Chapter 5 - THE GHOST IN MY OFFICE
The security feed stayed black for eleven seconds.
Eleven seconds was long enough for everyone in the conference room to stop breathing.
Then the image returned.
The rear hallway was empty.
The two men in Mercer jackets were gone.
So was Owen Price.
The only thing left on the floor was the pry bar.
Jonah stared at the monitor.
“What just happened?”
Luis switched between cameras.
“Rear camera is offline.
Loading dock camera is offline.
Lobby feed is still up.”
Maya leaned closer.
“Did Owen shut them off?”
“Someone did.”
My phone was still connected to Richard.
He had heard enough to understand.
“Elena,” he said quietly.
“Was that Owen?”
“Yes.”
Richard cursed under his breath.
It was the first time I had ever heard him use that word.
“What does he want?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I cannot.”
“Then you are less useful than you think.”
“Elena, if he is in your building, leave.”
“I am not there.”
A pause.
“Where are you?”
“I already told you I am not answering that.”
Richard exhaled.
“Call me if Owen contacts you.”
“No.”
“Elena—”
“You spent years protecting Daniel from consequences.
You do not get to position yourself as my emergency contact now.”
I ended the call.
For the first time that morning, my hands shook.
Not because Owen was alive.
Because he had been inside my office before Daniel’s men arrived.
That meant he knew where I worked.
It meant he had likely been watching.
And it meant he had chosen to intervene.
I did not know whether that made him an ally or simply another dangerous man with his own agenda.
Claire called the city police and gave them the live-feed details.
Within minutes, officers were dispatched to Bennett Signature Events.
The private security supervisor, Aaron Blake, stood.
“Nobody from this room goes to that building until police clear it.”
I hated being told what to do.
I hated even more that he was right.
Luis began restoring the cameras remotely.
Jonah paced.
Maya watched me.
“What?” I asked.
“You are thinking about going there anyway.”
“No.”
“You are a terrible liar when you are angry.”
“I am not going.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Fine.
I was considering it.”
“Thank you.”
My phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed the black duffel bag the intruders had carried.
Inside were latex gloves, a small hard drive, two screwdrivers, and a plastic bottle.
The label on the bottle read ACCELERANT SOLVENT.
My stomach dropped.
A second message appeared.
THEY WERE NOT THERE TO STEAL FILES.
A third.
THEY WERE THERE TO BURN YOUR OFFICE.
Maya read over my shoulder and went pale.
Claire’s voice came through the speaker.
“Send that to me now.”
I did.
Then I typed a response.
WHERE ARE YOU?
Owen answered.
SAFE FOR THE MOMENT.
WHY WERE YOU IN MY OFFICE?
This time he took longer.
I PUT SOMETHING THERE TWO WEEKS AGO.
My skin prickled.
WHAT?
PROOF.
WHERE?
NO.
I stared at the single word.
“No?” Maya said.
I typed again.
IF YOU WANT MY HELP, YOU NEED TO STOP PLAYING GAMES.
His reply came immediately.
I DO NOT WANT YOUR HELP.
I WANT YOU ALIVE LONG ENOUGH TO USE WHAT I LEFT.
I sat back.
That sentence disturbed me more than the threat about the fire.
“What did he leave?” Jonah asked.
“I do not know.”
Claire spoke sharply.
“And you are not searching the office yourself.”
“I know.”
“Police first.”
“I know.”
Maya smiled faintly.
“She loves hearing that.”
“I heard you,” Claire said.
Twenty minutes later, police called Jonah.
The building was secure.
The two intruders had fled through the loading area.
No fire had started.
The pry bar and a dropped glove were collected as evidence.
The duffel bag in Owen’s photograph was not found.
Neither was Owen.
The rear camera cable had been physically disconnected.
No damage was done beyond the service door and the lock on my office.
Aaron drove us there in two vehicles.
When I entered Bennett Signature Events, the familiar lobby looked wrong.
Not damaged.
Violated.
My reception desk was untouched.
The framed photographs from past events still lined the wall.
A photograph of a charity gala I had organized three years earlier showed Daniel standing beside me in a tuxedo, smiling proudly.
I stopped in front of it.
Maya followed my gaze.
“Want me to take it down?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to remember how convincing he was.”
We moved toward my office.
The door frame was scarred where the pry bar had hit it.
Police had already photographed everything.
An officer named Chen stood beside the desk.
“Ms. Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“We searched the room for obvious suspicious devices or packages.
Nothing unusual.”
I looked around.
Owen said he had hidden proof here two weeks earlier.
If the police had not found it, either he had hidden it well or he was lying.
“May I look around?”
“Do not touch anything we marked, but yes.”
I walked slowly.
My office was neat because I needed it to be.
Bookshelves.
A low cabinet.
Samples from past events.
A framed photograph of my parents.
A brass model of a vintage hotel key.
A ceramic bowl full of business cards.
Nothing looked different.
Then I saw the plant.
A tall fiddle-leaf fig stood near the window.
I had owned it for two years.
I also knew something Jonah did not.
It had died six months ago.
I had replaced it with an artificial one because I kept forgetting to water the real thing.
Now the soil around the trunk looked disturbed.
Artificial plants did not need soil.
I pointed.
“That.”
Officer Chen approached.
“What about it?”
“The soil has been moved.”
“Do you keep anything in the pot?”
“No.”
He put on gloves and carefully removed the decorative moss.
Two inches beneath it was a sealed plastic pouch.
Inside the pouch was a small metal key.
Nothing else.
Maya groaned.
“A key to what?”
I looked at the key.
No label.
No obvious brand.
Just a number stamped into the metal.
417.
Officer Chen photographed it in place before removing it.
I sent a picture to Claire.
Then my phone buzzed.
Owen.
YOU FOUND IT.
I typed back.
WHAT DOES 417 OPEN?
He answered.
THE PLACE DANIEL FORGOT TO SEARCH.
WHERE?
No response.
I waited.
Nothing.
Then a new number called.
I almost ignored it.
Claire said, “Answer on speaker.”
I did.
“Elena Bennett?” a woman asked.
“Yes.”
“My name is Rebecca Price.”
Every person in the room went still.
I looked at Maya.
Owen’s wife.
“I think you know who I am,” she said.
“I do.”
Her voice was tense.
“I need you to stop contacting my husband.”
I blinked.
“I did not contact him first.”
“That does not matter.”
“Rebecca, he was inside my office this morning.”
Silence.
Then she whispered, “What?”
“He stopped two men from breaking in.”
Another silence.
When Rebecca spoke again, her voice had changed.
“My husband has not been inside this state for almost two years.”
I stared at the phone.
“I saw him on camera.”
“No.”
“I know what he looks like.”
“You saw someone who wanted you to think he was Owen.”
Maya mouthed, What?
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Rebecca, where is your husband?”
Her breathing became uneven.
“I cannot tell you.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Did he send me emails?”
“I do not know.”
“Did he hide a key in my office?”
“What key?”
I looked at the metal tag.
“Number 417.”
Rebecca gasped.
It was small, but I heard it.
“You know what it opens.”
“No.”
“You reacted.”
“I have to go.”
“Rebecca.”
“Listen to me.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“If you have that key, do not let Daniel see it.”
“I was not planning to.”
“And do not let Richard see it either.”
“Why?”
The line crackled.
May you like
Then she said, “Because locker 417 contains the reason Owen disappeared.”
The call ended.
