Chapter 63 The Empty Palace
The next morning, the sun came through the large windows of the presidential suite, but it didn't make Elena feel any better.
She sat on the edge of the plush sofa, wrapped in a thick robe the hotel had provided.
Across the room, Julian was standing by the window, his phone pressed to his ear. He had been on the phone since five in the morning.
He was talking in a low, sharp voice about Holland and the men from the forest. He was demanding names, locations, and security footage.
Even though he was trying to be quiet, Elena could hear the coldness in his tone. He was hunting them right away.
Elena kept her distance. Every time Julian looked over at her, she looked away. She still had the image of the "Project Angel" files in her head.
Frankly, she saw him as a stranger, a soldier wearing a lawyer’s face. He tried to bring her water or ask if she was hungry, but she just shook her head and moved to the other side of the suite.
She wanted the truth, but she was too exhausted to fight him for it yet.
A soft knock came at the door.
Julian immediately stopped talking, signaled for Elena to stay put, and went to the door. He checked the eye-hole and then opened it.
"Mandy is here," Julian said.
He stepped back as Mandy rushed into the room. She looked tired, her eyes red, but she looked better than she had in the forest.
Julian didn't say anything to either of them. He just grabbed his jacket and his phone.
"I’ll be in the living area," Julian said to Elena. "I'll give you some space. But don't leave this room."
He walked out, closing the heavy double doors behind him.
Mandy didn't wait. She ran over and hugged Elena tightly. "Oh my goodness, Elena. I am so sorry. I’m so sorry I left you there in that pit. I ran as fast as I could to find help, but the forest was so dark. By the time I found a road and got someone to call Silas, and we made it back to the spot, you were already gone. I thought the worst had happened. I thought they had found you."
Elena hugged her back, feeling the first bit of real comfort since the night before. "It’s okay, Mandy. You did the right thing. You went for help. I was the one who fell. You couldn't have pulled me out alone anyway."
They sat down on the sofa together.
Elena explained how Julian had shown up at the very last second. She told her about the phone call, the dead battery, and how he had jumped into the rising water to pull her out.
"I'm just glad he found you," Mandy said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I felt so guilty. I felt like I chose my life over yours."
"Don't say that," Elena said. "I’m the one who brought this mess to your house. I’m the one who came into your life without even knowing you were a target for Holland. I’m so sorry I put you in that position, Mandy. You were just trying to help me, and my selfishness blinded me to your own struggles, I almost got you killed."
They sat in silence for a while, just holding each other’s hands.
It was the only real thing in the room. They talked about Holland and how dangerous he was. Mandy was still terrified, but having Silas’s men at the door made her feel a little safer.
"Why don't you want to go home, Elena?" Mandy asked after a while. "This hotel is amazing, but it’s so quiet. It feels weirdly empty. Don't you want to be in your own bed?"
Elena shook her head violently. "I can't go back there. Every time I look at Julian, I see a project and I see all the lies. That house isn't a home; it’s a laboratory. I’d rather stay in this hotel room forever than go back to that mansion."
Mandy looked around the room. She looked at Elena’s shaking hands and her pale face. "Look at you. You’re trapped in here. You look like you’re in a cage. You need to come out of this room. You need fresh air and a walk. You can't stay cooked up in here all day just because you’re mad at him."
"I don't want to see him," Elena said. "And Silas said his men are at the door."
"The police are there to protect you, not keep you prisoner," Mandy insisted. "Come on. Let’s just walk the hallways. Let’s go down to the lobby or the terrace. Just to feel like humans again. I won't take no for an answer."
Elena hesitated, but the walls of the suite were starting to feel like they were closing in.
She stood up and went to the bedroom to put on the fresh clothes Julian had ordered. They were expensive, simple, and fit her perfectly. She pulled on a light jacket and walked back out.
"Fine," Elena said. "Just for a few minutes."
They walked to the double doors and opened them. Julian was sitting at a desk in the outer room, but he didn't stop them.
He just watched them with those cold eyes, nodding to the two police officers standing in the hallway.
Silas’s men followed at a distance as the two women started walking.
As they moved through the hotel hallways, Elena started to feel a strange sensation.
The Grand Plaza was one of the busiest hotels in the city. Usually, there were housekeepers in every hall, guests walking to the elevators, and the sound of doors opening and closing.
But there was nothing.
The hallways were silent and the carpeted floors felt miles long because no one was on them.
They passed twenty doors on their way to the elevator, and not a single sound came from behind them. No televisions, no muffled voices, no laughter.
"This is weird," Mandy whispered.
They got into the elevator and rode it down to the reception level.
When the doors opened, the lobby was massive and beautiful, but it was empty.
The grand piano in the center of the room sat untouched. The bar area was stocked with bottles, but there was no bartender.
The check-in desks had computers glowing, but no staff were standing behind them.
"Where is everyone?" Elena asked. Her voice echoed off the marble walls.
They walked toward the glass doors leading to the parking garage and the street. Elena looked out into the lot. Usually, the Grand Plaza’s garage was full of luxury cars and valets running back and forth.
The parking lot was empty. There were maybe three cars in total, all black SUVs that belonged to Julian’s security team.
"Something is wrong," Elena said. She turned around, her heart starting to beat faster. She felt like she was in a ghost town.
Just then, a maid in a crisp uniform turned a corner, pushing a cart. She was carrying
a silver tray with a covered dish and a fresh pot of coffee.
"Excuse me!" Elena called out, hurrying toward her.
The maid stopped and looked at her. She looked a little surprised to see them walking around.
"Where is that breakfast going?" Elena asked, pointing at the tray.
"This is for the presidential suite, ma'am," the maid said politely. "Room number two."
Mandy looked at Elena. "That’s your room."
"Yes," Elena said to the maid. "But we didn't order breakfast. And why is the lobby empty? Where are the other guests? Is the hotel closed for renovations?"
The maid shook her head. "Oh, no, ma'am. We aren't closed. Mr. Julian Thorne gave us very specific instructions. We were told to deliver all meals directly to the room and to ensure that you and your guest have total privacy."
"Privacy?" Elena repeated. "But what about the other people staying here? I saw the sign outside. This is a five-hundred-room hotel."
The maid looked down at her tray and then back at Elena. "The hotel was fully booked for the weekend, ma'am. But last night, after you arrived, the management was instructed to notify all guests. They were all given a full refund and a significant bonus to move to other hotels in the city immediately. The last guest checked out at midnight."
Elena felt the air leave her lungs. "What do you mean?"
"The entire hotel has been reserved, ma'am," the maid explained. "Mr. Thorne bought out every room for the next four days. You and your party are the only guests we are servicing at the moment."
The maid gave a small, quick bow and started rolling her cart away toward the elevators. “Sorry, I have other things to attend to."
Elena stood in the middle of the empty, silent lobby.
Julian hadn't just taken her to a hotel to keep her safe. He had cleared out an entire building. He had bought the place for days just to keep her isolated.
"He’s crazy," Mandy whispered, looking around at the empty space. "Elena, he bought the whole hotel just so nobody could see you? Or so you couldn't see anybody?"
Elena didn't answer. She looked at the two police officers standing near the elevators.
They were Silas's men, but even they looked small in the middle of the empty lobby. She realized then that Julian didn't care about the rules or the money. He was going to keep her in this empty world until she stopped fighting him.
"I have to go back up," Elena said, her voice trembling. "I have to talk to him."
She turned and ran back toward the elevators.