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“Well, Benny and I are about to head outside for another round of baseball,” Reese explained.
Oriana’s heart filled with love. Benny was their three-year-old grandson, the only son of their daughter, Alexa. Over the past year, they’d been lost in a nightmare, as Benny had been diagnosed with cancer and gone through treatment after treatment. Miraculously, Benny had been cured that summer and transformed into a boisterous little boy again. Oriana and Reese were often so thankful that it brought them to tears.
“That boy can’t get enough of playing baseball with Grandpa,” Oriana said.
“Yeah! He almost caught the ball a few times earlier,” Reese said.
“Progress!”
After Reese and Oriana got off the phone, Oriana went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and touch up her makeup. Meghan texted to say she needed a little more time to prep before dinner and asked if they could meet at seven-thirty instead. Oriana said of course. There was no rush.
There was a knock at the door. Oriana walked toward it without thinking twice and opened it to find another bellhop with a tray upon which sat a bottle of champagne, a glass, and an envelope with Oriana’s name on it.
“Special delivery,” the bellhop said.
“Oh wow! Thank you.” Oriana opened the door wider so the bellhop could enter and place the tray on the table.
“Have a wonderful stay.” The bellhop beamed and left as quickly as he’d come. The door fell back into place, leaving Oriana alone with the champagne, which she uncorked expertly to pour herself a half glass. This was a new edition to the Dominick Hotel stay— one she welcomed, especially after such a long drive. With her flute in her hand, she raised it toward the window, through which she could see across Manhattan, then drank.
Oriana then remembered the envelope. Her first hunch was that it was a coupon for the hotel restaurant or bar or perhaps a note thanking her for continuing to choose the Dominick Hotel for her many visits. In fact, she considered just tossing it into the trash, if only because it didn’t seem to matter to her.
But instead, she opened it, pulled out a notecard, and read:
I know what you did in 1998.
Immediately, Oriana’s heart burst with fear, and she felt her pulse quicken. She stood to her feet, reading and rereading the message, which had been typed out, perhaps with a typewriter. It looked like something from a crime novel.
Oh gosh. Who was it from? They couldn’t possibly know. This must be about something else.
Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. This time, Oriana was petrified, and she hardly heard her voice as she cried out, “Who is it?”
“Oriana? It’s Meghan!”
Oriana shook as she walked to the door. When she opened it, Meghan’s smile instantly fell off her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Oriana bristled. “Did the hotel send you a bottle of champagne?”
“What! No.”
Oriana glanced back at the champagne, fearing she’d been poisoned. But the cork had been in the bottle. The glass had seemed clean.
“I guess they know you made the reservation,” Meghan said with a laugh, entering the room.
“Is it already seven-thirty?” Oriana asked, her throat very tight.
“Five minutes past,” Meghan said.
Oriana scratched her head.How had so much time passed since Meghan had texted?It felt like she’d lost much of her life, presumably due to fear.
“They only sent me one glass,” Oriana said, deftly pocketing the sinister notecard before Meghan could see it.
“That’s okay,” Meghan said. “Why don’t we go out? I’m starving.”
“Great idea, I’m famished,” Oriana agreed, although she wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat.
As Oriana followed Meghan into the hallway toward the elevator, her heartbeat burst in her ears. She rolled through horrific images from all those years ago— a time when everything in her life had been in flux, and she’d allowed a lie to become enormous. Now, it seemed, the lie had gotten so big that it had decided to come back from the past and swallow her whole.
