They Humiliated Her Boyfriend — Not Knowing She Owned the Hotel
Chapter 5
Olivia arrived at Ethan’s apartment twenty minutes later.
She looked at the photograph.
Her expression hardened.
“Did you touch anything else?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She took out her phone.
“I’m calling security.”
Ethan stopped her.
“No police?”
She hesitated.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know who I can trust.”
That answer frightened him.
They searched the apartment together.
Nothing was missing.
Nothing was damaged.
Whoever had entered had wanted them to know they had entered.
That was worse.
Ethan sat on the couch.
“You need to tell me everything.”
Olivia nodded.
“My father didn’t just transfer the hotel to me.”
“What else?”
“He warned me.”
“About what?”
“He told me there was a group inside the hotel stealing money.”
Ethan stared.
“Then why didn’t he fire them?”
“He tried.”
“And?”
“They threatened him.”
“With what?”
Olivia looked away.
“He had a heart attack shortly afterward.”
Ethan went silent.
“You think they caused it?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you suspect it.”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
“Does your father know about this?”
“He’s recovering in Switzerland.”
“So he’s alive.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew?”
“Yes.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“Because I wanted to protect you.”
“You brought me into the middle of it.”
“I know.”
They sat quietly.
Then Ethan noticed something.
The photograph had been taken from across the street.
The black SUV.
He suddenly remembered it.
“That car.”
“What car?”
“I saw it last night.”
Olivia looked at him.
“Where?”
“Outside my building.”
She called security.
An hour later, one of Olivia’s trusted security officers arrived.
His name was James Carter.
He examined the photograph.
“This wasn’t taken by a professional security team.”
“How do you know?” Ethan asked.
“The angle.”
James pointed.
“Too low. Whoever took it was hiding behind another vehicle.”
Olivia asked, “Can you identify the photographer?”
“Not from this.”
James paused.
“But I can check the hotel cameras.”
The three of them drove back to the Grand Aurelia.
Security footage showed several vehicles outside the hotel.
James froze the screen.
“There.”
A black SUV.
Same model.
Different plate.
Ethan leaned closer.
“Can we trace it?”
“Maybe.”
James made another discovery.
The SUV had entered the underground parking garage two days earlier.
The driver had used a hotel access badge.
Olivia stared at the screen.
“That badge belongs to management.”
James nodded.
“Exactly.”
The investigation changed immediately.
Someone inside the hotel was helping whoever was watching them.
Later that night, Olivia called a private board meeting.
She invited only five people.
Victoria.
Daniel.
The hotel accountant.
James.
And Ethan.
Victoria looked furious.
“What is he doing here?”
Olivia answered.
“He stays.”
“He has no position in this company.”
“He has something more important.”
Victoria laughed.
“And what is that?”
Olivia looked at Ethan.
“He notices things you people overlook.”
Ethan almost smiled.
The meeting began.
Olivia placed the financial records on the table.
“Three-point-four million dollars is missing.”
Daniel shook his head.
“We already discussed this.”
“No. We discussed incomplete numbers.”
She placed copies of invoices on the table.
“Someone is laundering money through fake vendors.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“That’s an accusation.”
“It’s a fact.”
Daniel stood.
“This is outrageous.”
Olivia looked directly at him.
“Sit down.”
Daniel slowly sat.
Then Ethan noticed something.
Daniel’s right hand was trembling.
Not with anger.
With fear.
Ethan quietly leaned toward Olivia.
“Watch him.”
She nodded.
Then the lights went out.
The room went completely black.
A chair scraped across the floor.
Someone ran.
James shouted.
“Stay where you are!”
The emergency lights came on.
Daniel was still seated.
Victoria was still there.
The accountant was missing.
And on the table, right beside the financial records, was a handwritten note.
REMOVE OLIVIA BENNETT.
