Chapter 9 - SOMEBODY GAVE HER THE ROOM
I called hotel security.
Then the police.
Daniel wanted to call his mother.
I stopped him.
“No more private family conversations.”
“She’s my mom.”
“And Camila is your daughter.”
That shut him down.
Police arrived twelve minutes later.
Carmen did not.
But someone had called the front desk pretending to be me and asked for the room number.
The clerk refused.
Then a second caller claimed to be Daniel’s wife.
The clerk refused again.
So how did Carmen know?
Valeria looked at Daniel.
“Did you share your location?”
His expression changed.
He checked his phone.
Family sharing.
Enabled.
Carmen had access.
He turned it off.
I wanted to scream, but I was too tired.
Officer Greene took our statements and photographed the forged documents.
When I explained the credit line, he said, “You need an attorney first thing in the morning.”
“I already have one.”
I called Lena Ortiz, an old college friend who now practiced family law.
She answered at 1:12 a.m.
I gave her the shortest version.
There was silence.
Then she said, “Do not go home.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Do not let Daniel take Camila anywhere alone.”
Daniel heard that.
His face tightened.
Lena continued.
“Tomorrow we file for emergency temporary orders. We document the neglect, the fraud, and the attempted custody setup.”
I closed my eyes.
“Lena, I don’t want a war.”
“You’re already in one.”
At 2:00 a.m., Camila finally fell asleep again.
Valeria sat by the window.
Daniel stared at the carpet.
Then he said, “There’s something else.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“My mom has a key to your office.”
My heart stopped.
“What office?”
“Your locked cabinet at work.”
“No one has that key.”
He swallowed.
“I gave her mine.”
I stood so quickly the chair tipped over.
“What did she take?”
He whispered, “I don’t know.”
Then my company security system sent an alert.
May you like
MOTION DETECTED — EXECUTIVE FLOOR.
At 2:07 in the morning.
