The Coded DiaryIt was nearly 10 p.m. when Ethan and Natalie returned to the Blackwood Grand’s staff lounge, the day’s tension hanging over them like a storm cloud. Rain tapped gently against the windows as thunder rolled through the hills. Natalie clutched the old leather-bound book they’d recovered from Langley’s secret suite behind Room 306—its surface cracked, corners weathered, but the contents still intact.She sat cross-legged on the couch, flipping through the diary as Ethan brewed two cups of coffee from the ancient staff machine."It's all symbols," Natalie murmured. "No plain writing. Just columns of odd marks—triangles, slashes, dots, and these... arrows."Ethan handed her a mug. "You said you studied cryptography in college, right?""More of a hobby," she admitted. "My roommate was in cybersecurity. We used to make puzzles for fun. Codes, ciphers... secret notes we’d leave around campus."She glanced up at him. "But this? This is something else."Ethan pulled a chair close

Surveillance Blind SpotsRain lashed the windows of Room 308 as Ethan Carter hunched over a spread of floorplans, camera schematics, and printed maintenance logs. Natalie sat beside him, laptop open and eyes darting between digital blueprints and a notepad filled with hastily scribbled observations.“Okay,” Ethan muttered, pointing at the third-floor diagram. “These are the camera placements—at least, according to the most recent security documentation.”Natalie leaned in. “There’s one in the east hallway, one facing the elevator, and one outside the stairwell.”“Right. But when we pulled the footage from the night of Langley’s death,” Ethan continued, tapping a section with his pen, “there was nothing from this hallway. Room 306’s hallway.”Natalie frowned. “That’s a blind spot.”“Exactly. But here’s the kicker,” he said, flipping to an older blueprint. “This floorplan from seven years ago shows a camera right here—facing the door of Room 306.”Natalie’s brow furrowed. “So they remov

Blackmail BoxEthan sat at the cluttered desk in his hotel room, the hum of the old air conditioner barely cutting through the silence. Natalie had stepped out to get coffee, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the stack of papers sprawled before him. Suddenly, a soft knock at the door startled him.“Room service?” Ethan called out, standing to open the door.A plain brown package was pushed through the slightly ajar door by the bellhop, Jordan, who looked unusually tense.“Mr. Carter, this was just delivered for you. No return address,” Jordan said quietly.Ethan took the package, his brow furrowing. “Thanks, Jordan. Did anyone see who left it?”Jordan shook his head. “No, sir. Came through the back door, they said.”As Jordan closed the door behind him, Ethan placed the box on the desk and carefully sliced open the tape. Inside was an old wooden box with intricate carvings on the lid and, beneath it, a folded piece of paper.His fingers trembling slightly, Ethan unfolded the not