.
Not just that Adrian had been married.
He knew Lena had disappeared.
That meant someone at the resort had researched him before his arrival.
Possibly before he booked.
“We’ll make sure our employee isn’t troubled again,” Caleb said.
“I appreciate that.”
Adrian smiled.
Caleb finally turned away.
Only after the staff door closed did Vanessa grab Adrian’s arm.
“What are you doing?”
“Not here.”
“You just said that woman was Lena.”
“Vanessa.”
“That was your missing wife.”
“Lower your voice.”
Vanessa glanced around.
Guests were checking in.
A pianist played quietly near the fountain.
The resort looked perfectly normal.
That was what bothered Adrian most.
They rode the elevator to the eighth floor without speaking.
Their suite overlooked the Pacific.
Champagne waited beside a bowl of strawberries.
Rose petals had been arranged across the bedroom.
Vanessa stared at them bitterly.
“Well, this suddenly feels inappropriate.”
Adrian locked the door.
Then he crossed the suite and closed the curtains.
“You need to leave.”
Vanessa blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“Go back to Los Angeles.”
“No.”
“This isn’t a discussion.”
“I came here with you.”
“And something dangerous is happening.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“You have no idea what’s happening. Maybe she really isn’t Lena.”
“She’s Lena.”
“She denied knowing you.”
“She was wearing our anniversary necklace.”
Vanessa went silent.
Adrian continued.
“She has a scar she didn’t have before. Bruises on her arm. She’s terrified of Caleb. She pointed at the camera before she warned me.”
Vanessa sank slowly into an armchair.
“And she’s pregnant.”
Adrian looked toward the window.
That part had been drilling through his thoughts since the lobby.
Eight months pregnant.
Lena disappeared eleven months ago.
The math was impossible to ignore.
Vanessa looked at him carefully.
“You’re wondering who the father is.”
Adrian didn’t answer.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“This isn’t about me.”
“It might be.”
“No. Right now, she’s alive. That’s what matters.”
Vanessa’s face changed slightly.
Pain, perhaps.
Or disappointment.
Adrian didn’t have room for either.
His phone vibrated.
A message from the front desk.
Mr. Cross, management would like to offer complimentary dinner tonight due to the misunderstanding in the lobby. 8:00 p.m., Marisol Terrace.
Adrian stared at it.
They wanted to know what he believed.
They wanted to watch him.
Fine.
He could play along.
He called his chief security officer in Los Angeles, Marcus Reed.
“Marcus.”
“Boss.”
“I need something handled quietly.”
“What happened?”
“I found Lena.”
Silence.
Then Marcus said, “Say that again.”
“I found Lena.”
“Where?”
“The Grand Aurelia.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
Marcus recovered instantly.
“Do I send a team?”
“No visible security. I want records first. Ownership structure. Employee payroll. Security contracts. Caleb Voss. Anyone connected to him.”
“I’m on it.”
“And Marcus?”
“Yes?”
“Do not call resort management.”
“Understood.”
A knock sounded.
Adrian ended the call.
Vanessa stared toward the door.
“Room service?”
“We didn’t order anything.”
Adrian approached slowly.
“Who is it?”
“Housekeeping.”
His heart slammed once.
He opened the door.
An older woman stood outside with towels.
Not Lena.
“Fresh linens, sir.”
“We’re fine.”
She nodded quickly.
As Adrian started closing the door, something white on the carpet caught his attention.
A folded receipt.
He waited until the employee disappeared.
Then picked it up.
On the back, in shaky handwriting, were four words.
Room 814. Midnight. Alone.
Adrian checked the hallway.
Empty.
His suite was 816.
Room 814 was next door.
At 11:58 p.m., he told Vanessa to lock herself inside and call Marcus if he didn’t return within twenty minutes.
She protested.
He ignored her.
Room 814’s door was unlocked.
Adrian entered.
Darkness.
He closed the door quietly.
“Lena?”
Nothing.
Moonlight fell across an empty bed.
Then a bathroom door opened.
Lena stepped out.
She had changed out of her housekeeping uniform.
She wore an oversized sweatshirt and loose pants.
Without the uniform, her pregnancy looked even more advanced.
Adrian forgot every question he had prepared.
He simply stared at her.
She covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Adrian.”
Hearing his name in her real voice broke something inside him.
He crossed the room.
Lena backed away.
“Don’t.”
He stopped immediately.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Then let me help you.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Make me understand.”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“No cameras here. I checked.”
“What did they do to you?”
Her chin trembled.
“Adrian, you have to leave the resort.”
“Not without you.”
“You have to.”
“No.”
“They’ll kill you.”
“Who?”
Lena closed her eyes.
Before she could answer, footsteps sounded outside.
Both froze.
A shadow passed beneath the door.
Lena rushed toward Adrian.
“There’s a service staircase behind the bathroom.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to.”
The doorknob moved.
Locked now.
Someone tried again.
Then a man’s voice.
“Maria?”
Caleb.
Lena went white.
Adrian grabbed her hand.
“You’re coming with me.”
She shook her head violently.
“No.”
“Why?”
Tears streamed down her face.
“Because my brother is still here.”
Adrian stared at her.
“What brother?”
“My brother Daniel.”
Daniel Hart had supposedly died six years earlier in a boating accident.
Lena squeezed Adrian’s hand.
“He’s alive.”
The door rattled again.
May you like
“And if I leave,” she whispered, “they’ll finish what they started.”
A key entered the lock.
Related Stories
