Chapter 5 - Suite 904
The silence in the grand lobby was suffocating. The soft jazz music overhead seemed to vanish, replaced by the heavy, rhythmic hum of the air conditioning. Clara hadn't shifted an inch. She stood like a statue, her icy gaze locked onto the man behind the counter, holding her sleeping child tightly against her shoulder.
"Patrick?" Lupita asked softly, her arms folded across her chest. "Read the system note out loud."
Patrick swallows hard, his dry throat making a sharp clicking sound. He tried to speak, but his voice came out as a broken, hollow, pale raspy whisper. "Suite 904... Confirmed corporate reservation... Unlimited access... Direct authorization from the Chairman’s office..."
Karl’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. He looked from the monitor to Clara, then back to the monitor. He placed both hands flat on the polished marble counter to steady himself as his knees went weak. "Wait... Suite 904 is the Owner's Penthouse. It's locked out of the general public system. It only opens when..."
Karl paused, turning his head slowly toward Clara. He took in the pink coat, the exhaustion, the quiet, unyielding posture, and finally, the gold ribbon on the roses that bore the crest of Vance Holdings.
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"Patrick..." Karl whispered in sheer horror, his voice trembling so violently it was almost unintelligible. "Patrick... she's the owner of the hotel chain."
👉 Patrick’s head snapped up slowly, his face ghost-white as he met the cold, unblinking eyes of the woman he had just called a vagrant.
