Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WHO SENT ME UPSTAIRS
Debbie Morgan had known exactly whose penthouse I was entering.
She had grabbed my wrist outside the elevator.
She had warned me to let someone else deliver the towels.
And somehow, she had still allowed me to go.
Now I understood that her warning might have been part of the performance.
“She arranged it,” I whispered.
Nathan turned toward me.
“What?”
“The towels. The assignment. Everything.”
Marcus opened the hotel's staffing records.
“Bella was originally scheduled for the sixth floor.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Her assignment was changed at 11:42 p.m.”
“By whom?”
“Debbie Morgan.”
Nathan's face hardened.
I remembered the way Debbie had looked at me.
The strange urgency in her voice.
The fact that she'd known I desperately needed the shift.
“She knew about my mother's bills,” I said.
Marcus nodded.
“She also accessed your employee financial assistance request.”
I felt sick.
My grief.
My desperation.
The exact amount of money.
All of it had been used against me.
Federal investigators obtained records showing that Debbie had received payments from an account linked to Julian Mercer.
She was brought in for questioning.
At first, she denied everything.
Then Investigator Brooks showed her the transfer records.
Her face collapsed.
“I didn't know they were going to hurt Bella.”
I leaned forward.
“What were they going to do to me?”
Debbie began crying.
“They wanted you to get close to Nathan.”
“Why?”
“They said you were the only person who could make him vulnerable.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Who told you that?”
“Victoria.”
The room went silent.
Debbie continued.
“She knew your past. Your habits. The way you reacted to people who reminded you of someone you'd lost.”
I felt a chill.
“My mother.”
Debbie nodded.
“Victoria knew Hannah had once been important to Nathan.”
Nathan looked away.
I asked the question I was afraid to hear.
“What was the plan?”
Debbie swallowed.
“They expected Nathan to give you money. Then they planned to claim you'd been paid to steal corporate information.”
I stared at her.
“They were going to frame me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they needed access to something Hannah left behind.”
My hands tightened.
“What?”
Debbie looked toward Nathan.
“A safety deposit box.”
Nathan frowned.
“Where?”
“First Chicago Trust.”
I had never heard of it.
Then Debbie whispered:
“The box can only be opened by Bella Carter.”
May you like
She paused.
“And Victoria believes what's inside could put her in prison for the rest of her life.”
