Chapter 3 - The Hotel Stakeout
I dropped the burner phone onto the desk as if the plastic had physically burned my skin.
My absolute best friend in the entire world was actively conspiring with my cheating husband.
Maya had hugged me at the airport, wiped a fake tear from her eye, and pretended to board a flight to Seattle.
She had been playing me for an absolute fool this entire time.
I picked the burner phone back up and quickly opened the location sharing settings.
Ryan had foolishly left the GPS tracking active for Maya's registered phone number.
The glowing blue dot on the digital map was definitely not moving toward Seattle.
It was stationary at a luxury boutique hotel just ten miles away in downtown Manhattan.
I grabbed my car keys and silently slipped out the back door of my quiet house.
The midnight city traffic was light as I sped aggressively toward the downtown hotel district.
I pulled into the hotel parking garage and walked directly to the marble front desk.
I slipped the sleepy night concierge a hundred-dollar bill and claimed my sister was staying in room 412.
He handed me a spare keycard without asking any difficult or suspicious questions.
I rode the quiet elevator up to the fourth floor and tiptoed down the dimly lit hallway.
I did not use the plastic keycard to open her heavy door.
I pressed my ear completely flat against the cold mahogany wood to listen.
I could hear the muffled sound of a television playing a late-night comedy talk show.
Then I heard Maya's unmistakable voice cutting sharply through the background noise.
She was loudly complaining that Ryan was taking far too long to secure my signature.
Another feminine voice answered her, and my blood ran entirely cold.
May you like
It was Elena, the woman from the airport terminal.
Elena calmly stated that they did not need my signature at all if I suffered a tragic, fatal accident.
