Chapter 2 - THE ELEVATOR THAT DIDN’T EXIST
Megan did not explain. She reached beneath Blake’s credenza, pressed
a hidden switch, and a narrow panel in the wall clicked open. Behind
it was a service corridor Emily had never seen during twelve years
of working around Summit’s offices. It smelled of dust, old wiring,
and hot metal from the building’s mechanical system.
“Move.” Emily crawled through the opening just as fists struck the
office doors.
“Police!” Megan closed the panel behind them.
The corridor was barely wide enough for two people. Emergency bulbs
glowed every twenty feet, painting Megan’s frightened face in weak
amber light. Emily could hear officers entering Blake’s office on
the other side of the wall.
“How do you know this is here?” Emily whispered. “I found it when
they renovated the floor. Blake uses it when he doesn’t want
security cameras showing who visits him.”
Megan moved quickly toward a steel stairwell. Emily followed,
clutching her phone.
“What did you mean about Evelyn?” Megan stopped on the landing and
looked at her.
“I mean the twenty-eight million is real.” Emily felt her stomach
drop.
“The theft?” “The money.” Megan swallowed. “Not the story about
you.”
Below them, a radio crackled. Officers were already spreading
through the floor. Megan continued downward.
“For the past year, I’ve handled Blake’s private calendar. Meetings
that never appear on the company system. Howard Bennett. Two
procurement consultants. A man from the municipal bond office. And
Evelyn.”
Emily’s mind raced. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I tried to understand what I was seeing first. Then my brother lost
his job at one of Summit’s subcontractors two days after I copied a
suspicious invoice. Someone sent me photographs of him taking his
daughter to school.”
Emily stopped. Megan looked ashamed.
“I got scared.” “That’s not shameful.”
“It felt shameful when I watched what Blake did to you.” The words
landed harder than Emily expected.
She had spent weeks believing no one inside Summit remembered who
she had been. Now she understood that at least one person had been
watching.
They reached the thirty-seventh floor and entered a dark conference
room through another service door. From there, Megan led Emily into
a freight elevator that required a maintenance key.
“Your cleaning badge opens this?” Emily asked. Megan gave a
humorless smile. “That was Blake’s mistake. He wanted you to have
access to too many places.”
The elevator descended. Emily checked her phone. The recording was
twenty-two minutes long.
“Send it somewhere,” Megan said. “Not your email.” Emily thought of
her college friend, Daniel Reyes, now a criminal defense attorney in
Queens. They had not spoken in nearly a year, mostly because Emily
had withdrawn from everyone as her marriage deteriorated.
She uploaded the recording to a cloud folder and sent Daniel a
message. IF I AM ARRESTED TONIGHT, OPEN THIS. DO NOT CALL BLAKE.
Her phone buzzed almost immediately. WHERE ARE YOU?
Emily typed: SUMMIT. POLICE HERE. Three dots appeared.
LEAVE THE BUILDING. I’M COMING. The freight elevator stopped on
level B3.
Megan pushed a laundry cart into the doorway before the doors fully
opened. “If security sees us, you’re helping me move supplies.”
Emily almost laughed at the absurdity. Then she noticed Megan’s
hands shaking.
They crossed the basement toward a loading dock, but before they
reached the exit, two uniformed officers turned the corner.
“Emily Carter?” Every muscle in Emily’s body locked.
Megan stepped in front of her. “She’s with me.”
One officer raised a hand. “Ma’am, step aside.” Emily forced herself
to breathe.
“I’m Emily Carter.” “We need to ask you some questions regarding
missing company documents.”
“Am I under arrest?” “Not at this moment.”
The wording frightened her more than a yes. The second officer
glanced at a tablet.
“We also have a report of a large suspicious transfer made into an
account under your name.” Emily closed her eyes for half a second.
Blake had done it. Two and a half million dollars.
“Officer,” she said carefully, “my husband made that transfer to
frame me.” The first officer’s expression changed only slightly.
“Your husband?” “Blake Mercer. CEO of this company.”
Megan spoke. “She has a recording.” Emily looked at her.
Megan had said it too fast. The officers exchanged a glance.
Then a black sedan accelerated down the garage ramp. It braked hard
twenty feet away.
Daniel Reyes stepped out before the engine stopped. He wore jeans, a
wrinkled white shirt, and a dark coat thrown over one shoulder.
“Do not ask my client another question.” Emily had never been so
relieved to see anyone.
Daniel crossed the concrete floor with the focused anger of a man
already preparing for court. “Is she detained?”
The officer hesitated. “We’re conducting an inquiry.” “Then she’s
leaving.”
“We have probable cause to—” “You have a complaint from her
estranged husband, a suspicious transfer she claims he initiated,
and apparently evidence she says was planted. If you want to detain
her, say the words and I’ll start recording the exact time.”
The officer’s jaw tightened. Megan looked at Emily with new hope.
Then Blake’s voice echoed across the garage. “There she is.”
He approached with Howard and two security guards. His performance
was almost perfect: concern in his eyes, controlled urgency in his
steps.
“Emily, what have you done?” Daniel turned.
“You should stop talking.” Blake ignored him.
“Officers, we found confidential folders in a supply cart assigned
to her.” Emily stared at him.
Blake looked devastated for the police. For her, there was only a
tiny flash of triumph.
Then Megan stepped forward. “That cart isn’t assigned to Emily.”
Everyone looked at her. Megan lifted her badge.
“It’s mine.” Blake’s face changed.
Just for a second. But Emily saw it.
Megan continued. “And the folders were not there when I brought the
cart downstairs twenty minutes ago.” Howard shifted his weight.
The first officer looked between them. Daniel held out his hand
toward Emily without taking his eyes off Blake.
“Phone.” Emily gave it to him.
He opened the recording. Blake heard his own voice say, I’ve spent
months practicing Emily’s signature.
The garage became silent. Howard’s face drained of color.
Blake moved toward the phone. Daniel stepped back.
“Don’t.” The officer raised a hand between them.
“Mr. Mercer, stay where you are.” For the first time since Emily had
been thrown out of her home, Blake looked uncertain.
Then every light in the garage went out. A woman screamed.
A heavy impact sounded near the security desk. Emergency lights
flickered red.
By the time the backup system came on, Howard Bennett was gone. So
was Megan’s laptop bag.
Blake stared toward the exit. Emily saw fear in his face now, and it
was not fear of the police.
May you like
His phone buzzed. He read the message.
Then he looked at Emily. “My mother knows,” he whispered.
