CHAPTER 3 — "The CEO Saw an Old Photo on the Mechanic's Phone... Then Realized Someone Had Been Watching Her Daughter for Years"
The applause from the ballroom erupted again.
Another keynote had begun.
Somewhere upstairs, executives were celebrating record profits, billion-dollar forecasts, and another successful investor summit.
But down in the quiet maintenance corridor...
Nobody cared about money anymore.
Natalie couldn't stop looking at Daniel.
He had gone completely silent after Iris whispered Emma's name.
His weathered hands still shook.
The faded photograph lay on the concrete floor between them.
Daniel bent down slowly and picked it up as though it might shatter.
He stared at Emma's smiling face for several long seconds before slipping the picture carefully back into his wallet.
"I think..." he finally whispered, "...we should go somewhere else."
Natalie didn't argue.
Within minutes, hotel security confirmed Iris had simply wandered into the maintenance hallway through an unlocked service door.
No one had taken her.
No one had harmed her.
The hotel manager apologized repeatedly.
Natalie barely listened.
Her attention never left the quiet mechanic walking beside them.
Priya escorted them into a private conference room on the executive floor.
It was designed for billion-dollar negotiations.
Soundproof walls.
Dark walnut table.
Leather chairs.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Chicago River.
Today...
It became the strangest room in the building.
Hotel staff quietly placed coffee on the table before leaving.
The door clicked shut.
Silence settled over the room.
Daniel remained standing.
He looked uncomfortable in the elegant surroundings.
Grease stained his gray work shirt.
His work boots left faint dust marks on the polished carpet.
Natalie noticed.
She also noticed that he tried wiping them on the mat before entering.
"You don't have to stand," she said gently.
He hesitated.
Then sat at the edge of the chair as though afraid he didn't belong there.
Iris quietly climbed onto the chair beside him.
She didn't seem nervous anymore.
She simply looked at the butterfly charm dangling from his keyring.
"It makes you less lonely."
Daniel blinked.
"What does?"
"The butterfly."
He smiled sadly.
"Sometimes."
Natalie watched every expression on her daughter's face.
This wasn't the frightened child who hid behind her legs in grocery stores.
This Iris was different.
Peaceful.
As though something about Daniel made the invisible lock around her voice disappear.
Natalie folded her hands.
"I think we should start with introductions."
Daniel nodded.
"My name is Daniel Brooks."
"I'm the senior elevator mechanic for Langham Engineering Services."
"I've been assigned to this hotel for almost six years."
Natalie introduced herself.
"I'm Natalie Kessler."
"I know who you are."
She smiled politely.
"I assumed you might."
He shook his head.
"Not because you're famous."
"You come down here."
Natalie frowned.
"What?"
"You visit the service corridor every year during this conference."
She stared at him.
"I do?"
"You probably don't remember."
"The first year, you thanked every maintenance worker before leaving."
"The second year, you brought leftover desserts from the banquet."
"The third year..."
He smiled faintly.
"...your daughter handed me a sticker shaped like a turtle."
Natalie's eyes widened.
She looked toward Iris.
"You've met him before?"
Iris nodded once.
"Twice."
Natalie searched her memory.
Nothing.
The summit was always chaos.
Hundreds of people.
Thousands of conversations.
She couldn't remember every employee she passed.
But Iris...
She remembered.
Daniel reached into his wallet again.
This time, he pulled out something much smaller.
A tiny green turtle sticker.
The edges had faded with age.
"I kept it."
Natalie laughed softly through her tears.
"You've carried that all this time?"
Daniel looked embarrassed.
"My daughter used to collect stickers."
"When Iris gave me this..."
"...it reminded me of Emma."
The room grew quiet again.
Natalie carefully chose her next question.
"Can I ask how your wife died?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"It wasn't an accident."
Natalie's heart skipped.
"It wasn't?"
He slowly shook his head.
"Everyone thinks it was."
"It wasn't."
The air in the room suddenly felt colder.
"What happened?"
Daniel looked down at his hands.
"I don't know."
Natalie frowned.
"You just said—"
"I know she didn't fall."
His voice became firmer.
"Emma was terrified of heights."
"She never would have climbed onto that rooftop."
"The police called it suicide."
"I never believed them."
Natalie noticed Iris quietly listening.
She almost changed the subject.
Before she could...
Daniel's phone buzzed.
One message.
Unknown Number.
His expression instantly changed.
"What is it?" Natalie asked.
He didn't answer.
Instead...
He slowly turned the phone around.
On the screen was a single photograph.
It had obviously been taken only minutes ago.
Natalie felt the blood drain from her face.
It showed this very conference room.
Taken from outside the window.
Someone had photographed them while they were talking.
Below the image was one sentence.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT EMMA.
Another message arrived.
This one contained no picture.
Only six words.
YOUR DAUGHTER IS NEXT.
Natalie shot to her feet so fast her chair crashed onto the floor.
"Who sent that?"
Daniel whispered the only honest answer he had.
"I don't know."
Natalie grabbed the phone.
The sender's number was hidden.
No name.
No location.
Nothing.
She ran to the window.
Thirty floors below, Chicago traffic flowed normally.
Tourists walked along the river.
Boats crossed the water.
Thousands of ordinary people.
Any one of them...
...could have sent the message.
Daniel's voice became almost inaudible.
"This isn't the first one."
Natalie slowly turned around.
"What?"
"I've been receiving messages like these..."
"...for five years."
Silence.
Then Iris quietly climbed down from her chair.
She walked to the window.
Looked far across the street.
Toward the rooftop of an old brick office building.
She pointed.
"The man with the black umbrella..."
Natalie followed her finger.
A lone figure stood motionless on the rooftop despite the bright sunshine.
His face couldn't be seen.
Only the umbrella.
As if he knew they were watching...
The stranger slowly raised one gloved hand.
Not to wave.
Not to threaten.
Simply...
To tap the side of his wristwatch twice.
Then he turned around...
And disappeared behind the rooftop access door.
Daniel whispered, his face completely drained of color.
"Oh no..."
Natalie looked at him.
"You know who that is?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I've seen that umbrella before."
"Where?"
May you like
"The day Emma died."
END OF CHAPTER 3…
