CHAPTER 11 – Rachel Bennett Never Existed
Richard lowered the phone slowly.
The silence in the underground parking garage was suffocating.
Detective Laura Bennett noticed the change in his expression immediately.
"What did she say?"
Richard looked at her.
"She said Rachel Bennett isn't her real name."
Laura's eyes narrowed.
"That's impossible."
"She coordinated this wedding for over a year."
"She passed every background check."
Richard handed her the phone.
"Whoever called knew exactly what journal was stolen."
Within minutes, the entire hotel was placed on full lockdown.
Police officers searched every hallway.
Every guest room.
Every employee entrance.
Rachel Bennett had vanished.
So had the leather journal.
It was as if she had never been there.
In the hotel's security office, technicians hurriedly pulled up Rachel's personnel file.
One officer frowned.
"Something's wrong."
Laura walked over.
"What is it?"
"The employee database is empty."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..."
"...Rachel Bennett doesn't exist."
Her hiring records.
Payroll history.
Tax forms.
Emergency contacts.
Everything had disappeared.
Not deleted.
Replaced.
As if someone had rewritten the hotel's entire personnel system.
Richard's cybersecurity director entered the room carrying a laptop.
"Sir."
"I found traces of the intrusion."
"Can you recover the files?"
The man hesitated.
"No."
"Whoever did this..."
"...had administrator access."
Richard's expression darkened.
"Only executive-level credentials could do that."
The technician nodded.
"Exactly."
Someone with the highest level of authority had erased Rachel's identity.
Vivienne sat quietly in the corner.
Her hands rested protectively on her stomach.
Everything had happened so quickly.
Only hours earlier she had been accused of stealing a diamond ring.
Now she was caught in a mystery involving fake identities, hidden vaults, switched babies, and a man who had supposedly died twelve years ago.
She whispered to herself,
"What did Theodore discover?"
Dominic approached cautiously.
"Vivienne..."
She didn't look up.
"I know you don't want to hear from me."
"No."
"I don't."
He nodded.
"I deserve that."
"I failed you."
She remained silent.
"I can't change tonight."
"But I can help uncover the truth."
Vivienne finally met his eyes.
"For once..."
"...don't help me."
"Help your father."
Dominic frowned.
"My father?"
"The real Theodore."
"If he risked everything to expose this..."
"...find out why."
At that moment, Detective Bennett received a radio call.
"Detective."
"We found Rachel's vehicle."
"Where?"
"Employee parking."
"Was she inside?"
"No."
"But..."
The officer hesitated.
"You need to see this."
Five minutes later...
The group arrived at the parking area.
Rachel's white sedan sat alone.
Untouched.
Its doors were locked.
No signs of forced entry.
Forensic officers carefully opened the vehicle.
Inside...
Everything looked ordinary.
A handbag.
A coffee mug.
A spare pair of shoes.
Then one investigator noticed a false panel beneath the trunk floor.
He lifted it carefully.
Everyone leaned forward.
Hidden inside was a thick passport.
Richard frowned.
"That's not Rachel."
The photograph showed the same woman.
But under a different name.
Elizabeth Mercer.
Detective Bennett looked puzzled.
"Run the name."
The officer typed rapidly into his tablet.
Five seconds later...
His face went pale.
"Detective..."
"There is no Elizabeth Mercer either."
Samuel slowly shook his head.
"She's done this before."
Richard turned sharply.
"What do you mean?"
Samuel sighed.
"I've seen her."
"When?"
"Twelve years ago."
Everyone froze.
"At Theodore's funeral."
Richard stared at him.
"You never told me."
"I didn't recognize her until tonight."
Samuel closed his eyes.
"She wasn't crying."
"She wasn't mourning."
"She was searching."
"For what?" Vivienne asked.
Samuel answered without hesitation.
"For something Theodore hid before he disappeared."
Just then...
Richard's chief of security rushed into the garage.
"Sir!"
"We've recovered surveillance footage."
Richard looked hopeful.
"You found Rachel?"
The guard nodded.
"We found where she went."
He connected a tablet to the nearest monitor.
The video began.
Rachel calmly walked into the hotel's executive elevator.
She was carrying the stolen journal.
The elevator stopped...
Not at a guest floor.
Not at the lobby.
It continued below the parking garage.
To a level no one knew existed.
The screen displayed:
LEVEL B4
Detective Bennett frowned.
"Our garage only has three underground levels."
The hotel manager, who had just arrived, looked confused.
"No..."
"It doesn't."
Everyone turned toward him.
"What are you talking about?"
The manager swallowed hard.
"There is..."
"...one more level."
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"I ordered B4 sealed twenty years ago."
The manager nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"But someone reopened it."
The room fell silent.
Then the manager whispered the words no one expected to hear.
"According to the access logs..."
May you like
"B4 has been occupied..."
"...for the last twelve years."
