Chapter 4 - The Banquet Worker’s Secret
Finding Miguel Santos wasn't difficult, but keeping him safe required Detective Ortiz’s direct intervention.
Miguel was twenty-four, a college student working night shifts as a banquet setup lead at the Grand Hawthorne Hotel. He was the one who had grabbed a heavy fire axe from the emergency panel and smashed through the drywall of the utility corridor, pulling me out into the alley just as the ceiling caved in.
Two days after the fire, hotel management had abruptly fired him, citing a "violation of safety protocol," and security guards had started lingering outside his apartment complex.
When Miguel walked into our safe house under Detective Ortiz’s escort, he looked terrified. His hands shook as he clutched a battered baseball cap in his lap.
“Mr. Santos,” I said, walking out from the kitchenette with a cup of coffee and setting it in front of him. “Thank you for coming.”
Miguel looked up, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief as he stared at me. He dropped his cap onto the floor.
“You’re... you’re the bride,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “The news said you didn't make it. They held a funeral on Thursday! Captain Mercer gave a speech!”
“Captain Mercer is a liar and a murderer,” I said firmly, pulling out a chair and sitting across from him. “Miguel, I need to know what you saw in that hallway right before the fire broke out.”
Miguel swallowed hard, taking a slow sip of the coffee to steady his nerves.
“I was behind the service partition near the kitchens,” Miguel began, his voice dropping to a nervous murmur. “The alarms had just started going off. Everyone was running toward the ballroom exit. But I saw Captain Mercer and Ms. Cole standing by the utility door.”
He paused, looking down at his knuckles.
“I heard her say, ‘She’s inside the storage hallway.’ And the Captain... he didn't hesitate. He took his own master keycard, unlocked the heavy fire door, pushed you inside while you were looking the other way, and then slammed it shut. He locked it from the outside.”
My breath hitched. Even though I knew the truth, hearing a witness describe the exact moment my husband condemned me to burn broke something fragile inside my chest.
“Did you see him lock it, Miguel?” Detective Ortiz asked sharply, leaning forward.
“Yes, ma’am,” Miguel nodded firmly. “I was hiding behind the linen cart because I thought they were just arguing. When he clicked that deadbolt into place, Ms. Cole smiled at him and said, ‘Good. Now let’s go outside before anyone notices.’ That’s when I ran to the utility closet, grabbed the fire axe, and went after you. If I hadn't broken that wall down two minutes later, you’d be gone.”
I reached across the table and placed my hand over Miguel’s trembling fingers.
May you like
“You saved my life, Miguel,” I said softly. “And now, I need you to help me save everyone else from what he’s planning next.”
Miguel took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and picked up his cap. “What do you want me to do?”
