Chapter Fifty-Four: The Attack

Room 412 was at the end of the hallway.

Sloane went first. Two of her team flanked the door. Adrian stood behind me. He hadn't said a word since we left the penthouse. He didn't need to.

Sloane knocked.

No answer.

She knocked again.

"Victor Hale. Open the door."

Silence.

She nodded to her team. They kicked the door open.

The room was empty.

Not empty like Julian's motel room. Empty like no one had ever been there. The bed was made. The towels were folded. The television was off. No luggage. No clothes. No phone. Nothing.

Sloane walked to the bathroom. She checked the closet. She checked the window. She checked everything.

"He's gone," she said.

"He was here," Felix said. He was standing in the doorway, holding his tablet. "The hotel records confirm it. Checked in three days ago. Checked out this morning."

"Where did he go?"

"We don't know. He paid in cash. No credit card. No phone."

I walked to the window. I looked out at the city. Victor had been here. He'd been watching. He'd been waiting. And then he'd disappeared.

"He knew we were coming," I said.

"Someone tipped him off," Adrian said.

"Julian."

"Or someone else."

I turned. I looked at him.

"Who else?"

He didn't answer. He didn't need to.

---

We went back to the penthouse.

Felix set up in the conference room. He pulled up the hotel records. He pulled up the security footage. He pulled up everything he could find.

Victor had checked in three days ago. He'd checked out this morning. He'd paid in cash. He'd used a fake name. He'd been careful. But he'd made one mistake.

He'd ordered room service.

The delivery driver had seen him. The delivery driver had recognized him. The delivery driver had called the front desk. The front desk had called the police.

The police had arrived twenty minutes after we left.

"Where is he now?" I asked.

"We don't know. He disappeared before they got there."

I sat down. I folded my hands on the table.

"He's working with Julian," I said. "He's been feeding him information. He's been helping him plan."

"Yes."

"And now he's gone."

"Yes."

I looked at Adrian. He looked at me.

"We need to find him," I said.

"We will."

"When?"

"Soon."

---

That afternoon, I found Daniel in the living room.

He was sitting on the couch. He was watching the news. The same story. The same headlines. He didn't look at me when I entered.

"You okay?" I asked.

"No."

I sat beside him.

"I keep thinking about what he'll do. Julian. When he realizes he's lost."

"He won't get the chance."

"You don't know that."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"I'm not going to let him touch you," I said.

"You can't promise that."

"I can."

He didn't respond. He just looked at me.

We sat there. The news played. The city hummed.

After a while, he said, "I'm glad you're my sister."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

He stood. He walked to his room. He closed the door.

I stayed on the couch. I didn't sleep. I didn't try to.

---

The next morning, I found Adrian in his office.

He was on the phone. He hung up when he saw me.

"Anything?" I asked.

"No. Victor is still missing. Julian is still missing."

"They're together."

"Probably."

I sat across from him. I folded my hands on his desk.

"We need to draw them out," I said.

"How?"

"We give them a target."

He looked at me. He didn't blink.

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"I know you're going to offer yourself as bait."

I didn't respond.

"No," he said again.

"It's the only way."

"It's not the only way. It's the most dangerous way."

"It's the fastest way."

He stood. He walked to the window. He didn't turn around.

"I'm not going to let you do this," he said.

"You don't get to decide."

He turned. He looked at me. His jaw was tight.

"I'm not going to let you do this," he said again.

"You don't get to decide," I said again.

We stared at each other. Neither of us spoke.

"Julian wants to hurt me," I said. "He wants to take something from me. He wants to make me suffer. The only way to stop him is to give him what he wants."

"And what does he want?"

"Me. Alone. Vulnerable. Away from you."

Adrian didn't respond. He just looked at me.

"I'm not going to let you do this," he said.

"Then help me do it safely."

He was quiet for a long time. Then he nodded.

"Fine," he said. "But we do it my way."

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed. I stared at the ceiling. The cracks hadn't changed. The shadows hadn't moved. The clock ticked.

I got up. I walked to the living room.

Adrian was already there.

He was sitting on the couch. He wasn't reading. He wasn't working. He was just sitting.

I sat beside him.

We didn't speak.

After a while, I said, "I'm not afraid."

"I know."

"I'm not going to let him win."

"I know."

He didn't reach for me. He didn't take my hand. He just sat there.

"Get some sleep," he said.

I didn't move. Neither did he.

---

The next morning, we put the plan in motion.

Felix leaked a story. A small one. Just enough to get Julian's attention. Elena Voss seen alone at a hotel downtown. No security. No Adrian Kane.

It was a lie. A trap. But Julian wouldn't know that.

He would come. He always did.

I checked into the hotel at noon. Room 817. Sloane and her team were in the room next door. Adrian was in the lobby. Felix was monitoring the cameras.

I sat on the bed. I waited.

An hour passed. Then two. Then three.

At six, the door opened.

Mira walked in.