Chapter 5

Atlas stood in the doorway, his face a contorted mask of disbelief and rage. "Elsie!" he bellowed into the empty suite, his voice raw. "This isn't funny! Stop hiding! You heard the man, they think you're... gone. Come out now and prove them wrong!" He sounded like a frustrated parent, not a grieving husband.

Oh, Atlas, you foolish man, I thought, my spectral form hovering beside him. I did come out. My blood came out. My life came out. But I can't come out for you now. It's too late. A hollow ache settled in my non-existent chest.

Detective Miller stepped forward, his expression unchanging. "Mr. Forbes, there's no one in here. We already checked the room." His voice was calm, cutting through Atlas's frantic shouts like a surgeon's scalpel.

Atlas spun around, his eyes blazing. "No! You're wrong! She's in here! She has to be! Elsie is always playing tricks." He looked at Kacie, then at Thorne, who had quietly appeared in the doorway behind the officers. "Tell them! Tell them Elsie is in her room. Tell them she checked in."

Kacie's eyes darted between Atlas and the detectives. She bit her lip, a flicker of panic in her usually composed facade. "I... well, I assumed she would," she stammered, her voice thin. "I mean, Atlas said she was supposed to go to her room."

Thorne, however, met Atlas's gaze with a grim, unwavering look. "Boss," he began, his voice low and heavy, "the staff... they confirmed it. She never left the SUV. Not while it was in the valet lot, not when they unloaded it. She was... still in the cargo hold."

The words hit Atlas like a physical blow. He swayed, his hand clutching at the doorframe for support. His face, already pale, turned an ashen gray. "What?" he croaked, the word barely a whisper. "What are you saying?"

He lunged at Thorne, grabbing the front of his expensive suit jacket. His eyes were wild, desperate. "You said you took care of it! You said she was gone! Where is she, Thorne? What did you do with her?"

Thorne, usually unflappable, flinched under Atlas's desperate grip. "Boss, I... I made the arrangements. But she was supposed to be dropped off after we arrived. The plan was... she was still in the vehicle." He averted his gaze, unable to meet Atlas's burning stare.

Atlas released Thorne, his hands trembling. He looked around wildly, his eyes landing on the valet who had initially approached the suite. The young man stood frozen, terrified. "Where are the keys?" Atlas demanded, his voice hoarse. "Give me the damn keys!" He ripped them from the valet's grasp, fumbling with the remote, pressing the unlock button.

He stumbled out of the suite, muttering to himself, "Elsie, you little brat. You're going to pay for this. You always do this." He moved with a desperate urgency, his body shaking, half-running, half-stumbling down the opulent hallway. He still didn't believe it. He couldn't.

My ghostly self floated behind him, a silent observer to his unraveling. He was fighting the truth, just as he had fought the truth of my existence for so long.

He reached the elevator, impatiently stabbing the down button. The descent felt agonizingly slow. Each floor that passed seemed to deepen the lines of fear and confusion on his face. He mumbled, a string of incoherent curses and desperate pleas. "Elsie, for God's sake, answer me. Where are you? Stop this. Stop this now!"

The elevator doors hissed open, revealing the brightly lit lobby. Detective Miller and Officer Hayes were already there, waiting. Atlas ignored them, his eyes scanning the grand entrance, as if I might suddenly appear from behind a potted palm.

"Where is she?" he demanded, grabbing Detective Miller by the arm. His voice had an hysterical edge to it now. "She's not in the room! She's not here! Where did you put her?"

Detective Miller gently but firmly removed Atlas's hand. His voice remained calm, almost unnervingly so. "Mr. Forbes, she's where we said she was. In the cargo hold of your vehicle." He held up a clear plastic bag. Inside, was a small, vintage locket, silver and tarnished, with a tiny engraving on the back. My locket.

Atlas stared at it, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes, for the first time, seemed to truly see. My locket. The one Momma gave me. The one I never took off. The one I clutched every night, even in the darkness of the cellar. It was cold, still, and undeniably mine. The truth, stark and unforgiving, was finally beginning to penetrate the protective shell of his denial.