Chapter 5 - The Wrong Room Wasn't A Mistake
They spent the next six hours reconstructing the night Khloe entered room 412.
The hotel records showed that room 414 was assigned to her.
Room 412 belonged to Dominic.
But the key coding had been changed manually.
Someone had entered the system at 2:17 a.m.
Using credentials belonging to Toby, the night manager.
Toby denied it.
Then security footage revealed someone had entered the back office while Toby was away.
A man wearing a black mask.
Khloe watched the video.
"That's him."
Dominic turned.
"You recognize him?"
"From the gala."
"Who?"
"One of the catering supervisors."
They found the man's car abandoned.
Inside was a photograph.
Khloe and Dominic.
Taken two weeks before the gala.
Someone had planned their meeting.
Dominic stared at it.
"Why bring you into my room?"
Khloe shook her head.
"I don't know."
He looked at her.
"You were never supposed to wake up beside me."
"Then why?"
"Because someone wanted us connected."
"For the murder."
"Yes."
"So they wanted me to become your alibi."
"Exactly."
Khloe felt sick.
"Then the police were supposed to find me."
"Yes."
"But why would they want that?"
Dominic looked at the ledger.
"Because if I were arrested, control of the company would shift."
"To whom?"
He looked at the name.
Adrian Castile.
Khloe understood.
"Your uncle."
Dominic nodded.
They traced the ownership structure.
Adrian had spent years creating shell companies that controlled pieces of the Castile empire.
If Dominic was convicted, Adrian would take temporary control.
But there was another beneficiary.
Elena.
Dominic's sister.
Khloe stared at the legal document.
"Why her?"
"Because she's vulnerable."
"Adrian could manipulate her."
"He's already tried."
Elena arrived that night.
She looked exhausted.
"I didn't know."
Dominic hugged her.
"I know."
She looked at Khloe.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I was the one who changed the room."
Silence.
Khloe stared.
"You?"
Elena cried.
"I was told it was to keep Dominic safe."
"Who told you?"
"Adrian."
Dominic stepped back.
"You helped him."
"I didn't know!"
"How could you not know?"
"He showed me documents."
"What documents?"
"Proof that Dominic killed Vincent."
Khloe frowned.
"Fake."
Elena nodded.
"I understand that now."
She gave Dominic an envelope.
Inside were photographs.
Dominic at the hotel.
Dominic's car near the crime scene.
Dominic's fingerprint on a weapon.
Khloe looked carefully.
"The weapon."
She pointed.
"That's not Dominic's."
Dante took the picture.
"How do you know?"
"Because the gun grip is different."
Dominic looked at her.
"How would you know that?"
Khloe shrugged.
"I've handled enough event-security equipment."
He almost smiled.
"Of course you have."
Then she noticed something else.
A reflection in a window.
A man.
A red tie.
"Wait."
She zoomed in.
"That's Toby."
Dante looked.
"That's not Toby."
"Yes, it is."
Dominic shook his head.
"No."
Khloe looked again.
"Then who is it?"
Elena whispered:
"Adrian."
He had disguised himself as hotel staff.
He had been there the entire night.
He had watched Khloe enter.
He had watched Dominic wake.
He had orchestrated everything.
They returned to the hotel.
Adrian was waiting.
He didn't run.
He sat at the bar.
Older.
Silver hair.
Cold eyes.
A glass of whiskey in his hand.
Dominic walked toward him.
"You killed Vincent."
Adrian smiled.
"Yes."
Khloe's breath caught.
"And my father?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Yes."
Dominic raised his gun.
"Why?"
Adrian laughed.
"Because your father thought he could expose me."
"Then why blame Roberto?"
"Because Roberto was easier to control."
Khloe stepped forward.
"You killed my mother."
Adrian's expression softened.
"Your mother was collateral."
Khloe slapped him.
The room went silent.
Dominic stared at her.
Adrian touched his cheek.
"You have your mother's temper."
"I have her courage."
For the first time, his smile disappeared.
Dominic stepped forward.
"You used Elena."
"Yes."
"You used Khloe."
"Yes."
"And you used my father."
Adrian shrugged.
"Your father always wanted to be a good man."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because I needed him to take the blame."
Police sirens sounded outside.
Adrian stood.
"You brought them?"
Dominic smiled.
"No."
He looked at Khloe.
"She did."
Adrian's face changed.
Khloe had quietly activated the emergency recorder beneath the table.
Every confession had been captured.
Adrian looked at the doors.
Police entered.
He was arrested.
As they took him away, he looked at Dominic.
"This isn't over."
Dominic answered calmly.
"It is."
Afterward, Khloe sat outside the hotel.
The sun was rising.
Dominic joined her.
"You saved me."
"You saved me first."
He sat beside her.
"There is something I need to tell you."
"What?"
"I don't want you to work for me anymore."
She stared.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want our relationship to be a contract."
Her heart skipped.
"We have a relationship?"
Dominic looked at her.
"Not yet."
He took a breath.
"But I want one."
Khloe stared.
"You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
"What do you know?"
"I know you walk into dangerous rooms when everyone else runs."
She smiled.
"I know you count when you're nervous."
He laughed softly.
"And I know you make me feel human."
Khloe looked down.
"What are you offering?"
He reached into his pocket.
Not a ring.
A simple key.
"Your own company."
She blinked.
"What?"
"I bought the event agency to protect you."
"You told me."
"I also bought a building."
Her eyes widened.
"Dominic."
"It's yours."
"I don't want a gift."
"Then consider it an investment."
"In what?"
He held her gaze.
"In the life you told me you wanted before all of this happened."
She remembered.
She had once told him she wanted to build an event company that specialized in charitable causes.
He had remembered.
"I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll build it."
May you like
Khloe smiled.
"I'll build it."
