Sydney again unfolded the piece of paper that Maxwell had given her and read the room scrawled across the paper: 2271 Azul Terrace. She knew the Azul Terrace section was on the south side of the resort, away from where she and Alex were staying. She guessed it was more the singles’ side of the sprawling hotel.
She tucked it back into her nude-colored Gucci purse, stood up, and walked out into the hallway. If Alice was hiding something, she had a better chance of discovering her secret before she talked to her. Sneaking into Alice’s room therefore seemed to be the logical next step. She quickly exited the spa lobby and headed across the resort.
About ten minutes later, Sydney arrived at the elegantly carved wooden doorway of room 2271. She knocked a few times on the door, but no one responded. She realized that in her haste to find the room, she hadn’t really put together a plan of how she was going to get inside. She stood there for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do next.
The sound of wheels squeaking down the hallway gave her an idea. On her way, she had passed a maid pushing a large cart of white towels, stopping at each room to replenish their supply. Sydney quickly retraced her steps and found the woman standing just around the corner.
“Oh, hello!” she said, giving the women her best smile. “You are just in time. I am completely out of towels already! Could you bring some to my room?”
“Of course, ma’am,” she said eagerly. “What room are you in?”
“I’m in 2271, just around the corner,” said Sydney, feeling emboldened. “I could use about ten towels or so. If that’s okay?”
“Of course,” she said. The woman grabbed a large stack of towels and followed Sydney back toward the room. As they approached, Sydney made a gasping sound.
“Oh no, I just stepped out and forgot my key.” She wheeled around and looked helplessly at the woman. “Could you let me in?”
Sydney felt a little guilty for lying to this innocent women, whom she knew could get fired for what she was about to do. But if getting into Alice’s room got her one step closer to understanding the mess she was in, then so be it.
The maid looked a bit uncomfortable. She shifted the heavy weight of the towels in her arms for a few seconds before nodding.
“No problem, ma’am,” she said.
“I’ll hold these,” Sydney said as she reached over and grabbed the stack of towels from her arms.
A few moments later, Sydney stood inside Alice’s room. The room was simple yet elegantly decorated with a large teal upholstered bed and soft grey walls. She looked around and saw a dark purple suitcase, which stood unopened next to the cabinet under the TV. There was a seating area next to the sliding glass doors facing the ocean with a small round table and two blue cushioned chairs. She spotted a black leather Tumi shoulder bag and small silver laptop sitting on the table.
She quickly strode across the room and sat down at the seat where Alice must have been sitting not long ago. She figured the computer would be locked, so she decided to dig into the bag. She pulled out a passport and various other travel documents, a silk pashmina, and a sleeping mask. There were a few yellow folders but nothing inside that she found interesting. After she had rifled through each pocket, she spread out all the pieces on the glossy wood tabletop next to the computer.
Nothing. Nothing stood out or created suspicion. Sydney sighed. She thought back to the locked cabinet in DoubleDownCasino.com’s Chicago office. If there was something that important inside it, would Alice bring it with her? she wondered.
She had featured a Tumi luggage set on her Instagram feed about seven months ago. The company had sent her an entire matching set with a bag similar to the one Alice had. It occurred to her that she hadn’t searched the hidden travel pocket tucked inside the laptop slot. She decided to go back into the case and check again. She felt through each pocket carefully until she finally came to a small zipper on the inside of the padded laptop slot. She could feel something bulging inside.
Bingo.
She carefully unzipped the pocket and reached down inside. She could feel a rather fat envelope with a metal clasp. She pulled it out, placed it flat on the table, and undid the clasp. She tugged at the contents, which eventually gave way and tumbled out onto the table.
As the papers fanned out, her eyes quickly went to two documents that looked like copies of birth certificates. She read the names: Robert Lexington and Gabe Lexington, both born in Concord, New Hampshire, on March 22, 1984.
Sydney stopped, her finger frozen over the dates of birth. She blinked her eyes several times and looked again. What? That can’t be right.
She began shuffling frantically through the rest of the paperwork, a mixture of court documents, fingerprints, and other pieces of official material. Her mind was racing. Was it possible? She refused to let herself believe anything until she had proof. But a few moments later, when her hand felt a thicker, smaller piece of paper, she had it.
It was a photograph: two small boys standing with their mother and father.
Twins.
It didn’t take her but a moment to realize that she was looking at a photograph of Ethan and Jack as kids. They looked to be about ten years old. Sydney felt as if her eyes were glued to the photo. She had never seen a picture of Jack before the age of twenty-four. When she had asked him why he didn’t have photographs of his childhood around, he had told her the photos were lost when a storage unit he shared with Ethan had flooded. Smitten with Jack at the time, she had taken his answer at face value. Now she wondered if that was true.
The boys were casually dressed, as if they had just come from a picnic, wearing matching khaki shorts. It was even more difficult to tell the younger version of the twins apart, but while one boy had a sullen stare, the other was smiling. She instantly recognized the smiling twin as Jack. She could spot that smile anywhere. Their parents stood behind them, the mother with a protective hand on Jack’s shoulder and the father with a rather serious look behind Ethan. She couldn’t quite place the feeling of why, but it seemed like something was off in their family dynamic. Regardless, the photo was definitely a young Ethan and Jack.
With a shaking hand, she turned over the photograph. Scrawled in blue ink on the back read: The Lexingtons. Bill, Elaine, Gabe, and Robert. 1994.
Sydney sat back in her chair, a wave of shock coursing through her body.
Why did Jack lie to her? Why did he change his name? Sydney’s mind flashed back to the moment they signed their marriage certificate. Jack had gone to the effort of bringing her birth certificate and his own. She had barely glanced at the paperwork as she eagerly signed the documents. The questions started flying across her mind fast and fierce. She couldn’t stop to think about the answers, only questions. Endless questions.
She needed more facts. More information about why Jack would have kept something so important in his life a secret from her. She shuffled through the paperwork again trying to find anything that might give her a clue. Nothing shed any more light other than just the names.
She bit her lip and pulled out her phone. She typed Robert and Gabe Lexington into the Google search bar. She scrolled for a few moments, but nothing came up. Then she typed in their names along with New Hampshire. That’s when she received several hits.
The top result burned bright on her screen.
Twins Go Missing in House Fire. Parents Found Dead.