Chapter 3 - The Men Behind the Black Crown
The gunfire lasted less than a minute.
But in that minute, Roman Black's empire changed forever.
The conference room doors splintered.
Roman fired twice.
His remaining loyal guard returned fire.
Meera covered Evan’s head.
Victor disappeared through a side exit.
Roman noticed.
“Victor!”
No answer.
He followed.
The corridor was empty.
A security monitor showed six armed men moving through the casino.
Not outsiders.
Security uniforms.
Roman's expression hardened.
“That's impossible.”
Meera crawled out from under the table.
“What's wrong?”
“My security team.”
“You said they were under investigation.”
“These men were cleared months ago.”
Evan whispered, “They're pretending.”
Roman looked at him.
“Pretending to be what?”
“Your men.”
Roman stared.
Then he understood.
Fake uniforms.
Duplicated badges.
Someone had infiltrated his security team long before the elevator attack.
The plan had been prepared for months.
Maybe years.
Roman led Meera and Evan through a private tunnel.
At the end was an armored room hidden behind a wine display.
Roman locked the door.
Meera looked at him.
“You have a bunker under a casino?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you do.”
He almost smiled.
Evan walked toward the wall.
He placed his ear against it.
Roman frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Listening.”
“For what?”
“People.”
Roman waited.
Evan pointed.
“Three.”
Roman pressed the hidden intercom.
“Who?”
No answer.
Then footsteps sounded from the other side.
Roman drew his weapon.
The hidden wall opened.
A woman stepped through.
She was carrying a medical case.
Roman lowered his gun.
“Dr. Lena.”
She stared at Evan.
“Is that Meera's son?”
“Yes.”
The doctor took his hand.
“Ortega told me about him.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
“What exactly did Ortega tell you?”
Lena looked nervous.
“He said the boy could detect resonance changes.”
Roman looked confused.
“Meaning?”
“He hears machinery differently.”
She hesitated.
“And Ortega believed someone had been using those sounds to hide activities inside the hotel.”
Meera remembered the old conversations.
“Hide what?”
“Secret rooms.”
Roman stared.
“There are no secret rooms.”
Lena smiled sadly.
“That's what Ortega believed too.”
Until he found one.
She opened her medical case.
Inside was an old key.
“It came from Ortega.”
Roman recognized it.
His father used to carry one exactly like it.
“What does it open?”
“We never found out.”
Evan looked at the key.
“That's for the loud door.”
Roman glanced at him.
“What loud door?”
“Under the casino.”
They all looked at one another.
Lena asked, “How would he know?”
Meera answered softly.
“He's been hearing the floor vibration.”
Roman took the key.
“Take us there.”
They moved through the basement.
The further they went, the colder it became.
At the end of a storage corridor, they found a steel door.
Roman inserted the key.
Nothing happened.
Evan frowned.
“Wrong way.”
He pointed to a pipe.
“Turn that.”
Roman did.
A hidden lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was an underground operations room.
Servers.
Maps.
Banking records.
Photographs.
A wall of names.
Roman stood frozen.
Someone had been tracking every person inside the Black Crown.
Employees.
Drivers.
Guards.
Guests.
And one file was enormous.
ROMAN BLACK.
Another was marked MEERA COLLINS.
Meera stepped back.
“Why am I here?”
Roman opened it.
Inside were her employment records.
Her son's birth certificate.
Medical information.
Apartment records.
School applications.
Photos of her walking Evan to daycare.
Someone had been watching them for years.
Then Roman found something else.
A photograph of Ortega.
Alive.
Taken three months after his supposed death.
Meera covered her mouth.
“He's alive.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
A video file appeared.
They played it.
Ortega looked older.
Bruised.
“Roman, if you find this, don't trust Victor.”
The recording continued.
“I couldn't warn you directly. They were monitoring everything.”
He glanced behind him.
“The elevator isn't the target. It's the test.”
Roman leaned closer.
“What test?”
Ortega whispered.
“They need to know how quickly the system can isolate you.”
The video ended.
Meera looked at Roman.
“Why?”
“Because they're preparing something bigger.”
Evan pointed at a map.
“There.”
Roman followed his finger.
A red circle surrounded a private event hall.
“What is that?”
“Your party.”
Roman's face changed.
His birthday gala was scheduled for that evening.
Hundreds of guests.
Politicians.
Celebrities.
Business partners.
Family.
The perfect place for a public assassination.
Lena asked, “What will happen?”
Roman stared at the map.
“They want me surrounded by witnesses.”
Meera understood.
“And if you die there…”
“Chaos.”
Victor would seize control.
The hotel would lose leadership.
His enemies would attack.
His legitimate businesses would collapse.
And the criminals beneath the Black Crown would begin fighting over the empire.
Roman turned to Evan.
“You saved my life once.”
Evan shook his head.
“I was scared.”
“Maybe.”
Roman crouched.
“But you were right.”
He put a hand on Evan's shoulder.
“I need you to do something difficult.”
Meera immediately stepped between them.
“No.”
Roman looked at her.
“He won't be in danger.”
“He is six.”
“I know.”
“Then don't involve him.”
Roman nodded.
“You're right.”
He stood.
“We won't.”
Then Evan interrupted.
“I can help without going there.”
Roman looked down.
“How?”
Evan pointed at the map.
“The red place has a bad sound.”
Roman's heart skipped.
“What sound?”
“A hum.”
“Electrical?”
“Yes.”
“From where?”
Evan pointed toward the underground room.
“Like the elevator.”
Roman and Meera exchanged a glance.
A hidden explosive system.
The gala wasn't merely an assassination.
It was designed to trigger an electrical failure.
Fire.
Panic.
Chaos.
Roman immediately canceled the gala.
Then his phone rang.
Victor.
Roman answered.
“Roman.”
“Where are you?”
“Watching.”
“Watching what?”
“Your city burn.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
“What did you do?”
Victor laughed.
“You should ask your mother.”
Roman went still.
“My mother is dead.”
“No.”
Victor's laughter disappeared.
“She isn't.”
The line ended.
Roman looked at Meera.
“What did he mean?”
She didn't know.
Then Evan spoke.
“There is a lady in the picture.”
“What picture?”
“The one in the secret room.”
Roman turned.
A photograph hung on the wall.
A woman stood beside Roman's father.
Roman stared.
He recognized her.
His aunt.
The only woman his father had supposedly disowned.
She had been declared dead sixteen years ago.
Her name was Evelyn Black.
Roman whispered:
May you like
“My aunt is alive.”
And suddenly the conspiracy became much bigger than a stolen elevator.
