Chapter 9: The Missing Footage
No one spoke.
Victoria stared at Samuel, trying to make sense of what Richard had just said.
"The cameras never recorded you entering the hotel?"
Samuel remained seated, his weathered hands resting on the top of his cane.
"No."
Richard's voice was measured.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"You had to enter somehow."
"I did."
Richard narrowed his eyes.
"Then why isn't there any footage?"
Samuel let out a slow breath.
"Because I didn't come through the front entrance."
Victoria frowned.
"There are cameras at every entrance."
"There are now."
Samuel looked toward the rain-covered windows.
"There weren't thirty years ago."
Richard blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
Samuel smiled faintly.
"When this hotel was built, I helped oversee part of its original security infrastructure."
Richard's expression shifted from suspicion to curiosity.
"You worked here?"
"For a short time."
Samuel nodded.
"Before your company purchased the property."
Victoria stepped closer.
"So you know something no one else does."
Samuel looked at her.
"I know this building better than most of the people who own it."
Richard folded his arms.
"Go on."
"There is an old service tunnel beneath the hotel."
Richard's eyebrows lifted.
"My engineers never mentioned a tunnel."
"They wouldn't."
"It was sealed decades ago."
Samuel paused.
"At least... that's what everyone believed."
Richard immediately called his head of security.
"Daniel."
"Yes, sir?"
"I want the original blueprints for this building."
"They're already in our archives."
"Bring them to my office. Now."
"Right away."
Twenty minutes later, Daniel returned carrying a large leather portfolio.
He spread several yellowed architectural drawings across Richard's conference table.
Everyone leaned in.
Richard traced the basement level with his finger.
"Loading dock..."
"Storage rooms..."
"Boiler systems..."
He frowned.
"I don't see anything."
Samuel quietly pointed to a section hidden behind a thick concrete wall.
"There."
Daniel leaned closer.
"That doesn't make sense."
"What?"
"These measurements don't match."
Richard noticed it too.
"There should be another hallway."
Samuel nodded.
"There is."
Daniel looked stunned.
"But it's not on the blueprint."
Samuel smiled sadly.
"It never was."
Victoria looked between the three men.
"Someone intentionally removed it?"
"Exactly."
Richard slowly straightened.
"Who would do that?"
Samuel answered without hesitation.
"The federal government."
Silence filled the office.
Richard stared at him.
"Federal?"
Samuel nodded.
"The tunnel connected this hotel to a secure operations center several blocks away."
Victoria looked confused.
"For what purpose?"
Samuel hesitated.
"I wasn't given clearance to know everything."
"But I know enough."
Richard leaned against the table.
"Enough to understand why people are still looking for your family?"
Samuel nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"Should I contact the police?"
Samuel immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because we don't know who we can trust."
Victoria felt a chill run through her.
Richard noticed.
He looked directly at Samuel.
"Are you saying this goes beyond one family?"
Samuel's answer was immediate.
"It always did."
Emily had remained quietly coloring in a small notebook Richard's assistant had found for her.
She looked up.
"Mommy?"
Victoria smiled gently.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can I ask a question?"
"Of course."
Emily pointed to the old blueprints.
"Why would anyone hide a hallway?"
The adults exchanged glances.
Finally, Samuel walked over and knelt beside her.
"Sometimes, Emily, grown-ups build secret places to protect important things."
Emily thought about that.
"Like treasure?"
Samuel smiled.
"Sometimes."
She looked at the brass key Victoria still held.
"Is the treasure in the box?"
Samuel's smile faded.
"In a way."
Victoria looked at the key again.
Box 317.
It suddenly felt much heavier than a simple piece of metal.
Richard broke the silence.
"We're going to that bank."
Samuel nodded.
"We have to."
"When?"
"Tonight."
Richard looked out at the rain.
"The bank has been closed for almost twenty years."
Samuel met his gaze.
"The vault hasn't."
Victoria frowned.
"How do you know?"
Samuel reached into his pocket and removed a folded piece of paper.
It was old and fragile.
He handed it to Victoria.
It was a hand-drawn map.
At the bottom, in the same elegant handwriting as her mother's letter, were the words:
If you're reading this, trust Samuel. He knows the way.
Victoria recognized the handwriting instantly.
Her mother's.
She carefully folded the map.
"I'm going."
Richard nodded.
"So am I."
Daniel looked uneasy.
"If someone really has been following you..."
Richard interrupted him.
"Then they'll expect us to wait until morning."
Samuel smiled for the first time that evening.
"Exactly."
Victoria looked down at Emily.
"Sweetheart, are you tired?"
Emily yawned.
"A little."
Richard immediately called his assistant.
"Prepare one of our executive suites."
Within minutes, everything had been arranged.
Victoria tucked Emily into bed inside the adjoining suite.
The little girl hugged her tightly.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Are the bad people gone?"
Victoria kissed her forehead.
"I don't know."
Emily closed her eyes.
"But you're here."
"I'll always be here."
Within moments, Emily was asleep.
Victoria quietly closed the bedroom door and returned to Richard's office.
Samuel was already putting on his old overcoat.
Richard picked up his car keys.
Outside, the rain had finally begun to slow.
Samuel looked at both of them.
"Once we open Box 317..."
He paused.
"...there's no turning back."
Victoria tightened her grip on the brass key.
"I've spent my whole life living with questions."
She looked toward the dark city beyond the windows.
"It's time I learned the truth."
Just then, Daniel's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
His expression changed.
He slowly lowered the phone and looked at Richard.
"Sir..."
"What is it?"
"The old First National Trust Bank..."
May you like
Daniel swallowed.
"...is on fire."
