Chapter 6: The Elevator Going Up
The elevator was moving.
I could hear the cables humming through the darkness.
Somewhere above us, metal passed over metal as the car climbed toward the executive floors.
Toward Sophie.
My daughter had screamed my name.
That was all I needed.
I ran.
Daniel's voice echoed from somewhere in the corridor.
"Gideon!""
I ignored him.
The stairwell door slammed against the wall as I pushed through.
Emergency lights flickered weakly along the steps, barely enough to illuminate the concrete.
I started climbing.
Floor after floor.
My shoes struck the stairs hard enough to hurt.
Behind me, Richard followed.
"Gideon, wait!""
"No.""
"The elevator has stopped.""
I froze.
"What?""
He grabbed the railing and caught his breath.
"The elevator stopped.""
I listened.
He was right.
The mechanical hum had disappeared.
Silence.
Then a metallic ding echoed above us.
I looked up.
"Which floor?""
Richard checked the emergency panel mounted beside the stairwell.
"Twenty-two.""
I was already moving.
The twenty-second floor was the executive conference level.
The twenty-third was where Daniel had taken Sophie.
If someone had stopped at twenty-two, they could reach the upper floor using the internal staircase.
"Daniel!"" I shouted.
Nothing.
"Daniel!""
Still nothing.
Richard came up behind me.
"Don't call his name.""
I turned.
"Why?""
"Because if someone is listening, they'll know exactly where we are.""
I stared at him.
"Someone already knows where we are.""
We continued upward.
Halfway to the next landing, my phone vibrated.
I pulled it out.
A text.
*DON'T TAKE THE NEXT DOOR.*
No number.
I stopped.
Richard nearly ran into me.
"What?""
I showed him the screen.
He stared at it.
"Who sent it?""
"I don't know.""
Another text appeared.
*THEY EXPECT YOU TO COME THROUGH THE STAIRWELL.*
Then a third.
*USE THE SERVICE CORRIDOR.*
I looked at Richard.
"You said they were trying to kill you.""
"Yes.""
"How did you survive?""
"By listening when strangers warned me.""
I hated that answer.
But I trusted it more than I trusted the people who had been lying to me all night.
We turned back.
The service corridor connected to the laundry wing on the twenty-second floor.
I remembered it from the renovation.
Workers used it for deliveries and emergency maintenance.
We moved quietly.
When I opened the service door, I immediately noticed something wrong.
The hallway lights were on.
But the floor was empty.
No staff.
No carts.
No laundry.
Nothing.
Daniel should have been here.
He should have been shouting my name.
I checked my phone.
No missed calls.
No message.
Then I heard a faint sound behind one of the linen closets.
A muffled sob.
I pulled the door open.
A housekeeping employee was crouched inside.
She jumped when she saw me.
"Please.""
Her hands were over her mouth.
"Please don't hurt me.""
"I'm not going to hurt you.""
She stared at me.
"Mr. Ashford?""
I nodded.
"Where's the general manager?""
"I don't know.""
"Where's my daughter?""
"I saw her.""
"Where?""
"On twenty-three.""
"With Daniel?""
She nodded.
"He took her into the private lounge.""
"How long ago?""
"I don't know.""
"What happened?""
Her face crumpled.
"The power went out.""
"I know.""
"Then security came.""
"Which security?""
She shook her head.
"Not our regular guards.""
My heart dropped.
"How many?""
"Three.""
"Three men?""
"Two men and a woman.""
"Where did they go?""
"Up.""
"To twenty-three?""
She nodded.
"One of them had a key to the private elevator.""
Richard looked at me.
"We need to move.""
I looked back at the employee.
"What is your name?""
"Lena.""
"Lena, stay here.""
She grabbed my sleeve.
"Please don't leave me.""
"I won't.""
I pulled out my phone.
"Call the police.""
Her eyes widened.
"But—"
"Call 911. Tell them there's an unauthorized security team inside the hotel.""
She took the phone with shaking hands.
Richard and I continued down the corridor.
At the end was a metal staircase leading directly to the twenty-third floor.
I pushed the door open.
The hallway was dark.
Emergency lighting glowed along the floor.
No sound.
I walked slowly.
Then I heard a child's voice.
"Daddy?""
Sophie.
I ran toward it.
"Sophie!""
My daughter's voice came again.
"Daddy!""
I rounded the corner.
The private lounge door stood open.
Daniel was inside.
Alone.
His suit jacket was torn at the shoulder.
Blood ran from a cut near his eyebrow.
"Sophie!"" I shouted.
He looked at me.
"Gideon.""
"Where is she?""
His eyes moved toward the adjoining corridor.
"They took her.""
Everything inside me stopped.
"Who?""
"I don't know.""
"Where?""
"Service elevator.""
"How long ago?""
"Maybe two minutes.""
I grabbed his shoulders.
"What happened?""
"They came in through the private entrance.""
"How did they get past you?""
"They had credentials.""
"What credentials?""
"Executive security.""
"Whose authorization?""
Daniel's face twisted.
"Yours.""
I released him.
"My authorization?""
"They showed me a digital order.""
He pointed toward the tablet on the desk.
"It said you had authorized an emergency transfer of your daughter.""
My blood ran cold.
"What?""
"They said there was an external threat and they were moving her somewhere secure.""
"Did you believe them?""
"I did for about thirty seconds.""
"Then what happened?""
"They asked me to step aside.""
"And when you refused?""
"They hit me.""
I turned toward the corridor.
"What direction?""
"North service elevator.""
I started running.
Richard grabbed my arm.
"Stop.""
I turned on him.
"Let go.""
"Think.""
"My daughter has been taken.""
"And running after her blindly is exactly what they want.""
I stared at him.
Richard pulled the flash drive from my hand.
"This is what they were really after.""
I looked at it.
"You said it contained the truth.""
"It contains something they don't want you to read.""
"Then why take Sophie?""
"They needed leverage.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
"They needed something you couldn't ignore.""
I looked toward the service elevator.
The doors were already closing.
I sprinted.
Too late.
The elevator disappeared downward.
I slammed my fist against the wall.
"Which floor?""
Daniel came running behind us.
"Loading dock.""
"How do you know?""
"That's where the service elevator stops.""
I looked at Richard.
"Stairs.""
He nodded.
We ran.
The loading dock sat three floors below.
When we reached it, the doors opened onto an empty underground corridor.
A white van was parked beside the delivery entrance.
Engine running.
Rear doors open.
I ran toward it.
Nothing inside.
Just a folded blanket.
A child's pink hair clip.
Sophie's.
I picked it up.
My hands started shaking.
Richard stood beside me.
"They're close.""
I looked around.
"What do you mean?""
"Look at the floor.""
There were tire marks.
Fresh.
The van had left through the west loading ramp.
Daniel pointed toward a security monitor.
"Camera.""
I ran to it.
The screen showed the loading area from thirty seconds earlier.
A black SUV.
A white van.
Two people loading something.
I stared.
Sophie was not visible.
But someone was carrying her rabbit.
The rabbit was hanging from a man's hand.
I felt something break inside me.
"Freeze it.""
Daniel did.
The man turned slightly.
His face came into view.
I knew him.
Not from the hotel.
From one of the photographs in the hidden room.
A man who had been standing beside Victoria.
Corporate security consultant.
"Who is he?"" Richard asked.
"Marcus Bell.""
Daniel looked confused.
"Our director of security?""
"Not anymore.""
I pulled out my phone.
"Call the city police.""
Daniel reached for his phone.
Then stopped.
"They'll be expecting us to do that.""
"Good.""
Richard looked at the security monitor.
"No.""
I turned.
"What?""
"If they hear police are involved, they won't keep her here.""
"Where would they take her?""
"Somewhere we can't find.""
I stepped toward him.
"Then tell me where.""
He hesitated.
"Northbridge.""
I frowned.
"The charity?""
"The old children's facility.""
"That's been closed for years.""
"Exactly.""
Daniel looked between us.
"Why would they take Sophie there?""
"Because nobody goes there anymore.""
I pulled up a map on my phone.
"How far?""
"Twenty minutes.""
"We're going.""
Daniel grabbed my shoulder.
"Wait.""
"No.""
"We need backup.""
I looked at him.
"By the time backup arrives, they could move her again.""
Richard nodded.
"He’s right.""
I stared at both men.
For four years, I had believed Richard was a thief.
A coward.
A man who abandoned the company.
Now he was the only person who seemed to know how these people operated.
I hated that I needed him.
But I needed my daughter more.
We took Daniel's car.
Richard drove.
I sat in the passenger seat.
Daniel remained in the back, calling every police contact he could trust without revealing our destination.
Rain had started falling again.
Chicago blurred outside the windshield.
I kept staring at Sophie's hair clip.
My daughter had been taken because someone wanted me to surrender.
The thought repeated itself over and over.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
"Where is my daughter?""
A man's voice replied.
"You're driving to Northbridge.""
I went cold.
Richard tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"How do you know?""
The voice laughed.
"Because we know exactly where you are.""
"Put Sophie on the phone.""
"No.""
"Then tell me she's safe.""
A pause.
"You'll hear her soon.""
"Who are you?""
"You've been asking that question all night.""
"I'll keep asking.""
The man laughed again.
"You really are your mother's son.""
That sentence stopped me.
My mother.
He knew about her too.
"Don't involve my mother.""
"She was involved long before you knew.""
"With what?""
"With the original deal.""
"What deal?""
"Your first hotel.""
My mind raced.
My first hotel had been built with money from a group of private investors.
My mother had helped me secure the financing.
I'd always believed she had made the initial introductions.
"What are you talking about?""
"You think your success began with that first hotel.""
"What did my mother sign?""
The caller paused.
"You should ask Richard.""
I looked at the driver.
Richard's face had gone rigid.
"What did my mother sign?""
He said nothing.
The caller continued.
"You're almost there.""
"Put my daughter on the phone.""
"No.""
"Do it.""
This time I heard something in the background.
A faint voice.
"Daddy?""
My entire body jolted.
"Sophie!""
"Daddy!""
"Tell her I'm coming.""
The man laughed.
"She already knows.""
I heard Sophie crying.
Then the line went dead.
I slammed my palm against the dashboard.
Richard said nothing.
Daniel looked at him.
"What aren't you telling him?""
Richard kept driving.
I turned toward him.
"What did my mother sign?""
He remained silent.
"Richard.""
Nothing.
I reached over and grabbed the steering wheel.
He swerved.
"Don't.""
"What did she sign?""
"Gideon!""
"What did she sign?""
Richard finally shouted.
"The original ownership agreement!""
The car went silent.
Rain hammered the windshield.
I stared at him.
"What ownership agreement?""
"The one that funded your first property.""
"I owned that hotel.""
"Legally, yes.""
"And?""
Richard's voice dropped.
"Your mother didn't get the money for free.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"What did she give them?""
"Control.""
"Control of what?""
"The company after your death.""
I stared at him.
"What?""
Richard looked at me.
"There was a succession clause.""
"No.""
"There was.""
"My mother would never do that.""
"She thought she was protecting you.""
"From what?""
"The people who funded you.""
I shook my head.
"That doesn't make sense.""
"It will.""
"Tell me everything.""
Richard's expression was devastated.
"Your mother borrowed the money because no bank would finance your first hotel.""
"I know.""
"She didn't tell you who the private lenders were.""
"No.""
"Because they made her promise that if the company ever became large enough, they would receive controlling interest.""
I stared at him.
"That's impossible.""
"It was buried in the original contract.""
"Then why didn't anyone ever enforce it?""
"Because your mother negotiated one condition.""
"What condition?""
Richard looked back at the road.
"If anything happened to you before your daughter turned eighteen, control would transfer.""
I couldn't speak.
Sophie.
The clause had nothing to do with me.
It was about her.
Someone wanted my company.
But more importantly, they wanted control of the company through my daughter.
I looked at Richard.
"Why now?""
His answer was quiet.
"Because Sophie is eight.""
I understood.
"Ten years.""
"Yes.""
"They don't need to wait until she's eighteen.""
"They need to make sure you're out before then.""
I looked through the rain toward the distant lights of the abandoned Northbridge facility.
The building appeared ahead like a dark skeleton.
I tightened my grip on the door.
"Then this was never about the hotel.""
Richard nodded.
"No.""
"The hotel was bait.""
"Yes.""
"The blacklist.""
"A distraction.""
"The forged resignation.""
"Part of the takeover.""
"The photographs.""
"Leverage.""
"And Sophie.""
Richard looked at me.
"The final pressure point.""
I stared at the abandoned building.
Then my phone vibrated.
One last message.
*COME ALONE.*
Below it was a photograph of Sophie sitting in a dark room.
Her eyes were red from crying.
Beside her sat her rabbit.
On the wall behind her was a single word painted in red.
*HEIR.*
I locked the phone.
"We're here.""
Richard stopped the car.
Daniel looked at me.
"What are you going to do?""
I opened the door.
For the first time that night, I wasn't thinking about the company.
I wasn't thinking about the money.
I wasn't thinking about the people who had betrayed me.
I was thinking about an eight-year-old girl sitting alone in a dark room, wondering whether her father was coming.
I stepped into the rain.
"I’m going to get my daughter.""
Richard climbed out.
"So am I.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
He met my eyes.
"Because I promised your wife.""
I froze.
"What did you promise Claire?""
Richard's face crumpled.
"That if they ever came for Sophie, I'd come back.""
May you like
He looked toward the abandoned building.
"I've been waiting four years to keep that promise.""
