Chapter 5: The Missing Minute
The emergency lights cast the penthouse in a dim red glow.
Marcus spun around.
“Denise?””
“I'm here!””
He found her near the sofa and pulled her close.
Jordan stood beside Maya.
Tiana was gone.
Marcus noticed immediately.
“Tiana?””
No answer.
His head snapped toward the hallway.
“Where is she?””
Jordan pointed.
“She was right there.””
Darius moved toward the corridor.
Marcus blocked him.
“Don't move.””
Darius stopped.
“I didn't take her.””
“You're the only stranger in my house.””
“And I'm not the person you're looking for.””
Maya looked at her phone.
The screen had gone black.
“Dad.””
Marcus turned.
“The video is gone.””
“What?””
“The security footage.””
Maya tapped the screen repeatedly.
“It was right here.””
Darius closed his eyes.
“Someone deleted it.””
Marcus stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?””
Darius looked toward the ceiling.
“Your security system isn't local.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“What are you saying?””
“Someone has access to it remotely.””
Denise stepped forward.
“Who?””
Darius looked at her.
“That’s what I came here to find out.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You've been in my house, you've been talking to my daughter, and now you're telling me someone hacked my security system?””
“Yes.””
“Convenient.””
Darius reached into his jacket.
Marcus immediately grabbed his wrist.
“Slowly.””
Darius carefully pulled out a small black flash drive.
“I came here because I found this.””
Maya stared at it.
“What is that?””
“Evidence.””
“Evidence of what?””
Darius looked at Marcus.
“Your company’s offshore accounts.””
Marcus went completely still.
Denise looked at him.
“Marcus?””
He didn't answer.
Jordan frowned.
“What does Dad's company have to do with this?””
Darius placed the drive on the table.
“Everything.””
Marcus stared at it.
“Where did you get that?””
“From a dead man's safe.””
Silence.
Denise whispered, “A dead man?””
Darius nodded.
“He was supposed to expose the person moving money through your company.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I wouldn't have come here if I knew.””
Maya looked between them.
“Then why involve Tiana?””
Darius's face changed.
“I didn't.””
Marcus looked at Tiana's empty spot.
“Then who did?””
A sharp sound came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
A door slammed.
Jordan flinched.
“Dad.””
Marcus started toward it.
Darius followed.
They reached the hallway together.
The bedroom door stood open.
Inside, Tiana was nowhere to be seen.
Marcus looked under the bed, then toward the bathroom.
Nothing.
Maya appeared behind them.
“Dad.””
Marcus turned.
Maya was holding her phone again.
“I got another message.””
Marcus took it.
This one contained a photograph.
His face changed.
The image showed Tiana sitting in a parked car.
Her hands were tied.
Jordan stepped closer.
“No…”
Denise covered her mouth.
“When was that taken?””
Maya zoomed in.
The timestamp was from eleven minutes earlier.
Marcus looked at Darius.
“You said you didn't take her.””
“I didn't.””
“Then who did?””
Darius shook his head.
“Someone who wants you to think I did.””
Jordan looked at the photograph.
“Wait.””
Everyone turned.
Jordan pointed at the window reflected in the photo.
“That's not a car.””
Maya zoomed in.
A faint reflection appeared in the glass.
A penthouse window.
Jordan whispered, “That's our building.””
Marcus stared.
Darius stepped closer.
“No.””
“What?””
Darius pointed to the reflection.
“Look at the lights.””
Maya's eyes narrowed.
The reflection showed a row of illuminated towers.
One building stood directly behind the car.
Darius recognized it.
“That's the Westmore Hotel.””
Marcus looked at him.
“How do you know?””
“Because that's where I was five minutes before I came here.””
Denise stared at Darius.
“You're lying.””
Darius shook his head.
“I left the hotel after receiving a message.””
“What message?””
Darius reached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone.
He opened it.
The message was only four words.
*COME BEFORE MIDNIGHT. ALONE.*
Marcus looked at the time.
11:47 p.m.
His eyes lifted.
“It's not midnight yet.””
Darius nodded.
“No.””
Maya suddenly looked at the security panel beside the door.
“Dad…”
“What?””
“The cameras are back.””
The monitor flickered.
One feed.
Then another.
Then the hallway.
Marcus stared.
A figure stood at the end of the corridor.
Not Tiana.
Not Darius.
A woman.
She was holding something in her hand.
Marcus stepped toward the monitor.
“Who is that?””
The camera zoomed automatically.
The woman lifted her face.
Denise gasped.
Because she recognized her.
“No…”
Marcus turned.
“Denise?””
Her lips trembled.
“That’s impossible.””
“Who is she?””
Denise stared at the screen.
“That’s my sister.””
Marcus's face went blank.
“Your sister died twelve years ago.””
The monitor flickered.
May you like
The woman smiled.
Then the screen went black.
