Chapter 3: Room 214
By eleven-thirty, the rain had turned the streets into black mirrors.
Ricardo parked outside the old hotel where Daniel had kept his private office.
Bia was with him.
He had refused to leave her behind.
Helena had insisted on coming too.
No one trusted anyone.
The three of them stood in front of the elevator.
“Why are you here?”” Ricardo asked Helena.
“Because I know the building.””
“That doesn’t answer the question.””
She looked at him.
“Because if you go into that room without me, you may not come back out.””
Ricardo stared at her.
“Is that a threat?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
“A warning.””
The elevator doors opened.
They stepped inside.
The doors closed.
Bia held the doll tightly.
Ricardo glanced at it.
“You okay?””
She nodded.
“I’m scared.””
“Me too.””
That honesty seemed to calm her.
Helena stood in the corner.
She looked at the floor numbers.
When the elevator passed twelve, she whispered something under her breath.
Ricardo caught it.
“What did you say?””
“Nothing.””
“You keep doing that.””
“Doing what?””
“Pretending you don't know more than you do.””
The elevator reached twenty-one.
The doors opened.
The hallway was dark.
Room 214 was at the far end.
Ricardo walked first.
Helena stayed behind him.
Bia held his jacket.
At the door, Ricardo found the key taped beneath the frame.
He looked at Helena.
“You knew it was here.””
She didn’t answer.
He inserted it.
The lock clicked.
The room was untouched.
Dust covered the desk.
Stacks of papers filled shelves.
A dead computer sat near the window.
Ricardo turned on his flashlight.
“Where are the files?””
Helena pointed.
“Behind the painting.””
He stared at her.
“You've been here.””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Two weeks before Daniel died.””
Ricardo removed the painting.
A safe appeared behind it.
“What’s the combination?””
“I don’t know.””
“You opened it before.””
“I didn’t.””
He studied her face.
She looked terrified.
Not of him.
Of the room.
Ricardo checked the corners.
“Bia?””
“I’m here.””
“Stay beside me.””
The girl suddenly looked toward the desk.
“Mommy’s handwriting.””
Ricardo followed her gaze.
A notebook sat beneath a pile of papers.
He opened it.
The first page was filled with dates.
Payments.
Names.
Company numbers.
Then he saw one repeated name.
Helena.
Next to it was a series of amounts.
Ricardo looked up.
Helena’s expression collapsed.
“That wasn’t mine.””
“Your name is right here.””
“It was a code.””
“For what?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m telling you what I know.””
Bia turned another page.
A folded photograph fell out.
She picked it up.
Her face went pale.
“What?””
She handed it to Ricardo.
The photograph showed Daniel inside a warehouse.
He was talking to two men.
One was the police chief from the funeral photograph.
The other was a stranger.
But on the man's wrist was a distinctive silver watch.
Helena saw it.
She stepped backward.
“No.””
Ricardo looked at her.
“You know him.””
She nodded.
“He was Daniel’s driver.””
“What happened to him?””
“He disappeared.””
“When?””
“The same night Daniel died.””
Ricardo’s phone vibrated.
A new message.
YOU’RE IN THE WRONG ROOM.
Then another.
LOOK UNDER THE FLOOR.
Bia stared at the carpet.
“There.””
A loose corner.
Ricardo pulled it back.
Beneath the floorboards was a metal compartment.
Inside was a small recorder.
He pressed the button.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“If anyone finds this, they need to know the truth.””
Ricardo held his breath.
“I was blackmailed.””
Helena closed her eyes.
“I thought I could control it.””
A pause.
“They told me they would hurt my family.””
The recording hissed.
“I paid them.””
Ricardo stared at Helena.
“You knew.””
She shook her head.
“I knew he was afraid.””
“You knew why.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because Daniel begged me not to.””
The recorder continued.
“But I made one mistake.””
Daniel’s voice lowered.
“I trusted Helena.””
Helena began to cry.
Ricardo listened.
“She was supposed to deliver the money.””
The recording stopped.
A second file started automatically.
A man’s voice.
Not Daniel.
“Helena, you have until midnight.””
Ricardo looked at the clock.
11:53.
The voice continued.
“If the files reach the police, Ricardo dies.””
Helena covered her mouth.
Bia whispered, “Daddy?””
Ricardo turned toward her.
The recorder clicked.
“And if Ricardo finds out what happened to Daniel…”
A loud bang exploded somewhere downstairs.
The three of them froze.
Someone was entering the building.
Ricardo grabbed the recorder.
“We’re leaving.””
Helena shook her head.
“No.””
“What?””
“It’s too late.””
“What do you mean?””
She pointed toward the safe.
The keypad had begun blinking.
Someone was unlocking it remotely.
Ricardo took a step back.
Numbers appeared on the screen.
214.
The safe opened.
Inside was a single envelope.
Ricardo reached for it.
Before he could touch it, his phone rang.
The caller ID showed Daniel.
Ricardo stared at the screen.
Helena whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
The call continued.
Ricardo answered.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a voice said:
“You should have stayed at the funeral.””
May you like
Ricardo’s heart stopped.
Because it was Daniel’s voice.
