Chapter 7 - Eleven Minutes
Nora called the bank’s fraud division.
I called the trust manager.
Both calls went to automated systems.
Ten minutes remained.
The transfer screen showed my name beneath a digital signature.
The internet address attached to the authorization matched the hotel network.
“They cloned your device.”
Nora opened her laptop.
“How?”
“Someone knew where we were.”
Only four people knew the hotel.
Nora.
Officer Ramirez.
Dana.
And Daniel.
My stomach tightened.
“Daniel.”
Nora looked at me.
“What about him?”
“He arrived at the hospital.”
“He knew Arthur was outside.”
“He told us he had the video.”
“You think he betrayed you?”
“I don’t know.”
Nine minutes remained.
Nora finally reached the bank’s emergency security line.
She explained the fraud.
The representative asked for a security phrase.
I gave it.
The phrase was rejected.
Someone had changed it.
Eight minutes remained.
The representative asked for the answer to my recovery question.
What was the name of your first pet?
“Biscuit.”
Rejected.
My father knew every answer.
My mother knew every childhood detail.
They had taken over the account.
Seven minutes remained.
Nora demanded a supervisor.
The call was transferred.
Then disconnected.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I opened the folder on my phone.
Buried among the trust documents was the original agreement.
My grandmother had included an emergency clause.
Any beneficiary could freeze the account by reporting suspected abuse or coercion.
The request required a case number.
Officer Ramirez had given me one at the hospital.
Six minutes remained.
I entered the number.
The website demanded a copy of the police report.
The report had not been completed.
Five minutes remained.
I called Officer Ramirez.
He answered immediately.
“I need the preliminary report.”
“What happened?”
“They’re emptying the trust.”
He emailed a signed incident summary from his patrol car.
Four minutes remained.
I uploaded it.
The website rejected the file because it exceeded the maximum size.
Nora compressed it.
Three minutes remained.
I uploaded it again.
The progress bar froze at ninety-two percent.
Two minutes remained.
“Come on.”
Gigi woke and began crying in the other room.
The upload completed.
I pressed SUBMIT EMERGENCY FREEZE.
The screen displayed a red warning.
REQUEST REQUIRES SUPPORTING MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION.
One minute remained.
I searched my email.
The hospital had sent the discharge report.
I attached it.
Thirty seconds remained.
The screen went blank.
For one terrible moment, nothing happened.
Then a message appeared.
ACCOUNT FROZEN PENDING INVESTIGATION.
The transfer failed.
Nora leaned back and exhaled.
“We stopped it.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Then the hotel phone rang.
Nora answered.
The front desk clerk sounded frightened.
“There is a man downstairs asking for Ms. Bennett.”
“Who?”
“He says he is her cousin.”
“His name?”
“Daniel Morris.”
I looked toward the door.
Daniel was one of the few people who knew where we were.
“Do not send him up.”
The clerk lowered his voice.
“He is already in the elevator.”
Nora called hotel security.
I picked up Gigi.
We moved into the bathroom and locked the door.
Footsteps stopped outside our room.
Someone knocked.
“Clara?”
It was Daniel.
“Open the door.”
I remained silent.
“Please.”
His voice shook.
“They took my phone.”
Nora stood beside the entrance.
“Who took it?”
“Uncle Charles.”
“When?”
“In the hospital parking lot.”
I looked at Nora.
That was impossible.
Dad had called me after Daniel left.
Daniel knocked again.
“He made me tell him where you were.”
My anger surged.
“You gave him the hotel?”
“He threatened my mother.”
Nora spoke through the door.
“Why should we trust you?”
“Because Charles is not alone.”
A loud alarm suddenly began ringing throughout the hotel.
Smoke seeped beneath the door.
Guests screamed in the hallway.
Daniel shouted.
“They set a fire in the stairwell!”
Nora grabbed the emergency bag.
I wrapped Gigi in a blanket.
We opened the door.
Daniel stood outside with blood running from his nose.
Behind him, the hallway filled with smoke.
“Where is my father?”
Daniel pointed toward the opposite end of the corridor.
“He took the evidence bag from the police officer downstairs.”
A figure appeared through the smoke.
My father was walking toward us.
May you like
He held the original birthday video in one hand.
In the other, he carried a metal can of gasoline.
