Chapter 4
I had never been afraid to go home before.
Our house was small.
The paint was peeling near the porch steps.
The front window needed replacing.
But it had always felt safe.
It was where my mother taught me to cook.
Where Caleb took his first steps.
Where my father used to sit after work, telling us stories until we fell asleep.
Now I stared at the photograph on my phone and felt like a stranger was standing outside our door.
"Caleb, lock the windows."
He looked at me.
"What?"
"Please."
He saw my face.
Then nodded and hurried down the hallway.
I called Rachel.
She answered immediately.
"Nia?"
I told her about the messages.
Her voice became serious.
"Don't delete anything."
"I won't."
"Preserve the messages and contact law enforcement. If you believe someone is outside or you're in immediate danger, call emergency services."
My hands shook.
"Do you think Daniel sent them?"
"We don't know."
I hated that answer.
But I knew she was being careful.
Rachel continued.
"Don't confront him. Don't respond to the sender."
I nodded.
Then I called the police.
An officer took my statement.
I showed him the photograph.
The messages.
The earlier incident.
He asked whether I recognized the number.
I didn't.
He explained that investigators would document the threat and review what could be obtained.
He also advised us to report any suspicious activity immediately.
After he left, Mom sat at the kitchen table.
Her hands trembled around a cup of tea.
"Baby, maybe you should quit that hotel."
I looked at her.
"Mom."
"I'm serious."
Her voice cracked.
"No job is worth your life."
I sat beside her.
For a moment, I almost agreed.
I imagined packing my uniform into a box.
Finding work somewhere smaller.
Somewhere quiet.
Somewhere nobody knew my name.
But then I remembered Vanessa standing over me.
"She's just hotel staff."
I remembered Daniel's false report.
The keycard.
The copied personnel file.
The threatening messages.
If I disappeared, the people responsible might never face consequences.
And other employees could become targets.
I took Mom's hand.
"I won't go back until it's safe."
She nodded.
"But I'm not going to let them make me feel ashamed for telling the truth."
She began crying.
I hugged her.
"I promise I'll be careful."
The next day, Evelyn arranged a meeting at a secure corporate office away from the hotel.
My attorney attended.
So did Arthur Daniels.
Evelyn sat at the head of the conference table.
She wore a dark-green suit.
Her silver hair was pinned neatly.
She looked tired.
But her expression was determined.
"Nia," she said, "I'm sorry your family has been threatened."
I nodded.
She continued.
"The company is cooperating with law enforcement and has referred the security incident for independent review."
Arthur opened a folder.
"We have confirmed several important facts."
My heart hammered.
He turned toward me.
"Daniel Price used his credentials to access the executive finance suite at 2:08 p.m."
I stared at him.
"Six minutes before he met Vanessa?"
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
Evelyn leaned forward.
"What was he doing there?"
Arthur looked uncomfortable.
"He accessed records relating to the Oakmont renovation project."
I frowned.
Renovation?
I'd heard about it.
The hotel was planning a major expansion.
New suites.
A rooftop restaurant.
A private conference center.
The project was expected to cost millions.
Arthur continued.
"Some of the documents were confidential proposals and financial evaluations."
I looked at Evelyn.
"Why would Vanessa want them?"
Evelyn's expression hardened.
"Her family company is bidding for part of the project."
My stomach tightened.
"What company?"
"Whitmore Development Group."
I stared.
Vanessa wasn't simply an arrogant hotel guest.
Her family stood to gain millions from the hotel's expansion.
Arthur placed another document on the table.
"Three bidders were shortlisted."
He pointed toward the names.
Whitmore Development Group.
Sterling Properties.
Harrison Construction.
Each company had submitted proposals.
The board was scheduled to review them that afternoon.
The same afternoon Vanessa attacked me.
My heart began pounding.
"So Daniel was giving her information?"
Arthur hesitated.
"We have evidence of unauthorized access and contact. The full purpose of the exchange remains under investigation."
Evelyn looked at me.
"That's why preserving the footage matters."
I nodded slowly.
Then Rachel spoke.
"Nia's employee ID was used in the access logs."
Arthur looked ashamed.
"Yes."
He turned another page.
"The access record appears to have been manipulated."
I swallowed.
"How?"
"Someone entered your employee number into a secondary system used for service requests."
I stared at him.
"But I wasn't in that office."
"We know. The camera footage confirms it."
For the first time, I felt something loosen inside my chest.
Evidence.
Actual evidence.
Not my word against someone wealthy.
Not a supervisor's opinion.
Proof.
Arthur continued.
"Daniel also filed a statement suggesting you were involved in the restricted office incident."
My stomach turned.
"Before Vanessa attacked me?"
"Yes."
I looked at Evelyn.
She closed her eyes briefly.
When she opened them, her expression was cold.
"That suggests the attempt to blame Nia began before the assault."
Nobody spoke.
Then Rachel asked,
"Has Daniel been suspended?"
Arthur nodded.
"Pending the investigation."
Evelyn added,
"And his access has been revoked."
I exhaled.
It didn't solve everything.
But at least he couldn't use his position to harm another employee.
Then Arthur placed a photograph on the table.
It showed the man from the security footage.
Daniel.
Standing beside Vanessa.
But this image came from a different camera.
The service hallway.
I leaned closer.
Daniel was handing Vanessa a folder.
A large brown envelope.
The same kind used for internal hotel documents.
Evelyn's jaw tightened.
"What time?"
"2:16 p.m."
I stared.
Two minutes after the first lobby recording.
Five minutes before I was attacked.
Arthur continued.
"Vanessa carried the envelope to the luggage area."
My stomach dropped.
"The luggage area?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
Then he looked at me.
"Nia, do you remember whether Ms. Whitmore asked you to handle her handbag?"
I froze.
Of course I remembered.
The handbag.
The reason she grabbed my wrist.
The reason she became furious when I moved it.
I told him.
Arthur's expression changed.
He looked at Evelyn.
Then back at me.
"Did she ever leave the handbag unattended?"
I thought carefully.
For a moment, I remembered Vanessa stepping away to answer her phone.
She had placed the bag on top of her suitcase.
I'd turned to adjust the luggage cart.
Then she'd suddenly rushed back and grabbed me.
I nodded.
"Only for a few seconds."
Arthur looked toward Evelyn.
"That's enough time."
My heart hammered.
"Enough time for what?"
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Arthur, show her the third angle."
He opened another recording.
This camera faced the luggage storage entrance.
I watched Vanessa set down her handbag.
Then glance toward the elevator.
She looked directly at the camera.
And for a brief moment, her expression changed.
She appeared to be waiting for someone.
Then a man entered the frame.
Not Daniel.
Someone else.
He wore a hotel maintenance jacket.
A baseball cap.
And carried a small black case.
I stared at the screen.
The man approached Vanessa's handbag.
Then slipped something inside.
My mouth fell open.
"What did he put in there?"
Arthur paused the video.
"We don't know."
The man left.
Vanessa returned to the luggage cart.
Then she confronted me.
And moments later, I was on the floor.
I stared at the screen.
Suddenly, I understood.
Vanessa hadn't simply become angry over where I placed her handbag.
She had been protecting something hidden inside it.
Something someone had just delivered.
I looked at Evelyn.
"Who was that man?"
Arthur's face tightened.
"We're trying to identify him."
Then Evelyn said quietly,
"We have reason to believe he wasn't a hotel employee."
My stomach dropped.
"Then how did he get a maintenance uniform?"
Arthur looked down.
The silence answered before he spoke.
Someone had helped him.
May you like
Someone inside Oakmont.
And whatever had been placed in Vanessa's handbag was important enough for her to attack me rather than let me touch it.
