Chapter 7 - The Interrogation in the VIP Suite
Up on the 40th floor, Rebecca was sipping an expensive glass of complimentary orange juice, feeling like royalty.
She had spent the last hour watching the morning news on the massive flat-screen TV, wrapped in a plush silk bathrobe provided by the hotel. Ten thousand dollars in cash sat neatly stacked on the bedside table, proof that Julian Vance was taking care of her. In her mind, she had survived the storm. All she had to do was wait for Vance’s call, collect another paycheck, and find a new job at a rival hotel where she could continue treating ordinary people like dirt without any consequences.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A sharp, authoritative knock echoed at the suite door.
Rebecca smiled smugly, assuming it was room service or Vance coming to brief her on his grand plan to overthrow the owner. She tied the belt of her bathrobe loosely around her waist and strutted across the room, swinging the door wide open with a confident smirk.
"Well, took you long enough, Mr. Vance—"
The words froze in her throat.
Standing in the doorway was not Julian Vance. Instead, it was Mr. Harrison, flanked by two towering hotel security guards whose faces looked like they were carved out of granite.
Rebecca’s smug smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold wave of dread. "Y-You? What are you doing here? How did you get this room key?"
"Miss Rebecca," Harrison said, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion. "Please step aside. We need to have a conversation."
"I won't step aside!" Rebecca shrieked, panic flaring in her chest as she tried to slam the door shut.
One of the security guards effortlessly placed a heavy hand against the wooden door, pushing it wide open and stepping into the suite uninvited. Rebecca stumbled backward, tripping over the edge of the plush carpet and landing ungracefully on the floor.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Rebecca screamed, scrambling to her feet, her face flushing crimson with humiliation. "I am a guest here! I will sue this hotel for harassment! I know Mr. Vance! He's the Chief Operations Officer, and he gave me this room!"
"Mr. Vance is currently in federal custody, Miss Rebecca," Harrison replied calmly, walking further into the room and picking up the stack of ten thousand dollars in cash resting on the bedside table. He examined the rubber band holding the bills together with mild distaste.
Rebecca’s blood ran cold. The color drained from her face so fast she looked like a ghost.
"In... in custody? What are you talking about?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Mr. Vance has been arrested for multi-million-dollar embezzlement, corporate fraud, and obstruction of justice," Harrison explained smoothly, slipping the cash into a secure evidence pouch. "Furthermore, our digital audit trails show that you accepted corporate hush-money funded by stolen assets in exchange for keeping quiet about his illegal activities."
"No... no, that's not true! He just gave me severance pay! It was a gift!" Rebecca shrieked, tears of sheer terror streaming down her face as she realized the magnitude of her nightmare. "I didn't know he was stealing! I'm innocent! You can't do this to me!"
"You made your choices last night when you judged a guest by his clothes and laughed in his face," Harrison said coldly. "And you made another fatal choice when you allied yourself with a thief."
Harrison gestured to the security guards. "Escort her downstairs. Federal agents are waiting in the lobby to take her statement regarding her financial collusion with Mr. Vance."
"No! Please! Let me talk to Mr. Carter! I want to apologize to Mr. Carter!" Rebecca screamed, thrashing wildly as the two massive security guards grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her off her feet, dragging her out of the suite.
Her expensive silk bathrobe slipped off her shoulders, her hair fell in disarray around her face, and her desperate cries echoed down the luxury hallway until the elevator doors closed, swallowing her up completely.
Just down the hallway, standing near the elevator foyer, Ethan Carter watched the entire scene unfold with calm detachment. He held Lily's hand gently as the little girl looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.
"Daddy, is that mean lady going away?" Lily asked softly.
Ethan smiled down at his daughter, squeezing her small hand affectionately.
"Yes, princess," Ethan replied, his voice gentle and warm. "People who are unkind to others and take things that don't belong to them always have to face the consequences. Come on, let's go get some ice cream in the garden."
May you like
As father and daughter walked toward the private elevator, the storm clouds that had hung over the hotel for over a year finally parted. But unknown to Ethan, down in the basement parking garage, a final, desperate player was preparing to make one last, dangerous move.
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