The Night That Was Deleted
At twenty-nine, Ernie James is broke, unemployed, and riding out his failures in his parents' Brooklyn basement. So when his cousin tosses him a lifeline—a private security gig with Amson Guards protecting high-end escort Rochelle Parker—Ernie doesn't hesitate. The parameters are a breeze: drive her to the hotel, watch the door, and get her home safely. It is the definition of easy money.
For two weeks, the routine is flawless. Until the night Rochelle walks into her room and simply vanishes.
The suite is empty, and the bed is perfectly undisturbed. When a frantic Ernie demands answers, the hotel staff treats him like a madman. According to their system, Rochelle Parker was never there.
Now, stranded in a lobby that feels more like a trap, Ernie must confront a terrifying reality: either he has stumbled into a deeply sinister conspiracy, or he is rapidly losing the only thing he still has left to his name—his mind.
- Ernie - Employee at Amson Guards
- Rochelle - Escort
- Lee - Rochelle’s client
- Amson - Ernie’s boss at Amson Guards
- Trent - Ernie’s cousin
- Regina - Ernie’s mother
- Rochelle doesn’t come out of her hotel room after staying the night with a client.
- The room is empty and smells like bleach.
- Rochelle’s car they drove to the hotel is gone.
- Ernie goes to Rochelle’s house and sees her Bentley in the driveway and his car missing.
- Ernie calls Amson who says Rochelle wasn’t on his schedule last night.
- Ernie takes a taxi home and finds his car parked where it belongs.
- Ernie gets a text from an unknown number saying ‘STOP.’
- Ernie finds the hotel parking receipt with Rochelle’s signature on it proving she was at the hotel.
- Ernie returns to the hotel and sneaks back into room 104 and finds a hidden chute below the bed.
- Ernie goes down the chute and ends up in a small concrete room with a card reader on the door.
- In the room, Ernie finds Rochelle’s necklace that she never takes off.
- Ernie gets a text from Rochelle saying she’s at home and in danger.
- Ernie enters Rochelle’s home and smells bleach.
- Ernie finds black envelopes on Rochelle’s desk and realizes she is not an escort - she was hired to kill all the men she took to hotels.
- Amson and Trent appear and inject Ernie in the back of the neck with something and he loses consciousness.
- The STOP text came from Trent trying to warn Ernie to stop poking around.
- Ernie wakes up in his bed with no memory of the last few weeks and a sore neck.
- Ernie hears on the news that Rochelle’s body was recovered from the waterfront and knows the name is familiar but isn’t sure why.
- Trent calls Ernie and says a friend of his named Amson can hook him up if he still needs work.
- Ernie hears Regina on the phone saying, ‘He doesn’t remember anything, he’s ready for mission number 78, Amson.’
Elainie La Force's short story, The Night That Was Deleted, is an entertaining and fast-paced read that delivers on its high-tension premise. The character development was good for a short story.
While the ride is thrilling, the execution does leave a few lingering questions by the final page. The narrative can feel slightly murky in places, making it tough to tell if certain details were just easy to miss in the rush or if the plot points simply weren't entirely clear. The very end twist, however, makes sure you leave feeling more shocked than mystified.
- Murder
- Gaslighting
- Sex work
Publisher: Rockhouse Press
ASIN: B0GWZT72XB
Publication Date: April 13, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
