Chapter 2 - A Key That Still Worked
The private elevator opened onto a quiet floor with windows facing the mountains.
I knew every turn of that corridor, every painting, and every gentle creak in its polished oak floor.
Thomas had once argued for carpeting, and I had told him that a building ought to sound alive.
Eleven years later the floor still answered my footsteps.
Marcus opened the doors to our old residence.
Fresh pine branches decorated the mantel, and a vase of white roses stood on the table where Thomas used to spread construction drawings.
"We kept the apartment maintained," Marcus said. "But nothing personal was disturbed."
I stood motionless in front of the mantel clock.
It had stopped at 4:17, the time Thomas died, because I had removed its batteries the evening of his funeral.
Lily squeezed my hand. "Grandma, are you sad?"
"A little. Being here also makes me happy."
Daniel hovered at the threshold as though crossing it required permission he had never considered needing.
Madison entered first and immediately inspected the artwork.
"You could have told us," she said.
"You could have asked how your father and I lived," I answered Daniel.
"I thought he sold his businesses years ago."
"He sold some. He kept the ones we built together."
We ordered hot chocolate for Lily and tea for the adults.
While a staff member arranged the tray, Marcus discreetly handed me an envelope.
"This arrived yesterday. I intended to courier it after Christmas."
The return address belonged to the accounting firm that handled the lodge's ownership records.
Inside were preliminary notes concerning a payment made through a vendor Daniel's consulting company had recommended.
I read the first line twice.
The vendor's legal name was Summit Hospitality Partners.
The second line showed an authorization submitted with a digital signature resembling mine.
I had never signed it.
"Marcus," I said, "who approved this?"
"That's what our auditors are asking."
Madison's teacup rattled against its saucer.
Daniel looked at her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said too quickly.
I placed the document face down, but not before I saw the transfer amount.
Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Mrs. Caldwell, the person who accessed the authorization portal also accessed the reservation system."
Outside the windows, snow began falling harder.
May you like
Inside, the first crack appeared in the story my son and his wife had brought to Aspen.
