Chapter 4: Someone Had Planned the Humiliation
Richard stared at the tablet.
The name attached to the reservation file was unmistakable.
*Victoria Hayes.*
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Daniel stood behind the reception desk, his hands trembling slightly. Victoria, meanwhile, was trying to maintain the confident expression she had worn throughout the confrontation.
Richard slowly turned the tablet toward her.
“Would you care to explain this?””
Victoria glanced at the screen.
Then she laughed.
“Explain what? I've been a guest here for years. I'm sure I've accessed the reservation system before.””
“You accessed my daughter's private booking three days before she arrived.””
“I didn't know it was your daughter's reservation.””
Richard's expression hardened.
“You knew it belonged to an incoming guest. That information was not available to you.””
Victoria looked toward Daniel.
He immediately shook his head.
“Mr. Carter, I didn't give her access.””
Richard raised an eyebrow.
“I haven't accused you of giving her access.””
Daniel swallowed.
Richard turned to the hotel executive.
“Martin, pull the access logs.””
Martin Lewis, the hotel's operations director, tapped several commands into the tablet.
“Sir, there's more.””
Richard waited.
Martin turned the screen toward him.
“The reservation was opened using a supervisor-level account. The account belongs to Daniel Brooks.””
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
“That can't be right.””
Martin continued scrolling.
“The file was accessed on Monday at 8:42 p.m. The guest's name, arrival date, room category, and personal contact information were viewed.””
Victoria folded her arms.
“Perhaps your employee made a mistake. Why are you making this my problem?””
Richard looked at her.
“Because your name appears in the access notes.””
Her expression changed.
Martin enlarged the screen.
There was a message attached to the reservation.
*VIP REQUEST: Guest should be redirected to standard check-in. Do not offer family suite. Notify Mrs. Hayes upon arrival.*
Richard read it twice.
Then he looked at Daniel.
“Who entered this instruction?””
Daniel's lips parted.
“I don't remember.””
“You don't remember?””
“It was a busy week, sir.””
Richard placed the tablet on the counter.
“Daniel, my daughter paid for a private family suite. She didn't request special treatment. She didn't ask for an upgrade. She didn't ask anyone to make an exception.””
He paused.
“She simply expected the room she paid for.””
Victoria interrupted.
“Honestly, Richard, you're behaving as if someone committed a crime. This is a hotel dispute.””
Richard turned toward her.
“Then why were you waiting in the lobby when my daughter arrived?””
Victoria blinked.
“I wasn't waiting for her.””
Martin looked up from the tablet.
“Actually, Mrs. Hayes, the lobby camera shows you entered the building eleven minutes before Miss Carter.””
Victoria's jaw tightened.
“So?””
“You walked directly to the front desk,” Martin continued.
“You spoke with Daniel for approximately four minutes. Then you positioned yourself beside the main entrance.””
Richard slowly turned toward Daniel.
“Eleven minutes.””
Daniel said nothing.
“Eleven minutes before my daughter arrived.””
The receptionist looked as though he wanted to disappear.
Victoria lifted her chin.
“I have no obligation to explain where I stand in a lobby.””
Richard nodded.
“That's true. But you do have an obligation not to assault another person.””
Victoria's face reddened.
“You're making a terrible mistake.””
Richard didn't respond.
Instead, he asked Martin to retrieve the complete security footage.
Within minutes, a large monitor behind the reception desk displayed the lobby recording.
The video showed Victoria approaching Daniel.
Her voice was barely audible, but the camera microphone captured enough.
“Is she coming today?”” Victoria asked.
Daniel nodded.
“Her reservation is confirmed.””
Victoria leaned across the counter.
“I don't want her getting the family suite.””
Daniel glanced around.
“Mrs. Hayes, I can't just change another guest's room.””
Victoria placed something on the counter.
A small envelope.
Daniel looked at it.
Then he slipped it beneath a stack of paperwork.
Richard's eyes narrowed.
“Pause that.””
Martin froze the video.
Richard pointed at the envelope.
“What was inside?””
Daniel's face turned pale.
Victoria immediately stepped toward the monitor.
“This is ridiculous. You're showing edited footage!””
Martin answered calmly.
“The recording is directly from the hotel's security system.””
Richard looked at Daniel.
“Did you accept money from her?””
“No, sir.””
“Then what's in the envelope?””
Daniel opened his mouth.
Victoria suddenly interrupted.
“That's private.””
Richard turned toward her.
“Not when it concerns a member of my staff manipulating a guest's reservation.””
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“It wasn't money.””
“Then what was it?””
Daniel looked at Victoria.
She stared at him with a warning expression.
Finally, he whispered.
“A gift card.””
Richard waited.
“Worth five hundred dollars.””
Martin looked stunned.
Victoria immediately protested.
“It was a thank-you gift! I gave it to him because he's always helpful.””
Richard looked at her.
“Helpful to whom?””
Victoria said nothing.
Daniel lowered his head.
Richard walked slowly around the reception counter.
“Martin, preserve every record. I want the original video, the access logs, and the envelope documented. Nobody deletes anything.””
“Understood, sir.””
Victoria reached for her handbag.
“I'm leaving.””
One of the security guards stepped forward.
“Ma'am, Mr. Carter asked everyone to remain until the incident report is completed.””
Victoria glared at him.
“Do you know who my husband is?””
The guard remained professional.
“Yes, ma'am. But that doesn't change our procedure.””
Richard watched her struggle to regain control.
Then his phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a name he hadn't expected.
*THOMAS HAYES.*
Richard answered.
“Thomas.””
A familiar voice came through.
“Richard, I just heard there's some kind of problem at the hotel. Victoria says your daughter is making accusations against her.””
Richard looked at Victoria.
Then at the frozen image of the envelope.
“Your wife has some explaining to do.””
Thomas went quiet.
“What happened?””
Richard's voice became colder.
“Your wife struck my daughter while she was holding her newborn baby.””
There was a long silence.
Then Thomas asked one question.
“Are you sure?””
Richard looked at the security footage.
“I'm looking at it.””
And for the first time that afternoon, Victoria appeared genuinely afraid.
May you like
Because her husband was about to see what she had done.
And he wasn't the only person who would be watching.
