Chapter 4 - The Locked Room
Maya had just finished helping Evelyn into bed when she heard a soft sound from the hallway.
A door closing.
Then a man’s voice.
“Where is the envelope?”
Maya froze.
She was standing near Evelyn’s sitting room, arranging a glass of water and medication on the bedside table. Evelyn looked toward the door with frightened eyes.
“Who is that?” she whispered.
Maya moved quietly to the hallway.
The private wing was usually guarded. But tonight, because of the gala, people were moving in and out of the estate constantly—caterers, donors, drivers, musicians, staff.
At the far end of the hall stood a man Maya did not recognize.
He wore a dark suit and held a phone to his ear.
“No,” he said. “Sterling wants the old woman’s signature before midnight.”
Maya’s blood went cold.
The man turned.
Their eyes met.
For a second, neither moved.
Then he walked toward her.
Maya rushed back into Evelyn’s room and locked the door.
“Mrs. Ashford,” she said, “we need to leave.”
Evelyn’s face went pale. “What is it?”
“Someone is here for the documents.”
The doorknob rattled.
Maya looked around the room.
There was no exit except the balcony, and Evelyn could not walk. The panic button beside the bed had been disconnected earlier that week after a “maintenance issue.” Maya had reported it, but the replacement had never come.
Now she understood why.
The lock snapped.
The door opened.
The stranger stepped inside.
He smiled when he saw Evelyn.
“Mrs. Ashford,” he said. “I’m afraid we need your help.”
Maya moved in front of the wheelchair.
“You need to leave.”
He looked amused.
“You’re brave.”
“No,” Maya said. “I’m employed.”
The man’s smile disappeared.
He reached inside his jacket.
Before he could pull out the weapon, the bedroom door slammed open.
Daniel stood there.
Behind him were two security officers.
The man spun around, but security tackled him before he could move.
Evelyn began to cry.
Daniel crossed the room and knelt beside her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have listened sooner.”
Evelyn touched his cheek.
“You are listening now.”
Maya stood near the wall, trying to control her breathing.
Daniel looked at her.
“You found the envelope.”
“Yes.”
“And you heard him?”
“Yes.”
Daniel nodded.
“Thank you.”
Maya expected him to leave after that. Men like Daniel Ashford had important things to do. They did not stand around thanking staff members.
But he did.
He noticed her hands shaking.
“You’re hurt,” he said.
Maya looked down. A cut across her palm had begun bleeding, likely from when she shoved the door shut.
“It’s nothing.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“It is not nothing.”
He took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around her hand with unexpected care.
Maya watched him.
“You should be with your mother,” she said.
“I am,” he replied. Then he looked toward Evelyn. “And I am also with someone who protected her.”
Before Maya could answer, Renee hurried into the room.
“Mr. Ashford, the police are here. They found the man’s connection to Sterling Security.”
Daniel’s expression darkened.
“Sterling Security?”
“Yes. He’s listed as a private contractor for Richard Sterling.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Daniel looked at Maya.
“Camille knew.”
Maya did not ask how he knew.
She had seen the look on Camille’s face when Daniel found the envelope.
“She did,” Maya said.
Daniel’s phone rang.
Camille’s name appeared on the screen.
He answered.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“At my mother’s side.”
“I need to see you.”
“No.”
“Daniel, please. You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
Camille went quiet.
Then she said, “If you call the police, the Hudson project dies.”
Daniel looked at the man being led away in handcuffs.
Then at his mother.
Then at Maya.
“The project can die,” he said. “My mother cannot.”
He ended the call.
May you like
And across the city, Camille Sterling realized that for the first time in her life, she was losing control.
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