Chapter 10 - What Elise Kept Hidden
The light from the massive chandelier above shone bright and clear, casting sharp, crystalline shadows across the polished Carrara marble floor. Outside, the distant sirens of New York City wailed faintly, echoing through the empty late-night streets, but inside the grand lobby of the Carter Grand, time seemed to stand completely still.
Roman slowly lowered himself even further, resting one knee on the cold marble floor so he was entirely on the child’s level. He reached up with a slightly trembling hand and gently, reverently placed his broad palm near her small shoulder, careful not to startle her.
Her pale gray eyes looked directly into his, holding his gaze with a serene, profound clarity that cut straight through his outer armor.
The air in the room was electric with unspoken history. The service corridor behind Daniel remained dark and silent; the mystery of where Elise Mercer was, why she had returned to work in his hotel in secret, who had forced her into silence, and why she had chosen to endure sickness and hardship rather than seek out the man who owned the entire building hung heavily between them.
Roman looked at his own eyes staring back at him from the small, delicate face of the girl sitting before him. The silence stretched, heavy with grief, anger, and a sudden, overwhelming surge of protective instincts.
Finally, his deep, gravelly voice broke through the silence of the marble hall, carrying a raw, haunting weight that echoed softly off the high ceilings:
May you like
“What did Elise never tell me?”
The question lingered unanswered in the quiet air under the bright chandelier, leaving the truth of the past suspended in the dark, mysterious space between them.
