Chapter 22 - The Hidden Elevator
Instead of returning through the service staircase, Edward led them toward another passage branching away from the operations center.
Few words were spoken.
Everyone sensed the urgency growing with every passing minute.
The tunnel ended at a circular chamber unlike any Richard had seen before.
At its center stood an antique elevator.
Not luxurious.
Not modern.
Its brass doors bore the Morgan family crest.
Daniel examined the controls.
"There aren't any floor buttons."
Edward smiled faintly.
"There never were."
Richard stepped inside.
The walls were lined with polished walnut panels darkened by age.
Above the door hung a mechanical indicator rather than a digital display.
No floor numbers.
Only symbols.
One symbol immediately caught Richard's attention.
A tiny compass.
He held the silver compass from Emily's pouch beside it.
They matched perfectly.
Edward nodded.
"The elevator won't move without it."
Richard inserted the compass into a circular slot beneath the indicator.
A soft click echoed through the cabin.
The old machinery came alive.
Hidden gears began turning.
The elevator didn't rise immediately.
Instead...
It descended.
Daniel frowned.
"We're already underground."
Edward remained calm.
"This isn't following the building."
"It follows the original foundation."
For nearly two minutes the elevator continued downward.
Then sideways.
The movement felt impossible.
Maria gripped the railing.
"I've never been in an elevator that moves like this."
Richard quietly watched the mechanical indicator.
The compass symbol slowly rotated.
Then stopped.
The doors opened.
Not into another basement...
But into an underground railway platform.
An actual railway.
Narrow tracks disappeared into darkness in both directions.
An old electric maintenance cart sat waiting.
Dust covered everything except the driver's seat.
Someone had used it recently.
Daniel stared in disbelief.
"There's an entire railway beneath the hotel."
Edward nodded.
"It connects every original Morgan property."
Richard looked down the endless tunnel.
"So Jonathan discovered this..."
Edward answered,
"He discovered much more."
Suddenly headlights appeared far away.
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Someone else was already coming through the tunnel.
Toward them.
