Chapter 6 - The Night the Grand Crest Burned
The fire did not destroy the Grand Crest.
That was the first sign it had never been meant to.
The alarm sounded at 11:47 p.m.
Smoke filled the third floor.
Guests were evacuated.
Firefighters arrived within minutes.
But the flames were strangely contained to one service corridor.
No rooms.
No kitchens.
No major electrical systems.
It looked less like an accident and more like a message.
Mason stood outside while rain soaked his shirt.
Lily clung to Elena.
“Are we safe?”
Mason looked at her.
“Yes.”
But he knew better.
They weren't.
The note had mentioned Lily.
Someone had been watching them.
He turned to security.
“Lock down the property.”
Then his phone rang.
It was Rebecca.
“They know I talked.”
Mason answered.
“Where are you?”
“I'm still inside.”
“Get out.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because someone locked the service exit.”
Mason's blood ran cold.
He ran inside.
Firefighters shouted at him to leave.
Mason ignored them.
He followed the emergency route toward the service corridor.
Rebecca was trapped behind a metal door.
Mason found her coughing.
“Move!”
“I can't.”
The locking mechanism had been disabled.
Mason grabbed a fire extinguisher and smashed the panel.
The door opened.
Rebecca collapsed.
Mason pulled her out.
They reached the stairwell seconds before smoke consumed the hallway.
Outside, Rebecca looked at him.
“You came back.”
“You knew something.”
“I did.”
“What?”
She looked toward Lily.
“Victor isn't done.”
Mason followed her gaze.
“What did you do?”
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“I lied.”
“To me?”
“Yes.”
“What did you lie about?”
“The loan.”
“What loan?”
“It's not the bank.”
Mason stared.
“Then who?”
“Victor bought the debt.”
Mason froze.
Years earlier, the Grand Crest had taken a large commercial loan.
The loan had been sold twice through financial institutions.
Mason had never questioned it.
Rebecca had.
She told him Victor controlled the company holding the final debt.
“He can demand payment whenever he wants.”
Mason's face hardened.
“He's trying to seize the hotel.”
“Yes.”
“But he needs the hotel to default.”
“Yes.”
“And you're telling me the fire was meant to damage the property enough to cause an insurance and financial crisis.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Exactly.”
Mason looked at the building.
The Grand Crest stood in darkness behind them.
For years it had been a symbol of his family.
Now it was a battleground.
The next morning, Mason met with attorneys.
They discovered the debt had indeed been transferred.
But Victor had not purchased it directly.
He had used three shell companies.
That meant proving ownership would take time.
Victor moved faster.
At 8:15 a.m., Mason received a notice.
The lender was demanding immediate repayment.
Amount:
$18.4 million.
The deadline:
Seventy-two hours.
Mason stared.
Andrea shook her head.
“We don't have that kind of liquidity.”
Mason knew.
Even if he sold other investments, it would be nearly impossible.
Victor had finally moved.
That afternoon, a man arrived at the hotel.
Victor Kane.
He stepped out of a black SUV wearing a tailored navy suit.
He looked completely relaxed.
Mason met him outside.
“You could have called.”
Victor smiled.
“I prefer seeing people in person when they're about to lose something.”
Mason said nothing.
Victor looked at the hotel.
“She'll look beautiful renovated.”
“You're not getting it.”
Victor laughed.
“You still think this is a negotiation.”
“No.”
Mason stepped closer.
“You made one mistake.”
Victor's smile faded.
“What?”
“You assumed I would stay isolated.”
Victor looked at him.
“I know about the invoices.”
Victor shrugged.
“Accounting irregularities.”
“I know about Joanne.”
A flicker crossed Victor's face.
Mason saw it.
“You know her name?”
Victor stayed silent.
Mason continued.
“I know about Rebecca.”
Victor's smile returned.
“Rebecca is a liar.”
“She has records.”
“Records can disappear.”
“Not anymore.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“What did you do?”
“I sent copies to three attorneys, two investigators, and a journalist.”
For the first time, Victor looked angry.
Mason stepped closer.
“You wanted me scared.”
Victor said nothing.
“You wanted me desperate.”
Silence.
“You wanted me to sell.”
Victor's voice dropped.
“And what happens if you don't?”
Mason smiled.
“I fight.”
Victor leaned toward him.
“Then people get hurt.”
Mason's smile vanished.
“That's a threat.”
“No.”
Victor stepped back.
“It's a prediction.”
He returned to his SUV.
Mason watched him leave.
That evening, Lily approached Mason.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“Are you scared?”
Mason looked at her.
“Yes.”
She looked surprised.
“You are?”
“Of course.”
“Then why don't you run?”
Mason smiled.
“Because if the people doing this are afraid of me, I need to be more afraid of what happens if I stop.”
Lily thought about it.
“My mom would say that.”
Mason's smile softened.
“What else would she say?”
“She'd say good food takes patience.”
Mason laughed quietly.
“That sounds right.”
Lily handed him a notebook.
It was not Joanne's.
It was hers.
Inside were drawings and notes.
She had copied some of her mother's observations.
Mason flipped through it.
Then stopped.
One page contained a photograph.
A truck unloading boxes at the Grand Crest.
The date was three years ago.
Lily had circled one man.
Richard Hale.
Behind him stood someone else.
A younger man.
Mason recognized him.
Daniel Cross.
But there was something else in the picture.
A third man.
Victor Kane.
Mason stared.
Victor had personally visited the hotel during the theft.
And he wasn't supposed to have been anywhere near the property.
That photograph could change everything.
Mason called his attorney.
“We have a witness.”
“Who?”
Mason looked at Lily.
“A child.”
His attorney sighed.
“That's not enough.”
“It isn't just her.”
He looked at the photograph.
“It's proof Victor was there.”
But then Lily spoke.
“There is another picture.”
Mason looked at her.
“What picture?”
“My mom hid it.”
“Where?”
“She told me never to show anyone unless you believed her.”
Mason's heart pounded.
“Where is it?”
Lily pointed toward her backpack.
“Inside the teddy bear.”
Mason opened the bag.
There was a small stuffed bear inside.
He looked at Lily.
“Did you ever open it?”
She shook her head.
“My mom said it was important.”
Mason carefully opened the seam.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
He looked at Lily.
The girl whispered:
“What's on it?”
Mason didn't know.
But he knew one thing.
May you like
Someone had spent four years trying to hide the truth.
And Joanne Parker had secretly kept evidence that might bring them all down.
