Chapter 203: Secretly Taking Photos
I had confirmed the location of the Thornfield family's secret warehouse, my next move is to leak this information.
Adrian and Cole could handle it quietly, keep the Thornfields off our trail, but I felt that approach was too boring.
Then word came from Silver Eagle Auctions, the same auction house that had auctioned Roger. They were planning an auction in Starstream City. So I anonymously sold the warehouse intelligence to Silver Eagle Auctions.
Starstream City was already a powder keg. This would light the fuse. Things were about to get a lot more interesting in the coming days.
Platinum Haven had reopened after its temporary closure. I worked with the Garcia family to launch a "Healing Cuisine Package" and a "Fruit and Vegetable Wellness Package," and we also opened an indoor hot spring facility. The hotel's business gradually recovered, with revenue climbing past its previous levels.
Beneath this surface, enemies lurking in the shadows kept making small moves.
One morning, Rolf, the head of security, came to my office. "We have been finding a lot of hidden cameras in the hotel lately. Since the first discovery three days ago, we have been carrying out complete sweeps of the whole building twice a day. The workload is pretty heavy—can we get the housekeeping staff to help us out?"
I looked at the pile of cameras in plastic bags on my desk, my expression grave.
Hiding bugs, pinhole cameras, and tracking devices in flower bouquets and gifts was a common mafia tactic. I had even used this method to monitor Amelia before.
I just hadn't expected that after checking my immediate surroundings, cameras had still gotten into the hotel.
The lenses were nearly invisible. According to Rolf, they were hidden in extremely concealed and tricky locations. Rolf had only caught them because he knew exactly what to look for.
My fingertips tapped lightly on the desk, my gaze cold. "Can you trace where these things came from?"
Rolf shook his head. "We flagged two people behaving suspiciously. They tried to get close to your office and your pharmaceutical lab. They claimed to be reporters. I roughed them up and let them go."
I raised an eyebrow. Rolf had just turned forty last year. He was serious and careful in his work—letting people go so easily wasn't his style.
Sure enough, a second later, I heard him add, "I had someone tail those two guys and found that one of them seems to have connections to the Thornfield family."
"The Thornfields again?" Adrian couldn't help complaining. "They're everywhere. Like cockroaches!"
Adrian's comment made me laugh, and some of my irritation lifted.
"A huge family is like a massive tree. Even though it has deep roots below and lush branches above, if you don't regularly prune and remove pests, the branches will just grow more chaotic and the fruit will only get worse."
Halfway through my words, the desk phone rang.
I picked up the receiver. Cassian, the lobby manager, said anxiously, "Ms. Sorelli, a female guest says she found a hidden camera in our hotel restroom! She wants to call the police and sue our hotel for secretly filming her! She's... she's also threatening to expose this. Other guests have already filmed videos and posted them online."
"Don't panic." kept my voice level. "Where are you now? Where was the camera found?"
"We're in the lobby. The camera was found in the innermost restroom on the left side of the first floor."
"Got it. I'll be right there."
After hanging up, I found myself thinking it over.
This was too much of a coincidence.
"Rolf, that restroom?" Before I finished speaking, Rolf shook his head and said with certainty, "We swept that restroom this morning. There was definitely no camera."
With that confirmation, I knew what was going on.
"Come with me." I grabbed my coat and walked out quickly. Adrian, Cole, and Rolf immediately followed.
The lobby was loud before I even pushed through the door.
A fashionably dressed female guest stood by the front desk, her eyes red and puffy, tears streaming down her face, with her arms wrapped tightly around herself defensively.
A cluster of female guests had formed around her, all of them glaring at the staff.
Cassian stood before them, trying to de-escalate, but every time he took a step forward, they demanded he step back. The intense situation left him sweating profusely.
Several hotel staff members hovered helplessly nearby. Seeing me, they called out in unison, "Ms. Sorelli!"
All eyes instantly turned to me.
Cassian looked as though he'd seen his savior. "You're finally here! I'm sorry, this is my fault."
He was good at his job, but the hotel had just been hit with a suspension warning, so he'd inevitably lost his usual composure.
I raised my hand to cut him off, then swept my gaze over the frozen staff members and asked sternly, "Are you just standing here watching the show?"
The staff went pale, and they quickly lowered their heads in shame.
Cassian hurried to explain, "Ms. Sorelli, this is Riven. She's convinced anyone who approaches her is trying to destroy evidence and harm her, so we've kept our distance."
Riven was the victim who had discovered the camera.
She didn't look at me, only crying silently. Standing on either side of her were a middle-aged woman and a young woman. The young woman had her arm around Riven's shoulders comforting her, while the middle-aged woman shouted at me, "Are you the owner of this hotel? We have been secretly filmed at your hotel. You need to give us an explanation!"
The crowd picked it up from there, voicing their accusations:
"Your hotel is terrible—secretly filming guests!"
"Disgusting! We are going public with this!"
"If this happens even at five-star hotels, are there any hotels left to trust?"
The accusations came from every direction. I looked at Riven first, then turned to the older woman. "What's your relationship with Riven?"
"No relationship!" The woman squared her shoulders. "My daughter and I happened to be passing through. We saw her being bullied by your staff and couldn't stand by and watch!"
"So you're being Good Samaritans. Thank you for helping us calm Riven down." I thanked her sincerely. "After what she's been through, her distrust of us makes sense. Fortunately, there are people with such a strong sense of justice like you stepping forward."
My response stunned both the middle-aged woman and her daughter. Other guests also hadn't expected me to say this, and even Riven's stopped crying.
Riven extended her hand, revealing a small black camera lying in her palm. "This thing was hidden in the women's restroom. I was lucky to find it. Who knows how many others were secretly filmed."
Her words refocused everyone's attention on the filming incident.
I raised my eyebrows, Riven knew exactly what she was doing.
"Our hotel would never secretly film guests. I'm a woman, and I have zero tolerance for this kind of thing." I looked at the lobby manager. "Have you called the police?"
Cassian stammered, "Not yet. Should we? If this gets out, it'll really hurt our hotel's reputation—"
"Is reputation more important than our guests' privacy?" I cut him off with a look and said firmly, "Call them. Now."