Chapter 2
"Don't play that recording."
Vanessa's voice was barely above a whisper.
The woman in the blue suit turned toward her.
"Why not?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"Because it's private."
I was still sitting beside the luggage cart, holding a clean towel against my forehead.
Two security officers had arrived.
One was speaking with the guests who witnessed the attack.
The other stood near Vanessa.
Nobody was shouting anymore.
But the tension in the lobby felt heavier than the chandeliers hanging above us.
Arthur looked toward the older woman.
"Chairwoman Bennett, the footage is ready."
She nodded.
"Play it."
Vanessa moved forward.
"Wait."
The chairwoman didn't look at her.
Arthur tapped the screen.
The recording began.
I leaned closer.
The timestamp showed 2:14 p.m.
Seven minutes before Vanessa attacked me.
A man stood beside the elevators.
He wore a dark jacket and carried a silver briefcase.
He glanced around the lobby.
Then approached the reception desk.
I recognized him immediately.
My stomach dropped.
Daniel Price.
My supervisor.
Daniel was forty-two and had managed guest services at Oakmont for nearly six years.
He was the person who approved my schedule.
Signed my performance reviews.
And regularly reminded employees that wealthy guests were the reason we had jobs.
I had never liked him.
But I never imagined he would appear in a video connected to my assault.
On the screen, Daniel approached Vanessa.
They stood close together.
He handed her a keycard.
Then he pointed toward the luggage area.
Toward the place where I had been working.
Vanessa smiled.
She opened her handbag.
Removed something small.
And slipped it into Daniel's hand.
I leaned forward.
"What is that?"
Arthur enlarged the image.
It looked like a folded piece of paper.
Possibly money.
But the resolution wasn't clear enough to identify it.
Daniel placed it inside his jacket.
Then Vanessa said something.
The camera had no audio.
I couldn't hear her words.
But I saw her point toward me.
Then Daniel nodded.
My mouth went dry.
The chairwoman turned toward Arthur.
"Why was your guest-services manager meeting privately with this woman?"
Arthur looked stunned.
"I don't know."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"He's helping me with my reservation."
The chairwoman looked toward the screen.
"Then why did he give you a staff access card?"
Vanessa froze.
Arthur enlarged the image again.
The keycard had a blue stripe.
I knew that stripe.
Guest room cards were white.
Staff access cards were blue.
I stared at the screen.
"That's not a guest key."
Arthur nodded slowly.
"No."
Vanessa suddenly laughed.
"This is ridiculous."
Nobody responded.
She looked toward the security officers.
"Am I under arrest?"
One officer answered calmly.
"No, ma'am. We're preserving evidence and arranging for police to respond."
Vanessa looked toward the entrance.
"I want to leave."
The chairwoman spoke.
"You're free to request assistance with your belongings. But the police may want to speak with you."
Vanessa's face tightened.
I watched her carefully.
The woman who had stood over me laughing now looked as though she wanted to disappear.
Then the chairwoman knelt beside me again.
"Nia, are you dizzy?"
I nodded.
"A little."
"Any nausea?"
"No."
She looked toward Arthur.
"Call emergency medical services."
I immediately shook my head.
"Please, ma'am. I can't afford an ambulance."
She looked at me.
The anger in her face softened.
"Sweetheart, we'll address the expenses. Right now, your health comes first."
My throat tightened.
I wanted to argue.
I had bills.
Rent.
My mother's medication.
My brother's tuition.
I couldn't afford to spend hundreds of dollars because someone wealthy decided to hurt me.
But the chairwoman gently squeezed my hand.
"Let the professionals examine you."
I nodded.
A few minutes later, paramedics arrived.
They helped me onto a stretcher.
As they examined my injuries, I heard Arthur speaking with security.
"Find Daniel Price."
One of the guards answered.
"Sir, he left the property twenty minutes ago."
Arthur's voice sharpened.
"Without notifying anyone?"
"Yes, sir."
I closed my eyes.
Daniel had left.
Just before Vanessa attacked me.
The timing couldn't have been accidental.
The chairwoman walked beside the stretcher.
"I'm Evelyn Bennett," she said.
I stared at her.
"Evelyn Bennett?"
She smiled sadly.
"Yes."
I knew that name.
Everyone who worked at Oakmont knew it.
Evelyn Bennett was the chairwoman of Bennett Hospitality Group.
Her family controlled seventeen luxury hotels across the country.
She rarely appeared at individual properties.
Most employees knew her only from corporate newsletters.
But there was something else.
Something I'd heard during my orientation.
Evelyn Bennett had started her career as a hotel housekeeper.
She often told executives that employees should never be treated as invisible.
Now I understood why she looked so angry.
"Ms. Bennett," I whispered.
She shook her head.
"Evelyn is fine."
I swallowed.
"Thank you."
She looked at my bruised face.
"You don't owe me thanks for treating you like a human being."
Tears filled my eyes.
I couldn't answer.
At the hospital, doctors examined my injuries.
I had a bruised cheek.
A cut near my forehead.
And a mild concussion.
They recommended rest and warned me to return if my symptoms worsened.
Evelyn arranged for a representative from the hotel's employee assistance team to meet me.
But before I left the hospital, Arthur called.
He sounded nervous.
"Nia, we need to ask you something."
I sat upright.
"What?"
"Did Daniel Price ever ask you to move luggage from the presidential suite?"
I frowned.
"No."
A pause.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
Arthur exhaled.
"Did you receive any unusual instructions today?"
I thought carefully.
Then I remembered.
At approximately one-thirty, Daniel had called me.
He told me to take over luggage assistance near the main entrance.
Normally, I worked at the concierge desk during the afternoon.
But he insisted.
I told Arthur.
He became quiet.
Then asked,
"Did he explain why?"
I shook my head.
"No. He said a VIP needed special attention."
Arthur was silent for several seconds.
Then he said,
"Nia, please don't speak to Vanessa or Daniel directly."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"We're reviewing a serious security concern."
I looked toward my mother, who was sitting beside my hospital bed.
She had rushed over after Danielle, my coworker, called her.
My mother was sixty-one.
She had arthritis and struggled to walk long distances.
Seeing her worried face made my chest ache.
"Arthur, what's happening?"
He hesitated.
Then answered,
"We believe someone used a staff credential to enter a restricted office shortly before your assault."
I froze.
"What office?"
"The executive finance suite."
My heart began pounding.
That office contained sensitive records.
Vendor contracts.
Financial documents.
Internal reports.
Ordinary employees weren't allowed inside.
Arthur continued.
"The keycard used belonged to Daniel."
I stared at the phone.
"Was Daniel there?"
"We're still reviewing the footage."
Then he said something that made me feel cold.
"Nia, your employee identification number appeared in the access log."
I stopped breathing.
"My ID?"
"Yes."
"But I was downstairs."
"I know."
I looked at my mother.
She was watching me with growing concern.
Arthur lowered his voice.
"Someone tried to make it look as though you entered that office."
My hands began trembling.
I remembered Vanessa calling me stupid.
The shove.
The fall.
The way Daniel disappeared.
Suddenly, the assault felt different.
It wasn't just cruelty.
Someone had deliberately placed me in the middle of something.
Then Arthur added,
"There's more."
I gripped the phone.
"What?"
"Several financial files were accessed during that period."
I closed my eyes.
He continued.
"And one of them contained your full employee record."
My stomach dropped.
"Why would someone need that?"
Arthur hesitated.
Then answered,
"That's exactly what we're trying to find out."
I looked down at my bruised hands.
For four years, I'd worked hard to protect my job.
May you like
Now someone had used that job to make me a target.
And I had no idea how far their plan went.
