Chapter 7: What did you see
1490 Words
“A she ?”
Luca stared at Daniel.
Daniel nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
Aria's heart began pounding.
Luca picked up the photograph again.
“Who is she?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Then why are you telling me about her?”
“she was inside Room 801 before Miss Bennett arrived.”
Aria's eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.”
Both men looked at her.
She immediately realized she'd spoken too quickly.
Luca's gaze sharpened.
“Why is it impossible?”
Aria swallowed.
“Because when I entered the room, there was no woman there.”
Daniel opened the file.
“Exactly.”
He placed another photograph on the desk.
It showed the hotel corridor.
A woman in a long coat was walking toward the elevator.
“Security footage shows her entering your room at 1:42 AM.”
Luca looked at the timestamp.
“And Aria?”
“1:58 AM.”
Luca's eyes moved toward Aria.
“You entered sixteen minutes later.”
“What did you see?”
She thought back to that night.
The dark room.
The open door.
Luca lying on the floor.
Two wine glasses sitting on the table.
And—
Her eyes widened.
“A shoe.”
Luca frowned.
“There was a woman's shoe.”
Daniel stopped turning the pages.
“A shoe?”
“Yes.”
Aria looked at Luca.
“Near the sofa. I thought someone had forgot it behind.”
“Why didn't you mention this before?”
“I didn't know it was important.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“What else did you see?”
“Two wine glasses.”
“Two?”
“Yes.”
“Were they empty?”
“One was almost empty. The other still had some wine.”
Daniel quickly wrote something down.
Luca's face became colder.
“Anything else?”
Aria shook her head.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes sir.”
“You didn't see the woman?”
“No.”
“Then where did she go?”
“I don't know.”
Luca stared at her.
Aria held his gaze.
For once, she wasn't lying.
She really didn't know.
Daniel closed the file.
“Sir, There's something strange about the footage.”
Luca looked at him.
“What?”
“The woman enters Room 801 at 1:42.”
“She doesn't appear on any camera after that.”
Luca's eyebrows pulled together.
“What do you mean?”
“She doesn't leave through the main corridor.”
“Maybe she used another exit.”
“We checked.”
Daniel opened another document.
“Service elevator. Stairwell. Parking garage. Lobby. Nothing.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“So you're telling me she entered my room…And disappeared?”
“Yes.”
Luca looked toward Aria.
“And sixteen minutes later, Miss Bennett walks in.”
Aria folded her arms.
“I swear I didn't know anyone had been there.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Yet you saw the glasses and shoe.”
“I simply told you what I saw.”
“You also took my belongings.”
Aria's expression changed.
Luca stared at her.
“You seem very certain.”
“Because I didn't know that woman.”
Daniel glanced between them.
“Sir, there's more.”
Luca turned.
“The wine glasses were tested.”
“And?”
“One contained traces of the same substance found in your bloodstream.”
The room went silent.
Aria's stomach twisted.
Luca's expression hardened.
“Drugged wine.”
“Yes.”
“Both glasses?”
“No. Only one.”
Luca looked at Aria.
“Which one?”
“The glass believed to have been used by you.”
Aria's heart raced.
She remembered that glass.
It had been closer to the edge of the table.
She had assumed the woman had simply been drinking with Luca.
Now everything looked different.
Luca walked toward the window.
“Why would someone drug me?”
Daniel remained silent.
“That woman came into my room with a plan.”
“She gave me the drug.”
“Most likely.”
“Then she left before Aria arrived.”
“Yes.”
Luca turned.
“Which means Aria wasn't responsible for what happened to me.”
Aria blinked.
She hadn't expected him to say that.
Daniel nodded.
“That appears to be the case.”
Luca's eyes moved to her.
“But she stole from me afterward.”
Aria's face warmed.
“I needed the money.”
“You stole my family heirloom.”
“My watch.”
“My chain.”
Aria looked away.
“I said I was sorry.”
Luca almost smiled.
“So You're apologizing now?”
“Why?”
“I shouldn't have taken them.”
“Yet you still took them.”
“I was desperate.”
Luca studied her.
neither spoke.
Then he walked toward the desk.
“Daniel, find that woman.”
“Yes sir.”
“And find out who booked the room.”
Daniel nodded.
“We're checking that.”
“Also find everyone who knew I would be there that night.”
Daniel's expression became serious.
“That's going to include several people.”
“I don't care.”
He closed the file.
“Start with my own company.”
Aria's eyes widened.
“You think someone from Moretti Holdings was involved?”
“I don't know what I think.”
Luca's voice was quiet.
“That is why I'm investigating.”
Daniel left.
The door clicked shut.
Aria remained standing.
Luca looked at her.
“You can go.”
She nodded.
“Thank you.”
She reached the door.
“Aria.”
She stopped.
“Yes?”
“If you remember anything else about that night…”
He paused.
“Tell me.”
She looked over her shoulder.
“I will.”
Then she left.
---
Aria returned to her desk.
She sat down and stared at the computer without seeing anything.
The woman.
The two wine glasses.
The shoe.
She hadn't imagined any of it.
Someone had been with Luca before she arrived.
Someone had drugged him.
And that person had disappeared before Aria even entered.
But why?
Aria rubbed her forehead.
She remembered walking into the room.
The woman must have left only moments earlier.
If she'd arrived sixteen minutes sooner, she might have seen her.
Maybe she would have known what happened.
Maybe she wouldn't have stolen anything.
Maybe—
Her phone vibrated.
Aria looked down.
Unknown number.
She hesitated before opening the message.
KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THIS.
Her blood ran cold.
Another message appeared.
IF YOU STILL LOVE YOUR LIFE
Aria looked around the office.
Everyone was working.
Nobody seemed interested in her.
She typed:
WHO ARE YOU?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then returned.
Finally, a message arrived.
SOMEONE.
Aria's fingers froze.
She quickly typed again.
“What do you want?”
The answer came immediately.
“For you to forget that night.’’
Aria's heart hammered.
She looked at the corridor leading toward Luca's office.
Then another message appeared.
And don't tell Luca about this.
Aria stopped breathing.
Her hands began shaking.
A third message appeared.
“You weren't supposed to enter that room.”
Aria stared at the screen.
She typed:
“Then why was the door open?”
No response.
She waited.
Nothing.
Then her phone vibrated one final time.
“Ask Luca who took him to Room 801.”
Aria's eyes narrowed.
Before she could reply, the messages disappeared.
Every single one.
Her screen was completely blank.
She stared at it in disbelief.
“Miss Bennett?”
Aria nearly jumped.
Elena stood beside her.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“You look frightened.”
“I’m fine.”
Elena studied her for a moment.
Then she smiled.
“Mr. Moretti asked me to tell you that you're leaving with him tonight.”
Aria frowned.
“Leaving where?”
“He didn't say.”
“When?”
“Now.”
Aria looked toward Luca's office.
The door opened.
Luca stepped out.
His eyes immediately found her.
“Get your things.”
Aria stood.
“We're going somewhere.”
“Where?”
“You'll find out.”
She grabbed her bag.
Luca walked toward the elevator.
Aria followed.
As they waited, she couldn't stop thinking about the message.
“Ask Luca who took him to Room 801.”
The elevator arrived.
The doors opened.
Luca stepped inside.
Aria followed.
Just before the doors closed, her phone vibrated again.
She looked down.
It was a message from her mother’s hospital.
Aria's eyes widened.
She slowly looked at Luca.
He was staring straight ahead.
“Mr. Moretti…”
He turned toward her.
“What?”
Aria swallowed.
“Who took you to Room 801 that night?”
For the first time, Luca's expression changed.
The elevator doors closed.
TO BE CONTINUED
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