Chapter 2 - The Room That No Longer Existed

Dominic moved Lily out of the lobby before the crowd could become another problem.

He took her to a private conference suite on the thirty-eighth floor, where the windows ran from carpet to ceiling and the city looked unreal beneath the afternoon sun. Mara stayed near the door. Evan brought water, juice, crackers, and a plate of fruit that Lily ignored.

She sat at the long table with the rabbit in her lap.

Dominic placed the termination letter inside a clear document sleeve.

“Lily, I need to ask you a few questions.”

She looked at him.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No.”

“Is my mom?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“That means yes.”

Dominic almost smiled.

“It means I’m not going to lie to you.”

She considered that, then nodded.

“When did you last see her?”

“This morning.”

“Where?”

“At home.”

“What happened?”

“She told Mrs. Bell she needed to go somewhere. Mrs. Bell came over and Mom said I had to stay with her.”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No.”

“Did she take a suitcase?”

Lily shook her head.

“Her gray bag.”

“A purse?”

“A work bag. The ugly one.”

Evan looked at Dominic.

“That would probably be a laptop case.”

Dominic nodded.

“What happened after your mother left?”

“Mrs. Bell made toast. I waited. Then I heard her talking on the phone.”

“What did she say?”

“She said, ‘Anna shouldn’t have gone back there.’”

Dominic leaned forward.

“Back where?”

“I don’t know.”

“And then you left?”

Lily’s chin lifted.

“I knew where your building was.”

“How?”

“You’re on TV.”

“Unfortunately.”

“You look taller on TV.”

Mara coughed into her hand.

Dominic glanced at her.

“Something funny?”

“No, sir.”

Lily finally took a cracker.

Dominic looked at Evan.

“Status on Anna?”

“Her employee profile exists, but most of the linked records are restricted. HR says her access was disabled at 7:42 last night.”

“Who initiated it?”

“System shows executive override.”

“Mine?”

Evan hesitated.

“Yes.”

Dominic held out his hand.

Evan gave him the tablet.

The termination approval log displayed Dominic’s executive certificate, authentication code, and biometric confirmation.

Dominic read it twice.

“This says I approved it at 7:31.”

“You were in the air from London,” Evan said.

“I know.”

Mara stepped closer.

“Could someone have used your credentials?”

“Not normally. Biometric confirmation requires a secure signing tablet.”

“Who has access to those tablets?”

“Me, legal, and the executive records office.”

Evan scrolled.

“Device ID M-04.”

Dominic knew the number.

“That’s the tablet in the board preparation room.”

Mara said, “Can I pull camera footage?”

“Do it.”

Her phone buzzed before she could turn.

She read the message.

“Sir.”

“What?”

“Someone attempted to remotely wipe archived footage from the nineteenth floor five minutes ago.”

Dominic’s eyes hardened.

“Blocked?”

“Partially. The preservation order stopped the deletion, but some directories are corrupted.”

“Source?”

“Internal administrative account.”

Pike.

Dominic did not say the name.

Lily did.

“Was it him?”

Dominic looked at her.

“We don’t know.”

“You think it was.”

“I think someone is scared of us checking.”

She hugged the rabbit.

“Good.”

Dominic blinked.

“Good?”

“If they’re scared, Mom was right.”

The words hit harder than he expected.

He stood.

“Mara, take two people you trust. No one from Pike’s team.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re going to nineteen.”

Evan looked at Lily.

“What about her?”

Dominic did not have an answer.

Lily did.

“I’m coming.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“You said nobody gets my rabbit.”

“That promise still applies.”

“The key is from the rabbit.”

“And I have the key.”

“You said you wouldn’t take him.”

“I didn’t take him. The key fell out.”

“That’s lawyer talk.”

Evan lowered his eyes.

Dominic exhaled.

“Lily, the nineteenth floor may not be safe.”

“Then why are you going?”

“Because I’m responsible for this building.”

“And I’m responsible for my mom.”

Dominic looked at Mara.

Mara gave him the smallest possible shrug.

He pointed at Lily.

“You stay beside Mara the entire time.”

“I can do that.”

“If she tells you to move, you move.”

“Okay.”

“If she tells you to leave, you leave.”

Lily frowned.

“Okay.”

“No wandering.”

“I don’t wander.”

“You took a train across the city alone.”

“That was traveling.”

Dominic closed his eyes for one second.

“Fine.”

The nineteenth floor had been mostly converted into legal storage and executive meeting rooms. The old archive corridor was hidden behind a wall of frosted glass installed during a renovation.

Dominic led them past rows of locked cabinets.

“Blue Room should be behind that partition.”

Evan stared.

“There’s no door.”

“There used to be.”

Mara ran a hand along the seam.

“Renovation plans?”

“Facilities can pull them.”

Lily looked at the wall.

“Seven nineteen.”

Dominic turned.

“What?”

She pointed.

A brushed steel plaque identified the current suite.

19-7.

Dominic stared at it.

Evan said, “Seven nineteen reversed.”

Dominic stepped closer to the plaque.

“No. My father used to label archive bays by aisle first, floor second.”

He reached behind the plate.

His fingers found a recessed key slot.

Mara immediately held up a hand.

“Wait.”

Dominic looked at her.

“Could be alarmed.”

“Check it.”

She scanned the frame with a small security device from her belt.

“No active circuit.”

Dominic inserted the brass key.

It turned.

The frosted glass panel released with a soft mechanical click.

Behind it was darkness.

Mara switched on a flashlight.

Dust floated in the beam.

The hidden room was smaller than Dominic remembered. Metal shelving lined the walls. Old ledger boxes sat in neat rows. A wooden desk occupied the center.

Lily whispered, “It smells old.”

“It is old,” Dominic said.

He stepped inside.

On the far wall hung a framed photograph.

Victor Moretti stood beside a much younger woman holding a newborn baby.

Dominic stopped.

The woman was Anna Carter.

The baby was Lily.

Someone had written a date on the bottom of the frame.

Six years earlier.

Dominic moved closer.

His father’s handwriting ran beneath the photo.

For A.C. — keep the truth where numbers cannot be bought.

Dominic’s chest tightened.

“Your mom knew my father.”

Lily came beside him.

“That’s Grandpa Vic.”

Dominic turned sharply.

“What did you call him?”

“Grandpa Vic.”

The room went silent.

Evan looked away.

Mara stared at Dominic.

Lily seemed confused by their reaction.

“That’s what Mom called him when she showed me pictures.”

Dominic crouched.

“Did you ever meet him?”

“I was little.”

“Do you remember?”

“A little. He gave me the rabbit.”

Dominic looked at the toy.

Victor had given Lily the rabbit.

The key had been sewn inside it.

A cold realization moved through him.

“Lily, did your mother ever explain why you called him Grandpa?”

“She said he was family in a complicated way.”

Dominic’s mouth went dry.

Before he could ask more, Mara’s phone vibrated.

She checked the screen.

“Security team at Ms. Carter’s apartment.”

Dominic stood.

“And?”

“They found the front door forced open.”

Lily went still.

Mara continued carefully.

“No one is inside.”

“Any sign of Anna?”

“Not yet.”

Lily’s eyes filled, but she did not cry.

“Where is my mom?”

Dominic looked at the photograph again.

He had spent three years believing he understood his father’s final months.

Now a hidden room contained a photograph of a woman Dominic barely knew and a child who called Victor Moretti grandpa.

He turned to Evan.

“Search every box.”

Evan nodded.

Mara said, “Sir, we should move Lily somewhere secure.”

Dominic looked at her.

“Agreed.”

Lily shook her head.

“No.”

Dominic crouched again.

“I know you’re scared.”

“I’m not.”

“You can be.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“You are not staying in a room someone tried to erase from the system.”

She clutched the rabbit.

“What if Mom comes here?”

Dominic paused.

“She might.”

“She told me not to talk about the blue room. That means she knows it.”

“Yes.”

“So she could come.”

“Yes.”

Lily stared at him.

“Then I stay.”

Dominic lowered his voice.

“I’m going to find her.”

“You promise?”

He thought about the danger of promising what he could not control.

Then he chose different words.

“I promise I will not stop looking.”

Lily nodded once.

Behind them, Evan pulled open the center drawer of Victor’s old desk.

Inside was a single red folder.

He lifted it carefully.

“Dominic.”

The label on the front was handwritten.

HELIX.

Dominic opened it.

The first page was a transaction map connecting Helix Holdings to twelve Moretti pension accounts, four offshore entities, and one private trust.

At the bottom, in Victor’s handwriting, were six words.

Do not let Dominic sign this.

Dominic read the line twice.

Then his phone rang.

Everett Pike.

Dominic answered.

“What?”

Pike’s voice was calm.

“The board is assembling early.”

“Why?”

“Because your lockdown has created panic.”

“Then calm them down.”

“I tried.”

A pause.

“They want the Helix vote in thirty minutes.”

Dominic looked at the red folder.

“Tell them I’ll be there.”

“You’re still supporting the acquisition?”

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Dominic stared at his father’s warning.

“No,” he said. “I’m going to find out why my dead father was terrified of it.”