Chapter 5 - The Confrontation on the Sixth Floor
Olivia’s pulse raced, but she forced herself to remain completely still. She turned her head slightly toward the window, letting her dark fringe fall across her cheek.
"Who hired you?" Victor asked, taking three slow steps toward her, ignoring Richard entirely.
"The human resources agency, sir," Olivia said softly, keeping her eyes fixed on the rug. "Three weeks ago."
Victor reached out, his leather-gloved fingers catching her jawline and lifting her face upward into the direct sunlight. The touch was cold, hard, and devoid of warmth.
"You have James Sterling’s eyes," Victor whispered, his voice laced with sudden, lethal recognition. "I knew I recognized that chin. You’re James’s daughter."
Richard Vale gasped, his hand flying toward his suit jacket pocket. "What?"
Olivia knew the disguise was finished. There was no point in playing the timid maid any longer.
She pulled her face away from Victor’s gloved hand, straightening her spine to her full height, her shoulders throwing back with the cold authority of a billionaire heiress.
"Hello, Victor," Olivia said, her voice dropping its soft accent, replacing it with the crisp, upper-class diction of her upbringing. "It’s been a long time."
Victor stared at her for three long seconds, then let out a slow, terrifying chuckle. "Olivia Sterling. Scrubbing floors in my hotel. What a magnificent performance. Does your board know you're wearing polyester?"
"My board doesn't know," Olivia replied, her gray eyes locking onto his without a trace of fear. "But they will know by tomorrow night. Along with the Chicago Police Department."
Richard took a step toward her, his face pale with panic. "Victor, if she’s been poking around—"
"Quiet, Richard," Victor commanded without breaking eye contact with Olivia. "What are you doing here, Olivia? Your father died three years ago. You inherited a fortune. Why play servant in my lobby?"
"Because my father left me a keycard," she said calmly. "And six words about Daniel Carter."
Victor’s expression didn't change, but his pupils contracted sharply. "James was always too poetic for his own good. Daniel Carter was a thief who stole twelve million dollars from this hotel and fled the country."
"Daniel Carter never left B2," Olivia countered sharply. "You stole the money through a shell company registered at your own Michigan Avenue address, Victor. And when Daniel found the ledger entries in 2011, you had Richard and your security team murder him and wall his body behind three hundred feet of reinforced concrete."
The room fell into an absolute, suffocating silence.
Richard looked as if he was about to faint, his hand trembling against the edge of the mahogany desk.
Victor, however, simply smiled—a small, chilling curl of his lips.
"You’re very smart, Olivia. Just like your father," Victor murmured. "James figured it out, too. Do you know why he didn't go to the police in 2011?"
Olivia felt a tight knot form in her stomach. "Tell me."
"Because James helped me set up the original offshore accounts," Victor revealed smoothly. "Your precious, noble father was knee-deep in the Bellweather restructuring. If I went down for Daniel’s death, James would have spent the rest of his life in a federal penitentiary for grand larceny. He traded his silence—and his share of the hotel—to keep his reputation intact for you."
Olivia felt as if the floor beneath her had vanished. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Victor asked softly. "Why do you think he never spoke of this hotel again? Why do you think he hid that keycard in a safe instead of giving it to a prosecutor? He was protecting himself, Olivia. And he was protecting the Sterling name."
Victor signaled to Richard.
Richard stepped between Olivia and the suite door, pulling a small silver radio from his belt.
"You’re going to walk downstairs quietly, Miss Sterling," Victor said, his tone turning ice-cold. "You are going to surrender your cleaning cart, collect your secondhand coat, and leave this property. If you ever step foot in the Bellweather again, I will release the complete financial archives from 2011 to the press. Your father's legacy will be destroyed in twenty-four hours."
Olivia stared at the two men, her mind reeling from the revelation about her father, but her determination didn't break.
She looked at Victor's arrogant face, then at the blue folder still locked inside the desk.
May you like
"My father might have made mistakes to protect me, Victor," Olivia said softly, stepping toward the door. "But I don't have to protect a lie."
She brushed past Richard Vale, opened the suite door, and walked out into the corridor.
