Chapter 16 - The Man Everyone Overlooked
Marcus had always seemed ordinary.
That was his greatest advantage.
While Adrian commanded boardrooms and Victor manipulated courts, Marcus stood behind hotel desks.
He remembered guests' names.
Approved housekeeping schedules.
Solved complaints.
Nobody saw him as dangerous.
Eleanor had.
Charlotte reread her mother's letter three times.
Marcus was the operational architect behind Northstar's takeover of Solmere.
He selected employees who could be bribed.
He altered security systems.
He monitored Charlotte.
And most importantly, Marcus had personally delivered the poison to Rebecca.
Daniel called New York.
Marcus' apartment was empty.
His bank accounts were drained.
His passport had been used at JFK.
Destination unknown.
Then Charlotte remembered the viral lobby video.
Marcus had stood at reception during the attack.
He hadn't intervened.
But he had also allowed dozens of cameras to record Celeste humiliating Charlotte.
Why?
Daniel saw the same question in her face.
"He wanted the video."
Charlotte nodded.
"Why?"
Alexander answered.
"To make Charlotte famous."
They looked at him.
"If Charlotte had quietly disappeared, people might eventually investigate."
"But after the video?"
Charlotte finished the thought.
"Everyone knew my face."
Daniel understood.
"Marcus wasn't protecting Adrian."
"He was exposing the entire operation."
Charlotte frowned.
"That makes no sense."
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Marcus spoke.
"Finally."
Charlotte stood.
"Where are you?"
"Where your mother should have gone twelve years ago."
"What do you want?"
"To finish the Vale family."
Charlotte's jaw tightened.
"You killed her."
"No."
"You arranged it."
"I arranged many things."
"Why?"
Marcus laughed softly.
"Because my father built the first Solmere Hotel."
Charlotte froze.
Alexander's face changed.
Marcus continued.
"Your grandfather stole it from him during the Depression."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
Marcus' voice hardened.
"The Vale empire began with theft."
"My family erased mine."
"Generation after generation."
"And I spent thirty years making sure your family would understand what that felt like."
Charlotte closed her eyes.
This wasn't about Northstar.
It wasn't about money.
Marcus had infiltrated the hotel decades earlier.
He had waited.
Built alliances.
Turned advisers against one another.
And when the moment came, he shattered the Vale family from inside.
"Where are you?"
Marcus answered.
"Solmere."
Charlotte looked at Daniel.
Marcus was back in the hotel.
"Why?"
"Because tonight is the Founders' Gala."
Charlotte remembered.
Hundreds of politicians, investors, celebrities, and employees would attend.
Marcus continued.
"Come home, Charlotte."
"Why?"
"Because before midnight, everyone will finally learn what the Vale name is really worth."
The call ended.
Daniel immediately started contacting security.
Charlotte grabbed her coat.
Alexander stepped in front of her.
"No."
"Move."
"It's another trap."
"Yes."
"He wants you there."
Charlotte stared at her father.
"Then that's where I need to be."
Several hours later, Charlotte's plane crossed the Atlantic.
Below them, darkness covered the ocean.
In New York, guests were already entering the Solmere ballroom.
Nobody knew Marcus Reed had placed explosives beneath the hotel's original foundation.
May you like
Nobody except Marcus.
And the countdown had already begun.
