Chapter 7: The Man Who Drove My Husband Away
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the blood rushing through my ears.
Marcus stood beside the dining table, his hands resting against its edge.
Nathan was staring at him.
And I was trying to understand how the son of the man who had destroyed my family had somehow become part of the night my husband disappeared.
“You drove Daniel away?”” I finally asked.
Marcus nodded.
“How old were you?””
“Nineteen.””
“And you never told anyone?””
“I was told never to speak about it.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course you were.””
Marcus accepted the anger without looking away.
“My father came to my university dormitory that night. He told me Daniel had stolen money from the company and was planning to escape before the police arrived.””
“Your father lied.””
“I know that now.””
“What did he want from you?””
Marcus pulled out a chair.
“Daniel had left the hotel through the underground parking garage. My father told me to drive him to an abandoned railway station outside the city.””
I stared at him.
“Did Daniel know who you were?””
“Yes. He recognized me immediately.””
“What happened in the car?””
Marcus looked down.
“He asked me whether I knew where you were.””
My throat tightened.
“What did you tell him?””
“That you were safe. My father had arranged for someone to watch your apartment.””
I closed my eyes.
Daniel had been thinking about me even while he was being forced to leave.
Marcus continued.
“About halfway there, Daniel asked me to stop at a gas station. He bought a bottle of water, then handed me a small envelope.””
“What was inside?””
“A photograph of you. And a letter.””
“Where is it?””
“I gave it to my father.””
My hands curled into fists.
“You gave Richard Reed my husband's last message?””
“I was nineteen, Mrs. Hayes. My father told me he would destroy your life if I didn't obey him.””
“And you believed him?””
Marcus looked at me.
“He showed me photographs of your apartment. He knew what time you left for work. He knew where you bought groceries. He even knew which bus you took home.””
My anger faltered.
Marcus wasn't asking me to forgive him.
He was telling me how thoroughly his father had controlled everyone around him.
Nathan moved closer.
“Did you see my father again?””
Marcus shook his head.
“Not that night. But three months later, I received a package. It contained Daniel's wedding ring.””
I felt my knees weaken.
“His ring?””
Marcus nodded.
“My father told me Daniel had died.””
I pressed a hand against the table.
“Where is it?””
“I kept it.””
He reached inside his jacket and produced a small velvet pouch.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Daniel's wedding ring lay inside.
There was a tiny scratch near the edge.
I remembered making that scratch when we were painting our kitchen years ago. Daniel had laughed and told me the mark made it more valuable.
I held the ring against my palm.
For eighteen years, I had wondered whether he had forgotten me.
Now I was holding the only thing he had managed to leave behind.
Nathan placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Mom?””
The word came out quietly.
I looked at him.
He seemed surprised by what he had said.
Then he repeated it.
“Mom, sit down.””
I began crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just the kind of crying that comes after a person has spent eighteen years pretending they are strong enough to survive anything.
Nathan pulled out the chair.
I sat.
Marcus waited until I had regained my composure.
“There is something else,” he said.
I looked up.
“My father kept a private office beneath the hotel's old administrative wing. I found it last month. There are files there that could prove everything.””
“Why didn't you show the police?””
“Because the files were gone when I returned.””
“Who took them?””
“I don't know.””
Nathan folded his arms.
“You expect us to believe that?””
“No,” Marcus answered.
“I expect you to verify everything I say.””
He placed a small brass key on the table.
“This opens the office.””
I recognized the key.
It was identical to the one Arthur had given me in Room 1808.
Except this one had a tiny number engraved on its handle.
*27.*
“Why are you helping us?”” I asked.
Marcus looked toward the window.
“Because my father left me something besides money.””
“What?””
“A recording.””
He unlocked his phone and played a short audio file.
Richard Reed's voice filled the dining room.
“If Eleanor ever finds the ledger, make sure she never reaches the police. The boy is the leverage. Daniel will do anything to protect him.””
Then came another voice.
A woman.
Vanessa.
“Understood, Mr. Reed.””
The recording ended.
Nathan stepped back.
“Vanessa knew about me?””
Marcus nodded.
“She knew everything.””
I thought about the way she had looked at me in the corridor. The way she had reacted when I recognized the golden falcon.
She hadn't been surprised because I knew something about the hotel.
She had been frightened because she knew exactly what I was capable of uncovering.
“Where is Vanessa now?”” I asked.
Marcus checked his phone.
“She left the hotel.””
“Find her.””
“I've been trying.””
My phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a man sitting inside a dark room.
His face was partly hidden by shadows.
But I recognized the hands.
The silver watch.
The way his left shoulder sat slightly lower than his right.
Daniel.
A message appeared beneath the photograph.
You have forty-eight hours to deliver the original ledger. Otherwise, your husband disappears for good.
I stopped breathing.
Nathan grabbed my phone.
“That's him.””
Marcus leaned closer.
“Where did you get this?””
“I don't know.””
Another message arrived.
Come alone, Eleanor. And don't bring Marcus.
I looked at Marcus.
He stared at the screen.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“That's not Daniel's handwriting.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“The message was typed, but the photograph has been edited. Look at the window behind him.””
Marcus enlarged the image.
A reflection appeared in the glass.
A woman standing behind the camera.
Long dark hair.
A red dress.
Vanessa.
Nathan stepped away from the table.
“She's holding him.””
I stared at the photograph.
Then I noticed something else.
Daniel was wearing a hospital identification bracelet.
And the date printed on it was yesterday.
My husband wasn't just being held somewhere.
May you like
He was injured.
And whoever had him wanted me to know.
