The Top Floor

Leonard explains that two-year-old Everett was badly injured in a fall at the African dig. He and Thelma were told their son died at the hospital, but Dalton apparently took the surviving child and raised him as his own. Even this kidnapping requires proof, making the hidden videotape more important than ever.

Watching Dalton greet Everett through the planted camera, Leonard is shaken to see a loving relationship between them. Everett adores the only father he remembers, and Dalton behaves like a devoted parent. Recovering the boy will therefore require more than revealing a biological connection.

Dalton plans to leave New York the next morning and move his possessions later that day. Jason has memorized the elevator code, while Katrina’s recording can open the voice-controlled artifact room. Whit takes Leonard’s place in the search because he is prepared to risk his life and does not believe Leonard is spiritually prepared to lose his.

Whit and Jason enter the empty penthouse while Eugene watches the hotel monitors. Everett unexpectedly returns, and Leonard stops his elevator to show him an unaltered photograph of Thelma. Dalton’s copy has removed Leonard and obscured the message on its back. Leonard recites the loving words he wrote to his infant son and tells Everett that he is his real father.

Overwhelmed, Everett rejects the claim and heads upstairs. Leonard stops him by admitting Whit and Jason are searching the penthouse, causing Everett to believe they are thieves. After Everett leaves, Leonard regrets forcing so much truth on him at once.

Whit and Jason locate the ivory box and recover the videotape from its false bottom. Dalton and Mrs. Vasquez return early, trapping them when the stairwell code fails. Eugene stops the elevator temporarily, and Jason transmits the tape through the EduLink so everyone downstairs can verify it.

The recording shows Leonard and Thelma imprisoned at the dig. Dalton threatens young Everett to force Leonard to find gold, then drags the child from hiding. Everett sees the evidence and accepts that Leonard has told the truth, but confesses that he already warned Dalton about the intruders.

Whit distracts Dalton while Jason escapes with Everett through the stairs. Jason returns to help Whit, and Everett reaches Leonard and Eugene. When Dalton follows, Everett pretends to choose the man who raised him. Dalton takes him away, while Mrs. Vasquez captures Leonard and prepares to transport him separately.

Once alone with Dalton, Everett asks questions that expose the lies about his mother and childhood. He then reveals that Jason gave him a tracking device before their escape. Authorities follow it and capture Dalton. Though betrayed, Dalton tells Everett that he does not regret the years they spent together.

The NSA verifies the videotape, while recordings from the operation add further evidence. Dalton makes a complete confession, including Everett’s kidnapping, ensuring that he will answer for his crimes. Leonard thanks Everett for doing what is right, and both agree to build their unfamiliar father-son relationship slowly.

Leonard also learns that Whit knowingly faced the possibility of death so Jason and Everett could escape. He apologizes for misjudging Whit and is grateful that Eugene has had such a mentor. Hoping to become that kind of man for Everett, Leonard begins a new adventure with the son he believed he had lost.