Chapter Two: Thirteen at Midnight

Zhiwei backed into a stack of tablecloths. They spilled around her like startled white birds. No one came running. The silence was worse than footsteps. Her phone read midnight, but every signal bar had vanished. A gray circle sat beside the message to Lu Yao. The linen-room door opened by itself. Gu stood at the end of the corridor, a white napkin still draped over one hand. He did not approach. He merely stepped aside in invitation. “Now that you have seen us, come down.” “Who are those twelve people?” “Tonight's guests.” “Three are officially missing.” “Being listed as missing does not mean one wishes to be found.” She slipped her phone into her pocket and gripped her pepper spray. The window behind her was sealed.