Chapter 6 - The Account Without an Owner
Richard had not heard the words “Project Crown” in nearly twenty years.
For the first time since entering the hotel, his calm expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for Daniel to notice.
The old man’s fingers tightened around the handle of his cane.
The IT technician opened the hidden account history.
Project Crown had no listed employee, no department, and no creation date. Yet it possessed access to payroll systems, security cameras, guest files, and private executive reports.
“That is impossible,” the manager said quickly. “Only ownership-level accounts can reach those systems.”
Richard looked at him.
“Exactly.”
The finance controller stepped backward from the table.
Richard noticed that too.
“When was the account last used before today?” he asked.
The technician scrolled.
“Three weeks ago. Before that, seven months ago. Before that…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“It appears every year on the same date.”
Richard moved beside him.
The date displayed on the laptop was October 14.
Daniel saw Richard’s face become distant.
“Does that date mean something?” he asked.
Richard did not answer immediately.
October 14 had been the day his only son, Jonathan, disappeared after leaving a board meeting inside the hotel.
The official investigation concluded that Jonathan had voluntarily left the country after financial disagreements with his father.
Richard had never believed it.
No goodbye.
No confirmed flight.
No verified bank activity.
Only a handwritten note that experts claimed was authentic.
After Jonathan vanished, Richard withdrew from public life. He placed the hotel under professional management and rarely returned.
Now an unauthorized account connected to the building was activating every year on the anniversary of that disappearance.
Richard looked toward the ballroom doors.
“Close them.”
Security guards obeyed, but uncertainty filled their faces.
Richard addressed the room.
“No one leaves until the system logs are copied.”
A department director stood angrily.
“You cannot detain us.”
“I am not detaining anyone,” Richard replied. “You may leave. But if you do, your access to this property ends permanently.”
The man sat down.
The technician began copying files to an encrypted device.
Suddenly, every screen in the ballroom flickered.
A black background appeared.
Then a single sentence formed in white letters.
YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE RETURNED, RICHARD.
Gasps spread through the room.
The technician pulled his hands away from the keyboard.
“I didn’t do that.”
Richard stared at the message.
Someone inside the hotel had known he was coming.
Or someone had been watching since the moment he arrived.
The screen changed again.
A live camera feed appeared.
It showed a narrow storage corridor beneath the hotel.
At the end stood a steel door Richard recognized immediately.
It had been sealed before the hotel’s grand opening.
He had ordered it closed himself.
A figure wearing a dark coat stood in front of it.
The image was too grainy to reveal a face.
Then the figure raised one hand and held something toward the camera.
A silver pocket watch.
Richard stopped breathing.
It had belonged to Jonathan.
The feed vanished.
In its place appeared another message.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH.
The ballroom erupted in frightened voices.
Richard remained motionless.
May you like
Then he turned toward Daniel.
“Where is the nearest service staircase?”
