Chapter 2 - The Boy Who Heard the Truth
Roman did not arrest Trent.
That frightened Meera more than an immediate confrontation would have.
He simply told his guards to watch him.
No phones.
No outside calls.
No movement without permission.
Trent was escorted to a conference room while Roman stood in the private office, staring at the bulletproof glass overlooking the city.
Meera sat on a sofa with Evan asleep against her side.
She wanted to leave.
She also knew leaving might be the worst thing she could do.
Roman finally turned.
“Why did your son know there was smoke?”
Meera sighed.
“I don't know.”
“Has he always been like this?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“He started noticing machines when he was three.”
Roman frowned.
“Three?”
“He could tell when our apartment refrigerator was about to stop working. He'd put his ear against the wall and tell me the upstairs elevator sounded sick.”
Roman glanced at Evan.
“Who taught him?”
Meera gave a tired smile.
“No one.”
Then she hesitated.
“Actually… your maintenance supervisor.”
“Ortega?”
“Yes.”
Roman remembered Ortega.
A man who had worked for his father.
Reliable.
Quiet.
Dead six months earlier.
“What did Ortega teach him?”
“Basic safety. Motors. Electrical sounds. Emergency switches.”
Roman's gaze sharpened.
“Why?”
“Because Evan followed him everywhere.”
She lowered her voice.
“Ortega liked him.”
Roman sat opposite her.
“Did Ortega ever tell you anything about the hotel?”
Meera stiffened.
“Like what?”
“Anything suspicious.”
“No.”
The lie came too quickly.
Roman noticed.
“So there was.”
Meera looked down.
She had not meant to lie.
She was simply afraid.
Months before Ortega died, he had told her something strange.
He had found irregular changes in the hotel’s security infrastructure.
Cameras going offline.
Emergency circuits being modified.
Access badges duplicated.
He had told her to keep Evan away from the machinery.
Then he had disappeared from work.
Two days later, Meera learned he had died in a car accident.
At least, that was what everyone said.
She had never believed it.
She had kept the information from herself because she needed the job.
Now she understood why.
Roman watched her carefully.
“You know something.”
“I know my son needs his medication by five.”
Roman nodded toward Evan.
“What does he take?”
“An inhaler.”
Roman stood immediately.
“Get medical.”
Meera frowned.
“He's fine.”
“Then the doctor can tell me that.”
He pressed a button.
A private physician arrived within minutes.
Evan was checked.
He was safe.
Roman ordered food.
Meera stared at him.
“You don't need to do all this.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
Roman looked at Evan.
“Because he saved my life.”
Meera shook her head.
“He was scared.”
“Sometimes fear makes people run.”
Roman looked at her.
“Your son ran toward the danger.”
That sentence stayed with her.
Later that morning, Roman brought Meera into a secure conference room.
A large monitor displayed surveillance footage from the elevator shaft.
He paused on one frame.
A maintenance worker appeared beside the elevator two hours before the incident.
Face blurred.
Badge active.
Roman asked, “Do you recognize the uniform?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Maintenance.”
“Name?”
Meera studied the image.
Then shook her head.
“Not one of ours.”
Roman looked at his security chief.
“Zoom.”
The badge became visible.
BLACK CROWN MAINTENANCE.
But the number was wrong.
Meera remembered something Ortega used to say.
“Never trust a badge.”
Roman looked at her.
“Why did he say that?”
“He said machines can lie.”
Roman smiled faintly.
“Your son has been listening.”
Evan appeared in the doorway.
“I wasn't spying.”
Roman turned.
“Come here.”
Evan approached.
Roman placed a schematic on the table.
“This is the elevator.”
Evan studied it.
“You put the red part wrong.”
The engineer beside Roman frowned.
“What?”
“The brake is here.”
He pointed.
“That part wasn't damaged.”
Roman leaned closer.
“Which part was?”
Evan pointed again.
“The other one.”
The engineer looked.
Then went pale.
He checked the design.
Evan was right.
The sabotage team had tampered with a secondary stabilizer, not the main brake.
The main brake damage had been a distraction.
Roman sat back.
“Why?”
Evan shrugged.
“To make people look at the wrong thing.”
Roman stared at the child.
Then he looked at the engineer.
“Search for a secondary trigger.”
Three minutes later, they found one.
The elevator had been programmed to activate another mechanism when it reached the forty-third floor.
It wasn't designed simply to kill Roman.
It was designed to make the death look like mechanical failure.
Roman looked at Meera.
“If your son had not stopped the car…”
“He'd have died.”
“Yes.”
Meera looked away.
Roman's voice softened.
“He almost killed someone.”
Meera turned.
“What?”
“The people who did this expected everyone inside that elevator to die.”
He pointed to the screen.
“There were three passengers.”
His security chief swallowed.
“Your men could have died.”
Roman stared at him.
“They were supposed to.”
That changed everything.
The betrayal was not only against Roman.
It involved his own guards.
He ordered the entire security department suspended pending investigation.
Trent remained in custody.
Then another problem surfaced.
A shipment of casino money scheduled for the morning was missing.
The vault logs showed Roman's signature.
He had never signed them.
Someone had cloned his biometric access.
His financial director was found dead in his office.
The message on the wall read:
THE KINGDOM DOESN'T BELONG TO THE KING.
Roman looked at the words.
Then at Meera.
“Take Evan upstairs.”
She refused.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because every time he is near you, someone tries to kill you.”
Roman almost smiled.
“That makes two of us.”
Before she could answer, Evan tugged her sleeve.
“Mommy.”
“What?”
“I know the man.”
Roman looked at him.
“What man?”
“The one in the picture.”
“What picture?”
Evan pointed to Roman's desk.
A framed photograph showed Roman with his father and three senior executives.
He pointed to one man.
“That one.”
Roman stared.
Victor Shaw.
His chief legal adviser.
Evan said:
“He was in the hallway.”
Roman froze.
“When?”
“Before the elevator.”
“What was he doing?”
“Talking to Trent.”
Roman took the photograph.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Evan closed his eyes.
“He said the little boy is the only problem.”
Silence filled the room.
Roman picked up the phone.
“Bring Victor Shaw here.”
His security chief hesitated.
“Sir?”
“Now.”
Ten minutes later, Victor entered.
He smiled calmly.
“Roman.”
Roman held up the photograph.
“My six-year-old says he saw you talking to Trent.”
Victor looked at Evan.
Then smiled.
“Children misunderstand adult conversations.”
Roman's eyes hardened.
“What did you say?”
Victor chuckled.
“Nothing important.”
Roman stepped closer.
“I'll decide that.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
The two men stared at one another.
Then Roman said something that made Meera’s blood run cold.
“Tell me why my own legal adviser was discussing my death with my night manager.”
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Evan.
Then at Meera.
And finally at Roman.
“Because, Roman, the boy shouldn't have touched that button.”
Roman reached under the table.
He pulled out a gun.
Victor raised his hands.
“I didn't mean—”
“I know exactly what you meant.”
Roman leaned forward.
“And now you're going to tell me how many people are involved.”
Victor smiled again.
“There is one problem.”
“What?”
“You're already surrounded.”
The lights went out.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Roman pushed Meera and Evan beneath the conference table.
May you like
Then he fired toward the doorway.
The battle had begun.
