fatherless

Ali and Luca sat hidden in the shadows of the hotel corner, surrounded by the dim lights as night began to fall. The pale lights wrapping around the hotel cast their shadows on the ground, and they whispered quietly to each other.

"How can we find the information on the 'special guests'?" Ali asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Luca, twitching his tail thoughtfully, squinted his eyes. "If they're really classified as 'special guests,' their records won't be in the regular guest books. Hotels typically keep secret records in their archives that only certain staff members can access."

Ali nodded. "So how do we reach this archive? The clerk didn't seem keen to talk to us. It's clear they won't share that information."

Luca smiled quietly. "We don't need to ask. We can find the information ourselves."

Ali looked at Luca carefully. There was a sly glimmer in Luca's eyes. He usually had good plans, but they often involved taking dangerous risks.

"So you're saying we need to sneak inside?" Ali asked, his voice tinged with anxiety.

Luca nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We can't do it during the day; there are too many eyes. But at night, we can slip in through less conspicuous places like the staff entrance or the security office."

Ali took a deep breath. "Okay, but where could the archive be?"

After scanning the lobby, Luca tilted his head slightly. "When we were here before, I noticed a room on the second floor that was heavily guarded. The door is always locked, and only certain people come and go. That's probably where we need to go."

Ali paused to think. "So we'll go to the second floor, try to get into that room, and retrieve the information without getting caught. How do we do that?"

Luca winked. "I have a few ideas."

---

As night fell, the hotel lobby grew almost entirely quiet. Most guests had retreated to their rooms, and some of the staff were changing shifts. The night clerk at the lobby desk was staring blankly at his computer screen.

Ali and Luca moved like shadows toward the back of the hotel. Luca carefully scanned the area. "The staff entrance is usually at the back. Security is less vigilant there."

Ali nodded and leaned against the wall, waiting. A few minutes later, a staff member emerged from the kitchen, leaving the door ajar. Ali and Luca seized the opportunity and swiftly slipped inside.

Upon entering, they found a narrow corridor at the back of the kitchen leading deeper into the hotel. Along the corridor were a series of rooms: storage, staff changing rooms, and most importantly, the security office.

"We'll go this way," Luca said. "The security office has cameras inside. We'll need to disable them first."

Ali rolled his eyes. "How do we do that? If there's a security guard, he could catch us."

Luca grinned slightly. "Just watch me."

They quietly peered under the door. Inside, a man sat watching the monitors while sipping tea, looking tired.

Luca moved silently like a cat, slowly creeping behind the man and tugging on the computer's power cable with his teeth. The screens went dark in an instant.

"What's happening?" the guard mumbled, getting up from his chair.

Ali quickly acted, knocking over a small trash can. The sound was loud enough to make the guard turn toward it immediately.

"What's going on over there?" he grumbled.

Luca darted out, distracting the man. The guard, irritated, followed him. Meanwhile, Ali slipped into the security office, ensuring the monitors watching the cameras were shut off.

"All set! Now we can head to the second floor!"

---

Ali and Luca hurriedly climbed the stairs. The corridor was empty, with only a few flickering lights casting a dim glow. When they reached the second floor, Luca immediately pointed to a small room on the right.

"This is it. The archive room."

They checked the door. It was locked.

Ali sighed softly. "We've come this far, but how do we get inside?"

Luca wagged his tail. "This will be a piece of cake for me."

He pulled a small piece of wire from his pocket and inserted it into the door's lock. After a few seconds, they heard a "click!" and the door creaked open.

Inside, they found a room filled with shelves. Files, stacks of papers, and old notebooks were scattered everywhere. In the middle was a table with an old lamp sitting atop it.

Ali began to sift through the files on the shelves. "We're looking for anything related to my family. There should be records about 'special guests.'"

Luca opened a drawer. "Here are the guest lists!"

Ali quickly scanned the papers. "These look like the guest lists from the last five years of the hotel..."

Then one heading caught his attention: "Special Guests - Confidential File."

Ali's heart raced. He opened the file, and his eyes widened.

"My family's names are listed here..."

But something was odd. There was a note beside it:

"Special guests have been relocated for security reasons. Necessary information is only accessible by management."

Ali took a deep breath. "What does this mean?"

Luca looked at the file. "I think this is just the beginning. We need to dig deeper to find out what happened to your family."

At that moment, they heard footsteps approaching from the corridor. Someone was coming.

Ali quickly shut the file. "Someone's coming!"

Luca swiftly turned off the light. They held their breath, hiding in the shadows.

The door slowly creaked open…