Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Didn't Exist
I stared at Victor.
“There is a Mrs. Chen.”
“Not according to hotel records.”
“That’s impossible.”
Victor pushed his phone across the desk.
A message from the hotel manager appeared on the screen.
No employee named Mrs. Chen is authorized to assign ballroom staff tonight.
My hands became cold.
“She has been my supervisor for two years.”
Victor watched my face carefully.
“Where does she work?”
“Housekeeping.”
“Name?”
“Mrs. Mei Chen.”
He shook his head.
“There is no employee by that name.”
I stood.
“You're wrong.”
“Sit down.”
“I know who my supervisor is.”
Victor’s voice remained calm.
“Then tell me what she looks like.”
I described her.
Victor immediately called Dmitri.
“Find every person matching that description who entered this hotel today.”
Dmitri nodded.
I sat back down.
Something terrible was happening.
My mind returned to that afternoon.
The service corridor.
The black vest.
The locker room.
The cart of pressed napkins.
The strange feeling that someone had been watching me.
Victor noticed my expression.
“What?”
“I remembered something.”
“What?”
“When Mrs. Chen gave me the vest, she told me to report upstairs at six forty-five.”
Victor leaned forward.
“Did you sign in?”
“No.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“I don't know.”
Victor stood.
“We need the security footage.”
Before we could leave, the lights flickered.
Victor looked toward the ceiling.
Dmitri entered.
“Power fluctuation.”
Victor nodded.
Then Dmitri placed a small device on the desk.
“We found this near the service corridor.”
It was a tiny black earpiece.
I recognized it.
“Mrs. Chen had one.”
Victor looked at me.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
He picked it up.
“Then someone wanted you to think she was an employee.”
I felt sick.
“Why me?”
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he opened the evidence bag.
He examined the second glass.
“There is something strange.”
“What?”
He pointed to the bottom.
The same red mark.
I remembered the first glass.
“Both glasses had that mark.”
Victor nodded.
“Which means whoever prepared them wanted them identified.”
“Why?”
“To make sure the correct person drank.”
A chill moved through me.
Then Victor’s phone rang again.
This time, the hotel manager was calling.
Victor answered.
“Yes?”
A pause.
His eyes went to me.
“Repeat that.”
Another pause.
Victor slowly sat down.
“Say her name.”
I could hear the manager's voice faintly.
Victor looked at me.
“They found your employee file.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“In the hotel archive.”
Victor frowned.
“But the file was created yesterday.”
I stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
He turned the screen toward me.
My name was there.
Lena Hart.
My address.
My phone number.
My emergency contact.
And one line that made my blood run cold.
Assigned to Victor Romano protection detail.
I stared at it.
“I've never been assigned to protect anyone.”
Victor looked at me.
“Apparently you have.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“Then someone created a file about you before you ever walked into this ballroom.”
The door suddenly opened.
Dmitri stood there.
His face was tense.
“Victor.”
“What?”
“We found the woman who called herself Mrs. Chen.”
I stood.
“Where is she?”
Dmitri looked directly at me.
“She has been waiting in the basement.”
Victor reached for his jacket.
“Take us there.”
Dmitri hesitated.
“There's one problem.”
May you like
“What?”
“She asked for Lena.”
